Clean install of windows 10 = to preloaded OS on a new unit

Johannes said:

Thanks, I am getting the PC in a few hours, so I shall study the tutorial in the mean time.

Remember to activate your 8.1 online before doing the rest of that tutorial, it doesn't mention that explicitly.

Brink's guide will probably be easier for you to follow as it's nicely formatted and includes pictures, etc. But I see he's missed another thing unfortunately, from steps 7 to 11 you should NOT be connected to the internet. Only connect after step 11, when you've copied GenuineTicket.xml and rebooted.

You will need one 8 gb USB flash drive and one 16 gb flash driver - or two 16 gb flash drives will work.

1. Make your system restore USB/DVD according to the manufacturer's instructions/program - 16 gb flash drive (more than likely)
2. Using the Windows 10 Media Creation Tool, download the same matching Windows 10 version for your Windows 8/8.1. More than likely Windows 10 Home 64bit.

See which version of Windows 8/8.1 you have here:
Which Windows operating system am I running? - Windows Help


Windows 10 Media Creation Tool here:
Windows 10

Use the "Create installation media for another PC" option and make a USB install drive - 8 gb flash drive.

3. After the Media Creation Tool makes the flash drive, just run setup.exe from it to upgrade to Windows 10. You do not boot from the flash drive for this - you just run setup.exe from it like any other file stored on it.

4. If the upgrade asks you to enter a product key, you have downloaded the wrong version of Windows 10. Stop and go back to steps 2 and 3.

5. Make sure your windows 10 is activated after upgrading.

6. This is probably the most difficult step - following manufacturer's instructions boot from the Windows 10 USB flash drive you made in step 3. Press any key to boot from USB/DVD if required. Choose keyboard, and language. Click Install Now. Click Custom install.

7. You should have a list off all the partitions on your hard drive. Click on each one, and click delete. When all the partitions have been deleted you should have one big unallocated space. Click on that and next to install to the big unallocated space.

8. When Windows 10 finishes installing, click "I own this PC", create a user account, and you should be good to go with fresh, brand new Windows 10 with no extra crapware installed.

Glad it worked for you!