Can You Do A Clean Install Of Windows 10

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How to do a clean install of Windows x (from Windows 7 and viii)

Using your free Windows ten upgrade primal to practice a clean install is trickier than expected.

How to do a clean install of Windows 10 (from Windows 7 and 8)

Updated, July 31 @ 15:55 BST (10:55 EDT): This story has been updated with a few more than details, and some other (quicker) ways of achieving an almost-clean installation of Windows 10.

Original story

Windows 10 is an unusual release for Microsoft: if y'all have a licensed version of Windows 7 or 8/viii.i, information technology will very easily upgrade to Windows 10—you don't even need to enter a licence key. Make clean installations, however, are a flake trickier: you do need to enter a licence key, and your Windows seven/8 key probably won't work.

Fortunately, if you're running Windows 7 or 8, and yous actually want to utilize your costless Windows 10 licence key to perform a clean installation rather than upgrade, there is a solution. It's pretty convoluted, but it works.

Kickoff, you demand to do an in-place upgrade to Windows ten. You can practise this via Windows Update, or if Windows Update isn't playing brawl you can apply the direct download tool: English language/American/German/French/Italian/Dutch. If you use the download tool, make certain you select "Upgrade this PC now." It goes without maxim that, before you install any new operating organization, you should back up whatsoever of import data beforehand.

Once the upgrade has completed, make certain you've been activated by Microsoft. Open up the new Settings app, then caput to Update & Security, Activation. It will say on the right whether you lot're activated or not (see image). Also annotation downward what version of Windows 10 you have (Home, Pro).

This is what it looks like if your copy of Windows 10 is activated. — Overstate / This is what it looks similar if your copy of Windows 10 is activated.

If y'all haven't all the same been activated, y'all can try forcing it via command prompt: run cmd.exe as an administrator, so blazonslmgr.vbs /ato. You may need to try a few times, as the activation servers were being striking quite difficult.

This outset step will convert your current Windows seven/viii key into a Windows x key.

Now you need to install Windows 10 over again! Grab the Windows ten download tool and run it. This time, select "Create installation media for some other PC." Select the appropriate version (Home, Pro) and the tool will generate an ISO for you. Let the tool aid you burn the ISO to a DVD or USB retentiveness stick.

At present, proceed with a make clean installation of Windows 10 (select "Custom: Install Windows only" when prompted.) When it asks you for a product key, click Skip. If it asks yous multiple times, simply keep hitting Skip.

Once you lot've installed Windows ten, it should activate ordinarily. Again, you might need to manually slam the servers using slmgr.vbs /ato. Voilà: a make clean installation of Windows 10.

In theory, you should be able to reinstall Windows 10 once more in the future on the same PC, but if you brand significant hardware changes y'all might demand to use the manual phone activation process. Currently, it isn't clear if you can take your freebie Windows x licence key and use it to install Windows 10 on another machine. Some users are reporting that ProduKey, Magic Jelly Bean, and other key-viewing tools accept enabled them to go a new Windows 10 licence key that can be used on some other machine, but some users are just getting a generic licence key that isn't transferable. Your mileage may vary.

Caveats and other gotchas

Apparently, it'southward crazy that you take to go through a total Bone installation but to upgrade a licence key. It would be a lot easier and faster if Microsoft provided some kind of tool that converted Windows 7/eight keys to Windows 10.

If you bought a retail re-create of Windows 10, this guide doesn't apply to you at all: y'all'll have a Windows 10 licence key that can be used direct during the installation process.

Some other pick, rather than installing Windows 10 twice, is to click the minor "modify what to keep" button during installation, so select "zilch" from the following screen. This will delete all of your files, apps, and settings. This will be functionally the same equally performing a clean installation, simply there may be small underlying differences.

Another method is to upgrade to Windows ten, caput into the new Settings app, and get to "Update and recovery." From there, you tin can click "Reset this PC," which gives you the pick of reinstalling Windows 10 and either a) keeping your apps and files, or b) wiping everything make clean. Again, this isn't quite the same as a clean installation, but it's very similar.

If you practice opt for the upgrade-then-install method, one slightly faster road is to download and burn down an ISO the outset time you run the tool, and so upgrade from that ISO. Y'all can so apply the same installation media to do a clean installation, rather than downloading Windows x again using the tool.

If y'all get the following error when trying to activate Windows 10, don't panic: "Error code: 0xC004C003. Activation server determined that the primal has been blocked." Some users are reporting that they are seeing that error, even with a legitimate primal, perhaps due to the activation servers being overloaded. Of class, if y'all're not actually using a legitimate licence key, and so... well... do panic.