Help reinstalling Windows

djmsemcgrath

Over the years, my laptop has got slower and slower, and filled up with rubbish, and I've reached the point where I'd like to reinstall Windows, and basically start from scratch, and see if that makes a difference.

The laptop is about 6 years old, and it's safe to say that I don't have any of the original CDs that came with it. It had Windows 7 on it, but I upgraded it to Windows 10 for free.

What is the best way of doing a full system reset without any of the backup/reinstallation CDs, and ideally, avoiding having to purchase a copy of Windows all over again.

Is it possible to download Windows 10 to a CD and use that to do my reinstallation?

Does anyone have any tips for me please?

Thank you.

buglawton

https://www.thurrott.com/windows/windows-10/6815/microsoft-will-now-let-windows-10-upgraders-use-windows-7-8-or-8-1-product-key-to-activate

djmsemcgrath

Hmm, thats very interesting. Now all I need to do is find my original Windows 7 product key.

djmsemcgrath

For the benefit of others, I found this website - http://www.howtogeek.com/224342/how-to-clean-install-windows-10/ - that was pretty clear

buglawton

There's a string of comments below the first link I posted where various folks ask if anyone's tried it... and no concrete answer. So the first person to have done this glitch-free - could you post the news here?
I went via another route
- The in-place W7 to W10 upgrade failed miserably
- So I did a new W7 install from DVD
- Then I did the W10 upgrade which eventually, very slowly, succeeded in updating itself to W10.
- W10 is indeed faster on this old hardware. But to get W7 productivity back (reach all main tasks in 2 clicks not 4 or 6) had to install Classic Shell.

djmsemcgrath

I'm going to try the howtogeek link when I get home tonight. My difficulties come because I have no original CDs at all, so no Windows 7 installation CDs, and I'm not entirely sure I even have the product keys. The link suggested that Windows wouldn't need it, because I've already installed Win10 once on this machine and it somehow remembers.

I'll have a go tonight and see how I get on. Hopefully, I'll be able to report back!

moneyman1295

to find your current product key. there are softwares present in the web that can view your Product key. just gooogle it.

spud17

As you have already installed Win 10, that is logged with Microsoft.

All you need to do is download the appropriate file from Microsoft and create a Win 10 disk/usb and re-install, no Product key required.

Win 10 auto activates, as long as it has previously been installed.

Use the 'Download tool now' link on,

https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/software-download/windows10

grumpycrab

spud17 wrote: »

As you have already installed Win 10, that is logged with Microsoft.

^ this. You don't need a key; Skip when asked for a key.

djmsemcgrath

Quick update - I downloaded Windows 10 onto a USB stick and used that to reinstall. It all went smoothly, and was pretty quick.

However, I think I made a mistake which could have been costly. During the installation process, it presented me with a list of partitions, of which there were 4 (I'd previously installed Linux, and I had a recovery partition, etc). I took this chance to delete them all, and then install Windows 10 onto the now-only partition, so I could have all of the space.

I selected the option to not enter a product key, and it seemed to install fine and it eventually took me to my desktop.

HOWEVER, it did not automatically activate. It presented an error message to say "we could not find a previous valid product key". Now, this was either their mistake or my previous Windows 10 activation information was held on the partitions I deleted. I just thought I'd warn people that whatever the reason, the steps I took could very easily be taken by other people, and it did not activate Windows.

Everything is now fine with my Windows (let's skip over how), but other people could be absolutely screwed by this, especially if they can't revert back to their previous versions (if they've lost the CD like me).

Anyway, end result is that my laptop is hugely faster, boots quicker, and apps load quicker. A fresh install seems to be recommended over an update install.

wongataa

damianjmcgrath wrote: »

I selected the option to not enter a product key, and it seemed to install fine and it eventually took me to my desktop.

HOWEVER, it did not automatically activate. It presented an error message to say "we could not find a previous valid product key". Now, this was either their mistake or my previous Windows 10 activation information was held on the partitions I deleted. I just thought I'd warn people that whatever the reason, the steps I took could very easily be taken by other people, and it did not activate Windows.

Activation status is not stored on a partition. It is stored on MS servers. When you go online after reinstalling the computer will check to see if it has had a previously activated Windows 10 on it. If the answer is yes it is activated. If you check the activation status immediately after installing and you have not had any net access yet then you will be told that the computer is not activated.

I have upgraded Windows 7 computer to Windows 10, activated Windows 10, completely wiped the disk (I removed the partitions), reinstalled Windows 10 from scratch, and everything activated just fine when I connected to the internet again.