My knowledge of computers is limited to turning them on/off and running check up programs. Primary uses are simple- email, here, browsing news, research, using Office and maybe some simple games.

Old desktop finally gave up the ghost, an HP with Vista (yeah, I know- though I'm using the old vista hard drive in a new tower now- believe it or not).

New tower was set up to do gaming and came with a reformatted hard drive to install Windows 7, however the drive was bad and couldn't be fixed.

I have a clean hard drive, a Seagate Barracuda, 3000GB (model ST3000DM001). As far as I know I need to install an OS then format the drive, if I am mistaken let me know. I am looking at Windows 10 (my work is fully integrated with Microsoft so that seems to be my wisest choice).

My confusion stems from looking for Windows 10 software on Amazon. It seems that many users state much of that software is for previous Windows users who want to upgrade and often the product key does not work. How do I know for sure the OS will install to a clean disk?

Thanks

I think 1st is to get Windows 10 installed.
It is possible the machine might just allow it to be activated, I have seen it happen.

On another windows machine download the media creation tool, and create a bootable USB stick

https://www.microsoft.com/en-u...e-download/windows10

Boot that on the machine with empty HDD and get windows 10 installed.
Try to activate, see what it says.

You can then google about acquiring a Windows 10 Lic key. If I had to buy one for full retail I would go through NewEgg

quote:

Originally posted by Belwolf:


I have a clean hard drive, a Seagate Barracuda, 3000GB (model ST3000DM001).
As far as I know I need to install an OS then format the drive, if I am mistaken let me know. I am looking at Windows 10 (my work is fully integrated with Microsoft so that seems to be my wisest choice).

My confusion stems from looking for Windows 10 software on Amazon. It seems that many users state much of that software is for previous Windows users who want to upgrade and often the product key does not work. How do I know for sure the OS will install to a clean disk?

Thanks

First question: NO you do not need to install OS then format the drive.
Why wouldn't the OS install?
It will format the drive during the install process.

As far a what software to install you need to get a one either retail version or an OEM copy (ones made for new installs also cheaper).
You could just download (which could be a problem if you don't have another computer to do this) the Windows 10 installer from Microsoft, then create a boot disk (USB or DVD) then see how the install goes.
You could then buy your software and apply the digital license later.

The previous "clean" drive my son had was a wiped drive and supposedly reformatted but it was done incorrectly and was corrupted so it wouldn't take Windows 7.

quote:

Originally posted by Belwolf:
As far as I know I need to install an OS then format the drive, if I am mistaken let me know.

That is backward, the drive is formatted then the install happens, install in this context includes writing boot blocks and OS programs to the disk. Every from-scratch OS install procedure performs all of these operations as part of their install process. Formatting is a very basic operation, preparing the disk to accept the OS-specific software.

quote:

I am looking at Windows 10 (my work is fully integrated with Microsoft so that seems to be my wisest choice).

Some people would differ.

quote:

My confusion stems from looking for Windows 10 software on Amazon. It seems that many users state much of that software is for previous Windows users who want to upgrade and often the product key does not work. How do I know for sure the OS will install to a clean disk?

Buy the full price retail version. The packages you are looking at on Amazon are upgrades for people who already have a license for a prior version of Windows. The are almost unlimited variations of license levels and Windows versions that may or may not make one of these packages appropriate for your situation. If you have a retail package of an earlier version, you might be able to get by with an upgrade package, but the devil is in the details on this. It is also possible to find license keys on the web, but the legality and morality of this is uncertain.

At the very least, if you buy an upgrade, you will have to install and license an "original" version of Windows, then then do an upgrade procedure with the target version (and perhaps several intermediate versions) to get up to date.

Thanks architect. Got it. I am actually downloading Ubuntu now to try it out. I am not a fan of Windows 10 either.

Go here and download the media creation tool. Use it to either burn a DVD with the install media or create a bootable USB stick (at least 8 GB). When you boot from that with the clean drive in the system, you can choose to install it on that drive and it will create partitions and format them as a part of the install process.

I used a Windows 7 key to activate mine and Microsoft didn't complain.

quote:

Originally posted by Belwolf:
Thanks architect. Got it. I am actually downloading Ubuntu now to try it out. I am not a fan of Windows 10 either.

Hate to say it, but Ubuntu may not be for you. I may be wrong, but you may wish you were on Windows 10 again once you get further into it.

You should take this opportunity to upgrade to an SSD for your primary operating system drive. A 500gb ssd can be had for about $70.

It will, unscientifically, make your computer feel between 10 and 20 times faster. You can still use the old 3TB hdd for overflow storage.

quote:

Originally posted by Aeteocles:
You should take this opportunity to upgrade to an SSD for your primary operating system drive. A 500gb ssd can be had for about $70.

It will, unscientifically, make your computer feel between 10 and 20 times faster. You can still use the old 3TB hdd for overflow storage.

This is excellent advice.

Put your OS and primary apps on the SSD.

Use the older HDD for storage.

Good Luck!