Maximum PC - USA (2019-10)

REINSTALLING WINDOWS 10 is a fairly trivial task. Put in the right

media, boot from it, grind away the old OS, and replace it with the

pristine bits of a shiny new install. This can be a painless if time-

consuming procedure that leaves you with a like-new PC, or perhaps

an even better one if you were unlucky enough to buy a PC burdened

with preinstalled trashware. We permit you to do this as long as

you’ve checked off a few prerequisites, all of which are good practice

even if you’re not planning to wipe everything and start again.

First, keep a record of your product key (if you have one—most

likely if you’ve upgraded from a previous version of Windows),

or make sure your digital license is well looked after. If you’ve

bought a PC in the last few years, you’re probably using a digital

license rather than a key. Check “Settings > Update & Security

> Activation.” If you see the message “Windows is activated

with a digital license,” this means you’re digitally signed, but

you should link that license to your Microsoft account in case of

install ation issues or future hardw are changes. Head to “Set tings

> Accounts > Your Info,” sign in with your Microsoft account

details, and the message should change to “Windows is activated

with a digital license associated with your Microsoft account.”

KEY INFORMATION

Next, dig out the keys for all your crucial software and keep

them safe, as you’ll need to reinstate everything manually when

performing a full reinstall. You can use PowerShell to make a list

of your installed programs; launch it as administrator and type:

Get-ItemProperty HKLM:\Software\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\

Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\* | Select-Object

DisplayName, DisplayVersion, Publisher, InstallDate | Format-

Table –AutoSize > C:\software.txt

A list is output to the “software.txt” file in the root of your C

drive. Tweak if you want a different file name or location. Keep

a copy of this elsewhere, in case you come to your reinstalled

machine and realize there’s something you’ve forgotten. If you

want to make your job easier, ProduKey (http://nirsoft.net) can

dig up keys for many Microsoft apps and Windows; also consider

using a lockable password manager, such as LastPass (www.

lastpass.com), to not only keep a record of logins, but to store

details about your software so it’s always there when you need it.

You can’t back up programs (Windows’ file structure doesn’t

work like that), but you can (and should) back up every other little

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REINSTALLING

FOR FUN & PROFIT

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Microsoft is happy to dole out the code for Windows 10, but you’ll

need a proper license if you want to use it fully.

maximumpc.com OCT 2019 MAXIMUMPC 25