Learn about the pre-requisites and various methods to Reinstall Windows 10:
Windows has a simple interface that allows users to perform various tasks and operations on it without much expert guidance. There are various activities that users can perform efficiently on their Windows PC, including resetting the PC, resolving errors, etc.
Among these procedures, there is a crucial procedure called Windows re-installation, which requires a bit of knowledge and experience to perform it on your system.
Therefore, in this article, we will learn how to reinstall Windows 10.
Table of Contents:
Reinstall Windows 10
There are various reasons to reinstall Windows 10 and some of them are listed below:
#1) Corrupted Windows
Various system issues can cause Windows to get corrupt, so the best alternative for corrupted systems is to download and reinstall the latest version of Windows. The main reason for Windows getting corrupted is driver failure or configuration failure, with some new software installed on the device.
Sometimes the system starts functioning slowly, so it is advisable to reinstall Windows 10 and start afresh.
#2) Installing new version of Windows
Many users are interested in using the latest version of Windows, so they prefer downloading and installing the latest version of Windows on their system.
Pre-Requisites For Windows 10 Reinstallation
There are some necessary precautions and pre-requisites which are to be maintained on the system before re-installing Windows on your system.
A) Create a Restore Point
A system restore is a feature provided by Windows which enables its users to save the system data and system configurations at a particular instant. Users can later use the restore point to restore the previous state of their system. This method makes it easier for the users to recover their system in case of system failure.
#1) Select the “Start” button and search for “Restore“. Now, click on “Create a restore point” as displayed in the image below.
#2) The Restore point window will open. Now, click on “System Protection“. Click on “Configure…” as displayed in the image below.
#3) The Configure window will be visible. Click on “Turn on system protection” allot the memory for system restoration by moving the slider and clicking on “Apply” and then “OK”.
#4) Click on “Create” as displayed in the image below.
#5) Now, enter the name for the restore point in the dialog box and then click on “Create“.
#6) A progress bar will be visible, as displayed below.
#7) A message will occur stating, “The restore point was created successfully“.
#8) Click on “System Restore“.
#9) A window will open, then click on “Next >”.
#10) Select the restore point as displayed in the image below and then click on the “Next” button.
#11) The next window will open. Click on “Finish” as displayed below.
#12) A dialog box will appear, then click on “Yes“.
B) Backup
Users must create an external storage drive backup for all the important files on their system so that in case of any emergency, they can retrieve all the files. You can either copy all the important files to an external hard disk or can save all your important files on Cloud storage and download the files by logging in to Google Drive.
C) Battery
Reinstalling Windows is a time taking process. Therefore, you need to make sure that your system has an ample amount of charging to go through the process. You need to keep the charger with you in case of any emergency.
Note: It is recommended to once charge the battery to 100% and then start the reinstallation process and, if the process is taking excessive time, then connect the charger to the laptop.
D) Stable Internet
When Windows gets reinstalled on your system, you also need to make sure that you install all previous applications back into the system. Therefore, you must keep a stable Internet connection that will allow you to access the Internet and download applications.
E) Create a Bootable Pendrive
A bootable device is used to install Windows on your system. All you need to do is make a bootable pen drive. To do that, first, remove all data from the pen drive and then format the pen drive.
Now download the software from the link mentioned below to create a bootable pen drive.
Software: Windows Media Creation tool
#1) Connect USB to the system and open Windows 10 Installation Media. A dialog box will appear as displayed in the image below. Click on “Accept.”
#2) Now, click on “Create installation media (USB flash drive, DVD, or ISO file) for another PC” and then click on “Next” as displayed in the image below.
#3) A dialog box will open, as displayed in the image below. Now, select Language, Windows version, and system architecture and click on “Next.”
#4) Click on “USB flash drive,” then click on “Next“.
#5) Select the USB and click on “Next” as displayed in the image below.
The Windows will get downloaded, and the USB will be converted to a bootable device. Now you can use this bootable device as in ‘’Method 2: Using Recovery’’, which is mentioned in the later section of the article.
