If you have a Windows 7 or 8 computer, you can install Microsoft's new Windows 10 OS completely for free. If you choose to follow this method Windows 10 will bring along all of your data, apps and most of your system settings from your older OS. Which can adversely affect performance.
This post will show you how to change that and get a clean install of Windows 10 onto your computer. This is possible to do both after you've already upgraded to Windows 10 and before, when your computer still runs Windows 7 or 8.
Important note: You can't get a fresh system without all of your apps and possibly some personal data being erased, so make sure to back up all of your important information before you begin this process.
For a system already running Windows 10
If your computer already run Windows 10, the the easiest way to refresh the machine is to reset it.
Step 1: From the Windows 10 Start Menu, click on Settings.
Step 2: On the Settings page, click on the button that reads Update & security.
Step 3: Now on the update and security page, click on Recovery, then under Reset This PCclick on Get Started.
Step 4: Choose the provided option to Remove everything. Alternatively, you can choose to retain your personal files (such as those in the Desktop and Documents folders) which will keep the files in your profile intact.
Note that the last option, Restore factory settings, is only available in certain machines and will re-install the original Windows system which was on your computer when you purchased it.
You don't want to choose this option, unless your computer originally came with Windows 10.
Step 5: You will be presented with the option to Just remove my files or to Remove files and clean the drive. Basically, if you intend to keep the computer for yourself, pick the first option. If you intend to give it away or sell it after the reset, choose the second option.
After choosing an option, click on the Reset button and that's it. The computer will restart and after somewhere between 10 minutes to half an hour, depending on the speed of the machine, you will have yourself a computer with Windows 10 freshly installed. Note that resetting your machine in this way means you'll lose the option to roll back to the previous Windows.
For Windows 7/8 machines
If your computer still runs Windows 7 or 8, you want to avoid upgrading using Windows Update. Instead make yourself a Windows 10 installation media. I prefer using a USB Flash drive (thumb drive) since it works with all computers, including those without an optical drive. You'll need a drive that's 3GB or larger. Here are the steps.
Step 1: Download the media creation tool from Microsoft, there are a 32-bit and 64-bit versions, depending on which Windows system you intend to use the tool on. If you're not sure if your computer is running 64-bit or 32-bit Windows, here's how you can find out -- or you can download both. Only the one compatible with your system will actually run.
Step 2: Run the downloaded tool, choose Create installation media for another PC then click Next.
Step 3: In this step, you select the Language, Edition and Architecture for Windows 10, then click Next.
Note that Windows 10 Home is for computers currently running Windows 7 Home or Windows 8. If you choose to upgrade the Home version of previous Windows to Windows 10 Pro, you'll have to pay for the license. The N version of Windows 10 is for some European markets and will not include Windows Media Player. Read more about these specifications.
If you choose to make the installation media for both 32-bit and 64-bit Windows, you will need a thumb drive that has at least 6GB of storage space.
Step 4: Choose USB Flash drive as the media to use.
Step 5: Insert the flash drive into the computer's USB port and click Next. After the drive is selected the tool will start downloading Windows 10. Depending on the speed of your Internet connection, the download can take anywhere from a few minutes to a couple of hours. Once the download is done, the tool will turn the flash drive into Windows 10 installation media. You then can use this flash drive to upgrade or install Windows on any computer.
Step 6: Insert the installation media flash drive into a computer running Windows 7 or 8 that you want to upgrade. Open the drive in Explorer and double click on the Setup file. The upgrading process will start.
Step 7: After a short preparation, including checking for updates from the Internet and asking you to agree to terms and conditions, you will be greeted with the Ready to Install dialog, click on Change what to keep.
Step 8: In the next step, you can choose to keep Nothing (so that you'll have a truly fresh Windows 10 install), Keep personal files only (your documents, music, photos, etc., will remain intact) or Keep personal files, apps or Windows settings. After that click Next.
Follow the rest of the installation and once it's done, you will have yourself a clean installation of Windows 10 on your machine.
For a custom-build computer (advanced users)
If you've built your own computer, you can install Windows 10 on it using the flash-drive creation method in the section above. Choose to boot the computer from the flash drive and the installation process will start. Note that this method is quite involved (though self-explanatory) so make sure you know what you're doing (or are willing to learn a few new things).
Also note that installing Windows 10 fresh on a computer by booting from the installation media will require you to buy a new Windows 10 license. If you already have a Windows 7 or 8 license and want to take advantage of the free upgrade offer, it's a better idea to install your licensed version of Windows on the new computer first and then do an upgrade as shown above.
Good luck!
Credited: CNET
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