Windows 10 Installation Media

[barlowc]

It's been 4 years since I installed Windows 10 Pro on my laptop. Things have been installed, uninstalled, reinstalled, etc and I figure it's about time I wipe it clean and start fresh. This is no big deal since I generally store everything either a) in the cloud, or b) on a separate "server" that's connected to my home network.

I still have the Windows 10 DVD that I originally installed from. (Yes, my Dell XPS laptop is old enough that it has a DVD-RW driver in it. lol) I'm sure I can use it to reinstall and then let the computer go through Windows Update again and again until it's all up to date. But I wasn't sure if maybe downloading Microsoft's media creation tool would allow me to create an up-to-date DVD (or USB flash drive which the "kids" seem to do today, lol) and install something that won't require quite as many updates.

Thoughts?

 

[Jethro_Bob]

You'll have a much more recent version with the media creation tool. Which should be the "October 2020 Update, version “20H2.”"

 

[ripcord]

I would just use a thumb drive and use the tools and media that Microsoft supplies from here:

Download Windows 10

First download the tool then find and click this section and follow the instructions:
"Using the tool to create installation media (USB flash drive, DVD, or ISO file) to install Windows 10 on a different PC"

 

[Ovalnut]

I guess you still have the original win 10 key? I seem to loose mine often with retail win 10 copies...I get new oem keys from Ebay for around 4 bucks though..

 

[barlowc]

Looking at my notes (yes, I have 4 1/2 year old notes from when I last installed it on this laptop) I had previously done an upgrade from Windows 7. Then, when installing Windows 10 fresh that second time (on a drive wiped with Acronis) I just skipped Product Key / Activation steps. I'm assuming/hoping it work the same way when I do it again. But if I have to spend $4 on eBay for a key, I'm not going to cry over it.

 

[dishdude]

I guess you still have the original win 10 key? I seem to loose mine often with retail win 10 copies...I get new oem keys from Ebay for around 4 bucks though..

Not needed on a machine that originally shipped with W10. As soon as it connects to the internet, it'll authenticate with Microsoft servers and activate Windows.

 

[Ovalnut]

Didnt figure an old xps laptop shipped with win 10

 

[barlowc]

It didn't. It shipped with Windows 7 Pro. When Windows 10 was released and Microsoft was offering free upgraded, I upgraded it. I hate OS upgrades so I turned around right after upgrading and installed Windows 10 fresh. During that fresh install I skipped the Product Key / Activation steps (according to my notes) and it activated itself once I was connected to the internet.

 

[Trav]

It's been 4 years since I installed Windows 10 Pro on my laptop. Things have been installed, uninstalled, reinstalled, etc and I figure it's about time I wipe it clean and start fresh. This is no big deal since I generally store everything either a) in the cloud, or b) on a separate "server" that's connected to my home network.

I still have the Windows 10 DVD that I originally installed from. (Yes, my Dell XPS laptop is old enough that it has a DVD-RW driver in it. lol) I'm sure I can use it to reinstall and then let the computer go through Windows Update again and again until it's all up to date. But I wasn't sure if maybe downloading Microsoft's media creation tool would allow me to create an up-to-date DVD (or USB flash drive which the "kids" seem to do today, lol) and install something that won't require quite as many updates.

Thoughts?

Simple, download the media creation tool and save windows as an iso on another partition if you have one (you can just use C if no other partition).
Right mouse click on the iso and open with windows explorer, it will give you the option to either new install or upgrade.
There is no need to burn it to a DVD or thumb drive, this way is much faster.

 

[Ovalnut]

Simple, download the media creation tool and save windows as an iso on another partition if you have one (you can just use C if no other partition).
Right mouse click on the iso and open with windows explorer, it will give you the option to either new install or upgrade.
There is no need to burn it to a DVD or thumb drive, this way is much faster.

Everytime I do it this way I end up with a windows.old folder that takes up 20 or so GB..then I got to take ownership enable inheritance etc and delete..maybe I've been doing it wrong this whole time.

 

[Ovalnut]

It didn't. It shipped with Windows 7 Pro. When Windows 10 was released and Microsoft was offering free upgraded, I upgraded it. I hate OS upgrades so I turned around right after upgrading and installed Windows 10 fresh. During that fresh install I skipped the Product Key / Activation steps (according to my notes) and it activated itself once I was connected to the internet.

Win10 does some wonky things. I do know if reinstalling win10 after previously "upgrading" to it, you'll need your origanal windows 7 key. Upgrades activate using the original win7 key...

 

[wwillson]

I would just use a thumb drive and use the tools and media that Microsoft supplies from here:

Download Windows 10

First download the tool then find and click this section and follow the instructions:
"Using the tool to create installation media (USB flash drive, DVD, or ISO file) to install Windows 10 on a different PC"

This is how I do it now. I remember when we thought it would be impossible to download Windows for free from Microsoft.

 

[Trav]

Everytime I do it this way I end up with a windows.old folder that takes up 20 or so GB..then I got to take ownership enable inheritance etc and delete..maybe I've been doing it wrong this whole time.

Yes that is correct you keep it for a while as it has drivers and other things you may need. You can toss it once you are certain everything is up to snuff.

 

[vavavroom]

Not needed on a machine that originally shipped with W10. As soon as it connects to the internet, it'll authenticate with Microsoft servers and activate Windows.

And if necessary, you can easily find the product key by installing and running ProduKey.

 

[barlowc]

I appreciate all the responses. I'm going to create new installation media using Microsoft's media creation tool, wipe my hard drive using DBAN (Darik's Boot and Nuke), and then install Windows 10. I've always been an advocate of fresh installs on a wiped hard drive every few years. It's like an "apple a day" for a computer in it's "senior citizen" years.

 

[Amilin]

I appreciate all the responses. I'm going to create new installation media using Microsoft's media creation tool,

I prefer to use Rufus to do this,i did with Rufus 2 years ago.Just burn the downloaded iso file to a USB, but in order to get the correct version of the iSO file, please be careful.

 

[barlowc]

I prefer to use Rufus to do this,i did with Rufus 2 years ago.Just burn the downloaded iso file to a USB, but in order to get the correct version of the iSO file, please be careful.

I think I used Rufus once before. This time around I used Microsoft's media creation tool and it really couldn't have been simpler. The only issue I ran in to was a flaky USB flash drive that my laptop didn't want to recognize as a bootable device. After banging my head against the wall for an hour I tried another USB flash drive and it was smooth sailing from there. It's always nice to have a "fresh" machine!

 

[Amilin]

I think I used Rufus once before. This time around I used Microsoft's media creation tool and it really couldn't have been simpler. The only issue I ran in to was a flaky USB flash drive that my laptop didn't want to recognize as a bootable device.

You are right,this is also the most common issue (The laptop/pc didn't want to recognize as a bootable device) ,usually in this case, it is regarded by me as a non-working boot disk,and then I am recreating a new and working boot disk,i can't remember how many times I did it before it succeeded, but I don't think The method provided by Microsoft's media creation too is the simplest.

Download Windows 10

I personally think that the easiest way / tool tool to make a Windows installation disk is:

Rufus (Windows)

Create boot disks from an external drive

rufus-usb.en.uptodown.com

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