Microsoft officially releases new tool to give your Windows 10 PC a fresh start

2 min. read

Published on June 16, 2016

published on June 16, 2016

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Microsoft has officially released a new tool for Windows Insiders allowing for the clean installation of Windows 10. We learned about this tool not too long ago, and the download was made available yesterday. If you missed the news, you can check it out here. Here’s what Microsoft had to say:

We’ve heard from many of you that are attempting to perform a clean installation of Windows that it can sometimes be hard to get started. To help, we are providing a new tool that enables an easy and simple way to start fresh with a clean installation of Windows. This tool is now available from the Settings app for Windows Insiders using the latest builds that installs a clean copy of the most recent version of Windows 10 and removes apps that were installed on your PC. You can visit this Microsoft Community page (which has been updated) to learn more about the tool and download it.

As Microsoft points out, in order to use this tool, you will need to be on Windows 10 Insider Preview Home or Pro editions. This tool will install a clean copy of Windows 10 from a recent Insider Preview Fast released build — and this can be risky, so be cautious.

The build installed by this tool is not guaranteed to be the latest build available to Insiders, and at times may install a Windows 10 build that is older that you had previously.

Only three languages are supported — English, Chinese, and Japanese. Microsoft also points out that digital licenses may not transfer after using the tool.

During this preview period, we cannot guarantee your digital licenses, digital content associated with applications, or other digital entitlements for applications will be carried through after using the tool, which may impact your ability to use paid-for apps or apps-related content. For this reason, we don’t recommend installing the preview on any PC where you wish to ensure all of your applications and application-related content (including Microsoft applications such as Office) remain properly installed and licensed.

Head over to the official support forum here and grab the tool from this link, if you haven’t already.

Radu Tyrsina

Radu Tyrsina has been a Windows fan ever since he got his first PC, a Pentium III (a monster at that time). For most of the kids of his age, the Internet was an amazing way to play and communicate with others, but he was deeply impressed by the flow of information and how easily you can find anything on the web. Prior to founding Windows Report, this particular curiosity about digital content enabled him to grow a number of sites that helped hundreds of millions reach faster the answer they're looking for.