Windows 10 was finally released on the 29th of July. If you’re running Windows 7, Windows 8 or Windows 8.1, then you’re eligible for a free upgrade to Windows 10 in the first year of its release. There are two ways by which you could upgrade your machine with Windows 10.
First, you wait till the Window icon appears on your taskbar and then follow the instructions given on the screen for upgrade. This is the most preferred method for upgrade as it ensures that your machine drivers are available and ready for upgrade. So, you won’t find any quirkiness in the performance of your machine after the upgrade.
After upgrading to Windows 10 and for whatever reasons you want a clean installation, this post presents a step by step tutorial.
Before starting this mode of installation, you should make backups ups of your important files and folders. You can also get your Windows 10 Product ID and Installation Key using this tutorial.
Step 1: Head to Microsoft’s website and download the Windows 10 media creation tool that corresponds to your system (32 or 64 bits). You can find the page here.
Step 2: Right click on the media creation tool and select “Run as Administrator”.
Step 3: A Window will pop up. Select the ‘Create installation media for another PC”, then hit the next button.
Step 4: You’ll be directed to a new window where you should select the language, the version of windows and the architecture. Hit the Next tab.
Step 5: You’ll be directed to a new window where you should select the installation you want. You can choose the USB option if you want to create a Windows 10 USB stick, or the ISO option if you want to create either a USB of a DVD version of Windows 10. Then hit the Next tab.
Step 6: After download is complete and Windows 10 USB stick is created. Start the installation process. The most important step is the one when you’re prompted to choose the type of installation you want. Select the option “Nothing” as seen in the screenshot below and continue the installation.
Step 7: If you’re asked to put your activation code that varies from one machine to another and from one Windows release to another (e.g. in my case I’ve UEFI and Windows 8.1), just hit skip.
Congratulations. If you’ve reached this part without any problems, then you’ve successfully installed Windows 10.
