How to Clean Install Windows 10

The Windows 10 upgrade process drags old files, settings, and programs from your previous Windows system to your new one. Microsoft allows you to get an entirely fresh system by performing a clean install, but the activation process can be a bit confusing.

This is also useful if you’ve purchased a new Windows 10 PC and it includes manufacturer-installed bloatware you don’t want. Or, you may need to perform a clean install on a computer without an existing Windows system after installing a new hard drive.

Note that you won’t be eligible for the free “Windows DVD Player” app offered to users of Windows Media Center if you perform a clean install. However, you can always

You Don’t Have to Pay $20 a Year for Solitaire and Minesweeper on Windows 10

Windows 10 comes with the Microsoft Solitaire Collection, a solitaire game that requires you to watch 30-second-long full-screen video advertisements to keep playing. Ad-free solitaire costs $1.49 per month or $9.99 per year. That’s $20 per year if you want both ad-free solitaire and ad-free minesweeper. But there’s a better way.

Microsoft has jumped on board the “free-to-play” bandwagon, which means these games are no longer actually free but have become quite expensive. Microsoft is now making money by nickel-and-diming players with in-app purchases. That helps explain why Candy Crush Saga is automatically installed on new Windows 10 PCs, too.

Solitaire and Minesweeper Have Gone “Free-to-Play”

WIth Windows 8, Microsoft removed the old desktop Solitaire, Minesweeper, Hearts, and other games from Windows. No games were included with Windows 8, but you could download the Microsoft Solitaire collection and Microsoft Minesweeper from the Windows Store for free.

With Windows 10, Microsoft includes the Microsoft Solitaire Collection app out-of-the-box. But they’re not doing this out of the kindness of their hearts. This Solitaire game will show you banner ads as well as full-screen video advertisements, making money for Microsoft.

Opting out of those ads requires a $1.50 per month or $10 per year fee, and that’s just for

15 Things You Can Do With Cortana on Windows 10

Cortana is one of Windows 10’s most visible new features. Microsoft’s virtual assistant makes the leap from Windows Phone to the desktop, and there’s a lot you can do with it. It isn’t just a voice assistant either — you can also type commands and questions

Open Cortana to see information it thinks you might care about. Cortana provides a lot of passive information, too, even notifying you when you need to leave to make an appointment on time.

If you can’t use Cortana yet in your country, there’s a way to enable Cortana anywhere in the world.

Set Reminders for Times, Places, and People

Cortana has a powerful built-in reminder feature, but there’s more you can do with these reminders than simply getting a reminder at a specific time.

Use the Reminders icon or say “Remind me” to get started. You can create a reminder and have Cortana remind you about something at a specific time, when you get to a specific location, or when you talk to a specific person. You can also just say something like “Remind me to take my pill at 8pm” or “Remind me to buy milk when I get to [name of a store]” to instantly create a reminder.

Use Natural Language Search

Cortana supports natural language search for files on your computer. For example, you can ask Cortana to “find pictures from August” or

The Windows 10 FAQ: Everything You Need to Know

Now that Windows 10 is available for public download and installation people have more questions than ever about the new version of Windows. We’ve rounded up the questions we get most frequently here at How-To Geek and compiled them to help you get up to speed about Windows 10.

For all our curious readers, neighbors, and people searching for more information about Windows 10 we’ve rounded up to most frequently asked questions we’ve come across here for your convenience.

Is Windows 10 Really Free?

There has been significant confusion regarding the pricing (or lack there of) of Windows 10 over the last year. Don’t be ashamed if you’re confused, Microsoft themselves changed their story regarding the upgrade and pricing schedule more than a few times during the development and beta testing of Windows 10.

For a huge number of people Windows 10 is really, truly, free-as-in-beer free. If you are currently running any legitimate (non-pirated) version of Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 you will be upgraded for free to an equivalent version of Windows 10. Windows 7 Home/Basic/Premium users and Windows 8.1 users will be upgraded for free to Windows 10 Home. Windows 7 Professional/Ultimate users and Windows 8.1 Pro users will be upgraded to Windows 10 Pro.

You’ll note we didn’t say Windows 8; if you have a Windows 8 machine you first need to

Download Windows 10 Offline ISO Files for Clean Install or Upgrade

Finally the day has come when Windows 10 is being delivered to public for download and free upgrade from Windows 7 and 8.1 operating systems.

Windows 10 Now Available for Download and Free Upgrade

If you are using genuine Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 OS in your computer, you'll be able to upgrade to Windows 10 for free. The free upgrade will be done with the help of a small app "Get Windows 10" which sits in Taskbar notification area. It'll automatically download Windows 10 setup files on your computer and will notify you once the download completes. After that you can install Windows 10 in your computer.

Things You Should Know and Do Before Upgrading to Windows 10

But there are many users who don't have "Get Windows 10" app in their computers. To fix the issue, we have posted a troubleshooting guide at following link:

[Fix] "Get Windows 10" Upgrade App Icon is Missing in Taskbar

But if you still can't see the app and its icon, then you'll be unable to take advantage of free Windows 10 upgrade offer. Fortunately, Microsoft has released a Media Creation Tool to download Windows 10 setup ISO files as well as to create installation media such as bootable USB drive or DVD.

This tool will help you in downloading the correct Windows 10 edition and type such as 32-bit or64-bit.

You can download the official tool from following link:

Download Windows 10 Media Creation Tool

After downloading the setup files of Windows 10 using this tool, you can upgrade your existing OS to Windows 10 or you can create bootable USB drive or DVD to install Windows 10 later. You can also save the setup files in offline ISO file format if you wish.

Once you create installation media or save ISO file, you can use them to install Windows 10 in other computers as well.

NOTE: If you upgrade your existing Windows 7/8.1 to Windows 10 using this tool, then