Reinstalling Windows 8 Without Disc Or Drives
Mar 28, 2014
I have a system that froze and I have been struggling with for days. Long story short, Lenovo Twist with solid state hard drive and no optical disc drive. I woke up last week and had a black screen. So I rebooted and went through the steps to recover (not 12 after a couple of days of free time I had to force the recovery with f10 and then I could only get the reset windows option to come up wanting me to insert my recovery media.
I don't have any. Windows 8 was preinstalled so I don't have the key. Yes it was visible on the system but that's not an option now and without a optical disc I couldn't burn a recovery disc.
After arguing with Lenovo, Staples, and Microsoft about warranties etc. I want to just get my system running. I want to buy windows 8 and install from a stick or external optical drive right? I cannot just download to the stick and insert into a usb slot. I cannot restore from a factory (Microsoft) CD if I bought the external drive.
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Sep 4, 2014
I have bought a laptop while ago from Samsung that came with windows 8.
Due to software problems i decided to reinstall the windows.
When accessing the hard disk in windows installation i deleted all Partitions on HD. Inclusive those from factory.
When i try to install windows now , he''s asking for drivers and he will not continue without. I tried to download the sata hd drivers, wich he finds, but it still keeps screaming for drivers. Did i delete the wrong map? is it possible to recover this?
Laptop model from Samsung : NP900X4D-A02be
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Oct 24, 2013
Does installation Id change after reinstalling Windows? In other words is it possible to use the confirmation ID I got after clean install of Windows?
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Jul 22, 2014
Im selling this computer and it runs Ubuntu 14.04. I need it to be stock windows.
Im guessing the product key is in the Bios of the system because there is no sticker anywhere on this Asus Laptop.
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Mar 7, 2014
I had windows 7 and decided to go back to windows 8.1 and after installing windows 8.1 on my LocalDisk i ofund a folder named "b04102c22e49885eb0" - where it came from, I'm sure it wasn't there. I cannot delete it because : adminRequest -- after clicking continue access denied ; and after taking the ownership of the folder is the same thing.
Yes , I am on an Administrator account. So, what's up with this folder?
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Apr 1, 2014
I am using windows 8.1. It was ok till some day before. Now when I click the windows' app button, it shows "This app can't open. Contact your system administrator about repairing or reinstalling it." So what should I do now? I tried troubleshooter but it does not work and my store app is not working too (even though it does show that sign).
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May 14, 2014
Over a month ago, I noticed that my system had started to become very slow, taking a long time to switch between apps, or between tabs in Chrome (even with only a few tabs open).
I've constantly had Resource Monitor open to try and track down the source of the problem. Initially, I thought this was a problem with Chrome or my pagefile, because Chrome was often at/near the top of Disk Activity, manipulating pagefile.sys. However, it seems like the amount of data being manipulated isn't very large; typically well below 1 MB/sec. I tried moving my pagefile to a secondary hard drive to no effect.
I've downloaded and run multiple programs to check hard drive health, and none of them have found any problems. I'm not talking about simple S.M.A.R.T. diagnostics, but in-depth scans.
Thinking that it might be a problem with Windows 7 at the time, I wiped the drive and installed Windows 8.1. I installed the latest motherboard drivers and disabled Windows search and file indexing. The problem remains. The fact that the problem persists after wiping the drive had me thinking it's likely a hardware problem. Alas, various hard drive scanners haven't found a problem.
I have 8GB of memory; rarely is more than 4GB ever in use. Both of my hard drives have plenty of free space (400+ GB each).
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Apr 7, 2014
I've had a mild BSOD (mostly page_fault_in_nonpaged_area and rarely irql_not_less_or_equal) problem since I built my computer (3 years now) but after trying to figure out what caused them and finding nothing I just gave up and dealt with them. Recently I reinstalled Windows and went from Win 7 to Win 8. I formatted everything and apparently it is not a virus or software problem. The reason I dealt with them was because they weren't coming up as often as they do now. They are so frequent I can't work or do anything anymore.
