Cleanly install your operating system instead of upgrading: Upgrading to Windows 10 can be done via a fresh install. We will be showing you two methods that will provide you with a clean, brand-spanking new install of the operating system
The release of Windows 10 presents a good opportunity to free your computer from old software and unused data. The best way to do this involves a clean installation of your operating system, which provides you with a fresh copy of Windows. However, unlike the previous versions of Windows, it’s not easy to do this with Windows 10, because Microsoft wants users to directly upgrade the installed operating system to Windows 10.
This was experienced by many users who wanted to run their version of Windows 10 on their computers with the help of a USB stick, even though they had not used the ‘Get Windows 10’ tool (GWX tool) to run an upgrade operation. The problem with this method: In case of clean installations, Microsoft has so far refused to accept the ‘old’ Windows 7 and Windows 8 keys. The keys that were upgraded to Windows 10 with the help of the GWX tool were the only keys that turned themselves into valid Windows 10 keys. Microsoft has now changed this. Ever since the September update of Windows 10 (to version 1511), computers running Windows 7 and 8.1 that fulfil the upgrade requirements can be upgraded directly with the help of an installation medium. A hardware fingerprint is used to detect whether a ‘digital authorisation’ for the upgrade exists for the respective system.
Requirements for Windows 10
Nothing has changed in terms of the general requirements for a free download of Windows 10. Users will only be able to install the new operating system for free if they have already installed Windows 7 (with the Service Pack) or Windows 8.1. Windows RT, Windows RT 8.1 and Enterprise editions of the operating system are not eligible for a free upgrade. Furthermore, the installed version of Windows must be an activated version. You can find out whether that is the case by accessing the “System and security > System” section. Scroll all the way to the bottom to find the menu. If your PC fulfils all the requirements, you can get started with the clean installation of Windows 10. Before you upgrade to the new version, you should create a back-up of all the important data on an external storage medium. No data was lost when we were running our test, but we cannot guarantee that this will be the case every time.
Option 1: Clean Installation With Onboard Tools
In this case, you initially perform the upgrade operation using the GWX tool (as recommended by Microsoft). You can then take care of the clean installation procedure in the second step. The decisive advantage of this method is that you can go back to the old operating system during a period of 30 days, in case you do not like Windows 10, or in case it causes problems. This option is also suitable for users who have already executed the upgrade operation, since it enables them to avoid a full-fledged reinstallation operation.
1 Upgrade via the GWX tool
If you possess an authorised copy of Windows 7 or 8.1, the GWX tool will have been installed automatically on your computer. This can be detected through the Windows 10 symbol in the quick launch bar, which keeps popping up every now and then to inform you about the Windows 10 upgrade. If you cannot see the Windows 10 symbol, check whether all the Windows updates have been executed. The GWX tool is installed through the KB3035583 update, which is tagged as an ‘important’ update. If the Windows flag does not appear after all the updates have been installed, visit the website support.microsoft.com/de-de/kb/3081048. The “Solution” section contains a Windows troubleshooting centre for error rectification, which downloads the required update.
When the GWX tool has been installed on your computer, open it by clicking the Windows 10 symbol in the quick launch bar. Use the ‘‘Update now” button to initiate the upgrade to Windows 10. If the installation files have not been loaded in the background, a Windows Update window is will pop up, which enables you to download the required data. Caution: The downloaded material has a size of about 3.0GB, so you should make sure there’s enough space on your hard drive. Otherwise, the system will request you to connect a USB stick that has enough storage space. In such a case, you can also choose to use ‘Option 2: Clean installation via a boot medium’.
After all the installation files have been downloaded, you must first accept the licence terms before you can initiate the upgrade operation. If the system asks for a Windows key, enter the key associated with your previous copy of Windows. Caution: The computer restarts several times during the installation process. In order to ensure that the installation procedure is carried out smoothly, you should not interfere in this process. When the upgrade operation has been completed, you will see a blue screen with the title ‘‘Get started quickly”.
