Win8.1 to Win10

EveryWhere

Joe9090 wrote: »

Many thanks for the excellent replies. I have learnt a lot from them.

Although I could install onto an SSD quite easily I would prefer to use the 1TB hard drive already in the machine. I don't need anything on the hard drive except any drivers that might be needed for Win10. From what you say it appears the Windows Installation USB has everything needed including drivers to install Win10.

How do I go about deleting everything on the HDD before starting the WIN10 install again?

If you can install an SSD "quite easily", do so. You can keep the 1 TB HDD attached, just using the SSD for day to day usage and the 1 TB for storage. You can have more than one drive onboard.
For the cost of a mere £15 or so, you'll have a much faster and efficient device.

Joe9090

I was able to delete all partitions on the drive using the set up program and the Win10 install went through with no problems. Thanks for the help everyone.

I know an SSD would make the machine much faster but because it is an 'all in one' I can only have one hard drive so that is why I am keeping to the old hard drive.

poppellerant

I'm pleased to hear that it went well for you. I am sure that your computer will already feel faster as you performed a fresh install of Windows 10. Let Windows Update run its course, restart and leave it idle for a bit - this will give the machine time to perform background tasks that it might not have time to do if you were using it.

I respect your decision to keep your hard drive, but do bear in mind that being mechanical their lifespan is shorter than an SSD. So there will come a point where you will need to replace the hard drive with whatever you choose. Hopefully by this time, 1TB SSD drives will be reasonably priced to be appealing enough for you to install one.

Joe9090

Windows Update downloaded quite a few drivers as well the cumulative Dec update and others and is now up to date.

The only problem now is the Microsoft Account. I am sure in the past you could install Windows and add an account later but now you cannot do anything before adding a Microsoft Account so I had to add my account.
The computer will be owned and run by someone else in the family.
From what I can see you can add a user and then change that user to an Administrator which would then delete my account from the computer?
I have switched to a Local Account for the person that is going to use it.
Is there an easier way of doing it or just reinstalling again when the person that is going to get the machine is around to put his details in.

Neil_Jones

Joe9090 wrote: »

The only problem now is the Microsoft Account. I am sure in the past you could install Windows and add an account later but now you cannot do anything before adding a Microsoft Account so I had to add my account.
The computer will be owned and run by someone else in the family.
From what I can see you can add a user and then change that user to an Administrator which would then delete my account from the computer?
I have switched to a Local Account for the person that is going to use it.
Is there an easier way of doing it or just reinstalling again when the person that is going to get the machine is around to put his details in.

You don't need a Microsoft account at all in any way, shape or form for Windows 10. You didn't even need to create one to get into Windows from setup, though I appreciate Microsoft strongly recommend it.

You can skip the option to create a Microsoft Account during Windows Setup, its a tiny little link on the screen. Or just take the network cable out while you install it, it will then have no choice but to create a local account...

EveryWhere

Joe9090 wrote: »

I was able to delete all partitions on the drive using the set up program and the Win10 install went through with no problems. Thanks for the help everyone.

I know an SSD would make the machine much faster but because it is an 'all in one' I can only have one hard drive so that is why I am keeping to the old hard drive.

Do they need 1 TB on-board? Better to have fast and efficient than unnecessarily large and ponderous.

For a local account on install, that suggested simply skipping the adding of your WiFi details during the install.
I did it differently, by adding a totally made up email address three times. It then defaulting to offering a local account. This was for a device that already had Windows 10 installed, but had to go through the OOBE; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Out-of-box_experience

AndyPix

Joe9090 wrote: »

Windows Update downloaded quite a few drivers as well the cumulative Dec update and others and is now up to date.

The only problem now is the Microsoft Account. I am sure in the past you could install Windows and add an account later but now you cannot do anything before adding a Microsoft Account so I had to add my account.
The computer will be owned and run by someone else in the family.
From what I can see you can add a user and then change that user to an Administrator which would then delete my account from the computer?
I have switched to a Local Account for the person that is going to use it.
Is there an easier way of doing it or just reinstalling again when the person that is going to get the machine is around to put his details in.

As mentioned, the link to use a local account instead is small and on the left at the bottom during setup. MS try to steer you into using an MS account - which I hate ..


STOPIT Microsoft . BAD Microsoft


Anyway, just create a new account (local and administrator), log on using that , and then remove your MS account from the device.

Joe9090

Thanks for the latest replies.

I have made a note of NJ's advice for future reference.

EveryWhere wrote: »

Do they need 1 TB on-board? Better to have fast and efficient than unnecessarily large and ponderous.

It's more than they don't want to spend any more money on the computer! I have an SSD on my desktop and although it's starts faster than the 'all in one' it's not that bad. Perhaps when it gets a load of crud with use it might be different.

Thanks Andy for the tip about closing the account. I had already set up a local account with Administrator Status so it was just a question of closing the MS account which I did not think you could do. Anyway I have 60 days if I want to change my mind.

poppellerant

Although Microsoft might not as bad as others (such as Google) for what they use your data for, still I hate the idea of having a Microsoft account just to use Windows 10.

I believe on Home editions of Windows 10 it is made more difficult to create a local account during installation. But you can unplug your network cable or turn off your wifi during installation to force the installer into allowing you to create a local account. Professional editions and upwards still have a link at the bottom left in smaller writing to create a local account, or domain join as they put it.

I'd be tempted to reinstall Windows with a local account, but that's me and I like things to be done properly the first time. I am sure you will find ways of removing your Microsoft account and reverting to a local account if you look on Google.

EveryWhere

Joe9090 wrote: »

Thanks for the latest replies.

I have made a note of NJ's advice for future reference.



It's more than they don't want to spend any more money on the computer! I have an SSD on my desktop and although it's starts faster than the 'all in one' it's not that bad. Perhaps when it gets a load of crud with use it might be different.

Thanks Andy for the tip about closing the account. I had already set up a local account with Administrator Status so it was just a question of closing the MS account which I did not think you could do. Anyway I have 60 days if I want to change my mind.

An SSD costs as little as £15!. Better to do it now, than before they have used it for a while and set it up the way they like it.

Likely a £15, 120 GB SSD will do for them. The old HDD can be used in a caddy for external storage.

Better to do the job properly in the first place, rather than having to go back and do it again later.