Windows 10: Upgraded back To Windows 10. Same Slow Boot Issue

Just got the latest updates KB3106932 and KB3105210...Seems that Windows boots up a little faster than earlier. This is something I can live with. Just to be sure, is a clean install compulsory or something before the upgrade offer is over?

 

The clean install is not compulsory. You chose to do it if your computer is too slow or has many issues. You do it to get a new fresh Windows installation which hopefully will be free of the problems of your old version and also have no long forgotten applications taking up space on your hard disk. The obvious problem is that you have to start from zero and install again any drivers and applications you need. For some of us this means 1-2 days work we would rather avoid, that's why we opt for the upgrade.

 

I have 3 partitions, c,d(system) and f(data). Will the clean install delete everything on these last 2 partitions? Also, one of my friends upgraded to Win10 from Windows 7 which was activated using KMS. He now has an activated Win10. So hypothetically, If he were to do a clean install, would he get activation?

 

When you clean-install you will be presented with the available partitions. If you just choose to format C and install Windows there, the others shouldn't be affected. You can also install Windows without formatting the partition. It will keep your files to a folder and your programs. But the programs won't work, you have to reinstall them. Also your data will not be directly available at your new user account. You have to manually copy them from the old folders. In theory Windows 10 activated with KMS should activate again, or you just use KMS again. Of course you should know this is not the legal method of activating. So if you use the computer at the office you risk a steep fine. Using it at home has less risk, but of course this is not right, as you already know.

 

He tells me that Windows 7 was activated by KMS. Apparently this was not detected during the upgrade. So he now has a legal version of win10 or so I think. So now that it is activated his old win7 key would no longer be there, but the genetic windows10 key right? Which means that his hardware is registered with MS servers. So if he did a clean install, it wouldn't bother checking the win7 key but instead whether win10 is activated AND registered with the servers, thus resulting with activation after a clean install, right?

 

Yes, I think so. He can just clean-install Windows 10 and it should activate. Otherwise he would have to use KMS again, newer version of course.