This enables you to set up Windows 10 with the help of the ‘‘Express settings”. Alternatively, you can use the ‘‘Adjust settings” option to independently specify the data protection rules and standard programs.
2 Using the on-board tools to reset the PC
If the upgrade operation has been carried out properly, you should be able to find all your personal data, as well as the compatible programs, so your version of Windows isn’t completely fresh yet. However, you now have the option of returning to your old version of Windows within a period of one month. If you want to do so, open the settings section through the start menu. Under the ‘‘Update and security” section, select the ‘‘Restore” tab. The second option in this window allows you to go back to the previous version.
If you want to keep Windows 10, select the ‘‘Reset this PC” option in the same window. A retroactive clean installation operation can thus be executed with the help of the on-board tools. After you have clicked the ‘‘Go” option, you can select one of two options: The first option resets Windows 10 to the factory state, but it retains files such as documents, images, videos and downloads. The second option deletes absolutely everything except the operating system, which is why you should create a back-up of important data in advance. Even here, you can choose between two variants: The ‘‘Only remove files” option executes a quick reset operation. The ‘‘Remove files and clean up drive” option can take several hours, but it is more thorough.
The second method should be used if you want to sell or dispose of your computer.
The two reset procedures don’t just remove the installed programmes (except for the standard Win10 apps) – They also remove the vendor drivers and replace them with standard Windows drivers. Consequently, before you execute a reset operation, you should ensure that you have the driver DVD for your computer. Alternatively, you should download the drivers and save them at an external location. Caution: After you reset the PC, you will no longer be able to go back to the old operating system.
Option 2: Clean Installation Via Boot Medium
In case of the second method, we are describing the classical clean installation of Windows 10, which is carried out directly from Windows 7 or 8.1. This method is more radical, but it is also cleaner than a reset operation that is carried out with the help of the on-board tools of Windows 10. However, you should know for sure that Windows 10 will run on your computer, and that you really want to use the new operating system, because you cannot return to the old version of Windows after the upgrade operation has been carried out with the help of a clean installation. Our test used a retail version of Windows 7 Home (which came with a key) as the initial system. The contents of the following section notwithstanding, you will not be asked to provide a key during the clean installation procedure if you have an OEM version without a key.
1 Loading the Media Creation Tool
Before you can get started with the clean installation procedure, you will need a Windows 10 installation medium on a USB stick or a DVD. Ideally, you should create this using Microsoft’s Media Creation Tool. To download the software, go to microsoft.com/de-de/software-download/windows10. Scroll all the way up to the section “Do you want to create a USB drive, a DVD or an ISO file?”, and click the “Download tool now” button. The Media Creation Tool does not have to be installed.
All you have to do is save the EXE file and launch it with a double-click.
2 Creating an installation medium
The Media Creation Tool offers step-by-step instructions, but the instructions do appear to be a bit ambiguous. After the initialisation has been completed, the tool greets you with the question ‘‘How would you like to proceed?”, and it presents you with a choice of two options. Select the second one (‘‘Create installation media for another PC”), even if you are going to subsequently execute the clean installation procedure on the same computer.
After clicking ‘‘Next”, select the version of Windows 10 that corresponds to your PC. Tick the ‘‘Use the recommended option for this PC” option, in order to ensure that your previous Windows key will be accepted for the clean installation procedure. You should only select the options from the drop-down menus if you are creating the installation medium for another computer. Information regarding which editions of Windows 7 and 8.1 qualify for which edition of Windows 10 can be found at windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-10-upgrade-to-windows-10-faq.
After clicking ‘‘Next”, specify whether you want to create the installation medium on a USB stick or a DVD. Note that the USB stick should have a storage capacity of at least 3.0GB. Furthermore, it should not contain any important data, since it is formatted during the creation of the installation medium. If you decide to go for the DVD option, select ‘‘ISO file” and save it on the hard drive. After the ISO file has been created, burn it onto the DVD with the help of the Media Creation Tool, or the on-board tools offered by Windows.
