One step. Then the next.

You are at the computer. This page is the short version, sized for a phone.

On the PC, unzip the starter and double-click Start-Spareboot. It walks the path. This page tells you what the screen should be doing.

Do one step, then the next. Type ABORT any time a step could replace the operating system. Nothing in the zip erases a disk by itself.

Choose Assess, or walk the whole path. The tool writes reports/assessment.txt and reports/machine.json next to the scripts.

You get CPU, memory, free disk, graphics if Windows reports it, the Windows edition and build, battery if this is a laptop, and whether the network answered.

That pass does not change the PC. If you Ask Spareboot later, send machine.json plus a photo. Leave out passwords and BitLocker keys.

Every change waits for YES. Pressing Enter skips it.

Safe options: tips for disk space, clearing your own Temp folder, emptying the Recycle Bin, turning Fast Startup off, and turning hibernate off to free a large file. Each one says what it does before you agree.

System File Checker and DISM are optional, slow, and need an administrator window. They repair Windows files. They do not wipe your documents. Skip them if you are unsure.

The tool will not format a drive, clean a disk, or flash a BIOS.

The scan lists devices Windows is unhappy about, with the vendor and device ID when it can see them. Results land in reports/drivers.txt.

Open Windows Update, or the PC maker’s own support page for this model. Intel, AMD, and NVIDIA links are the official ones.

Spareboot does not install driver packs, and it does not download drivers from a forum.

Edge is already on Windows 10 and 11. That is a browse path today. Say YES if you also want Firefox from Mozilla.

Writing has three doors: Google Docs, Microsoft 365 in the browser, and LibreOffice from The Document Foundation if you say YES. Under 2 GB of RAM, prefer the browser tools.

A Spareboot Desk icon is placed on the desktop: Browse, and Write. The same three write links are the first thing to open after a light system boots.

The tool suggests one system from the assessment. Mint XFCE when there is 4 GB or more. Lubuntu around 2 to 4 GB. antiX under 2 GB, or on 32-bit Windows. Flex only if you have checked Google’s list for this exact model.

Type READY to download an official image onto this PC, when that image is a plain file. Type ABORT to stop. Downloading does not erase the disk.

The publisher’s installer is the step that can erase a disk, and only after you boot it and confirm. Back up first. If you have not backed up, abort.

If this PC cannot download, skip to the USB section. A stick is the backup, not the first try.

Skip this if the computer already downloaded the image or can still open a browser.

Use a name-brand USB stick, 16 GB or larger. On Windows, people use Rufus. Ventoy is the other usual tool. Both from their own sites. The starter does not write the stick for you.

In Rufus, pick the ISO the starter saved, or the one you downloaded from the publisher. When Rufus warns that the stick will be erased, that means the stick, not the PC’s internal drive. Read the warning.

If the stick will not boot, try another port. A USB 2 port often behaves. Remake the stick. Then photograph the screen.

Photograph the whole screen. Include the brand if you can see it.

On your phone, open Grok and say you are with Spareboot. Paste the note below if you want. You get one next step: Secure Boot, boot order, or the port that only works if you apologize to it.

Do that step. Send another photo, or “done”, or “failed”.

Do not flash a BIOS because a chat sounded sure. Do not send passwords, BitLocker recovery keys, or card numbers.

Checkout is not open. A free or 100% code from Brian still grants a tester license on the license page, or from the starter’s license step. No card.

A percent or dollar code is checked and held. It is not used up today.

If a license was turned off, the Ready path and the operating-system download stop. Asking again does not turn it back on. The assessment you already saved stays yours.

Ready means the machine boots to a desktop, reaches the internet, and a person can browse and type a letter. Google Docs, Microsoft 365, or LibreOffice all count.

If it cannot, the result is not Ready. You do not pay. The usual price, when checkout exists, is about $79 a year for one machine.

The starter’s Ready check writes reports/ready.txt. It does not charge anyone.

Swollen battery, a burning smell, or a machine that will not show a picture: stop. That is not a software job, and it is not a bill.

If BitLocker is on the disk, unlock it and copy files off before any installer. Never paste the recovery key into chat.