[SOLVED] Best way to re-install Windows 10 Pro on M.2 card? ( without loosing games etc?? )

[subseauk]

Hi all, I recently converted to windows from Macs and had installed on a SATA SSD. I have now fitted a M.2 Nvme card and run windows 10 Pro from that but used a clone software to copy the SSD onto the M.2
My issue is there seems to be a lot of errors and conflicts within Windows environment and I would like to do a re-install of the OS and then de-bloat it to stop a lot of unrequired background cr*p such as Edge, One drive, Cortana etc and reduce MS input and control of the system.
Can anyone shed some light on the best way to go about this ( bear in mind i'm not the most tech savy guy when it comes to Windows! )

Apologies if this has been posted in the wrong forum section.

Cheers for any help / input
Kev

 

[Darkbreeze]

There is no way to do a clean install without losing everything on the drive, unless you have a separate partition on the drive where the games are stored. If you have your games stored on a DIFFERENT DRIVE than the one you are trying to install Windows on, then it shouldn't be a problem at all and THAT is the preferred way to arrange things anyhow.

Practically speaking you should have a drive with the OS on it. A drive with your games and application installers on it plus any important files like movies, music, documents, etc. And then another drive that has a backup copy of the OS image and a backup copy of anything important from the other drive with the documents and games on it so that if something happens to one of the other drives you have a fail safe backup. Even better would be to also have an off-site copy, like somewhere in the cloud or on another drive that you don't keep in the same house in case there is a fire or other disaster.

But for installing Windows itself, you need to move your game files off that drive onto another drive, if they are not already ON another drive, and then follow my guide, here:

How To - Windows 10 clean install tutorial

If you are looking for the Windows 11 Clean install tutorial, you can find that here: Windows 11 Clean install tutorial (Click here) Otherwise, welcome to the Windows 10 Clean install tutorial This tutorial is intended to help you, step by step, to perform a clean install of Windows...

forums.tomshardware.com

 

[mdd1963]

On the positive side, a full deletion of partitions/quick format/reinstall of the OS on an NVME drive takes about 4 minutes these days...(yes, reinstalling software, games, utilities takes time....so once it's perfect, take a backup image of it in that state so you can, if needed in the future, restore to that point vice having to reinstall everything; Acronis True Image, Clonezilla, Macrium Reflect work great for this)

You can shorten the overall experience if you have your required mainboard and GPU drivers already on USB flash drive, or at least hyperlinks to same...

 

[subseauk]

On the positive side, a full deletion of partitions/quick format/reinstall of the OS on an NVME drive takes about 4 minutes these days...(yes, reinstalling software, games, utilities takes time....so once it's perfect, take a backup image of it in that state so you can, if needed in the future, restore to that point vice having to reinstall everything; Acronis True Image, Clonezilla, Macrium Reflect work great for this)

You can shorten the overall experience if you have your required mainboard and GPU drivers already on USB flash drive, or at least hyperlinks to same...

hi
I have installed the new M.2 NVME card and tried many many times to download the media creation tool to get it onto a USB but I am never given the option to save to or create it on the USB I just keep getting an ISO file which is no use to me!!!
I am literally pulling hair out now as I cannot get any further with the rebuild until this gets sorted.
Can anyone help?? PLEASE!!!

 

[Darkbreeze]

You are getting an ISO file because you are choosing the wrong option during the creation of the media. Creating an ISO file is one option, creating USB installation media is another.

You probably need to either try using one of the USB ports on the back of your motherboard, or try a different flash drive. If your flash drive isn't AT LEAST 8GB you may run into problems.

It's LITERALLY outlined, step by step, in my guide. Including the creation of the media. Also including the specific screen that allows you to choose between an ISO file or a USB drive image. If there is no option for a USB drive image then you have a problem with your flash drive.

 

[subseauk]

You are getting an ISO file because you are choosing the wrong option during the creation of the media. Creating an ISO file is one option, creating USB installation media is another.

You probably need to either try using one of the USB ports on the back of your motherboard, or try a different flash drive. If your flash drive isn't AT LEAST 8GB you may run into problems.

It's LITERALLY outlined, step by step, in my guide. Including the creation of the media. Also including the specific screen that allows you to choose between an ISO file or a USB drive image. If there is no option for a USB drive image then you have a problem with your flash drive.

Hi, I've tried the various USB ports, there was no option to save or create a USB drive when I started this thread!!! I "borrowed" another windows laptop and finally managed to get the USB file downloaded which took nearly 40minutes!!!
Problem I am now facing is the new NVMe drive is being seen in the BIOS but not listed as a storage option in windows setup ! Arghh!!!!! I spent about 2 hours on the phone to tech support at the supplier where we bought the Motherboard and the NVMe drive and they are saying that the only thing it could be is a faulty NVMe card. I am. doubtful of this as it is seen in the bIOS and a self test in the BIOS says all is good.
I will be posting a new question on settings in the BIOS to get Windows to "see" the card.
If you have any suggestions they will be warmly welcomed.
Cheers
Kev

NVMe drive is a: Samsung 970 EVO Plus 250GB NVME M.2 SSD

 

[Darkbreeze]

Try enabling CSM if it's disabled. Try disabling it if it's enabled. Make sure full UEFI mode / Secure boot are enabled. There are a few different options in the BIOS that can cause this problem. Make sure there are NO other drives connected to the system EXCEPT for the USB thumb drive you are trying to install from.

Try some of the options listed here:

Can't install Windows 10 on m.2

I have a brand new x370 build and have updated the BIOS. I tried to install Windows 10 from the DVD drive. It does not recognize my western digital 500 GB M.2. So, I can't install Windows. Any way around this?

forums.tomshardware.com

 

[subseauk]

Try enabling CSM if it's disabled. Try disabling it if it's enabled. Make sure full UEFI mode / Secure boot are enabled. There are a few different options in the BIOS that can cause this problem. Make sure there are NO other drives connected to the system EXCEPT for the USB thumb drive you are trying to install from.

Try some of the options listed here:

Can't install Windows 10 on m.2

I have a brand new x370 build and have updated the BIOS. I tried to install Windows 10 from the DVD drive. It does not recognize my western digital 500 GB M.2. So, I can't install Windows. Any way around this?

forums.tomshardware.com

Hi, did the CSM thing ( enabled and disabled ) and the other things but even though the m.2 shows in the BIOS it does not show up in the windows setup process!!
I will have a look through the link you provided for other things.
Cheers