Starting from July 29th, Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 users will be able to upgrade their Windows installation to the final version of Windows 10 for free. The free upgrade is applicable to users who upgrade to Windows 10 in the first year of the official release of Windows.
While many users are happy that it’s possible to upgrade to Windows 10 without losing data and keeping most of installed programs, plenty of PC users wondering what if we ever need to clean install Windows 10 after the upgrade.
Fresh install of Windows 10 after the upgrade
Well, those of you who prefer clean install over the upgrade will be able glad to know that you will be able to perform a clean install of Windows 10 by wiping your hard drive after the upgrade. That is, once you successfully upgrade to Windows 10, you can clean install Windows 10 using the license. The information comes is straight from Gabriel Aul, the head of Windows Insider Program at Microsoft.
Although Microsoft has not provided much information about the clean install, Microsoft will likely allow users download Windows 10 ISO by entering Windows 10 product key that you get after the upgrade.
In short, it’s possible to perform clean install of Windows 10 once you successfully upgrade to Windows 10.
Can I clean install Windows 10 without upgrading?
No. If you’re coming from Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 and want to upgrade to Windows 10 for free, you must upgrade your Windows 7 or Windows 8/8.1 installation to Windows 10 first. Once successfully upgraded, you will able to perform clean install of Windows 10.
In the meanwhile, if you’re on Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 you can register for the free upgrade. And if you have already registered, we recommend you check if your computer and installed programs are compatible with Windows 10 using Upgrade Advisor in Get the Windows 10 app. And if you want to know what edition of Windows 10 you will get after the upgrade, go through our What version of Windows 10 will I get when I upgrade guide.
Windows 10 comes with a new Start menu, digital personal assistant Cortana, overhauled Settings app, facial recognition login, a brand new web browser called Edge, and much more.
Are you going to clean install Windows 10 after the upgrade?
Matthew says
I ended up talking to a Microsoft “Answer Desk” representative, and they claimed that after the 1 year is over, the clean install of Windows 10 will no longer work with that key if moving to a different machine at some point in the future, only the original upgraded machine.
So you will need to purchase Windows 10 after the first year if you go to a completely new computer setup (new HDD, Motherboard, etc).
I re-phrased the question several times just to make sure he understood what I was saying.
Bendito says
The real question is: after backing up an image of the old Windows 8.1 installation, then upgrading to 10, and clean installing 10, what happens when the windows 8.1 image is restored to another drive (or maybe partition) on the exact same PC? Will it be retroactively be inactivated, as the upgrade has already transformed the license? Or would it continue to work as a backup for compatibility reasons?
coffee-turtle says
Very good to know! Thanks!
Rash says
Yes if windows 10 licence key works after upgrade? ? ??
Alan says
That is good news, I was wondering about that.
Bob says
It depends on how much free disk space remain after the upgrade. :)