How to Reinstall Windows 10 Without CD (3 Ways)

Reinstalling Windows 10 can usually make your PC as good as new (or even better). For this reason, it is generally performed as a solution when your PC stop working or doesn't work as well as it once did and cannot be repaired by some other methods. Have you encountered such a situation and been hesitated to do the job because it may cause a data loss disaster, or it is a little bit difficult, especially when you have not an installation CD?

3 Ways on How to Reinstall Windows 10 Without CD/USB

Here, we created troubleshooting solutions to reinstall windows 10 without losing data. There are three ways to reinstall windows 10 without CD in different cases. I hope it is helpful to deal with your problem.

Workable Solutions	Step-by-step Troubleshooting
Tip 1. Reset the Computer	1. Go to "Start" > "Settings" > "Update & Security" > "Recovery". 2. Under "Reset this PC option", tap "Get Started". 3. Click either "Keep my files" or...Full steps
Tip 2. Create an Installation Disk	1. Download the media creation tool from Microsoft on a working PC. 2. Select "Create installation media for another PC". 3. Choose the language, edition...Full steps
Tip 3. Use a System Image	1. Connect your external hard drive to your PC. 2. Launch and run Qiling Backup...Full steps

If you're having problems with Windows 10 on your PC or you want a fresh copy of Windows 10, you can reinstall Windows 10 to try and fix your issues and return your PC to a cleaner state.

How to Reinstall Windows 10 Without Losing Data (Back Up)

Before you begin, make sure you back up data. To keep your computer data safe, we recommend you use the professional data backup and recovery software for Windows 10/8/7. Qiling Backup can back up files or folders with simple steps.

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* The following backup procedure requires another working computer to create an emergency disk of Qiling Backup. You'll need to boot your unbootable computer through this emergency disk to make a full backup.

Step 1. To make an Qiling Backup emergency disk, you need a USB flash drive and connect it to a working computer. Launch Qiling Backup, click "Tools" and then click "Create bootable media".

Step 2. Select the USB option when choose a boot disk location, and then click Proceed.

create a USB emergency disk of Qiling backup

Step 3. When it's done, insert this emergency disk to the computer that needs backing up. Restart the PC, and Press F2/DEL to enter BIOS. Change the boot sequence, and then start the computer and run Qiling backup software from the bootable disk.

Step 4. Access the page of Backup and recovery and then choose the Disk backup feature. Here, select the computer hard drive(s) to make a full backup.

backup hard drive on a unbootable computer

Step 5. Select a destination to save your backup file. It's recommended to save the backup file to external storage media.

Step 6. Click "Proceed" to execute your operation.

 Tip: It is recommended to use Qiling Backup's System Backup feature for newly purchased computers or computers that have just installed the system. This will make a backup of the original clean system. You can use this image whenever you need to restore it to the original state.

For Application Backup:

Before you reinstall the system, you may still have some programs, data, and accounts to restore after reinstalling the system. Qiling Disk Master can help you. This PC transfer software moves applications, files, and accounts between computers in 1 click. It can also help you selectively back up your installed programs with all its associated data and registry keys in Windows 10.

Full guide: How to Back up and restore Windows 10 programs, user accounts and data.

It's time to reinstall Windows 10 without losing data. In the following sections, you will learn how to reinstall Windows 10 without CD in three ways.

1. Reset Computer to Reinstall Windows 10 Without CD
2. Create a Windows Installation Disk to Reinstall Windows 10
3. Use a System Image to Reinstall Windows 10 Without CD

Tip 1. Reset Computer to Reinstall Windows 10 Without CD

This method is available when your PC can still boot properly. Being capable of solving most system problems, it won't be different from a clean install of Windows 10 via an installation CD. Follow the steps below to reset the computer to reinstall Windows 10 without CD.

Step 1. Go to "Start" > "Settings" > "Update & Security" > "Recovery".

Step 2. Under "Reset this PC option", tap "Get Started".

reset Windwos 10 to reinstall windows 10 without cd

Step 3. Click either "Keep my files" or "Remove everything", depending on whether you want to keep your data files intact. Either way, all of your settings will return to their defaults, and apps will be uninstalled.

reset windows 10 - 2 to reinstall windows 10 without cd

Step 4. After the process, a window will pop up, saying that your apps will be removed. Click Next to go on.

Step 5. In Ready to reset this PC interface, click the Reset button to reinstall Windows 10 without CD or personal file loss.

Tip 2. Create a Windows Installation Disk to Reinstall Windows 10

This method is available when your PC cannot boot properly. It will use a tool to create installation media, which you can use to completely wipe the disk and install a fresh copy of Windows 10. If you don't want to use a CD or DVD, you can use a USB, SD card, or external hard drive. Before starting, prepare a USB drive (about 8GB or larger).