After browsing a few forums I learned it might be a memory error. So I tried removing the RAM sticks and shuffling them around the slots. I ran memtest86+ for around 12 hours (making 10 passes) and it found nothing.
I also read it might be the hard disk's fault. I tried unplugging every one of them (besides the one with the system) and ran CHKDSK and nothing.
They appear completely at random; closing or opening Windows, surfing the net, browsing data on disks, etc. I am completely lost.
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Apr 21, 2013
I have a new Lenovo G580, came with Windows 8. When it first arrived I mistakenly added new partitions (repartitioned) to the hard drive. (Actually it should not be a mistake - It should allow me to do so, its my choice.) . After I repartitioned I realized that reinstalling partition of Windows 8 no longer works through onekeyrecovery of Lenovo. All the partitions are there - including the hidden partitions arrived with PC - all the recovery partitions but it does no longer reinstall Windows.
I called Lenovo - I believe they will send me the new recovery disks, if so. But until then I am trying to find a solution - and I learnt that there is a feature of resetting windows in the Windows settings "remove everything and reinstall windows."
I will use this option and make a recovery hidden folder and ISO myself with this fresh install of Windows with "paragon backup" etc.
But.... I need to know if this resetting PC option is really safe - If since the time I used Windows 8 until now, some viruses and malware spreaded into my computer - would these have the possibility to inject themselves to windows reset feature and the files it will use? As these should be in my C: drive I believe this is a possibility.
I will use this image after reset always for reinstalling Windows 8 so I have to make sure there are no viruses or malware entered into it.
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Dec 20, 2013
I re-installed Windows 8 , everything worked fine until today I started having BSOD's saying I have "Memory Management" , "IRQL Not Less Or Equal" , "kernel security check failure" , "DPC Watchdog Violation", So... I attached the files from the Diagnostic Tool.
It started with AMD Catalyst Control Center starting to crash on boot, so I re-installed it and it works fine, but them Google Chrome starts to crash or just the extensions or open tabs
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Mar 11, 2014
So the hard drive on my computer failed. I do not have the product key for this computer and can not get it of the failing hard drive because it does not power up at all. But the computer does have the built in product key in the bios. Is there a way that I can re install windows 8 on this computer and activate with the bios key with out getting the recovery media from the manufacture.
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Jan 12, 2014
I recently bought a laptop with Windows 8 and have erased the hard drive while trying to install another OS (not a good move, I know). This caused problems and now I'd like to re-install windows 8, except I have no way of doing this without knowing my product key, which I cannot access through my computer now. Is there a way to re-install windows 8 without having to purchase it again?
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Apr 13, 2014
I recently purchased an Asus X551 laptop with Windows 8 but straight the way uninstalled Windows 8 and installed Ubuntu (after creating a Windows 8 recovery drive just in case). I have since decided that I want Windows 8 back as I have found that I cannot use a lot of software on Linux. The laptop did not come with any form of recovery disk or installation disk, the only reminent of Windows 8 I have is the recovery USB that I created from within the OS.
When I plug in the USB and boot from it it brings up the recovery menu with options to reset the PC but when I click it it says something like - "Unable to reset PC. A required partition is missing".
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Nov 5, 2013
Windows 8. I am fairly well versed in Windows 7 matters, but it seems with Windows 8 things have changed.
I need to find out how to install Windows 8 on a new HDD in a device that has a failed disk. I have no repair disk or ISO, and no product code.
A little background: I have a friend's Packard Bell Easynote TE11HC laptop (Win 8 x64, not the pro version) that won't boot. Typically it is about 2 months out of warranty! Having run a few tools I have established that the HDD is corrupted in a major way. Chkdsk ran for 24 hours before I cancelled it at 5% through. It reported many, many corrupted or unreadable sectors, so I felt there may be little value in fixing that disk, even if chkdsk ever managed to complete.
The disk is a Toshiba MQ01ABF050 500GB, Tosh's own diagnostic tool report a failed disk.
