Setup Installation :: Reinstalling Win 8 On New HDD
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.
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.
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! ]
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.
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?
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?
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".
I was installing Windows 8 at my desktop pc.Suddenly power cut occured and it caused the compute to shut down.Then when I restarted my pc again a messege appeared saying that the installation has been corrupted and it can't be continued and it doesn't log on.After that when I tried to re-install Windows 8 the setup got stuck at the "setup is starting" window.I waited overnight for it to go and the installation to start.But it doesn't happen.I have tried to re-install several times but the same problen happens again and again.So neither I can log into my computer now nor I can re-install windows.I don't know what to do.
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.
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?
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...
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?
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?
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).
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).
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.
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.
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
During POST enter "BIOS Boot Selector Menu" by pressing F7.
Intel says: <F7> No uefi setup option in boot selection Others say: <F8> No uefi setup option in boot selection I say: <F12> No uefi setup option in boot selection
Lenovo Z580, my brand new laptop that is, its UEFI based and vymrdal's ISO from MSDN is also created to be installed as an UEFI Install.
Here's my issue; I am a math and science teacher in a public middle school and am outfitting my class with thirty brand-new Lenovo touch computers. I consider myself above-average savvy with computers, having worked with every version of Windows extensively since the late 80s and DOS. The only OS that I haven't spent much time on is Windows 8.
These computers are all brand-new and of course have legal copies of Windows 8 -- irritatingly, though not yet updated to 8.1. Soo...It took me a larger part of one day just to get ONE of these computers ready for class use. It involved several stages of the Windows update/reboot dance, followed by removing myriad unneeded bloatware applications, setting up multiple child accounts on the machine, and finally installing some freeware educational materials needed for instruction. It was all unbelievably tedious!
I turned around and look at all the remaining twenty-nine computers with dread. Obviously I'm trying to work out some kind of shortcut to avoid having to spend my whole summer updating each of the new machines individually. In an ideal world, I would make some sort of image of the machine that I just spent several hours updating/configuring, and then replicate that across the other twenty-nine. In terms of hardware, this shouldn't be a problem since all of the machines are exactly the same make and model. But I anticipate other problems such as, for example, the serial number of the Windows version and the computer name will then be the same on all the machines and have to be adjusted. There very well could be other issues with replicated serial numbers, etc.
I'm thinking maybe I just have to bite the bullet and work at each individual computer one of the time. And then image them individually so that when the kids mess around with them, I can do an easy restore. How I could make this work?
I have a HP Envy 4 Ultrabook and I want to install Windows 8 from scratch, I put the installation files on a flash drive from a DVD of Win 8 I had, but when I go to install it, it says the "We couldn't find any drives". I have tried using DiskPart within the CMD as well, but it only finds my flash drive when I run list disk. Also, my drives are completely formatted, and I accidentally wiped the recovery partition. I tried with a USB of Win 8 Pro, and it was fine, showing all of my drives correctly, but that version is linked to another PC, so I can't install it. Also, I booted into a Linux Mint live CD and tried to install it, it sees my hard drive correctly, but the Windows install does not, I can't figure this out, never encountered it before. Is Linux my only option at this point?
I get as far as " a driver is needed to continue installation" not found, make sure its on the right media. Here is what i got done on my own..
1- BIOS setting "legacy" and U E F I" boot from USB. 2- F 9 to choose boot order.. selected USB device 3- Installation starts for WIN 7 4- Driver is needed to continue, and i have no clue what it is..some one pointed me to . f 6 f l p y-x 64 because its an HP Envy... 5- Driver not found / wrong driver.. 6- Shut down restart.......................
My DVD is Windows 7 ultimate X 32, X 64..
No matter what i cant boot form my USB /U E Fl /WIN 7 pen drive.seems like its not recognized or drivers for the USB chip set not installed.. Of course using the O E M DVD of win 7 fails. because of the G P T style.
I am trying to upgrade from windows 8 pro to windows 8.1 on a samsung laptop. The download completes and installation starts.
After a while the following message appears "you cant install windows on a usb flash drive with setup"
I am not actually trying to install to a flash drive. I contacted Microsoft and after 5 hours they said that I should connect to the internet with a cable and not by wireless in order to solve the problem (this didn't work of course and I had told them that it was an install problem and not a download problem).
Until very recently i was running Windows 8 with a 240 GB Sandisk SSD as a primary and a 2 TB Western Digital Green HDD as a storage. I decided to set up a RAID 1 setup so i purchased a second 2 TB HDD and installed it.
My intent was to run windows 8 off the 240 SSD as a primary and have a RAID 1 setup for my 2TB HDDs.
I learnt that my data configuration was set to AHCI. I decided to do a complete clean install and change the sata configuration in BIOS to RAID.
After successfully creating a RAID volume using my 2TB HDDs i proceeded to install Windows off my primary. I am however having difficulties in that it will not allow me to install windows on either drive.
