Appendix B
Installing Windows 10 on a New System
If you've just built a new computer from scratch, or if you've replaced your old hard drive C: with a new hard drive, you have to do a clean install of Windows 10.
You can opt to do a clean install even if you already have a version of Windows installed on the hard drive; however, you must realize that doing so is very serious business. When you do a clean install, you wipe out everything on your hard drive. And we do mean everything — all programs, documents, settings, and Internet account information. You can't get any of that stuff back, either.
Gearing Up for a Clean Install
Most experts prefer to do a clean install when they upgrade to a new version of Windows, largely because this method ensures a pristine installation of Windows with no issues or files lingering from the previous installation. Besides, a clean install is a great excuse for upgrading to a bigger and faster hard drive. You can use your original hard drive as a second hard drive and easily transfer documents from that drive to the new drive after you've installed Windows 10 on the new drive. However, you still need to reinstall all your programs and redo all your settings after you complete the installation.
Back up all your data
If you intend to keep your existing C: as the C: drive after the clean install, understand that you will permanently lose everything on that drive during the clean install. Therefore, you should do the following:
- Write down all your Internet connection data so that you can reestablish your connection after the clean install.
- Back up or export all your e-mail messages, contacts, and favorites so that you can recover them. Remember: Everything you don't save will be lost forever. However, this does not apply for web-based e-mail accounts that don't store messages on your computer.
- Back up all your documents because every one of them will be wiped out along with Windows and all your programs.
Because hard drives are so inexpensive these days, it almost seems a shame not to start the clean install from a new hard drive. You don't have to worry about losing any data from the old drive if you do a clean install of Windows 10 to a new drive. The data from your old drive will stay intact because Windows will be installed on the new drive.
Make sure you can boot from your DVD
By far, the easiest way to do a clean install on a new drive is to boot from the Windows 10 disk. Make sure that you can do this before you do anything inside the computer. Most disks aren't bootable, so insert the Windows disk into the drive and restart the computer. Watch for a message that says, “Press any key to boot from CD or DVD countdown,” and tap the spacebar before the countdown runs out. (In case you're curious, it's five seconds.)
If you see a message that tells you that Windows is loading files, you know you can boot from a disk. Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to reboot before setup starts, and remove the disk from the drive while the system is rebooting. Then shut down the PC altogether.
If you can't boot the system from the Windows disk, you need to adjust your BIOS settings. We can't tell you specifically how to do this because the procedure depends on your system's BIOS. The usual scenario is to press F2 or Del as the computer is starting up to get to your BIOS setup. After you get into the BIOS settings, make sure that booting from the disk drive is enabled and that the disk drive has a higher priority than the hard drive.
If you'd rather not adjust your BIOS settings, many computers give you the option to select the boot device. Pressing a key during the startup process tells the BIOS that you want to select your boot device this one time. It can be the F10, F11, or F12 key; check your computer's documentation to find out which key it is.
If you opt to change the BIOS settings, put the Windows disk back into the disk drive, save your BIOS settings, and exit so that the computer reboots again. If you got it right, you should see a message telling you Windows is loading files again on restart, indicating that you've successfully booted from the disk. Cancel that startup as well, by pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del, and remove the disk from the drive before the computer gets another chance to boot from the disk.
Doing the Clean Install
When you feel confident that you'll be able to get back everything you want from your hard drive from backups that you have made, you're ready to start the clean install. Put the Windows disk in the disk drive and shut down the computer. Then restart the computer and boot from the disk. Your system's screen goes blank with a progress bar across the bottom of the screen while it copies some setup files. After the copy, the screen changes to a blue and green background, and you're given a mouse pointer. Follow these steps to continue the installation:
- At the Windows Setup dialog box, select the Language, Time, and Currency format and the type of keyboard; then click the Next button.
- Click the Install Now link. If prompted to do so, enter the product key, and then click the Next button.
- If you accept the license terms, select the I Accept the License Terms box and click the Next button.
- Select the Custom: Install Windows Only (Advanced) option to continue.
- The next dialog box lists all the drives and partitions that the installation application sees on your system. Select the partition on which you want to install Windows 10 and click Next.
If you don't see your drive, the controller to which your hard drive is connected may require a special driver that the installation application doesn't know about. You can click the Load Driver link to load the driver provided by the controller's manufacturer. Clicking the Drive Options (Advanced) link enables the option to format the drive before installing Windows 10. Select the partition on which Windows 10 will be installed and click the Format link. The installation application prompts you to confirm that the data on the drive will be erased and permanently deleted. Click OK if you're sure your database has been saved elsewhere.
- After the drive is formatted, the Total Size and Free Space columns should be almost identical. Don't worry about discrepancies. They're a result of how file systems and the formatting process work. Click the Next button to continue, and the installation application starts copying files.
The Rest of the Installation
Copying the files and installing them to your system takes some time. When the installation continues, follow these steps:
- Click Use Express Settings.
- When prompted to specify whether the PC belongs to your company or to you, choose the appropriate response. This determines the type of account that Setup will prompt you for.
- If setting up the PC for yourself, you're prompted to enter either an Office 365 account or your Microsoft account. You need the Microsoft account to enable purchases from the Windows store and optional synchronization of settings across multiple devices. Enter your Microsoft account if you have one and click Sign In, or choose the option to create one.
Windows installation continues for several minutes as it finalizes and prepares your computer to be used. After Windows 10 has been installed, you see a sign-on screen that you can use to log into Windows 10.