I have mounted the old disk in an external caddy and connected by USB, and it is recognised, I can even browse the folder structure. Maybe it's just the boot sectors that are bad.
Anyway, now that repair disks from OEMs are a thing of the past, I am wondering how to go about installing the OS on a new HDD. There are no longer labels with product codes on, so how do I go about getting the necessary info to reinstall?
I have read how to download a Windows 8 ISO, but without another machine with the same OS how do I get anywhere? And without a product code, how will I activate it after installation?
The laptop also had MS Office 2013 installed, so if I can find a license key for that it would be handy. I am hoping such info can be retrieved as the disk is still browsable.
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Mar 7, 2014
I have a fairly new (purchased 8/2013) Lenovo ThinkPad T431s with Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit. It has a very tricky error coming basically 8 / 10 boots: Windows is Scanning and repairing drive...
Error details from Windows Event Viewer:
A corruption was discovered in the file system structure on volume ?Volume{f62db2cf-efe4-4b55-a3f7-0e7db991a984}.
A file on the volume is no longer reachable from its parent directory. The parent file reference number is 0x2000000000002. The name of the parent directory is "". The parent index attribute is ":$I30:$INDEX_ALLOCATION". The file reference number of the file that needs to be reconnected is 0x400000003db80. There may be additional files on the volume that also need to be reconnected to this parent directory.
What is wrong (my personal analysis):
To me, it seems that for some reason there is one (all the Event Viewer details point to similar error) corrupted / missing Windows (System) file that is causing this, but what the file(s) is/are.
Other symptoms on my laptop is that after loggin in and using whatever app (Windows delivered or 3rd party), the whole laptop jams totally for say 30-240 seconds and all apps go to "Not Responding" state untill Laptop recovers AND I can continue using my Laptop "normally".
What has been done trying to fix that:
SSD disk has been changed (image from previous SSD copied back) -> no solution, error remainschkdsk /F /R -> no solution, error remainsSFC /scannow -> no solution, error remainsdism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth -> no solution, error remains after a few bootsTRIED using Windows 8.1 "Update & Recovery -> Refresh Your PC without affecting your files" -> Inserted the Lenovo "Operating System Recovery Disk Windows 8 Pro (OEM Activation 3.0 Required)" BUT Windows did not accept that DVD claiming "The media inserted is not valid"... ???Ended up calling Lenovo Support and they instructed me to order the Recovery DVD from Lenovorecovery.com -> Waiting that to arrive...
So how to solve this (prior proper (?) the Recovery DVD arrives)? I would absolutely NOT want to re-install everything from scratch...
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Sep 29, 2013
When Win 8.1 Preview was first released it installed without issue in a second partition on my Win 7 Pro Lenovo Edge E335 and created a standard dual boot setup. A week ago something or other started causing chaos in Win 7 though 8.1 still ran normally, but as 7 is my day-to-day system I needed to get it working normally again. Three different Acronis images restored OK but then each developed the same problems, so probably a rootkit was behind it all. Unable to overcome these problems I restored to factory condition, reinstalled my software and life returned to normal.
I then set about repartitioning to install Win 8.1 Preview again but hit a first problem when the same DVD and key I had used previously failed as the key was not accepted. Undaunted I tried again with a new key I found on the internet and this key did work. However the install then failed with the message that Win 8.1 can not be installed to an MBR disk, only to a GPT disk. Now this is the same disk that installed to the same MBR HDD previously, only the key being different.
Is the only solution to this to convert the entire disk to GPT and reinstall both 7 and 8.1 again? If so, that's a bit of a problem as my Win 7 was preinstalled to an MBR disk and I'm certainly not buying it again.
The Win 8 Pro/Win 7 Ult on the left relates to a different box.
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Oct 21, 2013
My son's laptop (Windows 8) failed, and despite F9 options to reset or refresh, and CHKDSK was unable to recover the system due to bad disk sectors. I bought a new disk , but as I had made no recovery media, and the OEM doesn't supply any, I have no way of reinstalling Windows 8.
