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I was doing some research on making "the jump" from Windows 7 to 10. As for background information I found the following articles:

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015/07/how-to-do-a-clean-install-of-windows-10-from-windows-7-and-8/

https://www.thurrott.com/windows/windows-10/4940/windows-10-tip-successfully-clean-install-windows-10

However, both are not very clear about the difference between an old skool clean install (completely wipe partition and do a fresh install) or the offered solution by the setup "Choose what to keep" -> "Nothing".

Does the latter option keep files/registry items or anything like that in place besides the .old windows files?

Chenmunka
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Marten
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1 Answers1

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It depends on what you mean by the "best way". Purely from the standpoint of getting rid of old cruft and malware, you can't do any better than a clean install.

The Nothing option of the Windows 10 upgrade Choose what to keep screen keeps nothing. Everything will be deleted including files, apps, and settings.

Windows 10 upgrade - Choose what to keep

karel
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  • + virusses, malware, registries or anything else that might hike along in the background? – Marten Nov 07 '15 at 20:02
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    @Marten If there are no files, settings or apps left, it kinda means that. But then again, why would there be any malware or viruses to begin with? – Sami Kuhmonen Nov 07 '15 at 20:03
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    See: [Will upgrading to windows 10 from 8.1 remove the existing virus and malware..?](http://superuser.com/questions/991151/will-upgrading-to-windows-10-from-8-1-remove-the-existing-virus-and-malware). – karel Nov 08 '15 at 04:59