If I reset my PC will it set me back to 8.1?

[BarbecueGamer]

So months ago I purchased Windows 8.1 and I accepted the free upgrade to Windows 10 and I'm now running on the latest version of Windows 10 Anniversary Edition. If I click on (Reset This PC) will it bring me back all the way to Windows 8.1? Because I definitely don't want that to happen, I just would like to Reset This PC and reinstall my current version of Windows 10. I would really appreciate it if anyone could please tell me. 

[kelvinhall05]

No, but it will delete everything, then reinstall windows 10.

[pwn_intended]

Microsoft doesn't want you on win 8.1 either, it will just re-install 10.

[piemadd]

4 minutes ago, BarbecueGamer said:

So months ago I purchased Windows 8.1 and I accepted the free upgrade to Windows 10 and I'm now running on the latest version of Windows 10 Anniversary Edition. If I click on (Reset This PC) will it bring me back all the way to Windows 8.1? Because I definitely don't want that to happen, I just would like to Reset This PC and reinstall my current version of Windows 10. I would really appreciate it if anyone could please tell me. 

Get your product key, reset the pc. If it sets it back to 8.1, use a windows 10 ISO to reinstall it.

[BarbecueGamer]

4 minutes ago, Implosivetech said:

Get your product key, reset the pc. If it sets it back to 8.1, use a windows 10 ISO to reinstall it.

Is there a chance it will reset me all the way back to 8.1? Because if it does that I'm screwed, I absolutely need it to reset to the current latest version of Windows 10 because it's the only version that allows you to link your licence to your MS account- 

 

which is important since I purchased my key from a reddit user so if it sets me all the way back to 8.1 it will be impossible for me to re-activate my key and I'll need to purchase a new one which I can't afford. 

[BarbecueGamer]

9 minutes ago, pwn_intended said:

Microsoft doesn't want you on win 8.1 either, it will just re-install 10.

Are you positive? Because I need to be 100% sure that it won't bring me back to 8.1. 

[Vadise]

It will reinstall Win10, I upgraded from Win7 to 10 and then did a reset because I had some driver issues and no problem, it put me back on Win10. But if you are feeling particularly paranoid, check the root of your C: drive for a "Windows.old" folder and delete it. That folder is what is leftover from Win8.1. If you cant find the Windows.old folder, then there is no Win8.1 left anywhere for it to "go back to", not that it would anyway.

[pwn_intended]

9 minutes ago, BarbecueGamer said:

Are you positive? Because I need to be 100% sure that it won't bring me back to 8.1. 

200%

Also, if for some weird reason it puts 8.1 on it...it will automatically upgrade to 10 without your permission anyway!

 

The way that win10 activation works means that no matter what is currently on your computer, as long as it had a legit copy of 10 on it, you can re-install anytime without needing your serial number.

[BarbecueGamer]

4 minutes ago, Vadise said:

It will reinstall Win10, I upgraded from Win7 to 10 and then did a reset because I had some driver issues and no problem, it put me back on Win10. But if you are feeling particularly paranoid, check the root of your C: drive for a "Windows.old" folder and delete it. That folder is what is leftover from Win8.1. If you cant find the Windows.old folder, then there is no Win8.1 left anywhere for it to "go back to", not that it would anyway.

Good to know! Thank you SO much! I really do appreciate it. That gives me a lot of relief. I plan on changing almost all of my hardware except for my SSD that I have Win10 on and I've been told that 90% of the time you can just go ahead and make those hardware changes and boot up your PC as normal and Windows will recognize all the new parts, I even heard it from JayzTwoCents-  https://youtu.be/fJPmAO7LEro?t=246

 

I really hope that's true and it works, but I've also been told it could be buggy and I should do a fresh install, so do you think it would work if I just changed my parts booted up as normal and went to Settings>Recovery> and Reset This PC, is it safe to do it that way to do a fresh install for all my parts? 

