Do I Need An Optical Drive To Install Windows 10

How To Do A Clean Installation Of Windows x

This tutorial was written by Tom's Hardware Community member darkbreeze. You can find a listing of all their tutorials hither.

This tutorial is intended to aid yous, step by stride, perform a clean install of Windows ten (Build 1709 or newer). It can exist equally applied to earlier installer versions that may only lack some of the Cortana-assisted settings screens but should be like in all other regards.

Information regarding the minimum system requirements for installing Windows 10 tin exist found on the Microsoft website and are located at the following link: Organization requirements and important notes.

Annotation: In addition to the data at the link above, it is recommended that you disable both Secure Kicking and Fast Boot in the BIOS/UEFI settings, because some systems may non support booting from USB or Wink drives with them enabled. Also, equally a measure of protection against a failed installation, all of the following are highly recommended prior to offset the clean install process.

Cheque that the software and hardware yous mostly use are uniform with Windows 10 and have drivers bachelor, even if your system has already passed the compatibility check. Download and save these drivers to a suitable DVD, wink drive, or external disk then that in the event yous need to install them after, y'all tin do and so without needing to go find them when it'due south no longer convenient.
Create a backup of whatsoever important files and folders to an external source or cloud service. A meliorate option would be to additionally or alternatively create an entire organisation backup paradigm using a utility like Acronis True Image or Macrium Reflect so you lot can but restore your previous installation to its exact cocky if something goes wrong or doesn't work out later on.
If your just installation media for your current or previous operating arrangement is a manufactory recovery partition, information technology might be a good idea to also copy that image to another location. External or secondary drives would be practiced choices as locations to save these types of images.
Before you begin the installation procedure, it might also be a good idea to ensure that your BIOS is set to UEFI or compatibility mode. Legacy modes that may have worked fine with Windows 7 may create installation or hardware bug during or afterward the installation of Windows x.
Temporarily disconnect all other hard drives except the master drive onto which you'll install Windows. With the power turned off, simply disconnect all other internal drives from the motherboard SATA headers or external drives from their USB ports, except the flash drive or optical bulldoze to be used during the installation procedure. This step will forestall the possibility of accidentally deleting whatever files or partitions from those drives when preparing the principal drive for the Windows installation.
If yous have partitions on the hard bulldoze that will be used for the new operating system and are being used for other, non-Bone purposes, so back up any data on in that location to another location because y'all'll be completely removing all existing partitions from the target drive. Practise not forget this step, because whatever existing partition information on the drive volition exist eradicated during this procedure.

Set? Then permit'south brainstorm!

First, you volition demand to create bootable media, either on a USB flash bulldoze or on optical media such as a DVD. You will need a blank DVD or USB wink/thumb drive. Whatsoever files on the drive should exist saved elsewhere, because they will be erased during the creation of the installation media.

Get to the following link and begin the process for the cosmos of the installation media: Windows ten media cosmos tool

1. Clicking the link above will take you to the starting page for creating the Windows 10 installation media. Once there, ignore the start box, scroll downwardly the page a bit, and click the "Download tool now" button.

two. Next, open the folder where you downloaded the Windows media cosmos tool executable file and click it.

3. The tool volition open, and the following dialogue will be displayed. Click Accept.

4. If you were going to simply upgrade, so you would click "Upgrade this PC at present," merely because you're doing a make clean install, yous should click "Create installation media" and and then click "Adjacent."

five. Verify the correct language, operating system version (Windows 10), and whether or not yous want to install the 32- or 64-bit version. If you have 64-fleck capable hardware, then we recommend always choosing 64-bit considering 32-bit versions lack many of the features of the 64-scrap version and do not back up more than than 4GB of organisation retentivity. Then, click Next.

half-dozen. The next window will ask you if you desire to create bootable flash media or create an ISO file. If you plan to install from a flash drive, then of course you volition select this option. If yous need to install Windows from DVD optical media, then you will choose the option to create an ISO file.

We volition assume the use of a flash drive for the purpose of this tutorial, but if you cull ISO file, you volition need to burn it to disc later. Make your selection and click next. (You can observe data on how to practise this hither: How to burn down Windows 10 ISO paradigm. ) At this point, you should take bootable installation media, either on a USB flash bulldoze or DVD optical disk.

Installation

Earlier you proceed with the installation, it may exist necessary to enter the BIOS and set your motorcar boot order to USB or DVD bulldoze as the first bootable option. Otherwise, it will likely simply attempt to boot using the existing Windows boot division on your current master bulldoze, unless this is an installation to a drive that has not previously had any Windows installations on it--or unless y'all have previously removed all partitions from the primary bulldoze in preparation for installation. Strictly speaking, that is not necessary because yous'll practice this a little further into the tutorial, as office of the installation process.

1. Start the computer, and after it completes the POST initialization procedure, it should identify and kick from the attached USB or optical drive containing the installation media and begin the installation. Verify that the language, time/currency, and keyboard input fields are all right. Click Next.

