When I format my laptop, will I lose Windows?

Question

My laptop is getting very slow and a lot of unnecessary programs have been installed which are not removable. For example, a random search engine is on my browser now and I don't know what to uninstall/remove it. Thus, I'm planning to formatting my laptop.

I have saved all the files on an external hard drive and am not worried about losing Office or VLC or any such thing, as I will reinstall them.

I purchased my laptop with Windows 10 free so my main thing is that will I lose that too? Will I need to purchase Windows again?

I'm sorry if this is a very stupid question, I just don't know much about this stuff.

Solution 1

As far as I read, you don't need even formatting your laptop since Windows 10 now includes the posibility of Reset the PC.

You can see more info in the next link:

http://www.howtogeek.com/132428/everything-you-need-to-know-about-refreshing-and-resetting-your-windows-8-pc/

Although you also want to format it, you don't lose the Windows 10 license since it is stored in your laptop BIOS. In your case (Windows 10) automatic activation occurs once you connect to internet if you don't make changes to the hardware.

Solution 2

When I format my laptop, will I lose Windows?

Basically no but read this please before proceed:

How you activate Windows 10 after reinstalling it depends on how Windows 10 was originally installed on your device.

If you activated your free upgrade to Windows 10 or bought and activated Windows 10 from the Windows Store, you have a digital entitlement for your device. This means you can reinstall the same edition of Windows 10 that your device has a digital entitlement for without entering a product key. During reinstallation, if you’re asked to enter a product key, select Skip. Your device will automatically activate online after the installation is complete.

If you previously installed and activated Windows 10 using a product key, you’ll need to enter the product during the reinstallation.

Starting with Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 14371, you can link your Microsoft account to the Windows 10 digital license (formerly called digital entitlement) on your device. This can help you reactivate Windows using the Activation troubleshooter if you make a hardware change later, such as replacing the motherboard.

Solution 3

If you format your drive, you will definitely need to reinstall the OS (windows 10 in your case). Make sure you have a serial number, you can usually see it on a sticker on the bottom of the laptop. Also make sure you get a bootable DVD/USB stick with Windows 10 installation. And make sure you test that the installation would start, before formatting.

That being said, I wouldn't go that far just to remove a browser search engine. Instead post a question about that with as many details as possible. I'm sure there's better ways of getting rid of that one that don't involve a formatting or reinstalling/resetting the OS.

Comments

[user1686]

Well, what do you mean by 'formatting' a computer? Defining the actions involved would pretty much answer the question.

[fixer1234]

By "lose", are you referring to it being gone from your system so you will need to reinstall it, or that you would no longer have a license for it?

[Daniel B]

If it came with Windows 8/8.1/10, it has an embedded license. This is also indicated by the presence of the Windows 8/10 sticker, which does not have a serial number. The embedded license will be used automatically by Windows Setup.

[Daniel B]

Some software may survive the Reset function. But it’s worth a try.

[jgorostegui]

And probably the bloatware that comes with most of the laptops would appear again, yes.

[bug-a-lot]

Hmm... they're using BIOS now? That takes care of the serial, he will still need to prepare a bootable installation disk.