Windows 10: I downloaded W10 for a clean install, but the USB drive is empty. Where did the data go?

I downloaded W10 for a clean install according to this choice:


Windows 10

Using the tool to upgrade this PC to Windows 10

Here’s when to use these instructions:


You have a license to install Windows 10 and are upgrading this PC from Windows 7 or Windows 8.1.

You need to reinstall Windows 10 on a PC you’ve already successfully activated Windows 10.


The W10 download took several hours, but the USB drive is empty. Where did the data go?

:)

 

Installing windows off of a USB stick

Step By Step from vista:
From admin cmd prompt

1. diskpart
1a. list disk
2. select disk 1 (replace 1 with your usb drive)
3. clean
4. create partition primary
5. select partition 1 (replace 1 with your usb drive)
6. active
7. format fs=fat32
8. assign
9. exit

Copy Windows Vista's DVD ROM content to the Flash Drive

xcopy d:\*.* /s/e/f e:\ (d being your vista cd and e being your usb stick)

And that's it, boot off your usb disk

 

How to install system drivers after a clean install of W10

Ive got an error on a windows 10 HP laptop with the OS and i need to do a clean install of the W10.

Ive never done a windows clean install (done plenty of Mac ones) so im trying to figure out everything i need in advance.

So far my plan is to :

• backup all data
  
• download W10 from microsoft HERE , install it onto a USB drive, boot into the drive and run the installer
  

Once the clean install of W10 is complete as i understand i need to install drivers for various bits of hardware, for this HP have a driver page for my laptop HERE. Where i currently cant make my mind up is wether i should download the individual drivers from that page and install them (the issue with this is im a bit confused on some of them as there seem to be 2 bluetooth drivers, and other options on a couple of other drivers, due to what hardware the specific laptop has).

I was also told to check out the HP Setup Assistant software which apperently functions like a driver install wizard, by scanning your hardware and then downloading the required drivers.

What is preferable to download the individual drivers or the use the HP setup assistant ?

Is there also a test / tool i can run at the end of the processes after the new OS and drivers have been installed, to check nothing is missing ?

Will i need to enable security features etc, or does a clean copy of W10 default to a locked down mode ?

 

Lost data from hard drive, what to do now?

Well, I'm sorry to hear that it's a WD My Passport that failed on you, @tomhenry ! *Frown
I'd recommend you to try using a different USB cable with it and see if that will help your system to detect it without it disconnecting.
I'd also suggest you to go to Disk Management and see how the drive is listed there. It won't hurt to check up on the health and SMART status of the HDD by running the QUICK and EXTENDED tests from the WD's Data LifeGuard Diagnostics. Here's a link to the available software: http://products.wdc.com/support/kb.ashx?id=11ZOpD

Give these troubleshooting steps a try and keep us posted with the results!
SuperSoph_WD