Install windows 10 without saving data. How to reinstall Windows while keeping settings and installed programs

Problem. How to reinstall Windows 10 without losing files?

My Windows 10 64-bit performance is just miserable. It freezes, crashes, displays errors, or sometimes displays a BSOD. I'm tired of this and will consider reinstalling Windows. However, I am a bit lazy to create backup data, so I would like to know if it is possible to restore or reinstall Windows 10 without data loss?

Any version of Windows OS becomes sluggish and may start to work poorly due to many reasons. Slowdowns, freezes, unresponsiveness and similar problems usually start happening due to the age and heavy use of the PC. However, the same symptoms can also occur due to viral or malware infections.

Another common Windows problem is a BSOD, which translates to "Blue Screen of Death". Encountering a BSOD is not a pleasant experience as users risk losing all their unsaved data. These system shutdowns are usually due to driver issues, boot configuration data corruption, registry issues, virus infection, and other serious issues.

Users are invited blue screen, which specifies a description of the error and a specific code. Since this is a system shutdown, users have no choice but to restart their machine. In some Windows cases can automatically correct errors within the system and fully recover. Some of these errors have comprehensive fixes while others are unlikely to be fixable manually, which is why reinstalling or restarting Windows is considered the only solution that can be done at home before taking the PC to professional IT professionals.

The main reason why people choose to endure a slow PC, errors, BSODs and other problems is the predetermination of the personal data stored on it. In other words, at Windows users there are no data backups, so they don't want to delete the information stored on the device.

Luckily, you don't have to delete all files to reinstall Windows 10. This step can be done without affecting personal data like photos, documents, videos, music, etc. Since Windows 10 version is the most common one these days, in In this post we will explain how reinstall windows 10 without deleting personal data or Windows restart using the Windows Recovery Environment.

Reinstall Windows 10 without deleting data

NOTE. This method only applies to Windows 10, which is bootable. If you cannot boot your computer, you will have to reinstall Windows from scratch.

Reset Windows 10 without data loss

ADVICE. Disconnect all USB devices before continuing.

You can try resetting Windows OS without reinstalling it and improving your PC performance:

To avoid confusion, let's figure out how reinstalling using "Start over" differs from the previously available rollback of the system to its original state.

Since advent of Windows 10 it has the option "Return the computer to the initial state". It is located in the "Settings" → "Update and Security" section under the "Recovery" item.

With it, you can reset the system, leaving your personal files intact. The procedure will return the original installed version Windows 10 and will erase all the programs you installed. But if the computer has software preinstalled by the manufacturer, it will not go anywhere.

The Start Over feature added in the Creators Update works a little differently. It also resets (and in fact reinstalls) Windows 10 without affecting personal files. But at the same time immediately updates the system to current version and removes both your installed programs and those pre-installed by the manufacturer (except for applications from the Windows Store).

So, if your goal is a fresh version of Windows 10 with intact personal files, reset to default settings and completely free of unnecessary software, then the “Start over” option is for you. To activate it, follow the instructions below.

Instructions for reinstalling Windows 10

1. Do backups most important files. Windows promises not to touch them, but it's better to insure yourself against possible system failures.
2. Make sure you have all the necessary passwords and keys for programs that require authorization and activation. For example, if you are using Office suite, then after reinstallation it may require a product key.
3. Connect your computer to the internet.
4. Open "Settings" → "Update and security" → "Recovery".
5. Under "Advanced recovery options" click "Learn how to start over from clean install Windows" and confirm the action.
6. In the window that opens, click "Get Started" and follow the prompts of the system, carefully reading all notifications.

Windows will reinstall and install everything by itself necessary drivers. If necessary, you can install them yourself by downloading from the PC manufacturer's website or using

Often inexperienced users, acquiring new equipment, begin to experiment with it. There is no other way to practice learning - reading articles will not replace practical experience. But this teaching method has flip side- complete failure of the system or its failures. What to do in this case? We need to learn how to reinstall Windows 10 and the problem will be solved.

How to reinstall Windows 10 on Windows 10

If the system is loaded, then you can try to simply restore it. What is good about 10 is that it is provided, like on a phone. And if it loads, then you can use it.

So, reinstalling windows 10 on Windows 10 will complete successfully.

Clean reinstall of Windows 10

With the previous method, there is not a complete reinstallation, but a system rollback. If you want to reinstall Windows completely - read below.

