How to install Windows 10. Manual and installation step by step
Windows 10 is Microsoft's latest operating system to date. This operating system was launched in July 2015 and, since then, it has gradually been adding more and more users thanks to being a light, functional and, above all, secure operating system. Thanks to its cumulative updates, in addition, by installing a single patch we can have our computer in the latest version as soon as we install Windows 10 from scratch.
Next, we are going to explain step by step how to install Windows 10.
Minimum hardware requirements for Windows 10.
1 GHz processor.
1 gigabyte (GB) or RAM on 32-bit versions and 2 GB for 64-bit versions
16 GB of hard disk space for Windows 10 32-bit and 20 GB of space for the 64-bit version.
DirectX 9.0 compatible graphics card.
Screen with a minimum resolution of 800 × 600.
Preparing to install Windows 10
If we have Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 installed on our computer, we can update to the new Windows 10 without losing the data and programs installed on our computer through Windows Update. However, the update process does not always go well and, sometimes, it can make our computer unusable and even make our Windows not work properly. Therefore, it is always recommended to perform a clean installation, from scratch.
To install Windows 10 from scratch, the first thing we must do is download Windows 10 from the following link. Microsoft will allow us to download directly from their servers an ISO image of the latest version of the operating system.
Once the Windows 10 ISO image is downloaded, the next step will be to burn it to a DVD or a USB memory. To burn it to a DVD, all you have to do is insert the empty disc into your computer and click on the Windows 10 ISO image with the right button to choose the option to burn the image.
Nowadays it is much more practical to work with USB memory sticks, therefore, Microsoft also gives us the option to download and burn the image directly to a DVD with the Media Creation Tool. This application is free and we can download it from the website of Microsoft by clicking on "Download the tool now".
The next thing to do is insert the USB memory into the computer turned off and turn it on. Unless we have the BIOS / UEFI of our computer configured to boot first from removable devices such as USB sticks, we must press the F8 key repeatedly during startup (or equivalent, depending on motherboard models) to bring up the Boot Menu and select in it our USB with Windows 10 to install.
After a few seconds of loading, we will see the initial window of the Windows installation wizard.
In this window, we must configure the language of our operating system, the time and currency format and the type of keyboard that we are going to use.
Click on «Next» and in the new window that appears, click on «Install now«.
The next step that the wizard will ask us is to enter the license number of our Windows. If the license is recorded in the BIOS / UEFI of our computer, we will not see this window. Otherwise, if we have it at hand we can enter it or, if not, click on "I do not have a product key" to continue without said license.
Next, the wizard will ask us for the version of Windows 10 that we want to install. We must choose the one that corresponds to our license to avoid problems.
Click on Next again and the license terms will appear, which we will accept to continue. The next window is one of the most important. In it we will choose the type of installation we want:
If we want to update Windows and not lose the data or applications, we will choose "Update".
For a clean installation, we will choose "Custom".
In our case we select the second option, customized, and we will see a new step in the wizard where to choose the partition of the hard disk where we will install Windows.
If we want to create partitions, click on "New" and configure the space we want to use for our Windows. If we do nothing, the wizard will automatically use all the space to install Windows (and create the 500 MB recovery partition).
Click on "Next" and the installation process will begin. We must wait for the installation process to finish. During which, the computer will restart several times and, in addition, we will see different phases of both the installation wizard and the initial configuration of our Windows 10.
If we have just installed Windows 10 Creators Update, the wizard has been renewed and simplified. We explain it to you in the following article. If we have installed any version prior to the Windows 10 Creators Update, the process continues as follows.
If we are not concerned about sending Windows data to Microsoft, we must choose the option "Use quick configuration". However, if we want to configure everything that Windows 10 can or cannot do, we will choose "Personalize". In our case, we are going to see the customization options. This wizard is summarized in 3 steps. In each of them, we will see a series of switches from which we can activate or deactivate the different options, such as sending applications and use data to Microsoft, monitoring text input systems, sending error reports, etc.
