Thanks to the efforts of developers, installing Windows 10 has become a fairly simple process: click buttons and drink coffee while you wait. Today we will talk about the nuances in detail.
Requirements for installing Windows 10
You can choose a 32-bit system for a weaker computer and a 64-bit system for a more powerful one. The developer specifies the minimum system requirements:
- Processor from 1 GHz.
- RAM 1GB or 2GB (by bit depth, respectively).
- Free space on the hard drive is 16 GB (32-bit) and 20 GB (64-bit).
- DirectX from 9.
- Monitor 800x600.
We do not recommend getting inspired. At minimum requirements The system will slow down after installation. And the most unpleasant thing is downloading updates, which will require additional disk space. You can view all the requirements in the application "System Information"(find via search).
If the PC is “empty”, use the documents for the components.
Preparing your computer
Installation operating system can be of three types:
- Clean installation of Windows 10 from scratch.
- Installation on top of the existing ten.
- Updating a version from an old one, for example, seven or eight.
For the first case, prepare a flash drive.
The second and third points will require preliminary storage of accumulated information. And then prepare a flash drive or installation disk.
Differences will arise during the installation process, more on that later.
Many people doubt whether it is possible to install Windows 10 for free and still use the official version. Read on to find out how to do this.
Media preparation
You can download Windows 10 for free and install it on your computer from a DVD or CD, flash drive, or removable hard drive. Anyone will do bootable media, which can be specified as a boot element in the BIOS.
The best option for getting dozens is to download from the official website, since it is correct to install licensed Windows 10 on new computer(and the old one too) will probably only work from their copy. This gives you confidence that there are no viruses or poorly hacked files. And to activate, if you do not have a key, use the KMS activator program.
To install, go to the website and download Creation Media Tools. Launch it. The first screen is the license agreement. Accept, this is the first step to installing licensed Windows 10 from the official website in Russian.
In the options, choose the second one.
Let's set the bit depth, language and version.
The flash drive will be created automatically by the utility. The requirements are simple - the flash drive must have a capacity of at least 8GB.
If the condition is met, bootloader creation will begin.
You can also use the image to restore the operating system. Using the Microsoft utility, you can install Windows 10 on your computer from the Internet for free.
The ISO file should be mounted in Explorer if ten is installed. Right-click on the file name and select “Open”. Virtual disk will be created automatically.
In earlier versions of the OS we use third-party programs, for example, Daemon Tools. After the process is completed, a full disk with the installer will be displayed in Explorer.
How to install Windows 10 on a “clean” computer that does not yet have an OS: create media on another PC.
Remember: Media Creation Tools will help you install Windows 10 from the official Microsoft website for free.
Changing the boot order
If you will boot and install from a flash drive or disk, then you need to change the main boot disk in BIOS. You can get into it by pressing the F2, DEL, F11 buttons - for different computers they differ, you can see them on the first screen when loading.
The same, obviously, will have to be done for laptop PCs in order to install Windows 10 on a laptop without any problems. Only here does a difference appear in the order of entering the BIOS or Boot Menu. Manufacturers have provided various options - this is a separate button near the power key on the case (Lenovo), ESC or F8 (Asus), F12 (Acer), etc. Check on the official website.
Please note that changes are made to the BIOS forever, to the Boot Menu only once. Next about the BIOS.
Find the item. In it, set the type of your installer as the first boot device - disk or flash drive.
Save and exit. When loading, the new rules will already be applied.
Finding out the hard drive partitions
If you put on top old system, at a certain stage, the Windows 10 installation assistant will require you to specify the hard drive partition on which the installation will be performed. Open a command line with administrator rights (utilities section in the main menu).
Type the diskpart directive. Tap enter and then the list volume directive.
Remember the volume number in which the boot disk with the system is located.
So, you have a desire to install Windows 10, installer, all information has been cleared, you can start installation.
Step-by-step installation of Windows 10 on PC: instructions
Correct installation of the operating room Windows systems 10 starts by restarting the system with the installation media inserted. The download starts from there and the setup file is launched accordingly. The process has begun.
Set the location.
Click “Install” if you are doing everything from scratch. To simply “repair” the system, you can tap “Restore”. The action is available online in Media Creation Tools.
The following screen appears for those who install a clean system. On top of the license key, it is picked up automatically. Here you can enter a value (if you have a license to install Windows 10) or click on the message "I don't have the key". This does not affect the installation; then you will need to activate the OS.
