hello...

ok i looked and thought i had used macrium to back up to my exhd but not seeing it. on my desktop i have two macrium, one is macrium reflect and the other is macrium reflect but both have totally different icons, also a macrium folder with two different setup exe files. i've also got prompts from macrium for a new update should i run it?

well i did as the tutorial said and did the backup successfully after 3 failed attemps and the image is made. i guess i'm ready for the next step. i do have a macrium image made from 3/14, can i delete it so not to confuse the two?

Take a screen capture of the macrium backups and post here please.
 
Open File Explorer. Navigate to the external drive and folder where the macrium backups are kept.
Right click on the   Names heading and select Size all columns to fit then take the screen capture, svae it and post here please.

Should look something like this (mine):
 
📎MacriumBackupFiles.jpg

ok this is the one today…

i'm a tad worried something was done wrong or whatever, mine doesn't look much the same as yours. i hope i didn't mess it up. i know i've been slow to deal with but i'm one that has never done anything like this before and know nothing about pc repair. let me know if i did it wrong or did somewhere in this. i do thank you for all the help you give.

You went to far. You're actually into one of you Macrium backup images. It shows what the images contains, which is good, but  I want to see the names as they are shown in File Explorer, as I show.

ok Z i know this is easier than i make it to be, my apologies…this is the best i can do i believe on showing what you want to see. i hope so.

📎Untitled.jpgok Z i know this is easier than i make it to be, my apologies…this is the best i can do i believe on showing what you want to see. i hope so.

EDIT: i meant to add that the file on the left is most recent from 3/26

am i missing something here?

Don't think so. You have a Macrium backup so go ahead and do the clean install. See my Post #45.

Z what about a product key? i don't think i have one. if i do i have no clue where.

📎win10setup.jpgok Z, i now have windows 10 downloaded to my memory card and everything as according to the tutorial. that puts me  i guess at step 1 of here's how in the tutorial? also in my mem card in the folder on it there will i run the setup or the boot?

📎win10.pngscratch that screenshot, sorry wrong file

1st, you don't need a product key. Since Windows 10 was previously installed on this computer it's digital license is stored on a Microsoft Server. When you reinstall and it asks for a key, skip thaty step (as the instructions say to do). It will activate okay.

The 2nd picture (post #58) is your USB flash drive. That is the one you need to boot to do the clean install.

Good luck.

ok Z, thanks and now which folder do i use to do that? the boot file or the setup file?