Full reinstall on a laptop....help needed

StevieP · 17 Sep 2019 at 13:41

A work colleague has brought his laptop in complaining that it is slow and wondered if I could do anything to speed it up.

Normally my default answer would be to do a full reinstall or put an SSD in there too. The question is how would I go about doing the reinstall?

Might sound like a daft question but there doesn't appear to be a Windows key anywhere on the laptop and I wondered whether it is somehow "coded" to the motherboard?

I'm comfortable doing a reinstall using a Windows 10 image from Microsoft but what happens when it comes to the point where it asks for a Windows key? Will it just recognise that the machibe has a valid key or do I need to find it out somehow??

Thanks...

an0nym0us · 17 Sep 2019 at 14:54

Does it have Windows 10 already installed and activated? If so, then reinstalling Windows 10 on the exact same hardware should automatically activate when connected to the internet. Just select the "I don't have a product key" option during the installation process:

screenshot.11.jpg.pagespeed.ce.MPns0VXPVe.jpg

StevieP · 17 Sep 2019 at 15:04

Yes it does - thanks for the confirmation!

an0nym0us · 17 Sep 2019 at 15:10

No problem.

Make sure all the important data is backed up before doing the clean install.

StevieP · 17 Sep 2019 at 16:13

an0nym0us said:
No problem.

Make sure all the important data is backed up before doing the clean install.

Yeah, there is next to nothing on it to be honest - it turns out the reason it was going so slow is because for some bizarre reason "tablet mode" was enabled (despite it not being a touch screen!?!?) and forcing it to desktop mode has actually made quite a bit of difference speed-wise!

an0nym0us · 17 Sep 2019 at 16:15

That's good, an even simpler fix haha.

drakulton · 17 Sep 2019 at 16:52

You should be able to do a refresh or reinstall within windows without the need of extra media. Or ever factory reset the machine using the makers software ( boatware included)

StevieP · 17 Sep 2019 at 19:21

drakulton said:
You should be able to do a refresh or reinstall within windows without the need of extra media. Or ever factory reset the machine using the makers software ( boatware included)

Yeah, if I'm doing a reinstall then I'm doing it my way - can't abide bloatware!

drakulton · 17 Sep 2019 at 19:53

I think there's a couple of options in the windows settings to do a refresh or reinstall depending on if you're passing the laptop onto another user.

Alan1969 · 20 Sep 2019 at 15:28

yes getting windows 10 to reset itself should help.