Create bootable media. We will tell you how to do it from the Microsoft website, but you must have a key in order to activate the license later. Go to https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/Windows10 and read the instructions carefully. Start download.

This is a boot device creation program. Press. After a short wait, the program will ask for consent to launch - we answer “Yes”. We accept the terms.

Select media creation.

Created for this PC, leave a checkmark - the program knows the parameters. If you are creating for someone else, uncheck the box and specify manually.

We decide - a flash drive or a disk.

At this point, an important action must be taken. Open by double-clicking "This PC" on the desktop. And write down the partition capacities hard drive. When installing, no letters - there will be no names. In order not to make a mistake by installing the system on the wrong disk, you need to know which one is the system one.

After the end, you need to install a boot device in the BIOS. Reboot and log in. On most PCs, when loading, it is written with which button this can be done - F12, F8, DEL. On laptops, it's a little more difficult. For example, Lenovo has special button to reboot into BIOS. Search.

We went into the menu, find Boot and move to it with the keyboard arrows.

Set the desired parameter - a flash drive or a CD / DVD drive.

We save with the F10 button and the reboot starts again. But from a new medium. At this point, the installation will begin.

You will be prompted for a key. If it exists, enter it. If not, click "I don't have a product key".

Choose a version. Here, too, there is a nuance. You can't install PRO over Home. And vice versa.

The only exception is the purchase of a license for the corresponding assembly.

choose an installation option. Since we need to reinstall everything again, we click on the second option.

Now information about the capacities of the hard drive partitions will come in handy. Select the one you want, click "format" and then "Next".

The files will start copying.

After that, again a request to enter the key, if it was not specified or the system did not detect it. Click "Do Later".

They will offer to connect to wi-fi if the network is found within range or the PC has wifi modem. You can connect or skip this step.

There was a suggestion to select the location (not geographic) of the computer - select the second item - home PC.

Enter your login and password with confirmation.

This is where the process ends. You managed to reinstall windows 10 to windows 10.

In general, completely reinstalling Windows 10 is not that difficult. You have to be careful and careful, and the system will do everything on its own.

Properly reinstall Windows 10 on a laptop

On laptops, everything is done in the same way. There is a nuance for the keys flashed in the BIOS. If you are reinstalling with Windows 8.1 purchased from the store along with the device, then you probably had a key. And it's wired into the BIOS.

So, during installation, no keys are needed and the system will be activated automatically. This is a great gift for owners of licensed 8s and 7s. After all, a dozen costs about 8,000 rubles. It gets expensive.

Reinstall Windows 10 to Windows 7

With Windows 8, everything is clear - an unsuccessful brainchild and automatic update to Windows 10 is a kind of apology for its bugs.

Windows 7 users are wondering - is it possible to reinstall Windows 10 on Windows 7? Certainly. If you have a key, use it. When installing, enter your credentials with Microsoft and the new OS will be activated automatically.

If you are a staunch supporter of free software - use activators.

Reinstalling Windows 10 on Windows 7 is carried out in exactly the same way as described above - using the MediaCreationTool application.

Many people who encounter problems with their computer are wondering how to reinstall Windows 10. Sometimes you do not need to reinstall the system at all, but rather restore it to an earlier save point or original state. If you are wondering how to reinstall Windows 10 from scratch, it will be useful for you to read the information below.

The reasons that the system began to slow down and freeze may be different. For example:

• virus software;
• a large number of programs;
• lack of registry and system cleaning;
• too fragmented disk.

Is it possible to solve these problems without deleting operating system? It is possible, in such cases a simple system restore (rollback) can help. If you have problems installing any program, you have got virus software that you cannot remove, it is enough to restore the system to the last save point.

It is possible that you noticed some system freezes at one point or another, then you can reset it to its original state. In this case, all programs and files are deleted.

For this, do not forget to drop all important information on the removable media or another disk partition.

System rollback

Go to the start menu, find "Settings". Select Update & Security. Go to the "Recovery" section.

Decide what you want to do (reset your PC or roll back to an earlier build) and click Get Started. It is important to remember that any reset deletes files that were created after the savepoint. You will be prompted to select them to save before the reset begins. After you save the files you need and roll back the operating Windows system 10 don't forget to check them for viruses before downloading them back to your PC.

This option is suitable for those who want to install the system again. First, you should transfer all important information to another partition of the disk, and preferably to external media. This is necessary because the reinstallation involves formatting the system partition of the hard drive (complete erasure of data).

