Windows 10: Recover creds from windows.old ?

Hi,

This week I did a fresh installation of Windows 10 Home Edition on top of the previous version using the Windows Media Creation Tool on my son's laptop. I thought my main issue was going to be the product key and/or validation even though I copied that to a file prior to, and I knew it was a purchased copy because he bought it from Best Buy. I was wrong. Never was I asked for a key. It was automatic. The whole process was seamless and he has an out of the box legitimate copy and a healthy laptop again. It's activated and everything is running smooth.


The problem is... he doesn't have his Microsoft credentials. I know there is an option to change this online through Microsoft. He can get an email but he doesn't remember his email password.And, only if he set up his phone number which I doubt he did not.


So here is my Question: Can I recover his credentials from the Windows.old file that was created during install? From what I've learned, this folder will be removed after 28-30 days. I used my own to get everything set up but then removed my account locally and from Microsoft. I set him up a local administrator account and he thinks it's not important to link his online account. I cannot express to him the importance of this and the sheer convenience it provides. "Email, the Store, linking your phone...all that!". He's 22 and still knows it all. I sucked it up and returned his laptop yesterday as complete. But ultimately I failed. Last night I remembered that I had forgotten to delete the 65g! windows.old folder.And he cannot log in properly. Is there a fix here? Also, if someone could reply with a link to delete that folder properly. I have seen that there is a process.

Thanks in advance!

:)

 

Recover or Reformat?

Norton Ghost?

I am sorry.. I have no idea what that is.. I am pretty green I'm afraid.

I wasn't trying to recover any files.. I wanted to format a new drive in an old computer.. The old drive died.

I did what Namslas90 said but then when I got to the next step .. and hit enter.. nothing happened.. sigh...

Anyway.. I am waiting on the next step.. Thank you for your input ...

 

Need some help. Old HDD. New laptop.

Yes, that would be a favorable solution if possible. But it requires what I said as a first step. Once he gets booted into the OS, then he can either use it as is or try to recover the product key. I'm not saying he couldn't do what you said, I was replying to another post that suggested simply copy/pasting documents from the old hard drive.

 

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