In the next step, the assistant will ask us who owns our computer, if it is personal or is part of a work environment.
We choose the option "It's mine" and click on Next. In the next step, Windows 10 asks us to log in with our Microsoft account.
The username and password of our operating system will be automatically linked to our Microsoft account. To log in we will have to use the password of our email unless we enable any of the additional login systems that we will see below. * If we do not want to log in with our Microsoft account we can click on "Skip this step" to create an account based on username/password as usual. Once logged in, the next step will be to configure "Windows Hello".
This section will allow us, for example, to configure a PIN so that, instead of having to enter our password every time we are going to log into our computer, we can do it directly from that PIN.
Once the PIN is entered, we continue with the installation. Click on "Next" and the next step will be to activate OneDrive, the Microsoft cloud, in our Windows 10.
We can also enable (or not) the use of Cortana, the Microsoft assistant that will help us with reminders, help us find things and also tell us bad jokes.
The installation wizard will then finalize your last settings.
After several minutes, our Windows 10 will be installed and ready to be used.
When we finish installing Windows 10, the next thing to do is run Windows Update Once we finish installing Windows 10, we can see our desktop with the trash and, if we had previously used the operating system on another computer, its desktop background, and color theme. Once we have control over the computer, the first thing to do would be to bring the Computer and Documents icons to the desktop. To do this, we would only have to open the Configuration> Personalization> Themes menu and click on "Desktop Icon Configuration".
The next step would be to run Windows Update to update Windows 10 to the latest build available with cumulative patches. To do this, again in the configuration menu, we go to the "Update and security" section and from there we will look for available updates.
This process, in addition to installing the latest patches available for our Windows 10, will also download and install drivers or drivers that could not be enabled during the installation of Windows 10. In this way, our system In case something still does not work and Windows Update does not download the corresponding drivers, we will have no choice but to look for them on the manufacturer's website or use tools that allow us to search for and install the missing drivers in our Windows 10.
Next, we are going to explain step by step how to install Windows 10.
Minimum hardware requirements for Windows 10.
1 GHz processor.
1 gigabyte (GB) or RAM on 32-bit versions and 2 GB for 64-bit versions
16 GB of hard disk space for Windows 10 32-bit and 20 GB of space for the 64-bit version.
DirectX 9.0 compatible graphics card.
Screen with a minimum resolution of 800 × 600.
Preparing to install Windows 10
If we have Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 installed on our computer, we can update to the new Windows 10 without losing the data and programs installed on our computer through Windows Update. However, the update process does not always go well and, sometimes, it can make our computer unusable and even make our Windows not work properly. Therefore, it is always recommended to perform a clean installation, from scratch.
To install Windows 10 from scratch, the first thing we must do is download Windows 10 from the following link. Microsoft will allow us to download directly from their servers an ISO image of the latest version of the operating system.
Once the Windows 10 ISO image is downloaded, the next step will be to burn it to a DVD or a USB memory. To burn it to a DVD, all you have to do is insert the empty disc into your computer and click on the Windows 10 ISO image with the right button to choose the option to burn the image.
Nowadays it is much more practical to work with USB memory sticks, therefore, Microsoft also gives us the option to download and burn the image directly to a DVD with the Media Creation Tool. This application is free and we can download it from the website of Microsoft by clicking on "Download the tool now".
How to install Windows 10 step by step on a computer:
The next thing to do is insert the USB memory into the computer turned off and turn it on. Unless we have the BIOS / UEFI of our computer configured to boot first from removable devices such as USB sticks, we must press the F8 key repeatedly during startup (or equivalent, depending on motherboard models) to bring up the Boot Menu and select in it our USB with Windows 10 to install.
After a few seconds of loading, we will see the initial window of the Windows installation wizard.
In this window, we must configure the language of our operating system, the time and currency format and the type of keyboard that we are going to use.