F) Product key
A product key is a unique set of characters that is provided to the user with Windows and is also known as a license key. You can use this key to log in as a licensed user. Therefore, you need to make sure that you possess a product key for the Windows version you are using.
If you do not enter a product key, then you will continue with a non-activated version of Windows which can be recognized with an Activate Windows watermark located at the bottom of the page.
Various Ways To Reinstall Windows 10
There are multiple ways to reinstall Windows 10, and some of them are listed below. You will always have the complete choice to keep data or reset data on the system and start with a fresh Windows 10.
Method 1: Using Reset This PC
Windows provides its users with a feature to reset their PC and freshly install Windows on their system. By using this feature, users can reset all the data present on the system and can start working on the freshly installed Windows.
Follow the steps listed below to reset and reload Windows 10 on their PC:
#1) Click on the Windows button and then click on “Settings” as presented in the image below:
#2) A window will open as presented in the image below. Click on “Update & Security“.
#3) A window will open as presented in the image below, click on “Recovery” and under the title “Reset this PC” click on “Get started.”
#4) A dialog box will open as depicted in the image below. Click on “Keep my files”.
#5) Then click on “Local reinstall” as presented below.
#6) Click on “Next“.
#7) Click on “Reset” to rest the PC and reinstall Windows on the system.
Now your system will restart, and all the files in the system will be erased, and Windows will reinstall on the system.
Method 2: Using Recovery
You can reinstall Windows on your system by using the Recovery feature provided by Windows. You can access this feature from Settings and follow the steps listed below to reload Windows 10 on your system:
#1) Open Settings and click on “Update & Security” as displayed in the image below.
#2) Click on “Recovery” and further click on “Restart now” under the Advanced startup option.
#3) A screen will appear. Click on “Use a device”.
Steps To Be Performed After Reinstallation
After you have reinstalled Windows 10 on your system, you can use the following tips to easily set up your previous settings:
- After your reinstalled Windows starts, check that all hardware components are working fine which includes keyboard, touchpad, keys along with software drivers like Bluetooth, WiFi and if any driver is missing then download the specific drivers.
- Log in to your Microsoft account as it brings back all the system settings which you set up earlier on your system.
- Download the browser you use and set up your email and all-important accounts at once.
- Once you are done with this setup, install all important applications from the setup on your system.
- Now backup all the data from a hard drive or cloud drive where you have stored it.
What If anything goes wrong during reinstallation?
There are various instances when users face installation failure, so no need to panic at all during such a situation. All you need to do is understand that your system is a device and if there is some issue while installing Windows, then you can reinstall it again. Definitely, the entire process won’t harm your system.
Therefore, simply try reinstalling windows 10 again on your system, and if still, some issue arises, then try using a different version of Windows or another bootable device. Microsoft has kept the installation process simple so that users might not face any issues with it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q #1) Can I reinstall Windows 10 for free?
Answer: Yes, you can reinstall Windows 10 for free by using the Reset feature provided in Windows, which initiates Windows local reinstallation on the system.
Q #2) How do I reinstall Windows 10 and keep everything?
Answer: The most secure way to keep your data is by storing it on cloud storage. And a secondary way of doing it is choosing the “Keep my files” option when you are resetting your PC.
Q #3) How do I reinstall Windows 10 without a disk?
Answer: You can either use a bootable pen drive to reinstall Windows 10 on your system or you can simply reset your PC and initiate local reinstall.
Q #4) Have Microsoft released Windows 11?
Answer: No, Windows 11 has not been released yet. Its trial version was released for users, but its official usable version hasn’t been released yet by Microsoft.
Q #5) Can you uninstall Windows 10 and reinstall it?
Answer: Yes, you can easily uninstall Windows 10 and reinstall it on your system.
Conclusion
Windows releases various updates for its users periodically and also provides them the option to reinstall Windows, which makes it easier for the users to fix their system in case of any error or emergency.
In this article, we have discussed reinstalling Windows 10 and have learned various ways to reinstall Windows on the system.