Should I Free Upgrade to Windows 10 then reset to factory or factory reset Windows 8.1 then Free Upg

[Satorindley]

I want an 'out of the box' Windows 10 experience with my Surface Pro 3. My initial thoughts were:

1. Put the stuff I want to keep on a USB or 2,
2. Go to my settings (in Windows 8.1) and factory reset my SP3 to like what it comes with when you first buy it.
3. Install necessary updates until ' Get Windows 10' app appears.
4. Free Upgrade to Windows 10 via app.
5. Once upgraded to Windows 10, load USB files onto Surface Pro 3. Done.

But now I just realised a different way of doing it and I think most people would do it this way:

1. Put important stuff in safe place. (eg. USB stick, OneDrive or other cloud service)
2. Open ' Get Windows 10' app and Free Upgrade to Windows 10.
3. Once upgraded to Windows 10 then factory reset from Settings. (in Windows 10)
4. Put important files (Writing, Visual Studio, Minecraft, Civ 5 and that's about all I need I think) from USB (or wherever you put them) back onto computer. Done.

Which way is the best way for me to do it? I did click 'reserve' in the 'Get Windows 10' app so I may have preloaded Windows 10 files on my SP3 already. Am I right about most people doing it the second way?

 

[jojoe42]

I want an 'out of the box' Windows 10 experience with my Surface Pro 3. My initial thoughts were:

1. Put the stuff I want to keep on a USB or 2,
2. Go to my settings (in Windows 8.1) and factory reset my SP3 to like what it comes with when you first buy it.
3. Install necessary updates until ' Get Windows 10' app appears.
4. Free Upgrade to Windows 10 via app.
5. Once upgraded to Windows 10, load USB files onto Surface Pro 3. Done.

But now I just realised a different way of doing it and I think most people would do it this way:

1. Put important stuff in safe place. (eg. USB stick, OneDrive or other cloud service)
2. Open ' Get Windows 10' app and Free Upgrade to Windows 10.
3. Once upgraded to Windows 10 then factory reset from Settings. (in Windows 10)
4. Put important files (Writing, Visual Studio, Minecraft, Civ 5 and that's about all I need I think) from USB (or wherever you put them) back onto computer. Done.

Which way is the best way for me to do it? I did click 'reserve' in the 'Get Windows 10' app so I may have preloaded Windows 10 files on my SP3 already. Am I right about most people doing it the second way?

Yeah, the second way should work better - it'll take less time too.

 

[wasim sallam]

do i have to make factor reset (after or before upgrading)?
can't i just use it normally after i upgrade??

 

[mary beth hale]

do i have to make factor reset (after or before upgrading)?
can't i just use it normally after i upgrade??

Would also like to know this. I am comfortable with the mobile W10TP but completely clueless when it comes to my laptop. Is hard resetting at any point in the PC upgrade process necessary? For me this would be an upgrade from my current 8.1, not from any of the preview builds. Thanks.

 

[xandros9]

You probably don't need to reinstall Windows unless there are serious issues but just have a backup in case things go south.

 

[a5cent]

Do the factory reset after the upgrade.

 

[mary beth hale]

You probably don't need to reinstall Windows unless there are serious issues but just have a backup in case things go south.

Thanks! I know it's lame but my laptop is a mystery to me. Need to put some time in to learn as I did with my phone.

 

[mary beth hale]

Do the factory reset after the upgrade.

Guess I'd better at least be prepared to do that. Today is going to be "learn the basics of your laptop" Day for Mary Beth. Thanks.

 

[a5cent]

Thanks! I know it's lame but my laptop is a mystery to me. Need to put some time in to learn as I did with my phone.

Due to its flexibility, there's a lot more to learn about Windows than there is to learn about a mobile OS. It's the reason people both like it and hate it.

If the idea is to learn, and provided you have another method than your laptop to access the internet (so you can get your questions answered and download files should it be necessary), I'd recommend setting up your PC from scratch, without using the inbuilt reset feature at all:

1. Upgrade to W10 so your hardware is associated with your W10 license in the cloud
2. Download all the latest drivers for your device from the OEM and store them in a safe spot (like on a USB thumb drive)
3. Copy all your personal data off your PC and store it in a safe spot (backup)
4. Download the W10 ISO from MS and burn it to a DVD or make a bootable USB key (verify that you can boot from the DVD or USB key before continuing).
5. Format your PC
6. Set up your PC from scratch by booting from your install media (DVD or bootable USB)
7. If Windows doesn't automatically find and install all the hardware drivers for your system, then you can do so manually using the drivers you downloaded earlier (Windows device manager will show you what's missing, if anything)

It's more work than using the reset feature, but you also learn a lot more about your device, everything that goes into it, and about Windows in general. Of course if you just want to learn how to use it rather than what's actually going on, then it's probably better to stick with the reset feature.

