Replacing Win10 on new hard drive after original failed

First timer so please be gentle.

My hard drive failed on my Asus desktop and had to be replaced. This whole thing made me aware of how little I prepared for such a situation. I had a recovery usb but it was from the date of purchase (2012/13) so I created a new one using my HP laptop. It worked, installing Win10 on the desktop, but I noticed many HP files on my desktop. I also noticed that the computer took on HP power settings and my desktop is now acting like a laptop. I'm sure there are other things running making my desktop a laptop.

Specifically, when I put the desktop to sleep, the computer goes to sleep for a while but after a period of time it shuts down. It requires a restart every time I go back to the desktop. I would like to fix this and I guess I would like to know if there was a way of fixing the Win10 that was installed from the HP laptop.

Thanks

Have you attempted to adjust power/sleep settings on the current installation?

Are you averse to or at all interested in doing a clean install of Windows?

You should have used the latest free iso from MS so its upto date and no hp stuff https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/soft...load/windows10

edee em said:

My hard drive failed on my Asus desktop and had to be replaced. ... I had a recovery usb but it was from the date of purchase (2012/13) so I created a new one using my HP laptop. It worked, installing Win10 on the desktop, but I noticed many HP files on my desktop. I also noticed that the computer took on HP power settings and my desktop is now acting like a laptop. I'm sure there are other things running making my desktop a laptop.

Welcome to TenForums.

Never, ever, make a recovery drive on an OEM pre-installed Windows 10 machine and use it on another machine. That recovery drive will include all the OEM customisations and drivers, it's effectively a 'factory reset' drive for the machine it was made on.

You would be better off doing a clean install with a 'plain-vanilla' install usb from Microsoft.

Create Bootable USB Flash Drive to Install Windows 10

Alternatively, if you'd like to have the OEM utilities that came with your Asus, then use your old Asus recovery usb. That should put it back to how you bought it (with Windows 8 installed?). Then you could upgrade it to Windows 10, keeping any Asus OEM utilities that are compatible with Win10.

Upgrade to Windows 10

This whole thing made me aware of how little I prepared for such a situation.

Lesson learned the hard way In future, prepare yourself by making a system image with Macrium Reflect Free.

Backup and Restore with Macrium Reflect

ignatzatsonic said:

Have you attempted to adjust power/sleep settings on the current installation?

Are you averse to or at all interested in doing a clean install of Windows?

I did check the power settings but there was zero mention of shutting off after sleep. The settings that are available to us mortal users are the Shut off monitor/Shut off the computer options.

My only aversion to doing a clean install is that I don't know what is involved with that and what gets erased and what stays etc. If that is the way to fix it, I will take that on.

- - - Updated - - -

Samuria said:

You should have used the latest free iso from MS so its upto date and no hp stuff https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/soft...load/windows10

Right, now what? I read somewhere to use another computer to make the recovery usb since my drive wasn't available. Never even thought of going to MS for a copy. What would the steps be in starting over?

edee em said:

My only aversion to doing a clean install is that I don't know what is involved with that and what gets erased and what stays etc. If that is the way to fix it, I will take that on.

What would the steps be in starting over?

What gets erased? Everything, I say everything, from your hard drive. Thus the term "clean".

You'd presumably back up your personal files to some other drive (external possibly) first. To include pictures, videos, spaghetti recipes, email, browser bookmarks, and whatever other personal stuff you have on that drive.

Up to you to know where that stuff is right now so you can back it up.

If you were experienced, a clean install might take less than an hour to get up and running.

Then you'd copy your backed up files back to the new installation and begin installing the programs that were wiped out by the clean install. Office, Photoshop, games, whatever you use the computer for.

You'd most likely install from a bootable USB flash drive that you would create via the "Media Creation Tool" (aka MCT) available from Microsoft.

Tutorials on this site or get walked through it on this or another thread.

You'd end up with a clean install of Windows 10 per se, as opposed to Windows 10 plus all the other stuff HP threw into the deal from the factory.

edee em said:

What would the steps be in starting over?

See the links in my post #4