You don't need to enter any product key at that point. just use "Skip" or "I don't have a product key". Your system is already registered on the M$ servers, & it'll activate automatically after the installation once you are connected to the internet. But during the installation of the OS make sure you aren't connected to the internet, that makes it easier to avoid setting up an M$ account, & rather create a local Admin Account.

Rindi, thanks, that may just be the important info i need, ill try it & report back, thanks

Well .. i booted with the USB attached, used the 'dont have key' option, then i got the
following screen i chose the top one, then i get this screen
Is the only option to use the bottom choice? and not copy settings, and is the password part of 'settings' ? or does it mean to remove the usb & reboot without?

I guess i cant run the installation usb as cant get past the login/password...

Use the Install Windows only option. When booting the installer the upgrade option doesn't work (that only works if Windoze is already installed & you start the installer from the setup.exe file).

If you have data on the disk you want to keep, & if that data was on the same partition as the OS, then I would connect the disk to another PC & copy it off.

I usually setup my systems with a separate partition or additional HD for the Data. That makes it much easier to reinstall the OS if required. It also makes it easier to backup the data, as you then don't also have to backup the OS, or deselect what you don't want to backup.

Hi Rindi, thanks, i luckily did the same as 2 partitions on this pc, I followed the bottom option as suggested, but quelle surprise.. this didnt work out, i could see 4 partitions where it asks which to install to, see below (before i formatted the 3rd one !)
but it wouldnt let me install on the 3rd(acer) one, so i tried a format on this partition and tried again, and got this message..
reloading windows is proving almost impossible !

It seems your original system used the old fashioned BIOS mode rather than UEFI (not that surprising as it used to run Windoze 7, which wasn't originally built to boot into UEFI).

You will need to enter the PC's BIOS, disable SecureBoot there, & also change the BIOS mode. What you have to change it to depends on the BIOS. Most versions call it something like "CSM", but it may just offer to to toggle UEFI off or something similar. After that you should be able to reinstall Windoze 10 without problems.

If you want to use UEFI, then you will have to initialize the HD to GPT rather then the current MBR, but then you will loose all the partitions, including your data, on it.

Should you run into a similar issue, look up forgot password utilman.

It is a 10minute process to boot, adjust, reboot into safe mode.
Invoke utilman and either add a new admin account or update password on theexisting. noting. A password reset if encryption. is enabled  those documents will be inaccessible.

The utilman (suggested by arnold) should work.  I've also had to rename utilman.exe.mui in c:\windows\system32\en-us on some systems, not sure why.

You can also use this: https://pogostick.net/~pnh/ntpasswd/

compProbSolv, I thought it was too late as the person seems to have already started with the OS reinstall.
Or did I misread/misinterpret what has gone on?

@arnold
I think you are correct.  I missed the fact that a format had been done.

"reloading windows is proving almost impossible !"

To start with, delete ALL partitions before reinstalling.

Hi Rindi,

The BIOS is from 2011 and i cant see anything that looks like secure boot, i see
in advanced

Intel EIST, enabled
Intel AES-NI, disabled
Intel  XD bit enabled
Intel VT enabled

but i think these are processor clocking adjustments

Only reference to UEFI is the USB on 1st boot device, i dont know if i could update the bios, or do i need to somehow format the whole drive? this certainly has been a journey of many twists n turns !, someone else mentioned delete all the partitions, how would i do that? is that from within the installer software?

What PC model is it, or what mainboard are you using? Perhaps I can lookup it's BIOS options.

Yes, you can delete partitions when you install the OS, at the screen where you select the destination. But first you would need to check that out about UEFI. The Windoze installer would only come up with that message when your BIOS is set to UEFI mode.

one option you can try is using alt+F10 during bootup and restore the thing to factory default.

note you have two primary large partitions 200GB + not sure whether you have an external drive attached.
With the data partiton seemingly has 100+GB of data.
If it is important to you, get the data off the system by using a live CD linux mint, etc. and copy it off.
But if you do not have data that you need to preserve, I'd start with the restore to factory default.

