Windows 10 Reinstallation

Retaining the Windows.old folder

When reinstalling Windows 10 from a DVD or USB device, the original Windows installation should be preserved in a folder named ‘Windows.old’. If this works then inside the ‘Windows.old’ folder will be a folder named ‘Users’ and inside that folder you will find all the original user accounts. Once the reinstallation is complete, rename the ‘Windows.old’ folder to somthing else, like ‘WindowsPreserved’ for example, to stop the new installation from deleting the ‘Windows.old’ folder after the new installation has been running for a while.

Backing up user data

Although the original Windows 10 installation will probably be preserved, along with all the user accounts, it would be foolish to rely on this. Therefore, in every case, you should backup all accessible user data before reinstalling Windows 10. If the original Windows 10 installation is not bootable, you should boot Linux Mint from a USB device and use that to create the backup (Linux Mint can understand the New Technology File System (NTFS) that Windows 10 uses to store data). If Linux Mint has trouble accessing (mounting) the Windows file system in ‘read / write’ mode because the file system is dirty or damaged, you can always try mounting the file system in ‘read only’ mode.

Re-installation procedure

  1. Before reinstalling Windows 10, ask the customer for their account name, password, and password hint.
  2. During reinstallation, maximise privacy by saying ‘no’ to every request for permission to send data to Microsoft.
  3. After reinstallation, make sure that the first boot device is the HDD / SSD rather than any optical drive or USB device.
  4. Check that Windows 10 is activated, and if not, initiate activation over the Internet manually.
  5. Before going any further, consider pausing Windows Update for a while, as it can silently use up almost all of the available Internet bandwidth and thus slow down subsequent steps to a crawl.
  6. If Windows Update is still using a considerable amount of the available Internet bandwidth, despite being paused, you can stop it in its tracks by temporarily disabling the ‘Windows Update’ service and the ‘Background Intelligent Transfer Service’.
  7. Consider downloading and installing any manufacturer-specific system updating software that may be available, and allow it to install and / or update drivers. Having said that, some software that looks as though it might help with this process, such as HP’s Support Assistant for example, are very bloated and don’t actually update drivers as expected.
  8. Go into the Device Manager and install the most recent ‘Display adapter’ driver that is available, if this has not already been done automatically.
  9. In the Device Manager, install drivers for any ‘Other devices’ that have no drivers, and update any existing drivers that might be out of date, or are marked as requiring further installation.
  10. Install any manufacturer-specific HDD / SSD management software, which can increase the performance of the device.
  11. Check that everything works, especially things that can be difficult to configure properly, such as the microphone and speakers for example.
  12. Install all required applications and system protection software, making sure that your preferred browser, rather than the built-in ‘Microsoft Edge’ product, is set as the default browser.
  13. Uninstall Windows apps that are not required, and if Windows 10 has been reinstalled from recovery media provided by an equipment manufacturer, remove pre-installed junkware using ‘AdwCleaner’.
  14. Download and install all available Windows Updates if time allows, but be aware that Windows Update is notoriously slow, uninformative, and sometimes dangerous.
  15. Clear the ‘Downloads’ folder of unnecessary files (you can use ‘Shift + Delete’ to bypass the Recycle Bin).
  16. Set up the desktop background, preferably using an image that does not obscure any of the desktop icons with too much ‘busy’ detail.
  17. Turn off all annoying transparency effects.
  18. Forget any Wi-Fi networks that have been used to set up the computer, other than the customer’s own network.
  19. Clean the system with a portable version of CCleaner, and leave CCleaner running when the cleaning process has finished.
  20. Create a ‘Clean Working System’ restore point.
  21. Use CCleaner to delete any older restore points that may have been created during the reinstallation process.