However I did mange to install Ubuntu Linux on the new disk and the Laptop is now working fine. Out of curiosity I connected the old bad disk via a USB enclosure, and lo and behold Disk utility was able to read the OEM Recovery and Restore partitions. I have made several copies of these on a Win 7 laptop, USB and LInux partitions, and all look good (as far as i can tell).
My issue is that as the OEM recovery partitions seem fine, I reckon they should be installable onto the new disk, but I am at a loss as to how I can use this data to reinstall Win 8 onto my laptop. Most of the advice I can see assumes a working copy of WIn 8 or having a retail Win 8 ISO, which of course I do not have. Remember , unlike Win 7, WIn 8 has no product key identifiable as it is contained in the BIOS somewhere, but I reckon it should recognise the OEM's recovery partition if I only could manage to load it.
I now have a sketchy knowledge of lots of new terms (mounting , partitioning, MBRs, boot sequences etc ) so exactly what to do. [ The tutorial on this form requires a retail win 8 ISO]. I did find a Linux method involcing DD, DDRESCUE , PARTPROBE etc ) which I have tried but all to no avail - I am sure I was close though! ]
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Aug 3, 2013
I just read the following,"Microsoft imposes a limit on number of times Windows or other Microsoft paid applications license keys can be activated on different PCs." I have MS Office Home and Student 2010 which came preloaded with no discs but have keys. When I need to format and reinstall I need to use the 64bit link to do so. " Does the information included apply to my formatting and reinstalling both or either the OS and Office?
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Jul 17, 2013
I built myself a new system and I am now on my third clean install of Windows 9 Pro. The first installation was nixed due to faulty programs and the second by faulty hardware. This installation seems to be fine, at least my event log is not showing any significant errors. I really don't won't to do another clean install so the question I have is:
Can I install Windows with UEFI without reinstalling on a new hard drive formatted as GPT?
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Nov 24, 2012
Upgraded to windows 8 pro, worked fine for sometime, but now it does not boot- says either error loading operating system or disc read error. Re installed Windows 8 after booting with another hard drive with winXP, worked fine for sometime, then it failed again displaying the same error messages. Been using this system since long, but this has never happened before. I have reinstalled again by the same procedure, but always wary of the same problem happening again.
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Jan 16, 2013
I am converting a file from my software onto disc and coz i leave the laptop to get on with the job and when i get back to the laptop its gone into like a sleep. I then have to right click the desktop and entre my password to find out that my converting to disc was dead.. when i stop at the laptop converting this never happens...is there a way to stop my laptop from doing this?
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Feb 3, 2014
I am trying to copy a CD to disc using Media Player. When I try to set the destination location by clicking CHANGE in Rip settings/More options/Rip music to this location, nothing happens. I can't set a location. When I click the Rip CD button, I get the message "Windows Media Player cannot find the file. If you are trying to play, burn, or sync an item that is in your library, the item might point to a file that has been moved, renamed, or deleted."
The Media Player sees the CD and can play the tracks from the CD, so it's not that it can't find the CD.
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Jul 10, 2013
So I just got my computer about a month ago and I have noticed that 2 or 3 times a week it freezes up for 15-20 minutes or more, and the Disk usage is at 100% on the performance monitor. I checked the system error logs and found that the Bonjour service from apple had a critical error when it froze. I then disabled the service from running and computer ran fine for a week or so then started freezing again. I have ran disk optimizer, defrag, and virus scans with no success to fixing the problem. On the processes tab of the performance monitor it will show a few different processes using the most disk i/o. Windows Installer, Windows Module Installer Worker, System, and few others I cant remember right now.
Side note: this problem happens at any time with 0 programs up and running or 10 programs. I have 16 GB of memory so its not a memory problem. Just hope its something that can be fixed and I didnt just waste a bunch of money on a crap machine.