And proceed from there.

 

it is an Acer one- but what model?

Lazesoft suite icludes a tool that can clear a local account or enable an admin account.
See: https://lazesoft.com/

Sorry for the long pause, I was wondering, i have another old HDD that would have windows (hopefully win10) on it (no local password), would i be able to use this to boot the troubled PC and use this as a way to get it back to working, i guess the problem might be it may have the same licence number as another machine i upgraded to an SSD drive, but just a thought..

The reason you are getting the MBR issue on install is that you probably have a Windows 11 media creation tool.  Get the Windows 10 creation tool.  
See: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

Lazesoft will create a bootable USB/disk with all the tools on it.

Yes, another hard drive may boot up, but, if boots, you may have issues with the screen(resolution), network, sound or other devices.  Its going to try to update drivers.  If the network cards don't match up it can't get them.   On the other hand mouse and keyboard should work and the screen should be readable, if not optimally sized.

If the old disk was from another PC, it may also crash (bsod), & the license on that disk could get invalid as it got booted on other hardware.

using another disk nearly always works; you don't need a licence to repair the other disk.
just check in device manager that you have all devices updated, and running without errors

That is right, unless you get a BSOD, which can happen more or less often. Also as I said, if you can boot normally from that disk the license will get invalid on that disk as the hardware is different. The OS on that disk gets flagged as unlicensed. You can still use it to repair, as Windoze will still run even when not licensed, you just have some functions that are limited, it is like running a trial, but if you return the disk to the original PC, it won't be recognized as activated, & you would have to do a fresh installation there too.

The windiws 10. License is stored in the mother board, the only time it won't activate is if its the wrong version pro/home.  Even if its not, windows will run 99% of the time.  

One issue that can prevent booting a different disk is the AHCI/RAID settings... they need to be compatible

Yes, it is stored on the board, & also on the m$ servers. But there is also a flag on the disk, which, once it gets tripped because it is on the wrong PC, it gets flagged as invalid, & then even if you boot that disk from the original mainboard, it will still be flagged as invalid, so you have to do a fresh installation. That of course will work, as the fresh installation will be accepted by that mainboard & the M$ licensing servers.

@rindi   I have never run into that, if the second PC has its own License.  Windows will pick up the product key of the PC its running on.  If you are concerned about returning to the original PC you can either copy that drive and use the copy or you can save the old product key to a text file and use it to reactivate on the original PC, if any sort of issue arises.  

You can get the current key using a tool called OEMKey.  It works for hard and electonic keys.
See: https://neosmart.net/OemKey/

Morning,.. I found the other HDD and tried swapping it with the 'problem' pc hardware, it seemed to boot but from the appearance may have been win7 not win10 (how time flies..) but i was wondering i have an identical (i think) version of the same desktop that is working fine and has no admin pw problem, what if i made a mirror image of its C drive on the spare HDD and then put this in the 'problem' machine hardware, do you think this would work? i suppose there may be some subtle differences in drivers, but as its the same model machine ild imagine it should boot up ok?

Anyway your thoughts helpful ppl ... or will the admin password issue remain because its stored on the 'problem' pcs motherboard?

what is it you want to do?
-have a win 10 OS that works on the old pc - and you don't care about data?
-or have a win 7 OS that works on it...

Hi Nobus...Just want to get win10 working without a password, i have a copy of the D drive data, so i can copy that back when the machine works again,,

Please show pictures of all the options you have in the BIOS. Also on some PC's you need to setup an Admin Password in the BIOS to get to further options like Secure boot etc. Again, the PC model may help us. Acer one doesn't help. Acer Aspire one may be more informative, but there are many different Aspire one models of all ages...