Click on «Next» and in the new window that appears, click on «Install now«.
The next step that the wizard will ask us is to enter the license number of our Windows. If the license is recorded in the BIOS / UEFI of our computer, we will not see this window. Otherwise, if we have it at hand we can enter it or, if not, click on "I do not have a product key" to continue without said license.
Next, the wizard will ask us for the version of Windows 10 that we want to install. We must choose the one that corresponds to our license to avoid problems.
Click on Next again and the license terms will appear, which we will accept to continue. The next window is one of the most important. In it we will choose the type of installation we want:
If we want to update Windows and not lose the data or applications, we will choose "Update".
For a clean installation, we will choose "Custom".
In our case we select the second option, customized, and we will see a new step in the wizard where to choose the partition of the hard disk where we will install Windows.
If we want to create partitions, click on "New" and configure the space we want to use for our Windows. If we do nothing, the wizard will automatically use all the space to install Windows (and create the 500 MB recovery partition).
Click on "Next" and the installation process will begin. We must wait for the installation process to finish. During which, the computer will restart several times and, in addition, we will see different phases of both the installation wizard and the initial configuration of our Windows 10.
If we have just installed Windows 10 Creators Update, the wizard has been renewed and simplified. We explain it to you in the following article. If we have installed any version prior to the Windows 10 Creators Update, the process continues as follows.
Initial setup after installing Windows 10
Once the installation and initial configuration of Windows 10 is finished, we will see an initial configuration wizard from which we will have to configure our operating system.If we are not concerned about sending Windows data to Microsoft, we must choose the option "Use quick configuration". However, if we want to configure everything that Windows 10 can or cannot do, we will choose "Personalize". In our case, we are going to see the customization options. This wizard is summarized in 3 steps. In each of them, we will see a series of switches from which we can activate or deactivate the different options, such as sending applications and use data to Microsoft, monitoring text input systems, sending error reports, etc.
In the next step, the assistant will ask us who owns our computer, if it is personal or is part of a work environment.
We choose the option "It's mine" and click on Next. In the next step, Windows 10 asks us to log in with our Microsoft account.
The username and password of our operating system will be automatically linked to our Microsoft account. To log in we will have to use the password of our email unless we enable any of the additional login systems that we will see below. * If we do not want to log in with our Microsoft account we can click on "Skip this step" to create an account based on username/password as usual. Once logged in, the next step will be to configure "Windows Hello".
This section will allow us, for example, to configure a PIN so that, instead of having to enter our password every time we are going to log into our computer, we can do it directly from that PIN.
Once the PIN is entered, we continue with the installation. Click on "Next" and the next step will be to activate OneDrive, the Microsoft cloud, in our Windows 10.
We can also enable (or not) the use of Cortana, the Microsoft assistant that will help us with reminders, help us find things and also tell us bad jokes.
The installation wizard will then finalize your last settings.
After several minutes, our Windows 10 will be installed and ready to be used.
When we finish installing Windows 10, the next thing to do is run Windows Update Once we finish installing Windows 10, we can see our desktop with the trash and, if we had previously used the operating system on another computer, its desktop background, and color theme. Once we have control over the computer, the first thing to do would be to bring the Computer and Documents icons to the desktop. To do this, we would only have to open the Configuration> Personalization> Themes menu and click on "Desktop Icon Configuration".
The next step would be to run Windows Update to update Windows 10 to the latest build available with cumulative patches. To do this, again in the configuration menu, we go to the "Update and security" section and from there we will look for available updates.
This process, in addition to installing the latest patches available for our Windows 10, will also download and install drivers or drivers that could not be enabled during the installation of Windows 10. In this way, our system In case something still does not work and Windows Update does not download the corresponding drivers, we will have no choice but to look for them on the manufacturer's website or use tools that allow us to search for and install the missing drivers in our Windows 10.
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