Windows 10: Fresh Win10 install onto a wiped wiped hard drive

My friend has an AIO desktop computer that came with Win 8 and updated to 8.1 and finally Windows 10.
She had many problems with Windows 10 and her daughter wiped the hard drive clean and the computer has been sitting there doing nothing since Dec 2016

I suspect she can do a Win10 fresh install onto the computer on that same hard drive even if she doesn’t know the product ID#.
She has a Windows 8.1 laptop: she does not know if she has 32-bit or 64-bit.

Can she use her laptop and use:
Option One: To Download Windows 10 Home or Pro ISO using Media Creation Tool
How to Download a Windows 10 ISO File
https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/...-download.html
--- Then take the ISO that has been burned to DVD and bring the DVD to the AIO and proceed from there to do a fresh install?
--- On the DVD, does it matter whether it’s a DVD-R or DVD-RW?
i know she and her daughter want to try it themselves but I don’t expect them to be successful from the way they’ve done things and I’d like to be ready when I get a chance to do what needs to be done.

I saw that this process uses sources\install.esd which is a compressed version of install.wim, but cannot be used as a source image for DISM. I’ve never used DISM – what is the drawback to not being able to be used as a source image?

Is there a different Win10 install procedure I should consider?

In the end, I know I can help them use Windows 10 as I like it and I have 2 Windows 10 computers and both of them run excellently.

:)

 

Windows 1- update problem

The hard drive is simply too small, or the update is too big. Wiping the hard drive for a fresh install of Win10 is not practical.

Thank you.

 

Will this upgrade wipe my hard drive or does it upgrade without wiping?

Original title: Win10 Upgrade wipe my hard drive

I'm trying to find out, will this upgrade wipe my hard drive or does it upgrade without wiping.

 

Just download the media creation tool iso burn to dvd boot from it and install if it asks for serial number just skip it then it will activete when she logs in

 

You'll be fine.

Make a DVD (doesn't matter what type as long as it fits - the latest versions may not fit on a standard one) or USB key.

Create Bootable USB Flash Drive to Install Windows 10

As Windows 10 was installed before just click on "I don't have a key" when prompted and it will activate automatically.

It really doesn't matter any more if you make a esd or wim install media. In the past you couldn't use esd based media to do repairs using DISM (a rather arcane sort of thing to do) but now you can.

 

Since the hard drive has been wiped, it won't be possible to get into Windows. Is it possible to get into the BIOS or UEFI just the same?
--- It might be necessary to disable Fast Boot or Secure Boot.
Will the flash drive boot as it won't be getting into Windows up front.
Maybe the DVD disc will be a better choice for the initial boot without Windows?

 

Yes you can get into UEFI. There should be a key that you repeatedly press right after the power key. It would be esc, del, or one of the function keys. There should also be a key that you would press to bring up a list of boot devices as well. It's hard to say which would work better, DVD or USB flash drive. Might want to have both.

 

Thanks NavyLCDR, that's going to be very helpful.