Here are the options you have:
1) clone this HDD to an SSD and put ssd into the problematic system. Then run the upgrade to windows 10 which should work since windows 10 was on that system.
2) Fresh install of windows 10
a. create a windows 10 bootable USB (windows 10 media creation tool)
b Get the windows 10 Drivers (network, Graphics card, storage) from the System's Vendor site unzip and have it copied to the USB windows 10 install media.
c) boot the system via the USB.
There is an option to add drivers. (old reference F6)
Load the drivers, you saved and unzipped in Step B above.
You could delete all partitions, or leave the recovery, delete and reacreate the three remaining in a similar storage distribution.

Try the install again. WIth the added drivers, the install should complete..

As to working without a password, you have to modify the Grouop Policy to not require a password by allowing a blank password versus potentially what it had, an auto logon, that an update may have locked which required a new login to set, but you forgot the password.
123456, etc.

If all you want is a working Windows 10 disk, then the most straightforward method is to install Win 10 from scratch.

First, as suggested above, make sure you know whether the BIOS is set for BIOS or UEFI booting.  If you are not sure, try the BIOS method.

Download the Win 10 Media Creation Tool from the Download Now link at https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10 .

Then run the tool.  Select "Create installation media....", confirm the settings (64-bit Win 10), then select "ISO file" and save the ISO file somewhere you'll be able to find it.

Insert a USB stick (8G or larger) in your computer.  The stick will get erased

Download Rufus 3.21 Portable from https://rufus.ie/en/  (you may have to close an ad)

When the Windows ISO download is done, run the Rufus file you downloaded

In Rufus, Click on "SELECT" and point to the Win 10 ISO file

Select MBR for the partition scheme

Click on START

When it is done creating the bootable Win 10 installer, close Rufus and eject the stick from Windows.

Boot from the USB stick on the computer where you want to install Windows 10.  Be warned that it will erase everything from the drive.

(I'm going from memory on these steps): Tell it that you want to install Windows, that you don't have a license key, select the correct version of Windows (Pro or Home, whichever was installed on this computer before), and that you want to do a custom install (not an upgrade).  When you get to the screen that shows the partitions, delete all of them, one at a time.  Then tell it to install.

That should install Windows on the drive.  When it reboots at the end, pull the USB stick so it doesn't boot from that again.

If Windows boots properly, you are all set to continue.  If not, your system is likely set up for UEFI.  Go back to your original computer connect the USB stick, run Rufus, select the ISO, but this time select GPT for the partition scheme.  Click on START to recreate the Win 10 installer, this time with UEFI.

Once that is done, repeat the steps from above: eject the stick, boot it on the other computer, and install Windows.

One or the other of those should work!

whenever i do a fresh install, i disconnect the pc from the internet, and install a local copy, without password

hi nobus,

the problem PC is a H61H2-AD motherboard with AMIBIOS,  the problem pc has BIOS ver P01-B2 08/11/2011

the other basic info below was from the other identical unit (which is working fine) it seems to have a slightly older bios version, got this using 'msinfo32'

Model Acer Aspire X3990
System Type      x64-based PC

BIOS Version/Date      American Megatrends Inc. P01-B0, 21/05/2011
SMBIOS Version      2.7
Embedded Controller Version      255.255
BIOS Mode      Legacy

Im guessing from above its not UEFI more legacy BIOS mode, dont know if theres any point in updating the BIOS or if there is even a later version available..

The usb drive with the windows media creation tool? shows up as UEFI in the bios settings

Based on the Manual I found, on page 30, you can see that in boot priority you have "EFI" you can set. That means there should also be a setting where you can change the mode of the BIOS to UEFI or CSM or whatever it is called in your BIOS:

https://www.manualslib.com/manual/232907/Acer-Aspire-X3990.html?page=30#manual

But I can't find such a setting in that manual. For some BIOS's you first have to set a BIOS supervisor password, then get into the BIOS again using that password, & then the extra features of your BIOS get unlocked & become available. Particularly Acers often have such a BIOS version.

i suggest to do a fresh install on the problem  pc, since you don't need the data
how much ram does it have, and what disk model ?  since both pc's are quite old, it may not be worth it ..., unless you install ram and SSD

