Reinstalling Windows 10 (Insert your Windows Installation...)

[imhelpless]

Hey guys,

I'm trying to factory reset my windows laptop but I'm met with a message when I try to erase everything and reinstall windows: "Insert your Windows Installation or recovery media to continue"

I have read some posts but I'm lacking somethings that they require as a fix :/
I don't have:

- My Product Key
- Any discs/dvd's that came with it

What do I do?

 

[Colif]

On another PC, download the Windows 10 media creation tool and use it to make a win 10 installer on USB

if you doing a factory reset, you might as well do a clean install as its less likely to mess up
change boot order in BIOS so USB is first, hdd second
boot from installer
follow this guide: http://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/1950-windows-10-clean-install.html

when you reach the screen asking for licence, click "I don't have a key" and win 10 will continue to install and reactivate once finished

On the screen where you choose where to install win 10, if it gives you an error about GPT drives, delete all the partitions on the hdd and press next. If it still gives error, cancel out of the installer and restart PC and start installer again, it will accept next on that screen this time (some PC just need a restart here)

You don't need your key, Microsoft have all the info on their server. once win 10 is installed it will check and make sure its right to activate

 

[imhelpless]

Thank you for your answer,

Believe it or not though I dont have a usb. Aside from my laptop when i brought my PC it came with some windows 10 usb stick, would I be able to use that? And if I did use that would it effect my PC at all?

 

[Colif]

The windows 10 USB stick is likely to be the installer, just perhaps an older version to what is on the media creation tool. Only difference is how many patches you might get after installation as it might not be the latest version of win 10 and it will upgrade to it afterwards. No great deal really.

 

[imhelpless]

Looks like it might be my only option. What would happen to the stick afterwards? Would It affect anything on my new PC if I ever needed to use it in the future? Would It still be usable?

 

[Colif]

the stick is multi use. It will still have the win 10 installation files it afterwards, you can use it as many times as you need to.

All the installation does is copies the files off the USB onto your PC. IT doesn't move the files off the USB.

 

[imhelpless]

Oh ok, Also I think I found the product ID? under Windows activation? Will that make any difference in the way I should do things or does it not change anything?

Thanks again for the reply

 

[Colif]

Product Key: you don't need it. When you 1st installed win 10 the product code + details of PC (parts) + possibly an email address were sent to MIcrosoft and stored on their activation servers.

When you install win 10, when you reach the screen asking for licence, click "I don't have a key" and win 10 will continue to install and reactivate once finished.

You don't need to know it anymore.