Installing Windows 10
BY MPAIRWE LAUBEN
You can use Microsoft’s upgrade
tool to install Windows 10 on
your PC if you already have
Windows 7 or 8.1 installed. This
will also make it possible to
downgrade and go back to Wind
ows 7 or 8.1
after you perform the upgrade,
if you don’t like it.
Ifyou don’t want to upgrade
from an existing Windows
installation, you can download
the official Windows 10
installation media for free from
Microsoft and
perform a clean install.
To do this, visit
Microsoft’s Download Windows 1
0 page
, click “Download Tool Now”, and
run the downloaded file. Select
“Create installation media for
another PC”.
Besure to select the language,
edition, and architecture you
want to install of Windows 10. If
you’re installing it on a PC with a
64-bit CPU, you probably want
the 64-bit version. If you’re
installing it on a PC with a 32-bit
CPU, you’ll need the 32-bit
version.
You can
check what type of CPU your PC
has
if you don’t know off the top of
your head.
Ifyou’re installing Windows 10 on
the current PC, just keep the “Use
the recommended options for this
PC” box checked and the tool will
automatically download the
correct version for your current
PC.
The tool will allow you to copy the
Windows 10 installation files to a USB
drive or burn them to a DVD. If you’re
using a USB drive, it must be 4 GB or
larger in size. All files on the USB drive
will be erased as part of this process.
Ifyou want to install Windows 10
in a virtual machine, select the
“ISO file” option here. The tool
will download an ISO file, and you
can then boot the downloaded
ISO in a virtual machine to install
Windows 10 inside it
Once you’ve created installation
media, you’ll need to insert it into
the PC you want to install Windows
10 on. You then boot from the
installation media. This may
require
modifying the boot order in your PC’
s BIOS or UEFI firmware
.
On the Windows Setup screen,
select your language, time and
currency format, and keyboard
layout. Click “Next” to continue.
When you reach the installer
screen, select “Install Now” and
follow the instructions to install
Windows 10 on your PC.
When you see the Activate
Windows screen, you’ll need to
either enter a key or skip it. You
may not see this screen if
Windows 10 automatically
detects a key associated with
your PC’s hardware.
Ifyou’ve never installed and
activated Windows 10 on this
computer before, enter your
Windows 10 key here. If you
don’t have one, but you have a
valid Windows 7, 8, or 8.1 key,
enter it here instead.
If you’ve previously taken advantage
of the free Windows 10 upgrade offer
on this PC, click “I don’t have a
product key”. Windows will
automatically activate with a “digital
license” associated with your PC’s
hardware on Microsoft’s servers once
it’s installed.
When you reach the “Which type
of installation do you want?”
screen, click “Custom” to perform
a clean installation and remove
everything on your PC. (If you’ve
changed your mind and want to
upgrade your existing installation,
you can click “Upgrade”.)
On the next screen, select the hard
drive you want to install Windows
on and erase it. If you have
multiple partitions on that drive,
you may want to erase those as
well.
Warning: When you delete a
partition, you’re also deleting all
the files on that partition. Be
sure you have backups of any
important files before doing this!
When you’re done erasing
partitions, you should have a big
block of “Unallocated Space”.
Select that, click “New”, and
once it’s formatted your drive,
click Next.
Windows 10 will install itself, and
may restart a few times during this
process. When it’s done, you’ll see
the normal setup interface you see
when setting up Windows 10 on
any new PC, where you can add
user accounts and adjust various
settings.
