# Does Win 10 upgrade leave a full copy of the installer on PC? So Win 10 can be reinstalled later? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 21, 2015, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-win-10-upgrade-leave-a-full-copy-of-the-installer-on-pc-so-win-10-can-be-reinstalled-later/735412 "2015-10-21T23:35:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2015, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-win-10-upgrade-leave-a-full-copy-of-the-installer-on-pc-so-win-10-can-be-reinstalled-later/735412/1 "2015-10-21T23:35:39Z")
I wipe my drive occasionally (about once every 12 to 18 months) and reinstall Windows. A fresh, clean install runs faster and I know its virus free. If I let Win 10 upgrade. Will I have a full Win 10 installer saved on my HD to run in the future? Or is this a one shot upgrade? I assume Win 7 or Win 8 has to be installed and registered/verified first. Upgrade software always checks for a prior version. ---
**Author:** ![Palooka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/palooka/32/2902_2.png) [@Palooka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palooka)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2015, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-win-10-upgrade-leave-a-full-copy-of-the-installer-on-pc-so-win-10-can-be-reinstalled-later/735412/2 "2015-10-21T23:45:20Z")
If you do the upgrade, you will not have a copy of the install files. You will need to download them in the future from Microsoft if you want to do a clean install of Win10. I think Microsoft recently changed it such that you can immediately do a clean Win10 install with an eligible Win7/Win8 key. I’m not 100% on that though. Doing the upgrade on an existing OS to link your hardware to the Win10 key is definitely the safe way. Once you do the upgrade, you can install Windows 10 freely on that system. Over and over every few months if you want. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2015, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-win-10-upgrade-leave-a-full-copy-of-the-installer-on-pc-so-win-10-can-be-reinstalled-later/735412/3 "2015-10-21T23:57:14Z")
Or do an immediate bootable backup to a second internal hard drive after installing the Win 10 upgrade. Then remove it from the box and put it on your closet shelf. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2015, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-win-10-upgrade-leave-a-full-copy-of-the-installer-on-pc-so-win-10-can-be-reinstalled-later/735412/4 "2015-10-21T23:58:48Z")
thanks. Thats what I needed to find out. The bootable backup is an interesting work around. I plan to upgrade one of my pc’s to Win 10. See if I like it and find out if it breaks any of my software. ---
**Author:** ![FluffyBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecb155/32.png) [@FluffyBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FluffyBob)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2015, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-win-10-upgrade-leave-a-full-copy-of-the-installer-on-pc-so-win-10-can-be-reinstalled-later/735412/5 "2015-10-22T01:12:06Z")
You can download a windows 10 installer for a USB drive which can be used with your product key after your upgrade. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2015, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-win-10-upgrade-leave-a-full-copy-of-the-installer-on-pc-so-win-10-can-be-reinstalled-later/735412/6 "2015-10-22T01:56:43Z")
> [@](#): > > If you need to install or reinstall Windows 10, you can use the tools on this page to create your own installation media using either a USB flash drive or a DVD. [Download Windows 10](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10) ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2015, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-win-10-upgrade-leave-a-full-copy-of-the-installer-on-pc-so-win-10-can-be-reinstalled-later/735412/7 "2015-10-22T06:09:05Z")
> [@Palooka](#): > > If you do the upgrade, you will not have a copy of the install files. You will need to download them in the future from Microsoft if you want to do a clean install of Win10. > > I think Microsoft recently changed it such that you can immediately do a clean Win10 install with an eligible Win7/Win8 key. I’m not 100% on that though. Doing the upgrade on an existing OS to link your hardware to the Win10 key is definitely the safe way. > > Once you do the upgrade, you can install Windows 10 freely on that system. Over and over every few months if you want. There’s an inbuilt option to ‘refresh’ or ‘reset’ your PC - details [here](http://www.howtogeek.com/132428/everything-you-need-to-know-about-refreshing-and-resetting-your-windows-8-pc/) - the ‘reset’ option is essentially a wipe and reinstall of the OS; the ‘refresh’ option is like running the upgrade all over again. ---
**Author:** ![J-P\_L](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/j-p_l/32/3156_2.png) [@J-P\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/J-P_L)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2015, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-win-10-upgrade-leave-a-full-copy-of-the-installer-on-pc-so-win-10-can-be-reinstalled-later/735412/8 "2015-10-22T20:03:29Z")
The [Sept 10 issue of Windows Secret](http://windowssecrets.com/newsletter/how-to-clean-install-a-windows-10-upgrade/) give details on how to create a clean install of Windows 10 using a USB drive. You may need to be a subscriber to the newsletter to access the article.