Windows 10: Question About Windows 10 Clean Installation

hi I'm wondering about a clean installation of windows 10,heres my problem:

my mom accidently cracked my touch screen on by beats audio 15 special edition pc and now we have to send it back to at&t (we have the premier protection plan insurance) to get it fixed, however At&t lied about 2 things for our insurance from directv Assurion,that my mom had to add on to the package as it was the basic package even though they said it was an all included package
#1: accidental damage protection plan is not included,hence we had to purchase it as a separate add on.
#2Software is not covered under the insurance

so here's my question:

since software isn't covered,does that mean if they have to wipe the system to fix the screen and reinstall the original OS,can I do a clean install of windows 10 after going back to windows 8.1 and still use the oem recovery kit(contains the original drivers,programs,and windows 8.1 os) I bought for this particular computer to go back to 8.1 factory os condition should I absolutely have to, I understand that if I use the windows 10 installation media and do a custom install that I will have to delete the oem partitions,some people are saying that you cant use oem disks if u do a custom installation of another windows version like windows 10 to restore your computer to the original os because you've deleted the original recovery partition?

:)

 

Questions about Windows 10 clean install.

Upgraded Windows 7 to Windows 10 after reserved copy downloaded through Windows update.

A virus or malware really messed with the PC until it had to be shut down. Didn't know what to do but afraid to erase everything so, PC has been "Refreshed" twice without re-installing any of the programs that were removed but saved onto the desktop in 2
separate folders. All this has happened since July 30th. Noticed that some programs could be clicked on and some couldn't, still did not see them anywhere. At the same time the PC was working fine, streaming movies, etc. without Adobe Flash Player or Silverlight
being reinstalled; unless the PC did this on it's own. Did download Chrome browser instead of Firefox; not sure if it matters.

Windows 10 is activated BUT a DVD was never burned or ISO image onto DVD wasn't made. What is the best way to proceed with a clean Windows 10 install, any info about formatting a partition? Can that be done? Only have a C drive and CD/DVD drive this PC.
Where can an image be burned to use for a clean install? Should the media creation tool be downloaded or should I just go to Settings/Update and Security/Recovery, Reset this PC and click to Remove Everything? This is a Gateway PC so should a lot of the things
that came with this computer be installed back on? What are some really great, free and compatible antivirus, antimalware, etc. to install on this PC? When the clean install is complete, will the product key need to be changed?

Thank you sincerely in advance.

 

Questions about Windows 10 clean install.

Hi Stephaniee,

Thank you for being part of Windows 10.

I appreciate you for providing details about the issue and we are happy to help you.

Please be informed that, if you perform the clean installation through Windows 10 ISO without upgrading then you will have to purchase the product key for the Windows 10 activation.

I suggest you to refer to the following response created by Vinod Archak on
Can I clean re-install Windows 10 after upgrading?

Can I clean re-install Windows 10 after upgrading?

Please refer to the following Microsoft article on Installing Windows 10 using the media creation tool.

Windows 10 herunterladen

Refer to the following Microsoft article on
Recovery options in Windows 10.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-10/windows-10-recovery-options

I would recommend you to download the Microsoft Safety Scanner from the following link and check if it works.

http://www.microsoft.com/security/scanner/en-gb/default.aspx

Note: The Microsoft Safety Scanner is a free downloadable security tool that provides on-demand scanning and helps remove viruses, spyware, and other malicious software. It works with your existing antivirus software.

THIRD PARTY LINK DISCLAIMER

Disclaimer: Using Third Party Software, including hardware drivers can cause serious problems that may prevent your computer from booting properly. Microsoft cannot guarantee that any problems resulting from the use of Third Party Software
can be solved. Using Third Party Software is at your own risk.

Reference: Refer to the following Microsoft article on
Windows 10 help & how-to.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-10/support

Kindly let us know if you need any further assistance with Windows. We are glad to assist you.

Thank you.

 

1) Read your plan carefully before spending more money - what good is insurance if accidents aren't covered?

2) Back up your data before sending the device anywhere.
Macrium Reflect FREE is very good
-> User guide (HTML)
-> User guide (PDF)
You can hook it up to a Monitor or TV

3) While you have it connected to a external display
Create the OEM recovery media - then you don't have to worry about the OEM recovery partition

4) No shop should wipe the drive to fix a cracked LCD ... it does happen though - that's why you should backup your data

5) If you have to reinstall, you can just install Windows 10 if it was already activated on the machine.
You don't have to restore to factory
You should wipe the drive for a clean install (you did the backups - right?)

Windows Update will provide the drivers for the machine ... if there are any missing or problematic drivers, then you can look on the device vendor site (the PC manufacturer might not have current drivers - depends on the mfgr and the age of the machine)

 

yes ive done the back ups, what I'm trying to say is if I completely wipe the drive, and do a custom installation of windows 10,will the oem os disks be useable still, should I have to reinstall 8.1: example of it would be will it reinstall the defaults such as partitions etc from this disk or will it be permenantly stuck with windows 10,and the pc wont except the default os.
an example would be if Microsoft released an update that the only fix for would be to wipe the entire drive and use the eom disk to reinstall default os.

 

Accidental damage is rarely, if ever, covered in a basic warranty. That always needs to be added on top of the basic warranty, which is meant to cover defects and things happening on their own, like a failed hard drive. Now, I'm guessing this is an HP computer, so how or why is AT&T involved? Wouldn't your warranty be with either HP or the store you bought it from?

If you plan to pay for this coverage or repair, I would back up your data, and put a clean, basic install of whatever OS you want. This way, once the hardware is replaced, they can boot it up and verify everything works. Once you get it back, you can wipe the drive and set it up the way you want.

On a side note, I don't think I'd want anyone handing the replacement besides the computer manufacturer.

 

att&T is providing the insurance for electronics repair through somthing called assurion,my original hp warranty has expired and its around 100 dollars to get a new hp waranty'we got the insurance when we bundled our directv with our att&t internet service,which will allow us to get our devices fixed for $50 per device,instead of paying over so much money to take it to a local shop.

 

Thanks for the clarification.

You say backups, but I want to be sure that you created the OEM Recovery media using the OEM utility to do that.

Yes, you can reinstall the original OS if you need or want to do that. The OEM Recovery media manage the entire process from wiping the drive (you did say make backups - right?) to creating the OEM defined partition scheme, to installing the OS and all the OEM bloatware.

What you cannot do is use the OEM Recovery discs to install on another machine.

You can also download the Win8.1 ISO and do a clean install if needed
See: Clean Install - Windows 8

This method will not have the OEM bloatware or the OEM Recovery partiton.

I wouldn't worry about a catastrophic update trashing your machine to the extent where you have to revert to the previous OS - you can roll back your machine to the previous build of Win10 if your scenario ever happens.

 

that's all I need to know,ive marked it as solved,thanks bart.