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Apr 8, 2013
My pc is a hp pavilion 64 bit desktop computer model # P6- 2220t it is 5 months old. It originally came with windows 7 then I upgraded to windows 8. I went ahead and used windows 8 to create an image of my hard disc and store it on a usb external hard drive I also made a repair disc.
Everything went well the pc backed up on scheduled and doing well in backing up. My big problem is this I tried to boot from the repair disc but it won't I looked at the bios but it is different from the type of bios that I am familiar.
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Feb 20, 2014
I have Windows 8 x64 preinstalled on my Toshiba Laptop. I created a startup disk (DVD) but i cannot boot from the DVD/CD Drive. I set my BIOS to boot from my DVD Drive but i think the problem may be my autoplay settings from DVD Drive. I just don't know how to set them up. the Disk is fine it is not scratched or anything. I don't know how to set up my media devices especially optical so that i can boot from the DVD Drive!
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Apr 6, 2014
How do I ensure that nobody can slip in a Windows 7 or 8 disc and reinstall windows on my laptop? I have a BIOS password, but in the boot priority order it doesn't list my disc drive as an option.. Only "Windows Boot Manager"... So I'm unsure as to whether someone can just stick a disc in and reinstall windows.
Reason being is that I had my laptop stolen two months ago. I had tracking software on it (Prey), but the theif never connected to the internet, which is required for the software to work. Which leads me to assume that they just formatted (my win 7) laptop and reinstalled windows straight away. So I'm learning from my mistakes, and wanting to do it right for my new laptop.
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Aug 27, 2014
Today my beloved Win 8.1 gave me a surprising license deactivation, meaning the license just suddenly became void despite working properly for some few months. I suspect two reasons:
- I changed GPU the day before (but it's not like the problem occurred right after changing GPU)
- during system boot right before occurrence of the issue Windows was performing (routine?) HDD autorepair. This could suggest that some system files were damaged in the process
Obviously, my license is genuine.
I did try slui.exe 4 - nothing loads after selecting region. The loading icon just keeps running. I also tried sfc /scannow. It said some files were corrupted which could not be repaired. I'm attaching the log file. I also tried performing autorepair from Windows CD - to no avail.
I don't even know if buying a new license key (which I obviously would like to avoid) would work for me. An activation suddenly disappearing is just so... windows.
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Nov 3, 2013
I have successfully done the following:
Integrated French (fr-FR) language pack to Windows 8.1 Enterprise en-US (x64).
Integrated French (fr-FR) language pack to Windows 8.1 Enterprise en-US (x86).
Combined the above 2 into an AIO.
I was able to install any of the 4 operating systems to install without requiring the serial number (image only contains enterprise sku).
The problem now is that I have a Windows 8 64-bit installation. I want to upgrade it to 8.1 using the disc. When I put the disc in, it complains that I need to insert the 64-bit disc.
Is there anyway to make my AIO image support upgrades for 32-bit and 64-bit?
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Jan 10, 2013
im using Windows 8 64bit and every time I try to defrag or optimize it it goes to pass 2.92% and just hangs there for hours before I just give up. also anylize takes forever to complete
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Dec 26, 2012
This is for a Samsung NP550P5C... having typed it into Google, the options appear a little confusing with the best option being how to make recovery discs for an HP laptop (presumably using HP's built in wizard), requiring 4 DVD's. Other suggestions seem to tell you how to make a "Repair" disc for Windows 8 with one readers comments of.....
" Windows 8 recovery Disk is used to reset your PC - it is supposed to reload the operating system and restore factory default settings. You need a USB flash drive 16GB or larger. I haven't found yet a way to create Windows 8 recovery CD/DVD, which can be used to reinstall the operating system."
It's not even clear how to do it on a Flash Drive though I would prefer using discs...
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Nov 6, 2013
I have an acer aspire desktop pc windows 8 its 6 months old. When i try to burn an audio cd it will only burn 99% and then it ejects the disc. I have tried to play the cd in my stereo which plays ordinary and mp3 but it reads but cannot play the tracks.
It will play in my computer.
I have tried burning with the same batch of cds on my laptop and it works fine.
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