 

[mary beth hale]

It's more work than using the reset feature, but you also learn a lot more about your device, everything that goes into it, and about Windows in general

Absolutely yes to learning more. I'll be following your instructions and thank you!

 

[eusty]

4. Download the W10 ISO from MS

I thought that wouldn't be an option for a while yet? I was under the impression the only way to upgrade would be via WU.

But like you I'd rather do a clean install from an ISO. I'd like a 10240 ISO (a 'proper' not leaked one) as the update from 10166 fails, but I'll probably wait until the RTM to worry about it.

 

[1thedavehall]

I updated my Lumia 1520 to windows 10 dev and it is full of glitches. Programs don't open, freezes up, etc. I want to go back to 8.1,

 

[mary beth hale]

I updated my Lumia 1520 to windows 10 dev and it is full of glitches. Programs don't open, freezes up, etc. I want to go back to 8.1,

You will get more help if you post in the Windows 10 for mobile thread. This is specific to the PC version of the preview.

Use the Recovery Tool to roll back to 8.1. I use the Windows Phone Recovery Tool but others have also had success with the Lumia Software Recovery Tool.

 

[a5cent]

I thought that wouldn't be an option for a while yet? I was under the impression the only way to upgrade would be via WU.

But like you I'd rather do a clean install from an ISO. I'd like a 10240 ISO (a 'proper' not leaked one) as the update from 10166 fails, but I'll probably wait until the RTM to worry about it.

The big question is what "a while yet" means. I have no idea. All I've read is that it won't be available on the 29th. For me it doesn't really matter, since I'm not intending to upgrade during the next few weeks anyway. Those that are in a hurry just need to be insiders and be able to track down that leaked 10240 ISO on the internet (preferably also be able to validate it with a SHA1 hash).

 

[Guzzler3]

Two more things I would HIGHLY recommend:

1. Backup your data to an external drive.
2. Make sure you have a functioning recovery disk(s) before you update to W10. Be it Windows 7, 8, 8.1 etc.

The data backup, is just common sense.
The recovery disk is there for the "Just in case" something goes wrong in the update process, or you don't like W10 in the beginning.

 

[b0blight]

I want an 'out of the box' Windows 10 experience with my Surface Pro 3. My initial thoughts were:

1. Put the stuff I want to keep on a USB or 2,
2. Go to my settings (in Windows 8.1) and factory reset my SP3 to like what it comes with when you first buy it.
3. Install necessary updates until ' Get Windows 10' app appears.
4. Free Upgrade to Windows 10 via app.
5. Once upgraded to Windows 10, load USB files onto Surface Pro 3. Done.

But now I just realised a different way of doing it and I think most people would do it this way:

1. Put important stuff in safe place. (eg. USB stick, OneDrive or other cloud service)
2. Open ' Get Windows 10' app and Free Upgrade to Windows 10.
3. Once upgraded to Windows 10 then factory reset from Settings. (in Windows 10)
4. Put important files (Writing, Visual Studio, Minecraft, Civ 5 and that's about all I need I think) from USB (or wherever you put them) back onto computer. Done.

Which way is the best way for me to do it? I did click 'reserve' in the 'Get Windows 10' app so I may have preloaded Windows 10 files on my SP3 already. Am I right about most people doing it the second way?

Yeah, I would do the second way. Backup your data first, do the upgrade, and after the upgrade do a clean install. This way, you will be doing a "out of the box" windows 10 install

 

[Satorindley]

Is it important to back up everything? Is it just in case something goes wrong? I just want a few things like 2 games, Visual Studio, Office, some documents, etc.) If I do have to back up everything, how do I do that?

 

[samar vaishampayan]

Satorindley, I think second option will save time.

 

[Paolo Cardelli]

For an even better "Out-of-the-Box" experience with Surface Pro 3 on Windows 10 you should:

1) Reset preinstalled 8.1 Pro with an USB Recovery Drive (created from OS), and Erasing partitions too when asked;
2) Update fresh 8.1 with all updates, and get "Reserve Windows 10";
3) Flawless upgrade the fresh 8.1 to 10 (nothing should go wrong considering it's 8.1 out of the box);
4) Once upgraded to 10. Do all Windows Updates, and create a "new" USB Recovery Drive (this time with your custom Windows 10 on it);
5) Finally Reset again your SP3 with Windows 10 USB Stick, and Erase again partitions when asked (to clean away anything 8.1 related from your disk).

This way it would be like having a new Surface Pro 3 unit with Windows 10 preinstalled

 

[a5cent]

Is it important to back up everything? Is it just in case something goes wrong? I just want a few things like 2 games, Visual Studio, Office, some documents, etc.) If I do have to back up everything, how do I do that?

No. Anything you can install again from separate installation media or download/install from the internet, (e.g. visual studio or office) you don't need to back up.

You might want to backup and later restore stuff like your visual studio settings files, to avoid having to reconfigure everything.

The most important things to backup are your personal documents, basically anything that you worked on to create.