If you are installing Windows 10 on a PC running Windows XP or Windows Vista, or if you need to create installation media to install Windows 10 on a different PC, see Using the tool to create installation media (USB flash drive, DVD, or ISO file) to install Windows 10 on a different PC section below.

You need to reinstall Windows 10 on a PC you’ve already successfully activated Windows 10.

You have a license to install Windows 10 and are upgrading this PC from Windows 7 or Windows 8.1.

This process can take several minutes depending on the speed of your USB flash drive. Select your USB drive from the list and click Begin Copying. On the Choose media type screen select USB device. Hit Browse, select your ISO file and then click Next.

Once installed, launch the Windows 7 USB DVD Download Tool from the start menu. Don't worry that it says for Windows 7, it works fine for Windows 8 as well.ĭownload the Microsoft Store Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool, Alternate Link.

Microsoft has a free utility that will automatically make a bootable USB flash drive from a Windows 8 ISO image file. As an extra benefit, modern USB flash drives are typically much faster than DVDs resulting in a quick install. The best way to install Windows on these devices is to use a USB flash drive that contains the Windows installation files. This has become problem as a number of laptops and tablet PCs no longer ship with DVD drives. Microsoft distributes Windows Windows 8 on physical discs or images of DVDs called ISO files that are typically burned to physical media. Physical DVD drives are becoming a thing of the past as the size of our PCs continue shrink and new form factors are emerging.

Win 8 installation media