Reinstalling Windows on a Prebuilt PC
January 18, 2022 5:11 PM Subscribe
I just bought a new prebuilt gaming PC after a lifetime of assembling my own. Thanks GPU shortage! It's an HP Omen 30L that comes preinstalled with Windows 11. When it arrives, it seems like the easiest way to remove all the preinstalled bloatware to just reinstall Windows from scratch, but I could use some guidance on the best way to do this and what post-install steps are needed.
My current plan is to create a bootable USB drive and reformat and repartition the main SSD during the Windows installation. Since this a brand new computer, I don't think I need to worry about backing up anything on the drive.
Here are a few points of confusion:
My current plan is to create a bootable USB drive and reformat and repartition the main SSD during the Windows installation. Since this a brand new computer, I don't think I need to worry about backing up anything on the drive.
Here are a few points of confusion:
- How will Windows activate? Will the computer come with a license key on a printed card or whatever, or is the activation tied to the motherboard or stored in firmware or something?
- Are there any gotchas or random tips concerning Windows 11? Anything I should look out for during the install process that will bite me later?
- What's the best way to get the necessary drivers? For machines I've built, I usually download and install the latest drivers from the various component's manufacturers. I can grab video drivers from Nvidia, but I where should I get the drivers for the chipset, network interface, audio, USB, bluetooth, etc? Is Windows smart enough to grab them automatically these days, or should I get them from HP's website?
- Should I worry about updating BIOS or firmware either before or after reinstalling Windows? In the past I've done this after installing drivers. I would hope that HP would have done this before sending the hardware out, but I'm not sure.
Activation should be automatic since you aren't changing hardware, but to be safe, you can add the license to your MS account beforehand.
posted by hankscorpio83 at 6:14 PM on January 18, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by hankscorpio83 at 6:14 PM on January 18, 2022 [4 favorites]
HP has an app for finding the right drivers. Sometimes the drivers might differ from what you would expect—for example, Dell's equivalent app finds only pre-tested versions of the Nvidia drivers, rather than the strictly latest version. Up to you which you prefer. And if you don't want to use the app, HP's website will likely have a list of drivers for your model. It's likely that these updates will include firmware updates, at least they do on other vendors' lists.
The Windows 11 install felt pretty straightforward to me. But note that Windows will by default use a Microsoft account, and choose your username based on the first few (5?) characters of that account name. If you don't like the name that gives you, it's a touch annoying to change. So if you're installing an edition that allows local user accounts, you might want to look up in advance how to install with a local account name, and then later connect it to Microsoft if you want.
posted by vasi at 7:43 PM on January 18, 2022 [1 favorite]
The Windows 11 install felt pretty straightforward to me. But note that Windows will by default use a Microsoft account, and choose your username based on the first few (5?) characters of that account name. If you don't like the name that gives you, it's a touch annoying to change. So if you're installing an edition that allows local user accounts, you might want to look up in advance how to install with a local account name, and then later connect it to Microsoft if you want.
posted by vasi at 7:43 PM on January 18, 2022 [1 favorite]
In Windows 10, you can enter a troubleshooting menu/mode and choose to have a fresh copy of windows downloaded and installed for you. It won't even ask you for the key again. AFAICT, 11 does the same thing.
posted by transitional procedures at 9:34 PM on January 18, 2022
posted by transitional procedures at 9:34 PM on January 18, 2022
yeah i wouldn't assume you'll need to do this. find out what it has one in terms of annoying stuff and remove it.
posted by Sebmojo at 2:23 AM on January 19, 2022
posted by Sebmojo at 2:23 AM on January 19, 2022
Is there really that much bloatware that you would go through this? Just remove the crap yourself, and see how it goes. There may even be an option in Windows 11 to reinstall Windows from scratch.
posted by 0bvious at 5:24 AM on January 19, 2022
posted by 0bvious at 5:24 AM on January 19, 2022
Best answer: The product key has been in the ACPI tables for a lot of the UEFI era, it can just pull the data into activation for you.
posted by k3ninho at 5:53 AM on January 19, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by k3ninho at 5:53 AM on January 19, 2022 [1 favorite]
Microsoft has a product that does this for you built right in to windows: Give your PC a Fresh Start.
posted by Nelson at 2:41 PM on January 19, 2022
posted by Nelson at 2:41 PM on January 19, 2022
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posted by pipeski at 5:48 PM on January 18, 2022 [2 favorites]