"The usb drive with the windows media creation tool? shows up as UEFI in the bios settings"

That was my reason for recommending Rufus to create the USB stick.  You'll have the option of BIOS or UEFI (MBR or GPT).  If one results in a non-booting installation, re-created the USB stick with the other setting and try again.

rindi, thanks that's very helpful re the manual pages

Nobus .. the hardware is fast enough for anything i use, 6GB ram, i5 3ghz 4 cores, for the moment ill try to get it working on a 1TB WD10EARX sata drive i have kicking around and then maybe update it to a smaller SSD,

Whats  is curious, on the older BIOS machine you can choose EFI for one of the drive options, so im guessing it needs to have the 'drive' attached for you to see the EFI option?, on the 'problem' machine you see UEFI (maybe this is due to the bios being a bit newer on that one, also if i boot with the USB stick with the windows media on, that also shows up as a UEFI :USB option...(of just EFI Device with no usb stick attached)

So my question  is does the drive have to be formatted in some way to get recognized as (U)EFI  or is there something different about its formatting that does this?

USB sticks must be Fat16 or 32 (or at least one partition needs to be that), where the EFI boot file is located, in order for it to be able to boot into UEFI mode.

Ventoy, the tool I mentioned earlier, creates such a FAT16 partition on which the Ventoy Boot Loader & EFI files are located. The other, large partition for the isos is ExFat to allow for files that are larger than 4GB, which is the limit on a FAT32 File-System.

To install Windoze on an UEFI enabled BIOS to an internal HD or SSD, that disk must use the GPT partition table, rather than the old MBR partition table. The OS installer then also creates a small FAT32 partition on that disk where the Windoze EFI file gets saved. The rest of the disk uses NTFS partitions where the OS is installed to.

yes, it needs an EFI partition.
If you delete all the partitions while UEFI booted, the Installer will accordingly create the requisite partitions.
it is possible in your scenario, the boot instead of going BIOS USB, type, booted UEFI USB while the Disk in question is formatted not according to UEFI, upon selection of the existing master partition, the copy went through, but on reboot to perform the install this is what failed and caused issues.

The harddrive, WD10EARX is a green version, and a slow version at that, IMHO, you should not

Personally, It could take a few hours  to complete the install. versus about 30-45 minutes with an SSD.
This way you still have access to the recovery partition from which you can access the Factory Image provided by Acer.

one installed, the bootup instead a minute and a half with HDD, will be less than 20 seconds.
Why do things twice unnecessarily?

And another thing, i tried attaching the WD (spinning) disc as a secondary drive on the sata #2 cable, but for some reason this doesn't show up in any fashion when you use explorer to see what is on each drive, hmmm nor does it appear in device manager although i think its recognized as a WDCEARX on the splash screen you dont get time to view a few seconds after power on...

" nor does it appear in device manager"
Check the BIOS to see if it shows up there.  The SATA port to which you have it connected may not be enabled.

" then maybe update it to a smaller SSD"
I agree with arnold about not doing this twice.  A 480G Kingston A400 SSD runs $26US on Amazon.  There are faster drives out there, but this would be a big improvement over your HDD.

Ok, take your point on SSD's this is the only machine i have without rotating HD,, do you anticipate any problems installing onto an SSD?... ill get one and save a few hours !! not that progress so far has been too quick !

There should not be any issues with a blank/new SSD.
your issue may have been related to a preformated HD that was not in the correct operating mode based on the current Bios Setting that potentially caused your difficulty with the OS reinstall.

consider accessing Acer Downloads
To get the drivers, for the network primarily. others if you wish.