You will need:

• distribution kit with Win 10;
• external media to create boot disk(flash or optical drive minimum 4 GB);
• drivers;

Windows installation 10, like Windows 8, is not particularly difficult. If you have Windows 10 installed, proceed to the next step. If not, you need to download it from the official site or find someone's assembly. The danger may lie in the fact that if the assembly is not checked, you can introduce viruses to the computer. So if you are not looking for a beautiful design, it is better to download the distribution kit from the official site.

To do this, go to the Microsoft website. Download MediaCreationTool.exe. Downloading "dozens" occurs with the help of this program. After starting, you need to take license agreement.

Since your goal is not to update, but to reinstall, then select the second item.

Select the desired language, which Windows you need to download (in our case, the tenth), and the bit depth.

If you do not know which bit depth is better to choose, just look at how many are installed random access memory. If 3 GB or less, then a 32-bit system will do. If 4 GB or more, then 64-bit.

Next, you need to choose to download the ISO file or immediately install it on a USB flash drive. If you have a flash drive, connect it to your computer. If you want to burn to a disc, then download the ISO image. The time of the procedure will directly depend on the speed of the Internet connection. The higher the speed, the faster the download will be.

Burning the image to disk

To burn the image to DVD, use any convenient program. Here are a few of them:

• Nero Burning Room;
• BurnAware Free;
• DAEMON Tools Lite.

Consider the recording process using the example of ImgBurn. The program is distributed free of charge. After starting ImgBurn, a window will appear in which you need to select the Win 10 image in the Source section. And in the Destination section - a DVD.

Click on the picture where the arrow is drawn from the disk on paper to another disk. This will start the burning process.

Before reinstalling Windows, make sure you have the drivers available. At a minimum, you need to have a driver for network card and WiFi. Otherwise, it may happen that you will not be able to go online and download everything you need. And although on Windows, as a rule, there are already universal drivers, it is better not to risk and play it safe. If you do not have drivers, download them from the official site. In the case of installation on a laptop, to find drivers, it is enough to know its company and model. For a desktop PC, you may need a program to view information about your computer's hardware and software configuration. For example, AIDA or Everest.

Now insert the USB stick or DVD into the computer, reboot it and enter the BIOS. Here you need to select a value so that the selected media is loaded first.

Usually, to enter the BIOS, you need to press F2 or Delete on the initial screen. If you want to reinstall Windows 10 on a laptop and you don't know how to enter the BIOS, read the instructions for the device. On the different laptops it is done differently.

Go to the Boot section and select Boot Settings. There you will see the priority of starting devices. How to change the order is usually indicated on the right side of the screen. It can be arrows, "+" and "-" or Enter. Save your changes when you exit.

If you are installing Windows 10 from a DVD, the screen will display “Press any key to boot from CD or DVD”, and while the dots are going, you need to press any key. Pure reinstalling windows 10 takes approximately 1 hour (depending on the power of the computer). If from a USB drive, the installer window will appear immediately. Select the desired language and click the "Next" button.

We accept the license agreement and select the item "Custom: install Windows only".

Now important point: Select a system disk partition and format it. Be aware that this procedure completely erases data from this volume.

After selecting the volume, everything goes automatically. The files will start copying. As a result, the computer will restart. The next step is to prepare and configure the components. After some time, a window will appear in which you will need to enter the key again. Click "Do Later".

Select "Use standard parameters» .

You will be prompted to create a Microsoft account. Click "Skip this step".

Enter a username and, if necessary, a password for account. After that, you will be taken to the desktop. That's the whole instruction on how to reinstall Windows 10. When the system is reinstalled, it remains to fill it necessary programs and start using.

Good day.

On July 29, one significant event took place - the new Windows 10 OS was released (note: before that, Windows 10 was distributed in the so-called test mode - Technical Preview).

Actually, when there was a little time, I decided to upgrade my Windows 8.1 to Windows 10 on my home laptop. Everything turned out quite simply and quickly (1 hour in total), and without losing any data, settings and applications. I made a dozen screenshots that may be useful to those who also want to update their OS.

Instructions for updating Windows (to Windows 10)

Which OS can be upgraded to Windows 10?

You can upgrade to 10 with the following Windows versions: 7, 8, 8.1 (Vista - ?). Windows XP cannot be upgraded to Windows 10 (you must complete reinstallation OS).

