Unable to do a reset on Windows laptop

[GeekGirlInFurs]

Hi. I hope it's ok to post this in this "general" forum. It concerns a laptop running Windows 8.1 that I would like to reset as a first step to running Windows 10, and the issue seems to be more about the "general" reset process than about the specific version of Windows.

I've been using a Toshiba laptop running Win 8.1 Pro for over 5 years. It is overdue for a refresh. I've put it off because my setup is highly customized, and having to recreate everything from scratch is easy to avoid.

I've made several unsuccessful attempts to do a reset, both the partial kind (saving files, etc), and the full complete thing.

In doing this, I have been working with a full clone of the original drive, which includes the recovery and all other partitions. The original HDD was 720Gb, the clone is 1Tb, also HDD. The clone was apparently successful and I've been using it without any issue for over a month.

Could using a clone account for the failure to reset?

Another detail: When it was new, I partitioned the original c: drive to create a d drive, which shrunk the c: drive down to 119Gb, with over 58Gb free. The c: drive is not used for data and the 58Gb just sits there, without any "not enough space" complaints from Windows. Could the different size of the C: drive be a factor?

Also, i recently upgraded RAM from the original 6Gb to 12Gb. Could that be an issue?

I wouldn't think hardware changes would be an issue until Windows tried to activate?

The device has been been getting heavy daily use for 5 years without problems.

Two of the reset attempts resulted in Windows 8.1 booting only into a "temporary profile" (though with the usual name and password) which did not save any data or system changes and was unusable.

I could use the original 720Gb HDD to do the reset, but don't want to risk losing the original just yet. (The original also has the above partitioning.)

When I compare the partitioning of the the clone and the original (in Disk Management or similar) the hidden partitions all seem to be identical.

Ultimately I want to run Win 10, and thought that after resetting the device I'd do an upgrade, as that might help ensure I had all the right drivers.

I'm interested in how others would approach this situation.

Thank you!
GGiF

[gremsp]

THanks. Very interesting question.

[JoeP]

What have you tried to diagnose the problem? See some of the links at Windows 8.1 unable to reset your PC for some hints