I tend as I noted in a prior comment, pre-load the essential Network, storage and possibly graphics drivers during the install. This way everything else can be updated after versus installing the os and then trying to locate the network drivers.

if the disk does not show up  in explorer, it may be missing a drive letter.
you can check and correct that with disk manager

Make sure you have disconnected the PC from the LAN during the installation, & don't add the NIC driver at that moment either. If you are connected to the internet during this process, the M$ installer will try it's best to force you to create an online M$ account rather than a local Admin Account. In fact even without a connection to the internet it will nag you & ask you to connect to the internet. Just negate those nags, the PC will reboot & usually nag again, again don't fall for it. After that the local account should be possible to setup.

You may need the Disk Controller's driver if your destination disk isn't seen (but based on your previous tries, it is seen, so that also may not be needed, but downloading & extracting it so you have it ready is always a good idea.

You don't need the GPU driver, as that you can get later via Windoze Updates, Optional updates, there all your required drivers should be available.

You only need the driver for the NIC if after you have installed the OS & reconnected the LAN cable, there is no connection to the LAN.

Have now got the Kingston A400 SSD, im going to re-download the media creation tool (just doing, but it only shows 22H2 version, ild probably want to stick with the 21H2 that the machine had on it, but i dont see any options to choose the version (so far).. I recall with a WD ssd there was some other utility you needed..

If i want to partition the drive into 2 equal ish areas, do i need to use something like EaseUS Partition Master (think ive used in past) before using the usb media tool ? and what info to know?

Just checking, as so far this 'just reload win10' journey has been a road full of bends !

Why get an Old version? You'll have to upgrade anyway, installing an old version of Windoze 10 will only take more time as you will have to to do many updates and upgrades until you are finally there. Ol versions are only necessary if your hardware doesn't support the new version, but I have only come across Netbook/Tablet combo where I had such an issue because the CPU wasn't properly supported by M$ Windoze, but that was an exception, and a much older version of Windoze 10 was needed (I think that was 1906 or something close to that). 21H2 was far too modern for it.

I agree with rindi about going with the current version.

Why do you want to partition the drive?

Don't mess with any partitions at first.  Just let the Windows installer create what it needs on the empty drive.  

Once your done and have windows up and running and updated -- you need to run windows update and be sure to select the optional items and the drivers in there.

Then you can use a partition manager to shrink the main partition and add a second.  Easeus works fine, there are many others too, like MiniTool Partition Wizard and the light weight Macrorit Partition Expert

>>  If i want to partition the drive into 2 equal ish areas,   <<   why ?  nowadays with big sized disks available at low cost, there's no need for it
just keep all your data in your profile

fred thanks good advice...ah ok, so i should not need to check or do any pre formatting before using the media c tool..sounds too easy 😁 ill go with the 22H2 then..

If i plug the new ssd into another working pc, it recognizes the drive in the first splash screen you see but after its booted, you dont see it as an-other drive.. why so?

Another thing.. the original drive has a sector called "PQSERVICE" dates of files in there from 2011 i think its some kind of disc recovery thing, do i need to have this? and also could i make some kind of recovery sector incase of future windoze trubbles ?

more info on the pqservice from Acer :  https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/what-is-pqservice/6e0fb4d4-270b-4b64-bcdf-a7f1b73a2513
it is a recovery partition

You don't need it. You would only recover to an ancient OS version with all the bloatware the manufacturers pack their systems with. Also, if you would recover from such a partition you'd have to cope with endless updates & upgrades, until at last you are current.

"If i plug the new ssd into another working pc, it recognizes the drive in the first splash screen you see but after its booted, you dont see it as an-other drive.. why so?"

The SSD likely has no usable partitions.  It does not matter! The windows install is going to build working stuff on it.  

You install the SSD into the target PC (where you want to load windows).  Then you boot the target PC from the USB created by the media creation tool.   Once you get to the partition selection screen in the install process, delete any/all the partitions on the SSD, then continue with the installation (a new SSD won't have any partitions).   Windows creates and formats any partitions it needs.

If you look inside diskmanagement of that other PC you should see the disk, as unallocated.

i agree  the pqservice is not really needed - but it can be easier to use  ( for non-experts) for installing or recuperating the OS.  But as said - it will install the OS it was sold with