Doing a Completely Clean Install of Windows 10

Haha! Sorry I edited the previous post for the language!

Sorry if my post isnt clear. Im not super used to formatting computers. In case of malware, I wanted to format both drives at the same time, or one after the other as quickly as possible without booting the OS to avoid the chances of infecting the other drive. I wanted to start from a system as sterile as possible.

I was told to boot from a Windows setup disk, choosing the repair path and firing up a Command Prompt. And from there I could format both drives but it would only format visible partitions. If I wanted to get rid of the hidden partitions as well, Id need to use the FDisk command as well but I dont know how to do that.

The method here is a bit different but I thought there must be a way to format one drive after the other in command prompt. My issue is if I want to install windows on say my E: drive, I need to unplug the H: drive at the some point to avoid potential windows installation issues.

I have decided the time is right to replace my ageing Desktop PC. It was a self built unit built in the late days of XP/ early days of 7. I upgraded to 8, then 8.1, and then 10. (won't do 11 - Board is too old)

At some stage I added another HDD (now an SSD) and another copy of Windows 10 (derived from a second copy of W7)

My question relates to the registration of Windows.

 

All the copies of W7& W8 were legit, and allowed me to upgrade to 10 on both systems. However, this was all done on the current motherboard.

 

It's a bit like Trigger's Brush in Fools and Horses, but it's worked well.

When I change boards - (the "upgrade" is new Board, processor, RAM etc, but keeping the existing SSDs) I'm concerned the new board will not "see" the registrations.

 

so - do my copies of W10 have their own Keys which I can grab from somewhere (Belarc?), or are the keys the same as the W7/8 keys I had with those Operating systems ?

 

Thanks

Edited by davec1510, 31 August 2021 - 12:32 PM.

Windows 10 went to digital licenses where the Hardware ID is stored on Microsoft servers. Even if you used a retail key eventually Microsoft would change it to a digital license. If you type Activation in the Windows 10 search box the license should be listed as Digital. 

 

There may be an issue with activation on a new motherboard if the Windows license of the upgraded OS was not retail.

 

If you create a Windows Account and link the license to it then it's easy to transfer the license to new hardware.

 

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/reactivating-windows-10-after-a-hardware-change-2c0e962a-f04c-145b-6ead-fb3fc72b6665

Edited by JohnC_21, 31 August 2021 - 12:44 PM.

Windows 10 went to digital licenses where the Hardware ID is stored on Microsoft servers. Even if you used a retail key eventually Microsoft would change it to a digital license. If you type Activation in the Windows 10 search box the license should be listed as Digital. 

 

There may be an issue with activation on a new motherboard if the Windows license of the upgraded OS was not retail.

 

If you create a Windows Account and link the license to it then it's easy to transfer the license to new hardware.

 

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/reactivating-windows-10-after-a-hardware-change-2c0e962a-f04c-145b-6ead-fb3fc72b6665

 

As mentioned there are 2 Drives with bootable Windows 10 systems in my PC. One (derived from W7) is linked to a MS account, but the other (derived from W8) is a local account.

I do have both Keys from Wiindows 7 and Windows 8, so Im hoping everything will work ok, even if I have to reactivate the W8 account.

 

Im not sure how I go about having 2 separate Keys with one Microsoft account...

 

Thanks.

 

Also... there was another reply/post on here which seems to have vanished...???

Mod Edit:  Some, not all...posts by spammers are removed from topics.  When the content of such posts actually contain something deemed to be helpful or otherwise useful to members...the spammer may be banned but the post may remain within a given topic - Hamluis.

Edited by hamluis, 01 October 2021 - 04:42 AM.

Also... there was another reply/post on here which seems to have vanished...???

 

I think that was a spam post.

 

If you have the 8.1 key you should be fine. During the install of Windows 10 input the 8.1 key. If the computer came pre-installed with 8.1 then the key is in firmware.

There are more than one type of clean install. I think most people want to replace the existing Windows with a fresh install. For me I have installed Windows fresh on a different drive yet without replacing the system I have been using. For doing that I was unsuccessful at executing the Setup exe, I was unable to get that to install anywhere except the existing install. To install to a fresh drive I had to boot Windows from a DVD I created.

 

 

 To download the Windows 10 ISO file and use Rufus to create the bootable USB

         - MS-Word Format:  Completely Clean Win10 (Re)install Using MCT to Download Win10 ISO File

 

         - PDF Format:  Completely Clean Win10 (Re)install Using MCT to Download Win10 ISO File

 

I am nearly certain that I was able use the Files Explorer to create a bootable DVD. I know I have never used Rufus to create the bootable DVD I have. And it is bootable. I have used Rufus to create a bootable Puppy Linux but not Windows 10. In Files Explorer I can right-click the ISO and use Burn disc image.

 

Notice:

If your computer has ever had a valid, licensed copy of Windows 10 installed, even if that's been later replaced by, say, Linux, you can still do a completely clean install of Windows 10 without having to acquire a new license.  Windows 10 licenses are stored electronically on Microsoft servers, and are linked to your computer's motherboard.  The installer will locate that existing license if you are reinstalling Windows 10.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

I decided to update these instructions and make downloadable versions available so that those who want to use them can have a copy right next to them to refer to when using them.  You can use the Windows 10 Media Creation Tool either to create bootable USB media directly, or if you want to have a copy of the ISO file, to download that and use a separate utility to create the bootable USB media.  Either way will work.

 

It should go without saying, but I'll say it anyway, that if you have a functioning, even poorly functioning, system that you're hoping to wipe clean to get a fresh start that you should definitely do a full system image backup and a separate user data backup before following the instructions for doing a completely clean reinstallation.  It also makes sense to use a utility such as Belarc Advisor to create an inventory of the software you have installed and the license keys for same so that you have a handy list when it comes time to put them on your brand, spankin' new Windows 10.

 

These instructions are current as of this writing on September 9, 2018.

 

Doing a completely clean reinstallation of Windows 10 using the Media Creation Tool (MCT):

 

A) To create a bootable USB drive using the MCT itself:

         - MS-Word Format:  Completely Clean Win10 (Re)install Using MCT to Create a Bootable USB Drive

 

         - PDF Format:  Completely Clean Win10 (Re)install Using MCT to Create a Bootable USB Drive

 

 

To download the Windows 10 ISO file and use Rufus to create the bootable USB

         - MS-Word Format:  Completely Clean Win10 (Re)install Using MCT to Download Win10 ISO File

 

         - PDF Format:  Completely Clean Win10 (Re)install Using MCT to Download Win10 ISO File

 

Thank you for this information 

Edited: I have heard that there's a method via command prompt. But i don't know the way in deep.I have clean reinstall the Windows 10 but there's a problem i have lost my CD key and a watermark logo on my screen "Activate Windows" appearing. How can I recover the cd key.

Edited by buddy215, 25 June 2022 - 05:50 AM.

@ sukhu Please start your own question under the proper topic. Thanks

Use full for many people.