Clean Install

[haguruma]

So my friend is getting himself a gaming laptop and he asked if you could get rid of bloatware through a clean install however I don't know whether you need to buy a new activation key for a clean install. Pls. Help

 

Thanks also if he does a clean install will Word and other important programs be deleted?

Edited July 20, 2017 by haguruma

[Windows7ge]

You should not have to but I have heard of instances where the existing key no longer worked after a windows re-install. They then had to call Microsoft support and got the system operating again that way.

[The Sloth]

reset 

https://www.laptopmag.com/articles/reset-windows-10-pc

[Cyracus]

if it's windows 10 it shouldn't be a concern, if w7/8 you should be able to get the key from the system page, but I can't really say for sure that it will work

[haguruma]

Edit. It's probably gonna be a Windows 10 OEM.

[Guest]

I once did that and existing key had worked for me back then but not sure.

[Brennan Price]

If it is Windows 10, no you don't need to buy a new product key ONLY as long as you have signed into the settings with you Microsoft account/eMail associated with Windows 10 (In picture below)

 

Once you have done that, you can then go ahead and do a clean install HOWEVER, make a back up of all the files you want to keep either by putting them onto a separate storage media or by choosing the option "Keep my files" when you actually do the clean install.

 

Once the clean install has finished, you can sign back into the device with your Microsoft account and the product key will reassign it to that device.

 

On the subject of whether or not you will get bloatware, it depends what kind of bloatware it is. If you are talking things like anti-virus or odd programs that you don't need then sure it will get rid of those BUT, programs that make the device work such as audio drivers or display drivers might reinstall themselves under the name of the devices manufacturer. 

 

For example, my Windows XP laptop installs HP audio drivers and display drivers whenever I install Windows Vista, 7, 8 or 10. This means that you may not get all the functionality you want from the device in very specific cases but I would not count those kind of programs as bloatware, rather import programs the device needs and you can uninstall if need be and use different drivers such as Realtek Audio drivers etc. Your choice.