Fresh Windows install on Yoga 900 - What will happen?

[gilm0re3]

My sister bought a refurb Yoga 900 off Ebay and she kinda wants to factory reset it so that she can go through the full set up process and make sure everything is to her liking and all that. Now, I suggested having her make a Windows USB drive with Microsoft's Media Creation Tool, and from there booting off of it and installing an oem Microsoft version of Windows sans all the Lenovo junk and everything. My only concern with this approach is concerning the special Yoga functions when you change the laptop orientation. So basically does anybody know if a stock Windows install would still let it do the screen rotation and keyboard disabling when you flip the orientation or if there's a way to install the drivers for that off of Lenovo's website, or if I should just have her do a factory reset from within the current installation of Windows and not have her worry about using a USB drive to reinstall a new copy of Win? 

[TheKDub]

Check Lenovo's website to see if there are any utilities or such for it.

 

I need to look into this as well for my Lenovo Yoga 710, I'm planning to try out windows 8.1 on it (comes with windows 10 stock), and want all the features to still work.

[MrAppendixX]

From my experience, installing windows new on such a device, usually leads to problems. Driver related problems. I would recommend not to do the new install. I think factory reset is fine. If she's that concerned about the presets, then she can download the Spybot Anti-Beacon, it took care of all the privacy related issues I had with Win10.

 

Another thing in mind is, that the Windows Key will be wiped from the registry. This means, unless you have a key printed on the device or somewhere around you, your windows wont be activated.

[Enderman]

Usually windows will windows all the necessary drivers, but small stuff like screen rotating and such might have to be downloaded from the laptop drivers page on the lenovo website.

[Enderman]

1 minute ago, MrAppendixX said:

From my experience, installing windows new on such a device, usually leads to problems. Driver related problems. I would recommend not to do the new install. I think factory reset is fine. If she's that concerned about the presets, then she can download the Spybot Anti-Beacon, it took care of all the privacy related issues I had with Win10.

 

Another thing in mind is, that the Windows Key will be wiped from the registry. This means, unless you have a key printed on the device or somewhere around you, your windows wont be activated.

1) clean installing windows is the best way to get everything working perfectly at once. Windows 10 installs all the necessary drivers. I don't know if you're talking about some other version of windows, or you just don't know how to install windows 10 properly, but either way you are wrong.

 

2) Windows 10 does not need you to put in a clean when clean installing. It activates itself automatically when installing on the same PC. Again, it seems like you have no idea about how to clean install windows 10.

[gilm0re3]

2 minutes ago, MrAppendixX said:

From my experience, installing windows new on such a device, usually leads to problems. Driver related problems. I would recommend not to do the new install. I think factory reset is fine. If she's that concerned about the presets, then she can download the Spybot Anti-Beacon, it took care of all the privacy related issues I had with Win10.

 

Another thing in mind is, that the Windows Key will be wiped from the registry. This means, unless you have a key printed on the device or somewhere around you, your windows wont be activated.

From my experience, I've been able to install a new ssd using a stock windows copy and the windows key transferred just fine. From what I've seen the key has some sort of tie in to the bios or root files or something like that, so it automatically activates when you install a new windows copy even on a new drive.

[gilm0re3]

7 minutes ago, Enderman said:

Usually windows will windows all the necessary drivers, but small stuff like screen rotating and such might have to be downloaded from the laptop drivers page on the lenovo website.

Looks like you might be right. Found this on Lenovo's driver page for the 900:

 

[Drak3]

10 minutes ago, MrAppendixX said:

From my experience, installing windows new on such a device, usually leads to problems. Driver related problems. I would recommend not to do the new install. I think factory reset is fine. If she's that concerned about the presets, then she can download the Spybot Anti-Beacon, it took care of all the privacy related issues I had with Win10.

 

Another thing in mind is, that the Windows Key will be wiped from the registry. This means, unless you have a key printed on the device or somewhere around you, your windows wont be activated.

Devices with Windows 8 or Windows 10 OEM have the OEM key embedded in the UEFI, so that a reinstall is straight forward. The tricky thing is whether or not the is a recovery partition or an embedded flash chip with the bloatware stored on it, because it will effectively be factory resetting the machine. Most OEMs go with the recovery partition route, and that is an easy thing to deal with, provided that one remembers to deal with it.

 

7 minutes ago, Enderman said:

1) clean installing windows is the best way to get everything working perfectly at once. Windows 10 installs all the necessary drivers. I don't know if you're talking about some other version of windows, or you just don't know how to install windows 10 properly, but either way you are wrong.

 

2) Windows 10 does not need you to put in a clean when clean installing. It activates itself automatically when installing on the same PC. Again, it seems like you have no idea about how to clean install windows 10.