Not everyone has the next choice. If you are the owner of a “home” license, then the same assembly will be installed. But with a “clean” installation, you have a choice. Here you can install Windows 10 Pro on your computer or a simpler version.
Then accept the license.
Difficult point: partitioning the disk into volumes. Choose a custom installation to get new system. The first option will save all the garbage, the new version will roll over the old one, which will be saved in the “Windows.old” folder.
For a new computer, you will see one disk and a couple of partitions. We recommend never touching zero - it contains information for rolling back to factory settings.
To install partitions, use the buttons below.
For already used PCs, a list of all sections will be displayed. Install the system in any one, but remember that in this case the old one will be preserved in another partition and will function properly. And when loading you will have a choice - which one to prefer.
Here, too, there is a choice of actions applied to the section:
- If you put it on top old version(seven, Vista) – delete this section, select a new area (it will appear after deletion) and proceed to the next step. The volume will be created automatically.
- If you decide not to format or delete the partition, then the old system will be saved in the Windows.old folder.
- Place tens or eights on top - format the section.
One of the treatment options is to reformat the entire screw in the desired style, but this is not always possible - the data will be lost, and creating a backup of all information can be expensive both in terms of capacity and time. Therefore, we recommend a simple method.
Go to BIOS and select a boot disk without a UEFI prefix. This usually helps.
Start first. Usually this error occurs on fairly old laptops.
The routine process begins, all you have to do is wait.
You must make a choice - indicate the country.
Select a layout.
Add additional if necessary.
You will be asked to set up a Microsoft account. In principle, this is convenient - you get one access to all applications and services: mail, store, etc.
Many people believe that Microsoft monitors users through this account, but this is doubtful. Rather, he accumulates statistics in order to develop and promote his products - a normal marketing practice. The choice is yours.
If you agree and register, think about the cloud - this is the ability to synchronize all devices and data.
Configure privacy settings. You can set them aside and install them later in the OS settings.
After several reboots, everything will be finished, since we were able to install Windows 10 for free.
Write in the comments what errors occurred and how you dealt with them.
In one of our previous articles, we looked at the question of how to install Windows 10 on a computer running Windows 7, 8.1 by updating.
However, in some situations it may be necessary to perform a classic installation from a bootable USB flash drive or DVD.
If you install Windows 10 by updating two previous versions, the user needs to wait for some time.
After receiving the update, its data, programs (exceptions include games, antiviruses, standard media player) and their settings will be automatically transferred to the new system.
However, in some cases, a more acceptable solution would be to install the system from scratch.
Step 1: Upgrade your current system to Windows 10
As strange as it may sound, the first thing you need to do is update your current operating system to Windows 10.
If you purchased an electronic key Windows activation 10? You can immediately proceed to the next step, and for owners of “seven” and “eight” licenses, we will explain that when updating, the installed OS is checked for licensing and activation.
It is the presence of a license for Windows 7, 8, 8.1 that gives their owners the right to perform a free update within a year after the release of Windows 10.
Pay attention! If the check is successful, the computer is registered on Microsoft servers, or rather, its unique components are registered. Thus, this registration and subsequent identification is carried out not for the account, but for the computer hardware. You only need to update the system once to register with Microsoft, after which, after making sure that the system is activated, you can safely proceed with the installation.
You can update the system using a special Windows tool 10 Media Creation, which can be downloaded from Microsoft official website .
Step 2: Burn a Windows 10 image
Run the utility again Windows 10 Media Creation . Since we have updated the system, we select the second item:
We select the type of media (flash drive with a capacity of at least 4 GB or DVD) on which the image, architecture, language and version of the system will be written.
After recording, do not remove the OS media and proceed to the next step.
Step 3: Install Windows 10
Installing Windows 10 is no different from installing two latest versions this operating system. Let's briefly go through the main points.
After recording the OS to the media, it’s time to think about the safety of existing user data.
All data located on system disk and representing value, incl. on the desktop and user folders, you must copy it to another local drive, removable hard drive or flash drive.
The first thing the system will offer is to connect to one of the available wireless networks and, if there are none, it will again ask you to enter the product license code.
The algorithm of actions is exactly the same as before, if you have a product key, enter it, if not, select the “Do it later” item.
In the next window we will be asked to increase the speed of work; to do this, go to the “Settings” menu.
If you are not very knowledgeable about this issue, select the “Use standard settings” option.
Next, create a user account. If you have a Microsoft account and your computer is connected to the Internet, you can log into it immediately. 
