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Clean install W10 Home version 1909 64 bit, build 18363.535.
I recently did a clean install of W10 on an old ASUS X54H laptop which previously had W7 installed. This was partly to overcome a Windows Explorer issue and partly to update the laptop. During the install I was concerned that I had to set up an account and that I had to provide a password each time the machine booted. Whilst I appreciate the latter annoyance can be got ‘round using netplwiz I’ve not found it to be 100% reliable.
Reading some of the postings here on Tenforums I realised that others had similar concerns so making a mental note of some of these suggestions I decided to perform another clean install. During the install it became obvious that some of these did not apply, presumably because different versions of W10 behave differently during the install. The following will show just how easy it all went with my version of W10 (W10 Home version 1909 64 bit, build 18363.535).
The first thing I did was to disconnect my router’s WiFi, I still had ethernet access to the ‘net for my main Dell machine but the laptop was now disconnected from the outside world. I had previously downloaded a copy of W10 onto an usb pen. During the install I got the language/country /keyboard options and a few others which I declined then a couple of options at the bottom left of the screen “I don’t have Internet” and “Connect with limited set-up” appeared and which I selected. I was not asked to provide or set up any sort of account – no email addresses, no PIN numbers, no telephone numbers - there was no ‘Limited Experience’ option - nothing. The install finished and W10 was operative. The one thing I immediately realised was that my screen resolution was wrong and on checking I realised it was 1024 x 768. In Device Manager I could see the Display Adaptor driver was an old Microsoft one. I re-enabled WiFi and set the laptop to automatically look for a newer version of the Display Adaptor driver and it found a newer Intel driver and installed it. The resolution was now 1366 x 768. I subsequently downloaded all the ASUS drivers onto another usb pen although the laptop appears to work quite happily without installing any of them… I then got a message “Let’s Finish Setting Up”. My heart sank! There was only the one option provided – select OK. I ‘think’ it was here that I was asked for the user’s name after which it was all done. I could presumably have left it blank but there was no reason to. I then downloaded and installed the latest MS updates but as my usb copy of W10 was only a few days old there were only a handful.
So there you are. I think that the secret – well for me at least was ensuring that there was NO internet access during the install. It all went SO smoothly I really can’t believe it… The old ASUS is working well, booting up in under 20 seconds and I’ve just treated it to a new battery which appears to provide power for ~6 hours of YouTube viewing so a worthwhile and painless exercise! Incidentally I was never asked for the W10 Product Key during install but the laptop tells me 'Windows is activated with a digital licence'. Now to see if I can update that old Vista machine in the cupboard to W10!
Thanks to Tenforums for the ideas and inspiration – as usual!
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