After about 5-6 attempts, I finally got the clean install that I want.

First step is to upgrade from 8.1 to activate 10. Then after that, you can clean install anytime, as many times as you want.

Working smooth, fast .... Didn't bother to dual boot and already removed 2nd SSD.

This post has been edited by laksamana: Jul 31 2015, 11:04 PM

From my experience, the upgrade install (even if you select "Keep nothing") can still be a bit buggy, with user profile corruption etc. Best is to completely clean install, booting from the ISO, after the first upgrade.

Skip, and if the upgrade from 7 or 8.1 was activated properly, 10 will be activated automatically.

Run setup.exe found on the ISO from inside Windows 8.1 first to upgrade, this will activate Windows 10 and tie it to your machine.

Reset/repair/clean install ONLY AFTER upgrading ....

This post has been edited by laksamana: Aug 1 2015, 06:05 PM

Use the W10 Media Creation Tool, download the ISO, either create a USB flash drive or mount it to your desktop, run setup.exe from inside Windows 7 or 8.1, let it upgrade and activate (best to be connected to the Internet via network cable), then only can you reset/repair/clean install W10 (not necessary, but this is what I did and the system is running flawlessly).

On a system with a SSD drive, the entire upgrade and clean re-install should take about 20-30 mins using the ISO method.

Any problems, feel free to PM me ...

This post has been edited by laksamana: Aug 1 2015, 06:51 PM

Yes. This is made possible because the W10 activation is tied to your existing hardware configuration (which is kept by Microsoft), so you can clean install on the same device (with minor upgrades) as many times as you like.

This post has been edited by laksamana: Aug 1 2015, 07:23 PM

If you already have the ISO on a thumb drive, the upgrade should take around 15-20 mins (depending on your hardware, HDD will be a lot slower).

I think despite the complications/confusion, this method is still better than the Windows Store, which was very buggy/prone to data corruption (happened to my previous rig, games couldn't play etc).

Once you get the process right for W10, it actually works very well ..

This post has been edited by laksamana: Aug 1 2015, 09:44 PM

Look guys, if you're having problems with the "Get Windows 10" upgrade, just backup what you want to keep, get the W10 ISO (make into a bootable USB), do a clean install of 8.1, upgrade clean 8.1 to W10. This is what I did, with no problems at all.

When 8.1 is upgraded to W10 (and activated), do a clean install of W10. Everything should be fine >> games, Office, Chrome, etc etc will work even better and faster (depending on your hardware, of course).

W10 itself will continue to be upgraded in the days to come >> hence the reason to get updates installed automatically (i.e. you DO NOT have the option to switch it off).

Good luck, and enjoy!!

This post has been edited by laksamana: Aug 2 2015, 12:30 AM

For WiFi adapters, you can use Windows 8.1 (or even 7) drivers. Also, if the device is not showing properly in Device Manager, you may need to install the latest version of chipset setup (see Intel website).

This post has been edited by laksamana: Aug 11 2015, 09:59 PM