Restarting from a bootable USB flash drive to install 10.

[robinpe]

I have made a bootable USB flash drive to do a clean install of W.10, I understand this will enable me access to the 'Custom: Install Windows only' option, which will also enable me to do a dual boot & install W.10 on a partitioned drive which I have already made & called 'G:' drive. I have tried once to boot from this drive without success. I have an Acer Aspire V5-571P built in Sept. 2012. I went into 'Settings>Change PC settings>Update & Recovery>Recovery' & noticed the 'Advanced start-up'. Should I be using this, or not? Thanks for any assistance. I am quite happy with W.8.1 but thought that it would be advantageous to install the free W.10 for the time when they phase out W.8.1.

 

[samuria]

In order to get the free win10 you need to upgrade from 8.1 if you boot from 10 and install it wont activate without payment. You can upgrade windows wait a couple of days revert then clean install 10 but 8 may not activate as you have used the license for 10

 

[TrustMe]

First you have to Shutdown this way. Hold down the Shift key and click Shutdown. This will completely shut down your computer.

When you first power on the computer, on the bottom of the screen, it should say Boot Menu F12 or F2 or some other F key. (According to the guide below, it should be the F12 key but it still may be something different). You have to pay close attention to the bottom of the screen when you first power on the computer. The screen that tells you what key to press for the Boot Menu is going to go by fast. You might have to Restart a couple of times to catch it. Once you know which F key you need, remember to Shutdown like I stated above. Then power on the computer and immediately hold down the F key. This will bring up the one time boot menu. Then choose USB from the menu.

This is a guide to enable the Boot Menu if it's disabled. It's not a guide on how to boot from USB.

Why can't I get the F12 Boot Menu to work on my notebook or netbook?

As samuria stated above, you have to have Windows 7 or 8.1 installed and activated on your G partition (drive) before you can upgrade to Windows 10. If you want to do a clean install, you need to do the upgrade first, make sure Windows 10 is activated, and then do the clean install.

 

[Osprey]

As samuria stated above, you have to have Windows 7 or 8.1 installed and activated on your G partition (drive) before you can upgrade to Windows 10. If you want to do a clean install, you need to do the upgrade first, make sure Windows 10 is activated, and then do the clean install.

That is no longer true.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/12440/windows-10-activation

Note

Starting with the November update, Windows 10 (Version 1511) can be activated using some Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1 product keys.

During the free upgrade, you can use a valid Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows 8.1 product key to activate Windows 10 (Version 1511 or higher). The following types of product keys are supported:

• Product keys included in the packaging or the Certificate of Authenticity (COA) attached to your PC that came installed with Windows.
• Product keys included in the confirmation email you received after buying Windows from an online retailer.
• Product keys included in the box the Windows DVD came in.
• Product keys you bought using Windows Anytime Upgrade or Get Genuine Windows.
• If you bought a Windows 8.1 Pro Pack product key, you can use it to activate Windows 10 Pro.

Note

Some Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1 product keys can't be used to activate Windows 10, such as product keys for volume licensing, including Generic Volume Licensing Keys (GVLK) and Multiple Activation Keys (MAK), and Windows 7 Enterprise, Windows 8 Enterprise, and Windows 8.1 Enterprise.

 

[TrustMe]

As samuria stated above, you have to have Windows 7 or 8.1 installed and activated on your G partition (drive) before you can upgrade to Windows 10. If you want to do a clean install, you need to do the upgrade first, make sure Windows 10 is activated, and then do the clean install.

That is no longer true.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/12440/windows-10-activation

Note

Starting with the November update, Windows 10 (Version 1511) can be activated using some Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1 product keys.

During the free upgrade, you can use a valid Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows 8.1 product key to activate Windows 10 (Version 1511 or higher). The following types of product keys are supported:

• Product keys included in the packaging or the Certificate of Authenticity (COA) attached to your PC that came installed with Windows.
• Product keys included in the confirmation email you received after buying Windows from an online retailer.
• Product keys included in the box the Windows DVD came in.
• Product keys you bought using Windows Anytime Upgrade or Get Genuine Windows.
• If you bought a Windows 8.1 Pro Pack product key, you can use it to activate Windows 10 Pro.

Note

Some Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1 product keys can't be used to activate Windows 10, such as product keys for volume licensing, including Generic Volume Licensing Keys (GVLK) and Multiple Activation Keys (MAK), and Windows 7 Enterprise, Windows 8 Enterprise, and Windows 8.1 Enterprise.

Thanks Ospret,

I completely forgot Windows 10 ISO now accepts accepts Win7,8,and10 keys. You can do a clean install with them.

 

[robinpe]

Thanks guys for all the suggestions. I should have been a bit more explicit with my first entry. I had already upgraded this Acer laptop to W.10 approx. 4 months ago. I was very surprised when a week ago I opened my Acer for the first time since upgrading, to find that I could go back to W.8.1. (I thought the deadline was 30 days to do that.) Anyway, I did go back to W.8.1 successfully with all my apps intact, (& I had a lot of them!). This is when I thought I would do a dual boot. I did go into the 'Settings>etc. as described in my opening thread & used the 'Advanced Startup', & this did open up the BIOS, (or whatever they call it now), I re-arranged the flash drive to the top setting & closed by hitting the Enter key on my keyboard. I then inserted the bootable flash drive & restarted the PC. However, it did not boot into the installation media but into W.8.1. I am at the point of deciding to click onto the 'setup.exe' file in the flash drive's folder & install W.10 that way, but I fear this does not provide me with the option to select the 'Custom: Install Windows only', which I need to do a dual boot. I will wait for any responces before I do that though!

 

[Osprey]

You don't need to change the boot order of drives in your UEFI firmware settings.

Option 1.

https://craftedflash.com/info/how-boot-computer-from-usb-flash-drive

Option 2.

http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/53296-usb-drive-boot-within-windows-8-a.html