How to Reinstall Windows on a New Hard Drive

Summary :

To reinstall Windows 10 without CD, the easiest approach is to reset your Windows 10. Go to Start > Settings > Update & Security > Recovery > Reset this PC > Get started and make your choice. Also, learn useful tips on how to prevent your files from getting erased before reinstalling Windows 10.

Quick Navigation :

Reinstalling Windows 10 Is Necessary
How to Reinstall Windows 10 Without Losing Data
Final Words
Reinstall Windows 10 Without CD FAQ:
User Comments

Reinstalling Windows 10 Is Necessary

If your Windows 10 operating system runs into a problem, it might slow down or even stop working normally. What will you do to solve this issue?

Usually, the first thing to do is to search on the internet for a solution. If you are lucky enough, you may successfully find a solution for your issues. Nevertheless, in often times the problem may still exist even after trying all the possible methods.

In that case, the only effective solution is to reinstall Windows 10. This may be your last resort to revert your PC back to the normal working state.

However, reinstalling Windows can sacrifice your data and applications on your drive. It could also be a bit difficult, especially when there is no CD or USB.

Can I reinstall Windows 10 for free without losing data? Certainly!

In the following sections, we will teach you the process of reinstalling Windows 10 both with and without a CD or USB drive.

How to reinstall Windows 10 without CD or USB drive
How to reinstall Windows 10 from USB drive or with CD disc.

How to Reinstall Windows 10 Without Losing Data

In the following sections, you will learn how to reinstall Windows 10 without CD and how to reinstall Windows 10 with USB drive.

Case 1: Reinstall Windows 10 without CD or USB

Quick Video Guide:

① Reinstall Windows 10 While Keeping Files

Windows 10 comes with a feature called Reset This PC, using which you can either choose to keep your personal files or remove them and then reinstall Windows. Resetting is a good solution for a PC that isn't working well.

The merit of this solution is that Windows does not require any additional downloads nor installation media to initiate the setup.

Step 1: To do this, please go to Start > Settings > Update & security > Recovery.

Step 2: Click Get started under Reset this PC section.

Note: If your system encounter issues after upgrading Windows 10, you can try a downgrade from a previous version or an earlier build instead of the OS reinstallation. Under the Recovery tab, click Get started under the respective option to revert your Windows to its previous installation.

Step 3: Choose an option to continue. To reinstall Windows 10 without losing data, you should choose Keep my files.

Step 4: After the process has been prepared, a window will pop up saying that your apps will be removed. Click Next to go on.

Step 5: In Ready to reset this PC interface, click the Reset button to reinstall Windows 10 without CD or loss of personal files.

Tip: You Windows may freeze during the reset. To fix this issue, get the solutions in this post - Here Are Three Ways to Fix the Windows 10 Freezing at Reset Issue!

How to reset a computer that isn't working properly?

If the system fails to start up, how to reinstall Windows 10 from boot? Please boot your PC several times, then Windows 10 may enter the WinRE.

Note: If Windows fails to go to WinRE, you might need to use a repair disc Repair your computer to enter WinRE.

Go to Choose an option > Troubleshoot > Reset this PC. And then, continue the operation by following the wizard.

② Reinstall Windows 10 without CD or USB: Directly from ISO File

Microsoft comes with a media creation tool that can upgrade this PC to Windows 10 by creating an installation media or directly using the ISO file to install Windows 10.

If you don't have an installation CD or USB flash drive, how to reinstall Windows 10 without losing data? Here, we will use the Windows ISO file.

Step 1: Download the media creation tool from Microsoft.

Step 2: Get the Windows 10 ISO file.

1. Open the downloaded tool, and choose Create installation media for another PC.

Tip: If you want to reinstall Windows 10 on a PC that already has Windows 10 activated, use the Upgrade this PC now option. This way you can help reinstall Windows 10 without losing data and programs.

2. Choose language, architecture (32 or 64-bit) and edition to continue.

3. Check the ISO file option to create an installation ISO. Note that this tool requires the ISO to be burned to a DVD later.

Step 3: If you need to install Windows 10 directly from the ISO file without a USB drive or DVD, mount the ISO file. This also performs an upgrade of your current OS to Windows 10.

To mount the ISO file:

Find the ISO file and right-click it, select Properties.
Under the General tab, click Change, select Windows Explorer to open this file and click OK.
Right-click this file and choose Mount.
Double-click the ISO file to view the included files and double-click setup.exe to start Windows 10 setup.

Step 4: After the setup is ready, decide whether to download and install updates or not. Here, we suggest choosing the first option. These updates will smooth the installation by including important fixes and updated device drivers.

Step 5: The setup will check for some available updates.

Step 6: Click the Accept button in the License terms screen.

Step 7: The setup will start looking for updates and downloading them.

Step 8: After everything is ready, you will see Ready to install screen where you can click the link labeled - Change what to keep.

Step 9: Then, three options are offered. If you need to reinstall Windows 10 without losing data and apps, please check Keep personal files, apps, and Windows settings.

Step 10: Then, this setup will then go back to Ready to install screen. Now click Install to begin the Windows 10 reinstallation. After finishing the reinstallation, follow the instructions to customize your settings.

③ Run Windows Setup from a Partition Containing the ISO File

Another way to reinstall Windows 10 without CD or USB is by running the Command Prompt and opening Windows setup from the partition containing an ISO file. Note that this method might erase everything on your computer.

This tutorial - Clean Install Windows 10 without DVD or USB Flash Drive from tenforums gives you detailed information.

