Fresh Win 10 Installation Questions

cctaylor88

Solid State Member
Messages
15
Location
united states
I plan on saving all of my files/documents on another device. So I want to perform a like new clean install. Is my best option to "Reset this PC" under the "Recovery" tab of the Control Panel?



On a separate USB I plan on creating Windows 10 installation media, do I have to format the USB in anyway or will the website run me through all of that?



Things I'm worried about:



1. I essentially want to wipe everything and it's been a long time since I've "partitioned" any drives. I have many SSDs. When I am greeted with the "Where do you want to install Windows" screen I will select my hopeful C:drive to install Windows BUT for all of the other drives that show up... I want to wipe these clean as well. Am I to "format" or "delete" or "refresh" these drives?



2. Am I able to utilize and insert the Windows Media USB in 3.0 or must it be 2.0? I remember USB being an issue 4yrs ago when I did this.



3. My biggest worry is all of the drivers that are currently up to date on m y PC. I have no idea where/how to download new drivers etc. What can I do ahead of time to find updated drivers? For example GPU and LAN drivers are my biggest concerns.



4. What is Ninite good for?



5. I feel like I'm forgetting a lot of stuff so please give me any advice at all.
 
1. You can upgrade a current installation or format the drive and install. To do the latter, when prompted, click on "Advanced," delete partitions to make space for Windows, click on "new" and then install on the newly create partition. I'm not going to describe the entire process here, though. Just find a tutorial online if you are unsure of what you are doing.

2. I'm pretty sure you can use both.

3. Windows Update (in Windows 10) can download most important driver automatically.

4. Never heard of it. From what I've read seems pointless and needlessly intrusive.

5. a- Don't do anything until you understand what you are doing.
b- Don't use the Media Creation Tool. Download the .iso from the official site and use Rufus. This will require to spoof your User-Agent if you are on Windows.
 
Just download the ISO from the link you were given. Use the Media Creation Tool to put it to a usb stick or a DVD. Let it do it's stuff. don't accept ANY of the Microsoft stuff and, and this this my opinion only, do not set up Windows 10 using a Microsoft account. To avoid doing that set everything up initially with your computer OFF the internet i.e. when it asks you to set up an internet connection choose I do not have internet, bottom left in tiny tiny writing. Once Windows is on THEN set up your internet connection. DO NOT FORGET TO BACK UP YOUR PERSONAL FILES.


Just as an aside there is absolutely no reason whatsoever not to use the media creation tool, Rufus is a nightmare IMO. But as said if you do not know what you are doing do a lot of internet research first. It's all there for you to read up on.
 
Just download the ISO from the link you were given. Use the Media Creation Tool to put it to a usb stick or a DVD. Let it do it's stuff. don't accept ANY of the Microsoft stuff and, and this this my opinion only, do not set up Windows 10 using a Microsoft account. To avoid doing that set everything up initially with your computer OFF the internet i.e. when it asks you to set up an internet connection choose I do not have internet, bottom left in tiny tiny writing. Once Windows is on THEN set up your internet connection. DO NOT FORGET TO BACK UP YOUR PERSONAL FILES.


Just as an aside there is absolutely no reason whatsoever not to use the media creation tool, Rufus is a nightmare IMO. But as said if you do not know what you are doing do a lot of internet research first. It's all there for you to read up on.

Out of curiosity when you state "don't accept ANY of the Microsoft stuff" what exactly do you mean? What stuff?

"do not set up Windows 10 using a Microsoft account" Not exactly sure what is meant here? I'm just going to make a new account profile etc right? I want a clean install
 
On a separate USB I plan on creating Windows 10 installation media, do I have to format the USB in anyway or will the website run me through all of that?
How many GB is this USB?How many GB can be used?
I used an 8GB USB (Empty) and downloaded a 2.2GB Windows iso file.
 
How many GB is this USB?How many GB can be used?
I used an 8GB USB (Empty) and downloaded a 2.2GB Windows iso file.
Where did you get such a (so small) Windows 10 .iso file.
There is no such thing. The last two versions of Windows x64 .iso files are respectively Win10_1909_English_x64 = 5.04GB and Win10_2004_English_x64 = 4.90GB, or even larger, because I downloaded it some months ago.
But the USB should be at least 8GB to make bootable media. So, if You have 8GB, it's suitable, but I recommend to use FAT32 formatting, not NTFS as sometimes have been recommended.
 
Since we're necroing threads I'll answer this for any future people who may come into this thread via Google.

Out of curiosity when you state "don't accept ANY of the Microsoft stuff" what exactly do you mean? What stuff?
On fresh install or after a major update there are bunch of things you can turn off on the first set of screens you're shown.
"do not set up Windows 10 using a Microsoft account" Not exactly sure what is meant here? I'm just going to make a new account profile etc right? I want a clean install
On a fresh install during the account setup on first boot up, Microsoft asks you to sign in using your Microsoft account. It's best practice to have your internet disconnected to the machine so you can create an offline account.
 
I think version 1909 and 2004 force you to create a M$ account if your installing windows while on line, The set up refuses to finish if you do not....Except if you disconnect your internet and do an "off line" install, then you can install without having to creata a M$ account As P.P. states, they will bug you to make an account once you get back on line, but you can ignore this after windows is installed. I think versions 1809 and 1903 and earlier do not enforce an account while your on line during the install
 
I installed Windows 10 2004 just the other day and had the computer on-line and didn't use an MS account. Worked fine, no issues at all. Haven't been bugged to create an MS account at all. I'll be doing it again today on a different machine and don't expect any issues with it.

MS does make the option to install without an MS account non-obvious but it's there and works fine.
 
I should add that this applies to a clean install with a new and or a existing computer without a previous Windows 10 install, that may already have had it's license registered to an existing account.
 
Back
Top Bottom