2. Click Install Now.

3. Next, you should see the Windows production activation screen.

If you practice not have a Windows 10 product activation key, or if you have previously installed and activated Windows 10 and are reinstalling, then click below where it says "I don't have a production key."

Otherwise, enter your Windows product key and then click Side by side.

(In some cases, especially if you are upgrading, you tin utilize your valid product key from Windows vii or eight.1 in place of a valid Windows 10 product key. We cannot guarantee this volition work in every state of affairs or indefinitely, but currently this seems to still be a valid method of activating Windows 10 product installations. Alternatively, information technology seems some users have determined through long-term testing that not activating at all seems to not accept any event on the extended usage of Windows 10 other than existence constantly nagged to activate.)

If you are doing a new installation due to a change of hardware or in the consequence you may have a need to do then in the futurity, the following links may contain information that will be useful to you:

Reactivating Windows 10 subsequently a hardware alter

Windows build 1607 and activation after a hardware change

4. Now select the Windows 10 version you wish to install. For almost users this will, and is recommended to be, Home version. Educational and other users should select according to the blazon of license identified on your product packaging or information. So, click Adjacent.

5. Check the box indicating you agree to the license terms and click Adjacent.

vi. On the the side by side screen y'all see in that location will be 2 options. Ane allows you to simply upgrade your previous version of Windows if at that place is already one installed, and the other will allow you to proceed with a new installation. Unless y'all are only upgrading, which nosotros practice not recommend, then you must click Custom: Install Windows only (Avant-garde).

7. This is the footstep where you remove whatever previous Windows installations and all existing partitions on the drive and then that there can be no future conflicts regarding the Windows kicking sectionalization information. We recommend selecting, ane at a time, and deleting, all existing partitions on the primary drive until no partitions remain and there is simply unallocated space.

(Do not delete any partitions showing that are on the USB wink drive you are using to install windows from, if it shows upwardly in the listing of sectionalisation information. All others may be deleted unless yous still have other drives connected.)

If you lot have not asunder all secondary drives as was suggested at the beginning of the tutorial, then be very careful to not accidentally delete any partitions from those drives by error.

If you still have other drives connected other than the USB or optical drive and the target drive for the Windows installation, we highly recommend stopping now and starting over again from the beginning subsequently shutting downwardly and disconnecting those drives. If there are no other hard drives connected, and then go on with removing all of the existing partitions on the main hard bulldoze until only unallocated infinite remains, and then click Adjacent.

eight. Windows installation volition commence.

9. Later on the cadre installation files have finished installing, yous will advance to the configuration portion of the installation and Cortana will brand its introduction. Cortana is the Windows "digital agent" and is intended to help yous get things done and make navigating the remainder of the Windows installation, and Windows in general, easier.

(Or so says Microsoft. Some people choose not to utilise Cortana, disabling all of the relevant features, including a number of privacy related settings, whenever and wherever possible. You can assign settings equally you run into fit.)

Using Cortana ways surrendering at least some mensurate of privacy, so the determination whether to utilise Cortana or non is strictly up to y'all. You will see the post-obit screen in one case the chief Windows installation has completed its process. Just wait until prompted.

10. Select your region and click Next.

eleven. Select your keyboard layout and click Adjacent again.

12. The adjacent screen asks about secondary keyboard layouts. Unless you use multiple keyboard layouts, but click Skip.

13. The next window volition ask you to sign in with your Microsoft account. What you do here is largely up to you, and you may choose to create a local account rather than creating 1 that attaches your Windows 10 installation and product activation to your Microsoft business relationship. For about users, nosotros suggest creating a new Microsoft account/ID if you don't already currently take i.

This will make future installations of Windows 10 much easier, especially if yous modify hardware downward the road, because your product key will then be attached to y'all rather than to your hardware, and you lot volition not accept to go through a lengthy phone activation if you brand major upgrades to your PC at a afterwards appointment. For the sake of this tutorial, we chose to enter an email address that of course showed that yep, we practise have a valid Windows 10 product activation.

xiv. The next window asks if you desire to adhere a pin to your business relationship. Y'all may make your own decision either way.

15. The same goes for linking your phone number to your business relationship. You can cull Do information technology later, but information technology makes no difference aside from identify verification whether or non you do this.

16. Now information technology will ask you about whether you desire Windows to save and sync your information to the Onedrive cloud. Nosotros generally recommend non doing this, but some people similar Microsoft having copies of all their files and settings, so this is up to you again.

17. When you get to the next screen, you'll need to make a decision as to whether you lot wish to enable Cortana or non.

18. If y'all chose to employ Cortana, yous'll probably demand to go along all of the options on the next screen turned on,or else some features volition not likely work (or won't work equally expected).

At this point, you only need to wait while Windows sets upward the balance of your hardware and configures whatever final settings it needs to configure.