Clean Install Windows 10 on new Lenovo Laptop

[aatroxed]

I would like to do a fresh Win 10 install on the laptop I just received. My guess is that merely doing a factory reset will just pre-load it with all the cruft I don't want to deal with it.

The laptop (E555) originally came with Win10. If I download a Win10 ISO, how would I go about activating it? How do I retrieve my key as it were? Are there any other potential issues to look out for when doing a fresh install? Just trying to piece through which Lenovo apps are actually helpful is making me dizzy.

 

[MadScientist]

Just installed a new Crucial SSD drive in my wife's Lenovo Z50-70 laptop. It came with Win 8.1 but had updated it to Win 10 v.1511. Did a clean install of Windows Home 64bit on the new drive. Did not need a key. It was activated.

Download the Media Creation Tool from here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10 Run the Media Creation Tool, copy the Windows 10 iso to a flash drive. Boot from it and install. I'm assuming you know how to do a clean install.

I did need to install a few Windows 10 drivers. Got them from Lenovo. http://support.lenovo.com/us/en/products/laptops-and-netbooks/lenovo-z-series-laptops/lenovo-z50-70 I did not install any Lenovo bloatware.

 

[aatroxed]

You're a life saver, thanks for the reassurance. I actually bought the laptop for my mom and I figured if I had to do an after market ssd drop in. Which Crucial model did you pick?

 

[MadScientist]

The BX200. Got it for $54.99 shipped on sale. For the price it's fine for what she does, browsing and email.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820156066