The last step will be the final setup of the system. Typically, this stage lasts 15–45 minutes, depending on the hardware of your PC.
And here in front of you is the desktop of the new operating system! 
Installing Windows 10
How to install Windows 10 – step by step instructions
Many experienced computer users believe that for better performance and better performance, the operating system needs to be cleaned up periodically. It is clear that such users would prefer to install “zero” ten rather than install it on top of the old operating system. Let us leave aside discussions about how correct this opinion is and to what extent it is justified to spend time on clean install Windows 10 from the official Microsoft website instead of simply setting the “ten” on top of the “seven” or “eight” - after all, as they say, there are so many people, so many opinions. There is no single correct answer, so everyone does what they think is right. And if someone foams at the mouth to prove that it is right or wrong, then, in my opinion, this does not mean that this person is right. If it seems to you that a clean image installed on a formatted hard drive works faster and more stable, then why look for other ways. Let me add that I myself think so. I don’t have logical evidence of the benefits of a clean installation of Windows 10, like many other Windows OS users - only many years of experience, intuition and subjective feeling.
So, what should you do if you don’t want to upgrade your Windows 7 or 8.1 to Windows 10, but want to clean and format your hard drive and then install a clean Windows 10 on it?
To ensure that all users can safely install Windows 10 completely, Microsoft Corporation created a tool that allows you to burn an operating system image to DVD disc or USB drive. Download this free program possible with official website companies.
But be careful! If on this page you select the blue “Update now” button at the top, the program for Windows updates 7 or 8.1 on Windows 10. In order to download a program for recording a clean image of “tens” you will have to go down and select the blue button “ Download the tool now ».
The MediaCreatorTool.exe file will load. After downloading is complete, you need to launch it like any other program and select “ Create installation media for another computer." We choose it even if we need to completely install Windows 10 on the same computer. Otherwise, if you select “Update this PC now,” the new OS will be written over the old one, and not completely. (In general, it would be more logical to name these items “Update the operating system” and “Create an image of Windows 10”, but here, apparently, as often happens with software, incorrect literal translation from English into Russian).
At one time, when launching the MediaCreationTool utility, it was observed error 80072f76 0x20017. It was associated with “jambs” exclusively on the Microsoft side and arose everywhere around the world from September to December 2017. On at the moment the problem has been resolved, but in such cases, you can use a “crutch” to download the Windows 10 image from the official website. You can download the top ten directly by replacing the user agent in your browser with Apple Safari. Everything is simple there: press F12 in the Edge browser - then go to the “Emulation” tab - change the user agent string to “Apple Safari (iPad)” - download the necessary images from Microsoft official website(described in more detail here in English). If you don’t have access to the Edge browser due to the lack of Windows 10 anywhere and you decide to trust me (by the way, completely in vain - because you can’t trust anyone on the Internet), then here I have links to ISO files in the cloud Mega storage with the latest versions of Windows 10 as of December 2017: 32 bit and 64 bit. I will say right away that downloading from there will most likely be slow. It’s faster to use the method with the official website and changing the agent in the browser. After downloading ISO image with Windows 10, using any of the described methods, you need to create bootable USB flash drive from this installation image. This can be done using the utility Rufus.
The Windows 10 clean image burning program provides the ability to create it both on a USB drive and on a DVD.
But first you need to select some parameters created image Windows 10 operating system (this must be done if the default settings do not suit you, since you are going to install a clean image of Windows 10 on another computer).
The first is the edition (Windows 10 Home or Windows 10 Professional) and then the architecture (32-bit, 64-bit, or both). Regarding the release, I’ll say this: choose Windows 10 Home if you don’t understand what the difference is.
As for the 32- or 64-bit version, then you need to know the bit capacity of the computer you want to use. install a clean image of Windows 10. How to determine this, read the article "". If you need a disk from which you can install different versions Windows 10 on several computers at once, then feel free to select the “Both” option. If there is no need for both images, then you should not choose the double option, since the weight installation disk will increase exactly twice and will be about 8 GB instead of 4 GB.
After all the necessary parameters are set, you need to select which media you want burn a clean image of Windows 10. If it is a USB drive (flash drive), then the image will be written directly to it.
If you select a DVD disc, the program will first ask you to select a location to save the program on your computer or laptop - for convenience, you can place it directly on your desktop. Only then can you burn the created image of clean Windows 10 to a DVD. One of the ways to do this is discussed in detail in my article “ How to burn an image to a DVD in Windows 10».
