Windows 10: A few questions about reinstalling Windows 10

Ahoy Windows 10 folks! So as the title says, I'm going to be reinstalling Windows 10 completely (planning to do so tomorrow). What I bought (about 1 year ago, when I built this PC) is a full "Retail" version of Windows 10 Home, which came in the form of the little white box with a USB drive inside (from which I installed Windows). There's also a card with my activation key which says not to lose it "in case you ever need to reinstall Windows 10 Home".

Here is what I'm confused on:

1. I don't have my Microsoft account linked to the sign-in to Windows on my PC as I prefer it this way; the MS account is of course associated with my OneDrive and Office apps, and I've used it in the MS Store to buy a couple things, but I use an old-school local username and password to sign into Windows when the PC is started/restarted, not my MS email or password (and the activation status says "Windows is activated with a digital license"). Is this a problem for reinstalling? I would have assumed no, but I did see a couple articles suggesting that one can have problems reactivating Windows itself (or, alternatively, reactivating other licensed products like Office) after a reinstallation, if you had only a local account when the reinstallation began. I've been using Windows 10 and Office 365 for a year now with no issues so I wouldn't think it'd be a problem but I wanted to be sure.
2. As I mentioned, I have the retail Windows 10 box, card, and USB drive. My initial assumption was that said drive could play a role in doing a reinstall, but I've been able to find NOTHING about this online. Everywhere I look (whether on the actual Microsoft site or when looking at guides posted by 3rd parties, old Reddit threads, etc.) makes mention of "creating installation media". Is this little USB drive that I got when I bought the thing just useless now? Does this NOT count as "installation media"? Do I really need to make my own using another USB drive?
3. I have 3 SSDs in this machine. My C drive (which is 500 GB) will be wiped completely, and I'll reinstall Windows 10 on it (and then other programs/apps as well). The other two drives contain personal files. In my research I've also read that the best way to do this would be to physically disconnect the other two drives prior to starting the reinstallation process, so that Windows can't even "see" them (and thus, there's no chance of it erasing anything, since I WILL be using the "nuke everything, don't save any files" option because I intend to wipe the C drive clean during the reinstall, and disconnecting the drives will ALSO eliminate any chance of Windows installing any important bits onto those drives. Everything will just go to C).So I'd turn off the computer, disconnect the other two drives, turn it back on with only C connected, begin the reinstallation process, and only once that's ALL done and I've got a freshly installed Windows 10 desktop looking back at me, would I turn it off again and reconnect those drives, at which point (once the PC is on again) Windows should see them and be able to use them again (I understand I may have to reassign letters to them in Disk Management). Does that all sound right?

That's pretty much it. Any help is appreciated!

submitted by /u/Ciel_Rosemont
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:)

 

[Solved] Windows 10 keeps reinstalling KB3119142

I noticed quite some time ago that KB3119142 (Update for Microsoft Visual C++ 2012 Update 4 Redistributable Package) kept reinstalling itself for some reason. At least once daily. Sometimes up to several times a day. I just ignored it. It didn't seem to be doing any harm. And I figured they'd eventually fix it. Well...days turned into weeks, weeks into months, with no end to the problem in sight. It dragged on unsolved for at least the last few months. Literally reinstalling itself hundreds of(at least a hundred, felt like more) times in that period of time.

So I finally googled it a couple days ago. And just got around to fixing it today. Which appears to have worked. And it couldn't have been easier to do. I feel so stupid to have let it intimidate me for so long.*Oops!

Below are links to the thread that I got the fix idea from, and the official MS support info page for KB3119142(from which I quoted the above).
http://www.tenforums.com/windows-up...-windows-10-keeps-reinstalling-kb3119142.html
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3119142

 

Windows 10 Tweaks

Pressing “Windows+Pause Break” (it’s up there next to scroll lock) opens the “System” Window.

Windows 10: In the new version of Windows, Explorer has a section called Quick Access. This includes your frequent folders and recent files. Explorer defaults to opening this page when you open a new window. If you’d rather open the usual This PC, with links to your drives and library folders, follow these steps:

• Open a new Explorer window.
• Click View in the ribbon.
• Click Options.
• Under General, next to “Open File Explorer to:” choose “This PC.”
• Click OK

credit to Lifehacker.

 

Reinstall System Image Question

Reinstall System Image Question –
When saving a system image in Windows 10, it saves it as “Windows Image Backup.” I then add the date to the listing and save it. Therefore, I have a list of backups that read like “Windows Image Backup 9-4-19.”
So, this is my question.
If I need to reinstall my system image, does Windows allow me to choose any of the backups in my list to reinstall?
Thanks,
Jerry