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For regular users, the task of identifying whether Windows 10 is upgraded or freshly installed may not be crucial. Mentioning this topic might surprise many readers that Windows 10 meticulously records whether it's an upgrade or a fresh installation on the computer. Indeed, Windows 10, or Windows operating systems in general, present many other surprising issues aside from installation or upgrades.
Whether it's a fresh installation or simply upgrading Windows 10 from Windows 7 or Windows 8, the Windows operating system still meticulously records or stores all necessary information. And with the incredibly simple guide below, you'll find out whether your Windows 10 is upgraded or freshly installed.
How to Identify Whether Windows 10 is Upgraded or Freshly Installed
Step 1: To identify whether Windows 10 is upgraded or freshly installed, we need to access the Registry Editor tool on the computer. Press Windows + R, then type Regedit, and press OK to access it.
If there is a confirmation message from the system about accessing the Registry Editor, select Yes. Otherwise, proceed to the next step.
Step 2: Here, access the following path Computer > HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SYSTEM > Setup and check its subkeys.
Step 3: In case you check and find a Update folder within the Setup directory, it indicates that Windows 10 was upgraded rather than freshly installed. This is also the way to identify whether Windows 10 is upgraded or freshly installed on your computer or laptop.
Note: The identification of whether Windows 10 is upgraded or freshly installed only applies to those who have recently purchased a computer. For those who have updated multiple times to subsequent versions of Windows 10, this folder will naturally exist.
Identifying Which Version Windows 10 Was Upgraded From
Besides identifying whether Windows 10 is upgraded or freshly installed, we can also check which version of Windows 10 was the most recent upgrade.
Note: This method only identifies the most recent upgrade version of your Windows 10, not the original version.
- Still within the Setup Folder we accessed earlier, here you'll find an item named Source OS.
In the Source OS section, you only need to look for the ProductName section, where the Data entry will tell you which version of Windows 10 was upgraded from the nearest version.
Above are the tips for identifying whether Windows 10 is upgraded or freshly installed, a simple yet intriguing trick for those who like to explore Windows 10. Identifying whether Windows 10 is upgraded or freshly installed may not be critically important, but what's more important is that we have discovered many new features on Windows 10, including the Registry Editor tool, which is widely used on computers and laptops.
If you've freshly installed Windows 10 Pro without activation, don't worry, use the activation code and refer to the article on activating Windows 10 Pro here to learn how to do it.
For example, we can speed up Windows 10 boot using Registry, adjusting some parameters in it. The specific steps are explained here if you're interested, speeding up Windows 10 boot using Registry, for detailed instructions by Mytour.
