Windows 10: How to Reset to Factory-installed Version?

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Daniel Burkus

Posts: 170   +8
I was recently given a MSI laptop (PE70 6QE). It seems that the US version of Windows 10 was originally factory-installed. The previous owner installed the Korean version of Windows 10 on the machine (which makes it useless to me). How can I revert to the original US version? Thank you all for your time, and for any assistance you can offer.

-- DMB
 
Thank you for your reply "captaincranky", but that does not address my actual question. I do not want to change the language of the Korean version. I want the Korean version out of the machine, and restore the original US version that was installed on the machine when it was made. (Apparently it still exists.)
 
Well "DMB", sadly, in my obvious ignorance, I was unable to even ascertain that MSI uses anything other than "restore discs", to well, "restore" the system.

Interestingly enough, the only difference between Korean (KN) and European Windows (N) versions in the lack of Internet Explorer, and the Media components. (It's an anti-monopoly thing). That add-in, is directly available from M$+

Apparently MSI will allow you to download restore materials., with which you could busy yourself burning to a USB stick. Start with a clean SSD in the machine, and hope that the machine's BIOS agrees that you have permission to install it.

Sadly, due to the fact I am a "cranky" old man, my knowledge of cellphones, laptops, and tablets, is minimal, as I consider them "toys for the kidz". As of yet, I have not come into contact with a machine that was first US, then Korean, then hopefully to be US again.

I'm going to bow out now. Hopefully someone with a bit more expertise will be along to "lead you out of the wilderness", so to speak.

Sorry I could not be of more help, but I did give it the "post reform school try"
 
As another old man, I am surely worse at this stuff than you. Unfortunately, certain software that I use will not work when the underlying operating system is the Korean version of Windows (even if I change the language); yet those programs work perfectly when it is the US version. So there seems to be more than a cosmetic difference between the two versions of Windows 10. This is why I would like to restore the original operating system.
 
Something is preventing me from replying more than a couple of words. Windows updated earlier today and since then almost every message I tried to post has failed.
 
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That said, several years ago I purchased a used laptop that was in the same situation: originally it had the US version of Windows 10 factory-installed, over which the previous user had installed the Korean version.
 
Daniel Burkus said:
Something is preventing me from replying more than a couple of words. Windows updated earlier today and since then almost every message I tried to post has failed.
Click to expand...
This site's software has become absolute garbage. I'm running Windows 7. It hasn't been updated in 10 years. I can visit any other site I choose without issue, from Gmail to porn, to you name it. Management doesn't even have the courtesy to respond to complaints, certainly they haven't on my behalf.
I have to reload a page as many as six (6) times for it to register.

Sometimes to reply to a post, I occupy my time by rebooting the machine in the hope that Techspot will be "in the mood" to accept it. With me, this has been going for several years. The only saving grace is that it does cache what you've already written, so that you don't lose it on the reboot.

But no, I've never experienced anything such as you describe. Have you tried downloading a restore disk? I've only had one factory built desktop (eMachines), which wouldn't even let you put a genuine Windows disk in it. I've had one laptop, a Toshiba that I never use, which is fine, upstairs and running Vista. Which should give you an inkling of its vintage.

So, the message you've been receiving has long been etched into my brain, with no relief in sight.
 
Thank you for your reply. I have tried using 3 different computers, and continue to get the same error message. So there is no way I can get into details. I guess I should let it go and see if I can find information elsewhere. Thank you for your help;
 
You could save yourself a lot of grief by binning the existing W10 installation. Do searches and locate a vendor who can supply Windows 10. This works via a provided link to the Microsoft website for the OS download and the vendor will provide a genuine activation key via email. Microsoft prices are horrendous so look around avoiding the very cheapest offers. It's a long while now since I did this but it worked very well. Avoid any "cracks" or keygen solutions. It's not worth the security risks.
 
Thank you, "Bazz2004". I own a copy of the program, and ultimately decided to wipe the hard drive with D-BAN and install Windows 10 from scratch (since I was unable to verify that the factory-installed o/s was, indeed, the US version). The program is installed, and made genuine with my product key. So, though not through the route I had originally wanted to take, everything came out well in the end. Thank you for taking the time to reply!


-- DMB
 
bazz2004 said:
You could save yourself a lot of grief by binning the existing W10 installation. Do searches and locate a vendor who can supply Windows 10. This works via a provided link to the Microsoft website for the OS download and the vendor will provide a genuine activation key via email. Microsoft prices are horrendous so look around avoiding the very cheapest offers. It's a long while now since I did this but it worked very well. Avoid any "cracks" or keygen solutions. It's not worth the security risks.
Click to expand...
FWIW, I went through something similar to this a couple of years ago. Although certainly not the Korean to English part. I had purchased a copy of Windows 10 on Ebay, only to discover that it was counterfeit when I tried to activate it. M$ told me straight up, "those letters shouldn't even be in the product key".

So, I tried to download the software that allows you to download a Win 10 ISO. Once upon a time, you could do this with Win 7. However, when I tried to run the ISO creator, it told me, "you need to have "Windows XP Service pack 3 (!!!), to run this software. That's about as cutsie-pie a way possible to d*ck you out of being to use Windows 7 to create the W 10 ISO. What will M$ think of next?

So, in spite of it being fake, my copy of W 10 did allow me to download and run the creator and install a W 10 ISO onto a flash drive. (yay?)

Then came the fun part. I bought a Win 10 key from somewhere near and dear to us. Well, the key didn't. work. Emails were exchanged, and the seller tried to tell me what the minimum requirements to run Win 10 several times, in fact. I tried to explain that the machine, despite being rather mainstream, had an i3-12100, 32 GB of RAM, and a 500 GB NVme for C:/, so it would probably "squeak by".

At the 4 hour juncture, I explained to him that the key was either used up bogus, and they could either give me one that worked or my money back. That seems to have done the trick.
 
It's all about choosing a trustworthy vendor who will give support. I bought a copy of Microsoft Office, downloaded the ISO as instructed then used the key emailed by the seller. It didn't activate saying that the key had already been used. On complaining to the seller a new key was immediately sent out with apologies and it activated the software with no issues.
I suspect that eBay may not be the best place to look for a vendor.
 
bazz2004 said:
It's all about choosing a trustworthy vendor who will give support.
Click to expand...
I don't think you completely caught my drift. I said, "I got the product key from someone very near, and very dear to us".

The counterfeit Windows 10 disk was just a write off. I needed a working Windows 10 installation to run the USB ISO creator. I don't have another Win 10 machine. The bad copy installed and worked fine, it just couldn't be activated .So, it was just "the cost of doing business".`
 
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