I upgraded Windows 8 to Windows 8.1 via the Windows store and so. Do not have a DVD or any media to do a refresh or recovery ... I need to refresh Windows 8.1 as many of my apps do not open.
I tried this from this site here. All went fine but when i went to refresh windows cannot find any media again.
How to: REFRESH your Windows 8.1 installation without installation media.
I have in my possession an HP Pavilion a1230n desktop compulator. I was told that it crashed some time ago and was only used for simple things as it was deemed not trust worthy and stable. It was running Windows xp until about two weeks ago when the power at the person's house went out suddenly and the ntldr was corrupted and wouldn't boot, obviously the solution to that was to do a clean install but as xp is to be dead soon, the decision was made to go to the Windows 8.1.
It seems as if this is genuinely possessed by an evil spirit, as I was told by the owner, because LITERALLY NOTHING I've done is allowing me to install Windows 8.1, not even booting into the USB installer of 8.1, or even trying to run Windows 8.1. Normally I deploy Windows through DISM and my custom .wim file onto the hard drive and I boot into WinPE or a neutered Windows installer USB and apply boot files to the drive and it works just fine. That hasn't worked. I had 8.1 on the target drive, was actually able to get the DVD installer to run, although this was the second time since the first run of it didn't even find a hard drive when I plugged it back in, and apply boot files successfully. I restarted, but it ran for about a few seconds and ran into continuous reboots before it said that the install needs to be repaired.
Then I tried to actually run the DVD installer of straight up vanilla Windows 8 to see if maybe there was a CPU requirement not being met, but the installation failed about 47% through. I THINK the error code was 0xc0000221, not sure though. Next I tried remaking a THIRD USB installation of 8.1, but EVERY single time when I boot off into the USB drive, it takes at least five minutes (normally it shouldn't take so long) before any activity on screen shows. But EVERY time, it hangs up and restarts. The error code I got for sure with that was elxstor.sys 0xc0000221. In one of the failed attempts of installing, it was the same thing but with a different .sys file.
The thing is I KNOW for sure my .iso images of Windows are perfectly fine I was just recently used the previous USB installer to deploy 8.1 onto a laptop just yesterday but doesn't work on this PC. The compulator in question is 64 bit capable and as far as I know meets the Windows 8 CPU requirements. I've disconnected EVERY peripheral even the keyboard, and obviously reconnected the keyboard and ran it again. I've cleared the CMOS. I have the USB and keyboard connected to the motherboard's USB ports and not the headers. I've also gone to the extent of using a third party, non-partisan hard drive with Windows 8.1 deployed on it to try and install boot files on that to see if hard drive issues may be present from the PC's drive. That also didn't work nor did installing Windows onto that separate drive from the DVD work either. I've checked the PC's hard drive for errors, everything is ok.
I've installed Windows at least over 100 different times from VMs to many different PCs, but this is literally the first one to cause such an issue I can't even think of why. Although, thinking about it, I do remember once with a slightly older HP desktop when I was trying to run a Windows 7 To Go drive off of it, it just wouldn't run whatsoever and I had to fix the bcdboot files for it run again.
All of a sudden I can't reliably play any video media on my Win 8 64bit computer -- was working fine yesterday and AFAIK nothing (other than perhaps Windows automatic updates) changed. My first thought was to try and restore but even though I'm sure I created a restore point it tells me there isn't one. Sigh.
Okay, so then I try to perform a reset (but keeping all my files) and it tells me some files are missing and to insert my recovery media. All well and good, I actually have that (and know where it is) but when I insert the disk it tells me it is NOT a recovery disk.
It is, of course, precisely that -- a Windows 8 Recovery Media for Windows 8 Products 64 bit. I am running an official copy of Win 8 (well, 8.1, but I have no media for that since it was a free update). Yes, it's OEM (Dell) but that shouldn't make a difference. And, more importantly, what I am to do now?
I have upgraded my system from windows 7 to windows 8 through digital delivery (no dvd). later it was upgraded to 8.1 pro now its in 8.1 pro with media center. Now i want to do a clean install of windows 8.1 pro with media center but i have no media, i have only windows 8 purchase product key and current product id.
Not sure if it's Lenovos only, but trying to migrate Windows 8 OEM to an SSD has been a huge pain in the ass. This process should not be as difficult as Lenovo/Microsoft has made it.
I purchased a Y400 along with a 256G SSD. I'd like to clean install Windows onto the SSD, I did not want to copy image. I went through forums for hours trying to put a recovery system on a usb with no luck (even with the instructions given by a Lenovo moderator on their website), I kept getting "missing partition drive". I broke down and paid Lenovo the ridiculous "shipping charge" of $59 for the recovery disks.