Installing a clean image of Windows 10
I don’t see any point in considering how exactly you can install clean Windows 10 on your computer. If you are at all wondering about a clean installation of “ten”, then you clearly know how this process occurs when Windows installation 7 or 8. With version 10 of Windows, nothing new has appeared in this process. As for choosing individual parameters, I personally prefer to install “top ten” with the default settings, and only then, if necessary, change something on a running operating system.
Based on comments and personal messages, I realized that many people still have questions about installing Windows 10. Wrote a very detailed article "".
I foresee the question of activating Windows 10. I will not advertise pirated methods - if you wish, you can easily find a great variety of them. I assume that you are planning to install a clean Windows 10, already having a license for it. If the licensed “ten” was installed on the computer at least once, then the key is already linked to it and after a clean installation of the operating system it will be activated automatically. If you do not have a license and you (quite rightly) do not want to use pirated activation methods, then I advise you to read my article “ How to get a licensed version of Windows 10 for free and legally after July 2016».
P.S.: Just in case, I’ll add that to find the item activation in the parameters you can use the search (magnifying glass on the control panel). When you start typing the words “Activation...” in the search bar, you will see the item “Activation. System parameters". This is what you need to launch by simply pressing Enter.
Let me start with the fact that I was lucky enough to get my hands on an entry-level Asus R540SA laptop, which is supplied and naturally sold in our stores without any operating system. I decided to install Windows 10 Pro on it, pursuing 3 goals: to find out the installation process itself (I haven’t done this for a very long time), to check the possibility of activating Windows 10 with a key from Windows 8 (fortunately, I had one key lying unclaimed for 3 whole years), and also see how the system behaves on fairly average laptop hardware. First things first.
A little about the Asus R540SA laptop
Despite its budget price, the laptop looks quite stylish. The dark chocolate lid made of durable plastic and the light brown body look very good together. I was struck by the lightness of the laptop, only 1.9 kg, as well as the body thickness of 25.4 mm, which is very unusual for budget laptops. Therefore, it is very light and easy to transport. It would seem, what can you expect from a laptop for 6,000 hryvnia? But it is equipped with all the connectors necessary for operation. Here they are all located on the left side of the case: 3.5 mm headphone jack, one at a time USB port 2.0, 3.0 and also a new connector USB Type-C, which is quite rare to find on laptops in this price segment. Nearby are HDMI, VGA and LAN RJ-45 connectors, that is, you can connect to the Internet not only via a wireless interface, since the laptop is equipped with a Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n module, but also use a wired one, which I’m sure will please you many, because manufacturers lately For some reason, budget laptops prefer to get rid of this connector.
ASUS R540SA also has a Bluetooth 4.0 module, which allows you to transfer data between devices at speeds of up to 1 Mbit/s.
Particularly noteworthy is the island-type keyboard, which allows you to quickly and easily type text without the risk of making a mistake when pressing keys, and a fairly sensitive touchpad with an increased area that supports some of the gestures. Of course, you shouldn’t expect that such a laptop will have the latest hardware installed.
The 15.6-inch ASUS R540SA has a standard resolution of 1366×768 for an inexpensive laptop and a glossy surface, although it does not reflect much in the sun, which makes it comfortable to work on.
It is worth noting that ASUS developers were able to implement, even in such an entry-level laptop, a whole range of software and hardware designed to improve sound quality. Watching movies, TV series, videos and listening to music on it is a pleasure. He will definitely get his money's worth in this regard. But with the camera for video calls, everything is sad: it is only 0.3 megapixel resolution in our time!!! For me, such a camera is no longer very pleasant and convenient.
It's even worse with performance and memory. I understand that for such a price it’s still divine, but still. In a laptop, 2-core is responsible for performance Intel processor Celeron with maximum clock frequency 1.6 GHz (2.16 GHz in Turbo Boost), 2 GB RAM and integrated Intel HD Graphics. The processor is built on a modern 14-nm process technology, which means it does not heat up and has low power consumption. Okay, it's a mid-range processor, but in 2016, 2 GB of RAM is very little. I'm thinking about adding memory, but if the module is not soldered to motherboard. It's worth mentioning that it supports DDR3L 1.35V low voltage mode instead of the 1.5V that DDR3 typically uses.
The laptop has a non-removable lithium ion battery, which will allow you to work for up to 4 hours according to the manufacturer. I can tell from personal experience, which works up to 3 hours no more.
As you can see, I have a very average laptop and still without any operating system, the installation of which I want to tell you about later.