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Note: Method 2 and Method 3 only work on computers that can still start up normally. If you have a non-working computer, you should choose to reinstall Windows 10 from a USB drive or a CD disc.

Case 2: Reinstall Windows 10 with CD or USB

This method also requires the Windows media creation tool.

How to reinstall Windows 10 from boot?

Connect a USB drive or DVD disc to another working PC
Download a media creation tool on the working PC
Run the media creation tool and select Create installation media for another PC and USB flash drive. You could directly burn the ISO file to the USB or disc.
Plug the USB or disc into the non-working computer and change the boot order, so it can boot from the USB or disc.
Start a clean install by following the wizards.

Tip: What if your USB drive isn't detected in Windows? Get the solutions from this post - Fix USB Flash Drive Not Recognized & Recover Data – How To Do.

Note that this way will erase your personal files on the non-working computer, so you will need to first back up all the files you want to keep. Use MiniTool ShadowMaker, as mentioned above.

While searching for a solution to "reinstall Windows 10 without CD", you might find in the related search results: can I reinstall Windows 10 for free? How to reinstall Windows 10 after the free upgrade?

Actually, it is possible to free reinstall Windows 10. When you upgrade your OS to Windows 10, Windows 10 will be automatically activated online. This allows you to reinstall Windows 10 at any time without purchasing a license again.

To reinstall Windows 10 after its free upgrade, you can choose to perform a clean install from a USB drive or with CD. Just follow the guide mentioned above.

Best Method: Use a System Image to Reinstall Windows 10

A system image includes all the Windows OS files, settings, programs and personal files, so it is a good option to restore Windows to a normal state.

To ensure the best solutions for OS issues, we strongly recommend backing up your Windows OS and then perform a system image recovery to reinstall Windows 10.

To do this, the best free backup software - MiniTool ShadowMaker is helpful. Get it now to create a system image backup.

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Step 1: After launching MiniTool ShadowMaker, choose local backup to start.

Step 2: Under the Backup tab, system partitions have been selected as the backup source. You only need to choose the hard drive of the non-working PC as the destination storage path.

Step 3: Finally, click Back up Now to perform the backup operation.

If Windows ever runs into a problem, use the system image file to restore your computer to its previous state.

This will require a bootable USB drive or disc to be created using its Media Builder. After creating the image, you can then boot the crashed PC to use MiniTool ShadowMaker Bootable Edition to begin the recovery.

Related article: How Can You Make System Image Recovery in Windows 10?

If you don't have a system image backup, what should you do to restore the non-working PC?. Use the Universal Restore offered by MiniTool ShadowMaker Trial Edition.

After getting Trial Edition to back up the system of a working PC, you can restore the system image to the hard drive of the crashed PC and then start a universal restore.

More details are in this post - How Can You Do Windows Backup Restore to Different Computer.

Important: Back up Important Files in Advance

No matter which method you use, to reinstall Windows 10 without losing data, it is recommended to back up your important files before starting a reinstallation. We suggest using the professional PC backup software for Windows 10/8/7, MiniTool ShadowMaker Trial Edition, to back up files or folders with simple steps on the desktop or in WinPE.

Free Download

When your PC is working properly, you can directly create a file backup on the desktop

Step 1: Run MiniTool ShadowMaker.

Step 2: Go to the Backup window and enter the Source section.

Select the Folders and Files section, and choose the files or folders you want to back up and click OK.

Next, specify a location to save the backup image file. Using an external hard drive or USB drive as the destination path is relatively safer than the original disk.

Step 3: At last, click the "Back up Now" button to start the file backup.

If your computer fails to boot, you can use the MiniTool ShadowMaker Bootable Edition

Just create bootable media (using CD/DVD or USB drive) with Media Builder feature on a working PC, then boot the non-working PC from the disc or drive to get the Bootable Edition. After that, you can start backing up your important files.

PC is not booting but you want to back up files without booting to save them? This post will show you how to back up data from a computer that won't boot.

Final Words

After reading our article, you should know how to reinstall Windows 10 without CD or USB and how to reinstall Windows 10 from a USB drive. You should choose a method to reinstall your Windows based on your needs.

Finally, don't hesitate to tell us if you have other ways to reinstall Windows 10 or come across any questions related to our MiniTool software by leaving a comment below or contacting [email protected].

Reinstall Windows 10 Without CD FAQ:

Can I reinstall Windows 10 for free?

You can reinstall Windows 10 for free. The are several methods, for example, using the Reset This PC feature, using Media Creation Tool, etc.

How do I do a clean install of Windows 10?

Create a bootable USB drive and start the PC from it.
On Windows Setup, click Install Now.
If you have an activated copy of Windows 10, choose I don't have a product key.
Choose a system edition, accept license terms, choose to install Windows only and follow the on-screen instructions to finish a clean install.
For more items, go to Windows 10 Reset VS Clean Install VS Fresh Start, Details Are Here!

Do I need Windows 10 key to reinstall?

According to Microsoft, it is allowed to reinstall the same Windows edition on the same computer without entering a product key if Windows 10 has been activated on the PC. If a prompt asks you to enter the key when you reinstall Windows 10, skip this step.

How do I wipe and reinstall Windows 10?

In Windows 10, there is a built-in tool that can wipe your PC and restore it to a factory-fresh state. Navigate to Start > Settings > Update & Security > Recovery. Then, select Get started under Reset this PC. You can keep your personal files or remove everything based on your actual needs.

How to Reinstall Windows on a New Hard Drive

Source: https://www.minitool.com/backup-tips/reinstall-windows-10-without-cd.html

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