These are my steps so far:
-My SSD is installed and I removed the HDD (until Windows 8 was installed, I'd then format it) -Put Disk 1 into the optical drive (Disk 1 states it's the format sequence and starting point for restore, Windows 8 actually on disk 2, I believe) -Pressed the "Novo" button on the left side of the machine (gives options of Normal Startup, BIOS Setup, Boot Manager and System Recovery)
*FYI - Boot Manager lists: Windows Boot Manager and 2 EFI volumes (when HDD is plugged in, just the EFI's when uninstalled) System Recovery only works with the HDD installed and it's Lenovo's One Key Recovery which just restores to a restoration point.*
Went into BIOS setup Tabbed over to "Security" Disabled the "Secure Boot" Tabbed over to "Boot" Changed the Boot Mode to "Legacy Support" Changed Boot Priority to "Legacy First" Saved then exited.
Pressed the "Novo" button once more, went into BIOS setup Tabbed back to "Boot" Boot device priority was now displayed with SATA ODD, SSD and Network Boot. I reordered to boot from SATA ODD Saved and exited
Upon restart, I pressed F12 (select boot device), and chose the SATA ODD It went into a DOS looking screen and gives "No Bootable Device - Insert boot disk and press a key" I've also tried variations of the above procedures for a few hours with no luck.
I have not tried to boot from "Lenovo Recovery System" (which is only available with the HDD installed), I figured it would default to the HDD and not let me chose to install onto SSD.
I am trying to install a oem copy of windows 8 64 bit onto my desktop, using a microsoft install dvd. I've installed xp, vista, and windows 7 onto it without any issues whatsoever, however when trying to install windows 8, I keep getting an error in windows setup that states the following:
Load Driver : A media driver your computer needs is missing. This could be a DVD, USP or Hard disk driver. If you have a CD, DVD, or USB flash drive with the driver on it, please insert it now.
Since I'm using an actual microsoft disc, and the hash checks out okay, I'm not really sure how to proceed, as it doesn't seem to be the disc image.
The solutions I've come across are vague, and usually relate to USB/VMware installs instead of using a retail DVD. How I can get past this error?
My system: EVGA Z77 FTW Mobo, updated firmware/bios Intel 3770k CPU Antec Quattro 1000 PSU Kingston HyperX 3K SSD EVGA GTX 580 3GB GPU LG M-Disc Super Multi DVD/CD Reader/Burner
I did a factory reset on my windows 8, and it messed up, not completing. so it is now stuck on a cycle of 'preparing automatic repair' and 'diagnosing your pc'.
And I today recieved the windows 8 cd to reinstall the os.
But after I've chosen language, I get error message saying I'm missing 1 of the media drivers.
My computer crashed(?) and wouldn't go past the setup utility screen. I finally got my Windows 8 installation disc, now my computer is telling my it can't find a media driver.
I decided to install Win 8.1 RTM x64 yesterday but what I expected to be a breeze turned into a nightmare. Installation fails, I am even unable to get into Safe Mode.
I was running Win 7 Ultimate x64 before without any issues whatsoever.
I already described my issues here, with errors and logs: Windows 8.1 RTM installation fails on Dell XPS 1340
Changed memory from 2x4GB to original 2x2GB but completely same issue
When I try to use the tutorial,I get as far as the Product Key entry.
The install was an original 8 I downloaded when it first came out.
I then installed 8.1, probably from the Store.
I recently downloaded and install 8.1 Media Center Pack.
Had a real problem with activation.MS Support finally had me go to where there was a long activation string and then he gave me a new Product Key, which is now on the machine and Activated.
When I get to the "Product Key" page and enter the Media Pack key, "This product key didn't work. ....."
I have a new Sony vaio duo 11 running (or not) Windows 8 64 bit. I was away when it arrived. Number one son decided to set it up for me so that it would be working on my return. I now need to refresh or recover but am being told that some Windows files are missing. I have no media disk or backup. So how do I go about getting the missing files?
Every web site tells me to stick the Windows 8 media in. This doesn't seem to be a rare problem so why don't Microsoft make them available online? Alternatively, if I was to buy a Windows 8 64bit pro upgrade and install over, would this provide me with the missing files?
For some reason, Windows 8.1. downloader package refuses to see my 8GB SanDisk flash drive as a target for creating bootable Windows 8.1 installer USB media. A 16GB Patriot drive is detected and processed properly, but 8GB SanDisk is ignored. The same is true for the Windows 7 USB/DVD tool.
What could be causing this?
When I create the media on the 16GB drive, only 3+GB is used, which means that 8GB drive should be sufficiently large.
UPDATE: It appears that the SanDisk drive is not detected as "removable", so neither Windows 8 downloader nor Windows 7 USB/DVD tool see it as a valid target. There are quite a few reports of that issue on the Net. So, how do I create a bootable Windows 8.1 install media from that SanDisk drive?
So about a few days ago my windows 8.1 decided to shit itself and refused to start up. I started checking on the web for some solutions to my problem and one of them was to start up with the windows DVD and try running the repair tool and such.
So I decided to do that, but no matter what option I tried, be it repair tool, recovery, full recovery, roll back, none of the options worked, it kept telling me "this operation system doesnt support this feature" or something along those lines. So in the end I just desided to format the HDD and reinstall Windows 8 and its running fine right now.