 

[BarbecueGamer]

10 minutes ago, pwn_intended said:

200%

Also, if for some weird reason it puts 8.1 on it...it will automatically upgrade to 10 without your permission anyway!

 

The way that win10 activation works means that no matter what is currently on your computer, as long as it had a legit copy of 10 on it, you can re-install anytime without needing your serial number.

Thank you so much for getting back to me! I'm very happy to hear that.

[Vadise]

That will not work if you change your motherboard. You upgraded from 8.1 to 10, which means you have a Digital Entitlement license, which is not transferable between hardware updates. particularly your motherboard, which the license is tied to.

[BarbecueGamer]

5 minutes ago, Vadise said:

That will not work if you change your motherboard. You upgraded from 8.1 to 10, which means you have a Digital Entitlement license, which is not transferable between hardware updates. particularly your motherboard, which the license is tied to.

I thought with the latest Windows 10 update Anniversary Edition it links your license to your MS account making things much easier for hardware changes. It states this for my PC- 

and before I did the Anniversary update it use to say "Windows 10 on this device is activated with a digital entitlement." 

[piemadd]

38 minutes ago, BarbecueGamer said:

Is there a chance it will reset me all the way back to 8.1? Because if it does that I'm screwed, I absolutely need it to reset to the current latest version of Windows 10 because it's the only version that allows you to link your licence to your MS account- 

 

which is important since I purchased my key from a reddit user so if it sets me all the way back to 8.1 it will be impossible for me to re-activate my key and I'll need to purchase a new one which I can't afford. 

Since it says it is linked, it should automatically do it. Right click this pc, and click properties. Your key should be there

[Vadise]

I am not sure about this. I was positive that if you upgraded for free, then you couldn't upgrade your hardware later, but the anniversary update may have changed that. Give it a try. This is what MS says about it: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/20527/windows-10-activation-troubleshooter

[BarbecueGamer]

14 minutes ago, Vadise said:

I am not sure about this. I was positive that if you upgraded for free, then you couldn't upgrade your hardware later, but the anniversary update may have changed that. Give it a try. This is what MS says about it: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/20527/windows-10-activation-troubleshooter

According to this with the new update you can now change your hardware and re-activate easily- http://www.windowscentral.com/how-re-activate-windows-10-after-hardware-change

 

" Previously, if your installation of Windows 10 lost its activation due to a hardware change, you would have to go through the tedious process of contacting Microsoft customer support to re-activate, which is not an ideal solution. However, Microsoft is now simplifying the process. Beginning with the Windows 10 Anniversary Update, you can link your Microsoft account (MSA) with the Windows 10 digital license on your device. The new feature allows you to access the Activation Troubleshooter quickly to re-activate your free upgrade copy of Windows 10." 

 

So if that's true, is it safe for me to just change my hardware, boot up as normal and re-active, then go to Reset This PC to perform a fresh install with my new parts? 

[BarbecueGamer]

22 minutes ago, Implosivetech said:

Since it says it is linked, it should automatically do it. Right click this pc, and click properties. Your key should be there

Yup, I did that and found my key. All I know is sometime 2 years ago I had Windows 8.1 on my PC for over a year, I decided to reinstall 8.1 and I called Microsoft Support to re-activate my PC and I gave them my key and strangely enough they said it was invalid and didn't exist, the same key that I used to get Windows 8.1 on my PC for over a year was invalid and didn't exist. I'm not sure if it was just bad luck or if it's because I purchased my key from a reddit user. 

[BarbecueGamer]

Just now, wrathoftheturkey said:

Hm.... I wonder if Reddit could possibly be unreliable?

Yea, only if I make major hardware changes thus deactivating the key. Otherwise it's very reliable in my experience, I've purchased three keys now for three different PC's and the first Win 7 key I purchased over four years ago for my laptop is still running Windows no problem, I even updated twice with it, once to 8.1 and another forced time to 10.