Windows 10: Clean install W10 on an old machine: what/how to prep?

Folks,

I've borked my W7 install. Don't ask how: it takes skillz. *Wink Anyhow, rather than reinstalling W7, I figured this is the perfect time to perform a clean install of W10. I've found the thread, I've created a USB install stick. Before I take the plunge, I'd like to know what to backup, etc., and how to import it.

I can use Macrium to get a mostly functioning W7. Doing that, I've exported the following onto a spare drive:

1. IE11 bookmarks and cookies.
2. Windows Live Mail accounts, contacts, and emails.
3. Documents and photos I want to keep.
4. Various savegame files. Just because. *Smile
5. Screenshots of my Control Panel>Add/Remove Program lists, so I can reference what I had installed.

Certain software requires un-licensing so an activation isn't used up. Other software (Microsoft Office 2013, I'm looking at you!) hides its key. I'll try to pry out all those items and save them to the same spare drive.

Having learned a few lessons about User Profile locations, imaging, and the need to keep Windows happy, I'll plan on just having a single drive (an SSD) physically plugged in during the install. Then, I'll use the spare drive to copy files, as needed, after W10 is running.

Is there something obvious I'm missing?
Is there a better way to prep an old rig for a new OS?

Thanks,
Ken

:)

 

Laptop dying - need to transfer Win 10 to replacement machine.

Thanks Andre,

I had an online chat with MS Tech guy and he has suggested that I uninstall the licence on the old W10 machine using the command
"slmgr.vbs -upk" and then install the licence on the new machine . Obviously I haven't tried this as presumably if this command uninstalls the W10 licence it will render the old system inoperable. And once I've uninstalled the licence on the old machine
how do I then install it on the new machine which is running W7?

I terms of getting W10 on to the new system a couple of options spring to mind:

1. Go down the Windows 10 upgrade route. Not too keen as would prefer clean installation as need to repartition hdd.

2. Use W10 installation DVD downloaded from MS website about a year back.

In either scenario when does the uninstalled licence get installed? And how? Maybe the 'slmgr' command generates a file to transport it across. I know not. Any help appreciated!

 

Windows 10 fails to install on new machine, getting multiple BSOD

Old title: New Machine W10 will not install

I have a new I5 machine straight out of the .box with no OS. I have bought W10 home 64 on a usb stick from Microsoft.

It will not load. it asks what version I want to load (64) does a quick "loading files" and goes to BSOD with a different error message each time.

I've done the BIOS memory check with no failure indication.

I have had to select update as an option but this is not it is a clean install.

 

Don't forget, with Macrium Reflect you can mount the image file you created and then pull individual files/folders from it if you need to. You are not limited to only restoring the entire image.

If you want a completely clean install, boot from the Window 10 USB, select the custom install option, delete all the partitions on the SSD and just install to the unallocated space.

If you have not had Windows 10 on that computer before, don't forget to have a method available to activate Windows 10 after installing. I prefer to run gatherosstate.exe and save the genuineticket.xml as a backup just in case entering a Windows 7/8/8.1 product key fails to activate.

 

^^^
Great advice, thanks.
Yeah, Macrium is great. I'd forgotten that I could pull individual files out. I was rather groggy when I made my W10 USB media early this morning and skipped over the need to run gatherosstate.exe on my working W7 install. That would've been an "oops". *Wink

Thanks,
Ken

 

Well, you aren't supposed to need to run gatherosstate.exe with build 10586 (version 1511). You are supposed to be able to enter the product key to activate it. But to me less than a couple minutes of effort is well worth the backup in case entering a product fails for some reason.