My question is why wasnt I able to use those features, and how can I make sure I have those feature available for me in the future?
Note: As I was typing this I just realised the DVD I tried using to use those various tools was a Windows 8 DVD, the windows I had installed was 8.1.
I downloaded Windows 8.1 from MSDN. When I tried to run the setup from Windows, it said the OEM key is not supported with Windows 8.1. I surely can use a retail key from the MSDN account but that is my office account, and I should be able to use the key that I paid for anyways.
For example, on the desktop PC, when I edited the ISO file to bypass setup from asking for the key, I could simply activate using my original Windows 8 key after the installation was completed. I don't want to see anything weird happen to my existing recovery functionality and stuff so i was thinking about updating Windows to 8.1 instead of clean install.
I have a Dell inspirion 15 laptop running Windows 8.1. A while ago I decided to try Ubuntu out. I installed it alongside Windows 8.1 in dual boot configuration with its own separate hard drive partitions. This means that when I powered on my laptop a GRUB menu (Linux boot manager) would come up allowing me to choose between Windows and Ubuntu. However, Ubuntu was more pain than it was worth so I decided to uninstall it. I did this by deleting the hard drive partitions that Ubuntu was installed on using Windows Disk Management. Now when I power on my laptop the GRUB menu still comes up but there are no options to choose from, only a command line interface. I now have to type Code: exit
which exits GRUB and takes me to my BIOS Boot Manager which looks like this:
Boot mode is set to: UEFI; Secure boot: OFF
UEFI BOOT ubuntu (ST500LM012 HN-M500MBB) UEFI Onboard LAN IPv6 UEFI Onboard LAN IPv4 Ubuntu (ST500LM012 HN-M500MBB) Windows Boot Manager (ST500LM012 HN-M500MBB)
I then have to select Windows Boot Manager to boot into windows.
Why GRUB is still there even though I have deleted the Linux hard drive partitions? Also, why is Ubuntu still listed on the BIOS Boot options? And why is it listed twice?
I've been salivating at the idea on installing W 8-64 Pro on a Dell Optiplex 755 at work. But a sudden reality check came over me & I realize Windows 8 doesn't necessarily work on older machines. The Dell is a Vista era machine. So maybe W 7-64 Pro would be a better choice?
I've recently acquired a tablet to pilot with my company. It is a Dell Latitude 10 ST2, and my issue is I'm trying to install and upgrade to Windows 8.1 Enterprise, but having no luck so far.
I have the 32-bit version of Win 8 Enterprise on a USB, and when I get to the "Installing Windows 8.1 screen" it get to 35%, and then gives a popup that the "Windows 8.1 Installation Has Failed". I was trying to see if there was a real error message or log to tell me what the issue is, but I haven't been able to locate anything yet. I don't even make it to the following screen ....
I installed windows 8 to my machine. it has intel hd graphics. I can install it fine but once i try boot Windows 8 the screen goes black (screen is actually off). I can get it to work by plugging in a HDMI cable into thee hdmi slot and use a monitor. it works perfect like that but my laptop screen stays black. It must be the graphics driver. I tried updating the graphics driver and that didnt work. I then tried installing the driver from the dell site for Windows 7 and that didnt work.
I have bought a Dell Inspiron 15R which arrived this week. I have already decided that I am going to install my own copy of Windows 8.1 Professional on to my system.
I have tried this several times now and I keep failing. I am booting from my DVD and the install goes fine. However during install I am normally prompted to enter my Serial for 8.1 and it does not do this. It progresses as though everything is ok, I can format the Hard drive and then it proceeds to install Windows 8.1.
Once fully installed I then go to see if it is activated and to my surprise it is. It has activated with the same Serial as the OEM that came with the laptop.
I have also noticed that this copy of 8.1 cannot join the laptop to my own domain (the options to do this are greyed out) which I am also wanting to do. So this copy of 8.1 is not the copy I am trying to install.
How can I install my own copy of 8.1. I think this is something to do with Dells bios configuration but not sure where to start.
I have a Core i5 Dell Inspiron N5110 with 4 GB Ram.I tried Clean Installation of Windows 8 64 Bit (Downloaded From Microsoft Dreamspark Account) with bootable USB many times about every possible management of partitions but it goes black after the installation ,where it says "Getting Device Ready @ 62% Or 60%" , & Restarts Automatically an then it says Repairing Drive E or F, O.o even i have only one partiton of 500 GB
I have 2.5 years old Dell Inspiron 15r n5010 with Intel Core i3 processor (M370 @2.4 GHz) and 3gb RAM. Right now I have Windows 7 (64 bit) installed on my machine. I have two questions:
1. Can I install Windows 8.1 (64bit) on my machine?
2. There is no driver available for Windows 8 for this series of laptop on Dell's site. In that case, can I use Video, Wireless LAN, Bluetooth drivers of Windows 7 (64 bit) for Windows 8.1 (64 bit)?
P.S.: Dell provide drivers for Windows 8 for Inspiron 15r n5110 series of laptop. Can I use n5110 series of drivers on my n5010 series of laptop?