Installing Windows 10 Pro
I already wrote above that I haven’t installed an OS on such laptops for a long time, so it was very interesting how exactly new Windows 10 will cope with this task. I, from yours permissions, I will omit the details of preparing the ISO image of Windows 10. I have already written about this many times in my articles. I’ll just note that I’ve once again become convinced that there’s simply no need for any third-party utility other than MediaCreationTool. It does an excellent job of installing the OS.
Since my laptop is completely naked and there is nothing on it, my first step was naturally to look into the BIOS. This has also been written and discussed many times. Let me just post a picture with possible key combinations for entering the BIOS for almost all laptops.
Having entered that same BIOS, our main and only task is in the section BOOT, which is easy to navigate using buttons up-down, right-left, find your bootable USB flash drive here, which do not forget to insert into the connector laptop usb. Now you need to set it as the system boot priority using the same keys up and down, then press the key F10 And Enter. We kindly ask you not to click or change anything else in the BIOS.
You will know that the download has started when you see a page with a choice of interface language, country and operating system version. That is, the procedure is actually similar to a clean installation of Windows 10. But I had one nuance, the solution to which I want to tell you about. When selecting a disk to install the operating system, it turned out that I could not do this, since my disk partitions have the format MBR, and for installation you need GPT. Many people encounter this problem, so I think it is necessary to describe ways to solve it.
You can solve the problems of converting MBR and GPT partitions using Command line , which can be opened with a set of keys Shift+F10.You need to run the utility diskpart, then enter the command Listdisk to display a list of physical drives connected to your computer. Next, select the desired disk from the list that appears with the command selectdiskN, Where N- the number of your disk you want to convert. It must be cleared by entering the command clean. All that remains is to enter the command convertgpt and the disk is ready to install the operating system. In the same way you can convert from GPT V MBR, changing the last word when converting. I also want to note that in recent years I have stopped breaking hard drive into separate sections. I once asked this question on the Microsoft forum, to which I received an explanation that new HDDs/SSDs do not require special partitioning. While HDD drives are usually divided into partitions, many manufacturers do NOT recommend partitioning SSD drives. I predict your reaction to this phrase and therefore point out that NOT recommended does not mean IMPOSSIBLE. It all depends on your personal desires and needs. Everything works fine for me without dividing into sections and there have never been any force majeure circumstances.
I was very pleased that the installation took me no more than 40 minutes. Just answer the questions and click next. There is one observation: recently, when installing Windows 10, the system asks you to enter instead WI-FI password router PIN code, which can be easily found on the body of your device. I don’t know what this is connected with, but the fact remains a fact. And I highly recommend that when installing Windows 10, you must have access to the Internet. The reason for this request is very prosaic: if there is an Internet connection, then Windows 10 installs the drivers itself, providing digital signature. Simply put, you don't have to dig through manufacturers' websites to find the drivers you need. Forget it if you bought it new laptop, even without an installed operating system.
After a while, the desktop will open and all pre-installed programs and applications from Microsoft will be loaded into your laptop, which means you can safely use your device.
Activating Windows 10 with a Windows 8 license key
As I said above, after installation the Desktop opened, the system works fine, but it needs to be activated. This can be done in two ways: when the system asks you to enter the key during activation itself (I simply skipped this point) or through Settings-Update and Security-Activation. Since I did not have a Windows 10 activation key, I decided to try to activate the OS using the Windows 8 activation key, which had been quietly waiting in the wings for 3 years. I read that there is such a method, but I had to check it.
To my surprise, everything went smoothly and without surprises. Literally a minute later, my Windows 10 Pro was activated, which was eloquently written about in the Activations section. That is, there is also this method of activating Windows 10. I don’t know how long this loophole will exist, but it saved me a decent amount.
How Windows 10 Pro works on a budget laptop
For almost a week now, I have been working daily on a new laptop: writing articles, making presentations, communicating on social networks, read news on portals, etc.
Of course I don’t play on it, I rarely play games at all. I can say with full responsibility that the laptop copes with its task “excellently”. Yes, he's slower Surface Pro 3, yes it lacks RAM and a not very fast processor, but it is worth the money. In today's economic crisis, if you configure it correctly and don't expect anything supernatural from it, you can easily buy a budget laptop for home use and study. Windows 10 works great on it and copes with all the tasks necessary for the average user. It is important to configure the system correctly, do not download programs from unfamiliar resources, and do not search for drivers and utilities. And then using Windows 10 will only bring joy.