Step 1. Download the media creation tool from Microsoft on a working PC

Step 2. On the "What do you want to do?" interface, select "Create installation media for another PC", and then select "Next".

Step 3. Choose the language, edition, and architecture (64-bit or 32-bit) for Windows 10. Select media tool you want to use:

reinstall windows 10 with creation tool

USB flash drive - connect a blank USB flash drive with at least 8GB of space to your computer.
ISO file - Save an ISO file to your PC, which you can use to create a DVD. After the ISO file is downloaded, go to the location where the file is saved, can use the Windows Disk Image Burner to create an installation DVD with simple steps.

After the drive is selected, the tool will start downloading Windows 10, and it will take a few minutes to finish the downloading process.

Step 4. Connect the USB flash drive to the new PC where you want to install Windows 10.

Step 5. Restart your PC and boot your PC from USB or DVD media. If not, you need to press a key (such as F2, F12, Delete, or Esc) immediately after you turn on your PC to open the boot menu and change the boot order.

reinstall windows 10 with creation tool - change boot order

Step 6. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the Windows 10 installation. Enter your Windows 10 license key when a pop-up appears for a product key during installation.

After all these steps, all you need is to wait patiently, and you'll be able to clean install Windows 10 on your PC.

Tip 3. Use a System Image to Reinstall Windows 10 Without CD

This method works no matter your PC can boot properly or not. But note that it helps only when you have created a recovery drive before. Next, we will show you how to use Qiling backup software to create a system backup when you think your PC is in the optimum state.

To back up Windows 10 to an external hard drive

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Step 1. Launch Qiling Backup on your computer, and click System Backup on the backup page.

Step 2. Your Windows operating system information and all system related files and partitions will be automatically selected so you don't need to do any manual selection at this step. Next, you'll need to choose a location to save the system image backup by clicking the illustrated area.

Step 3. The backup location can be another local drive on your computer, an external hard drive, network, cloud or NAS. Generally, we recommend you use an external physical drive or cloud to preserve the system backup files.

Step 4. Customiztion settings like enabling an automatic backup schedule in daily, weekly, monthly, or upon an event, and making a differential and incremental backup are available in the Schedule button if you're interested. Click "Proceed", and the Windows system backup process will begin. The completed backup task will display on the left side in a card style.

See? Just three simple steps can help you make a system recovery drive. And then, you can restore Windows 10 from the recovery drive whenever you need it. It is easier and faster than reinstalling Windows 10 from an installation CD.

To restore Windows 10 to your PC

* To perform system recovery on a none-bootable machine, try to boot the computer through the Qiling Backup emergency disk.

Step 1. Launch Qiling Backup, click "Browse for Recovery".

Step 2. Guide to your backup destination, choose the system backup file you need. (The backup file created by Qiling Backup is a dfg file.)

Step 3. Choose the recovery disk.

Step 4. Choose the target disk. Make sure that the partition style of the source disk and the recovery disk are the same.

Step 5. You can customize the disk layout according to your needs. Then click "Proceed" to start system backup recovery.

Conclusion

You have learned how to reinstall Windows 10 without CD or USB and how to reinstall Windows 10 from a USB drive. You can choose a method to reinstall your Windows 10/8/7 according to your needs.

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Windows 11/10/8/7, 100% Secure

Reinstall Windows 10 Without CD FAQs

You can perform a clean install of Windows 10 even if you don't have the original installation DVD if you have tried any one of these solutions. If you still have problems, you can read the following questions and answers.

How do I reinstall Windows without a disk?

Restore without an installation CD:

1. Go to "Start" > "Settings" > "Update & Security" > "Recovery".
2. Under "Reset this PC option", tap "Get Started".
3. Choose "Remove everything" and then choose to "Remove files and clean the drive".
4. Finally, click "Reset" to begin reinstalling Windows 10.

How do I clean and reinstall Windows 10?

Use the installation media to perform a clean install:

1. Download Media Creation Tool on another PC (connected to the internet).
2. Create Windows Installation Media on empty USB (min 8GB).
3. Remove the old disk and connect the new SSD (only the SSD should be attached to the PC).
4. Boot PC from Installation Media.
5. Set language and other preferences.
6. Boot PC from Installation Media... Read More>>

How do I wipe and reinstall Windows 10?

In Windows 10, there is a built-in tool that can wipe your PC and restore it to a factory-fresh state. Navigate to Start > Settings > Update & Security > Recovery. Then, select Get started under Reset this PC. You can keep your personal files or remove everything based on your actual needs.