3 Establishing a Windows partition
For the next step, you have to find out which hard drive partition contains the Windows operating system. To do so, run a search for ‘‘Partition” on the PC (via the start menu for Windows 7, and via the charms bar for Windows 8). The ‘‘Create and format hard drive partitions” allows you to access the disk management section. Note down the location of the Windows partition ‘‘C:”. To do so, count off the partitions from left to right. In our case, it was partition 2 on volume 0, since ‘‘C:” occupied the second position from the left in the partition table.
4 User-defined installation
After the installation medium has been made ready, you have to use it to boot up the computer. Insert the DVD or the USB stick, and re-start the computer. Caution: The stick should not be in a USB 3.0 port, since older systems do not detect this during the boot-up process. Furthermore, you must change the boot sequence in the BIOS, so that the boot medium will be read. Usually, the [F] or [Del] key must be pressed during the boot-up procedure. To find out which key you have to press, refer to the BIOS splash-screen that appears at the beginning of the boot-up procedure, or the instruction manual supplied by the PC or mainboard manufacturer.
The Windows setup section appears after the booting routing has been completed successfully. Select the language settings and then click ‘‘Next”, followed by ‘‘Install now”. When the system asks for a key, enter the key of your previous Windows operating system. In order to carry out a clean installation procedure, click the second option (‘‘User-defined: Only install windows”) in the ‘‘Choose an installation type” window.
The partition table of the PC is now displayed. You now have the option of selecting a radical clean installation procedure, or creating a backup folder containing old programs and files. However, neither one of the two variants allows you to keep using the old Windows. The following sections describe both options.
5 Clean installation without backup
Use the table to look for the partition in which Windows has been installed (refer to step 3). It is usually the largest partition on ‘‘Drive 0”, which is tagged as the ‘Primary” partition. Mark the entry and click the ‘‘Formatting” option. This deletes all the files from the partition. Clicking ‘‘Next” initiates the installation of Windows 10. If you want to install Windows on a new and unformatted hard drive, the partition table simply displays an entry bearing the following description: ‘‘No allocated space on drive”. In this case, mark this entry and click the ‘‘New” button. The system will then create a boot partition (marked as ‘‘System”) and an empty primary partition. Mark the latter partition and click ‘‘Next” to start the installation procedure.
6 Clean installation with backup
In addition to the radical clean installation option, you also have the option of installing Windows 10 in a clean manner, while retaining old programmes and files in the form of a backup. As in step 5, mark the primary partition with the existing Windows installation. Now, instead of clicking the ‘‘Format” option, click ‘‘Next”. The Windows Setup module then informs you that it is going to move all the old files and folders associated with the previous Windows installation into a folder called ‘‘Windows.old”. In Windows 10, this folder can be found in the root directory of the Windows partition (it is usually ‘‘C:\”). The benefit of this method: You do not have to recopy your data from the backup medium to the hard drive. The disadvantage: The folder can occupy a lot of space. If you don’t need it, you can simply delete it. If you are not suffering from a shortage of space, we would recommend that you use this personalised clean installation procedure.
New motherboard, no Windows
During the activation procedure, Microsoft binds the Windows licence to various system components of your PC, just like a fingerprint. This is also called a ‘product ID’. This facilitates the upgrade and subsequent reinstallations of Windows 10 on the same PC. This might be the reason why Windows 10 stops working when too many of the computer’s system components are replaced. After you switch the hard drive or execute a BIOS update, it should be possible to re-activate Win10 – We were able to retrace these steps in a test. However, the situation looks quite different if the motherboard is being replaced: After this critical component is replaced, Windows 10 can no longer be activated on the PC. In such a case, you must purchase a Windows 10 licence. Alternatively, you can re-install the old Windows and then re-upgrade to Win10. However, this can only be done for retail versions that come with a key. If you have an OEM version of Windows, and if your PC manufacturer replaced the mainboard while repairing the system, you will have to contact the manufacturer. The manufacturer is obligated to recreate the old status of your computer.