Minimum system requirements to install Windows 10?

1 GHz (or faster) processor with PAE, NX, and SSE2 support;
- 2 GB of RAM;
- 20 GB of free hard disk space;
- Video card with DirectX 9 support.

Where to download Windows 10?

Official website: https://www.microsoft.com/ru-ru/software-download/windows10

Start update/install

Actually, to start the update (installation), you need an ISO image with Windows 10. You can download it on the official website (or on various torrent trackers).

1) Although it is possible to update Windows different ways, I'll describe the one I used myself. ISO image first you need to unpack (like a regular archive). Any popular archiver can easily cope with such a task: for example, 7-zip (official site: http://www.7-zip.org/).

To unpack the archive in 7-zip - just click on ISO file right click mice and context menu select the item "unpack here ...".

2) After the installation starts, Windows 10 will offer to get important updates (in my opinion, this can be done later). Therefore, I recommend that you select the "not now" option and continue the installation (see Fig. 1).

Rice. 1. Start installing Windows 10

Rice. 2. Verification system requirements

3) When everything is ready for installation, you will see a window like in fig. 3. Make sure the checkbox next to "Save Windows settings, personal files and apps" and click Install.

4) The process has begun... Usually, copying files to disk (the window as in Fig. 5) does not take much time: 5-10 minutes. After that, your computer will restart.

Rice. 5. Installing Windows 10...

5) Installation process

The longest part - on my laptop, the installation process (copying files, installing drivers and components, setting up applications, etc.) took about 30-40 minutes. At this time, it is better not to touch the laptop (computer) and not interfere with the installation process (the picture on the monitor will be approximately the same as in Fig. 6).

By the way, the computer will restart automatically 3-4 times. It is possible that nothing will be displayed on your screen for 1-2 minutes (just a black screen) - do not turn off the power and do not press RESET!

Rice. 6. Process windows updates

6) When the installation process comes to an end, Windows 10 will prompt you to set up the system. I recommend choosing the item "Use standard settings" see fig. 7.

Rice. 7. New notification - improve the speed of work

7) Windows 10 notifies us during the installation process about new improvements: photos, music, new browser EDGE, movies and TV shows. In general, you can immediately click next.

Rice. 8. New apps for new Windows 10

8) Upgrade to Windows 10 completed successfully! All you have to do is click on the login button...

A little lower in the article are a few screenshots of the installed system.

Rice. 9. Welcome back Alex...

Driver installation

After updating Windows 8.1 to Windows 10, almost everything worked, except for one thing - there was no video driver and because of this it was impossible to adjust the brightness of the monitor (it was set to the maximum by default, as for me - it hurts my eyes a little).

In my case, interestingly, the laptop manufacturer's website already had a whole set of drivers for Windows 10 (dated July 31). After installing the video driver - everything began to work as expected!

Impression...

On the whole, there are not so many changes (the transition from Windows 8.1 to Windows 10 does not give anything in terms of functionality). The changes are mostly "cosmetic" (new icons, start menu, picture editor, etc.)...

Probably, someone will find it convenient to view pictures and photos in the new "viewer". By the way, it allows you to easily and quickly perform light editing: remove red eyes, brighten or darken the image, rotate, crop edges, apply various filters (see Fig. 10).

Rice. 10. View pictures in Windows 10

At the same time, these capabilities will not be enough to solve more advanced tasks. Those. in any case, even with such a photo viewer, it is necessary to have a more functional picture editor...

Viewing video files on a PC is quite well implemented: it is convenient to open a folder with films and immediately see all the series, titles, and previews for them. By the way, the viewing itself is implemented quite qualitatively, the quality of the video picture is clear, bright, and is not inferior to the best players.

About the browser Microsoft Edge I can't say anything concrete yet. The browser is like a browser - it works pretty fast, it opens pages as quickly as Chrome. The only drawback that I noticed is the distortion of some sites (apparently they are not yet optimized for it).

START menu has become much more convenient! Firstly, it combines both the tile (introduced in Windows 8) and the classic list of programs available in the system. Secondly, now if you right-click on the START menu, you can open almost any manager and change any settings in the system (see Fig. 12).

Of the minuses

I can single out one thing for now - the computer began to boot longer. Perhaps this is somehow related to my particular system, but the difference is 20-30 seconds. visible to the naked eye. Interestingly, it turns off as quickly as in Windows 8...