The generic drivers in Win 8 and Win 10 are very refined for generic drivers, but there are machines that they just won't work on, or won't work well on, and the one that seems to have the most issues is Wifi. It's an easy thing to fix, just a pain in the ass. I've not had a single laptop/2 in 1 where the Windows 8/10 Wifi drivers would work correctly (if at all).

[MrAppendixX]

5 minutes ago, Enderman said:

1) clean installing windows is the best way to get everything working perfectly at once. Windows 10 installs all the necessary drivers. I don't know if you're talking about some other version of windows, or you just don't know how to install windows 10 properly, but either way you are wrong.

 

2) Windows 10 does not need you to put in a clean when clean installing. It activates itself automatically when installing on the same PC. Again, it seems like you have no idea about how to clean install windows 10.

Regarding your first Paragraph:

I don't understand how my experience can be wrong, but ok, lets ignore that. I didnt mean the necessary drivers. I meant stuff like screen rotation, touchscreen input ad WiFi. Those things usually work OK within windows, if at all, but dont live up to their potential. Anyhow, just my experience.

[Enderman]

3 minutes ago, MrAppendixX said:

Regarding your first Paragraph:

I don't understand how my experience can be wrong, but ok, lets ignore that. I didnt mean the necessary drivers. I meant stuff like screen rotation, touchscreen input ad WiFi. Those things usually work OK within windows, if at all, but dont live up to their potential. Anyhow, just my experience.

Oh, so you want to use anecdotal evidence?

Ok then, well I PROPERLY clean installed windows on my laptop, scanned for updates, and everything installed perfectly without me needing to download any drivers form the manufacturer.

[MrAppendixX]

1 minute ago, Enderman said:

Oh, so you want to use anecdotal evidence?

Ok then, well I PROPERLY clean installed windows on my laptop, scanned for updates, and everything installed perfectly without me needing to download any drivers form the manufacturer.

Congratulations.

Did you check everything though? Really everything? Couldn't it have been, that for some reason, you might potentially have missed somehing that didn't work completely? As it was advertised or specified?

 

I guess you are trying to tell me, that the Windows Update Feature is the Nonplusultra. Period.  Got that.

 

Fine, have it your way, but let's get back on topic here, I'm trying to help.

 

 

[Enderman]

4 minutes ago, MrAppendixX said:

Congratulations.

Did you check everything though? Really everything? Couldn't it have been, that for some reason, you might potentially have missed somehing that didn't work completely? As it was advertised or specified?

 

I guess you are trying to tell me, that the Windows Update Feature is the Nonplusultra. Period.  Got that.

 

Fine, have it your way, but let's get back on topic here, I'm trying to help.

 

 

Yes, EVERYTHING worked.

The only drivers that did not install were the shitty dell maxxx audio crap which I did not want in the first place.

A clean install gets rid of all the bloatware and only installs the base and necessary drivers, which is exactly why clean installing is so good.

And no, uninstalling bloatware like maxxx audio is NOT the same as clean installing and not having it installed from the beginning.

[MrAppendixX]

39 minutes ago, gilm0re3 said:

From my experience, I've been able to install a new ssd using a stock windows copy and the windows key transferred just fine. From what I've seen the key has some sort of tie in to the bios or root files or something like that, so it automatically activates when you install a new windows copy even on a new drive.

What sort of Settings does your sister want to change? AFAIK, you can change all the settings, that occur during the setup process, later on too. She would just have to go through all the Settings in the Settings Menu, wouldn't she?

[MrAppendixX]

5 minutes ago, Enderman said:

Yes, EVERYTHING worked.

The only drivers that did not install were the shitty dell maxxx audio crap which I did not want in the first place.

A clean install gets rid of all the bloatware and only installs the base and necessary drivers, which is exactly why clean installing is so good.

And no, uninstalling bloatware like maxxx audio is NOT the same as clean installing and not having it installed from the beginning.

Everything you said, have said and will say is true, was true and will always be true. Thank you for enlightening me.

 

Now get back on topic

[JefferyD90]

8 hours ago, gilm0re3 said:

My sister bought a refurb Yoga 900 off Ebay and she kinda wants to factory reset it so that she can go through the full set up process and make sure everything is to her liking and all that. Now, I suggested having her make a Windows USB drive with Microsoft's Media Creation Tool, and from there booting off of it and installing an oem Microsoft version of Windows sans all the Lenovo junk and everything. My only concern with this approach is concerning the special Yoga functions when you change the laptop orientation. So basically does anybody know if a stock Windows install would still let it do the screen rotation and keyboard disabling when you flip the orientation or if there's a way to install the drivers for that off of Lenovo's website, or if I should just have her do a factory reset from within the current installation of Windows and not have her worry about using a USB drive to reinstall a new copy of Win? 

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