Windows 10: How to re-install Windows 10 (that was upgraded from W7) on NEW HD?

Hi all,

So I have an older Lenovo G550 laptop that came with Windows 7 pre-installed and has a Windows 7 licence sticker on the bottom. The computer was upgraded to Windows 10 when it came out as a Windows Update (so we don't have a Windows 10 licence key).

The hard drive has now failed, so a new one has been purchased as a replacement.

I read some threads on here about re-installing Windows 10 if it was an upgrade, and apparently you can do it without a key if you have the SAME hardware. But i have a NEW hard drive.

1. Has anyone attempted this with a new hard drive and been successful?
2. If not, is there a way to get a licence key or do I have to go back to Windows 7?
3. The computer didn't come with media, can a Windows OS be downloaded or do I have to buy the manufacturer's recovery CD? The laptop has a DVD drive in case of ISOs or can use a USB stick. (ETA: The computer that will be making the DVD or boot media is running Linux, so the Media Creation Tool mentioned in the tutorial won't work).

Thanks!!

:)

 

Upgrade and downgrade rights

I have a new Dell with Windows 7 64-bit Professional pre-installed "via downgrade rights to Windows 8". The recovery media that comes with the computer will re-install that OS (apparently -- it does boot up Windows 7 installation, and I haven't tried a complete
re-set). The "Get Windows 10" icon is available on the machine, so I assume that I'm eligible for a free upgrade to W10 over the next 10 months.

When / if I upgrade, do I ever get recovery media that will re-install Windows 10? Suppose my drive crashes in 2 years and I have to replace it. Right now I have W7 media that will reinstall W7. But I presumably cannot restore a W10 installation (complete
system image) to a machine with W7 installed, I would have to first re-install W10 in order to restore my system. At that future point, reinstalling W7 and selecting the free upgrade presumably would not work. So how does one recover W10 from a disk crash
if one has W10 via upgrade from W7 (and does Dell's "thorough downgrade rights" change anything)?

 

Many games on steam don't "start up" (im using a laptop)

Hello,

If i downgrade back to windows 8.1 am i able to re install the windows 10 upgrade for free at a later time ?

Yes, during a year.

I did it with W7. Upgrade to W10 (activation OK).

Rollback to W7 (activation OK).

A few days after, Upgrade again to W10 (activation OK).

All my upgrades were done with the DVD (setup.exe), Inside my W7. No boot from the DVD.

 

1. Yes. Thousands have.

2. Not applicable.

3. I'm not sure if this still works or not. I'll boot from live Linux USB I have and let you know if a few minutes:
http://www.digitaltrends.com/computi...indows-10-iso/

 

When you downlod win10 you have th eoption for anther pc and to create a iso or usb

 

Posting this from Linux Mint. This website will get you the ISO file in Linux:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/soft...d/windows10ISO

 

Heh, everyone is right. I went to that link before posting this (from the tutorial, I think) and it offered me only the Media Creation Tool or the "other download options" like MSDN. When I went to it just now, it did in fact allow me to download the ISO. Which will take 17 hours on my connection, so I will try this tomorrow on my new HD.

So I guess I don't need to do anything special (other than ensure I have the right version of 10). I just pop in my DVD and it will still activate properly?

 

When it asks for a product key, there will be a link on the bottom of the page that says, "I don't have a product key." Click that link. The next screen will ask you which version you want to install. Install the same version you had before. Once you connect to the internet it will activate automatically.