I'm using DISM to create a custom image, we use a vlk licence key to install but this isn't being accepted on the answer file. Its definatly a valid key and being entered correctly). I'm just getting the error 'The unattended answer file contains an invalid product key' Is there anything i can do to get around this?
View 4 RepliesI' am currently using a custom made laptop which I had to repair due to an hardware failure. After I got the PC back I reinstalled Windows but the product key I had wasn't working properly any more. Knowing that after an hardware change this is not an uncommon problem, I just used the option "Activate by phone" and everything went fine.
Unfortunately the last day I got the blue screen with the error 0xc0000021a, which I know is caused by misconfigured system files in the computer. Moreover this error is really similar to the error I got prior the hardware failure (0xc00000e). So I figured that maybe the Windows 8 installation I have (I purchased before Windows 8.1) has some problems, and maybe I can solve them by reinstalling directly Windows 8.1, instead of reinstalling Windows 8 and then upgrading it from the store.
The problem is that when I launch the Windows 8.1 set-up program to create a media for recovery, when asked for the product key mine doesn't work. I think this has something to do with the hardware change and with the fact that I used the "activate by phone" option, but my Windows version is legit and I paid for it, and therefore I want to be able to reset my computer if I need to (like now).
My employer is starting to look at Windows 8 for our tablet PCs. Currently we only have 1 model, its the Dell Latitude ST and are using Windows 7 on them. I am trying to create and customize an automated install of Windows 8 for our Latitude ST's.
I've used MDT to capture a Windows 8 Enterprise 32bit image and can image Latitude tablet from thumb drive just fine. In image I copied (not installed) driver files to my WIM file. My unattend.xml file works fine, am not getting any prompts once booting into image on my Latitude ST's.
The problem I am having is Windows Setup is not installing any Latitude device drivers. I copied the device drivers to C:WindowsINFLatitudeST folder and in it is a folder for each device (i.e. Network folder contains all driver files for NIC). I see in the registry that the device path is set to %systemroot%INF so I think I have correct location for parking the driver files. I'm assuming that Windows 8 will search all files/folders in C:WindowsINF for correct INF file. I even tried copying the actual network driver files to C:WindowsINF thinking the system should see it and then install drivers (incase it didn't search for sub folders). To make sure I have Windows 8 supported drives, I downloaded latest driver and still don't work. Everything I try I just cannot get device drivers to install during setup.
Once I am in OS, I can go to device manager, see devices that are unknown, then manually install drivers pointing to the C:WindowsINFLatitudeST folder. Manually works, automated don't.
On Windows 7 Pro 32bit OS, I don't have a problem. The Windows Setup will search C:WindowsINF and find all the correct device drivers for the Latitude ST tablet and install them during setup.
Why cannot I get drivers to install during setup?
I bought 8 Toshiba Laptops for my company on 3rd Feb 2013 from Dubai . The laptops details as follows
Model: Thoshiba Laptop SC850 B560 i3
OS: Windows 8 single language
No DVD's and product key given at the time of purchase so how to get windows 8 single language software to re-install and the key for the same. As the OS were pre installed. This is to avoid future issues that may come up like software failure etc.
[ I need to download Windows 8 single language OS, product key for the same OS which is preinstalled- I can provide serial number if needed]
I already have a Windows 8 Pro USB installer setup but I don't think it can be used to do a repair install for my Windows 8.1 Pro upgrade. So I'm trying to create a new USB installer setup specifically for Win 8.1 Pro. However, the Windows 8.1 setup window is not accepting the 8.1 Product Key that I extracted from Belarc, ProduKey and WPkey. Is there a way to get around that issue so that I can create the Win 8.1 USB installer?
View 3 Replies View RelatedMy company gave me a Windows 8 Enterprise product key, which I'm trying to use to upgrade a version of Windows I'm running. I visited this link -- Upgrade Windows with only a product key - Microsoft Windows Support, clicked the "Install Windows 8" button, ran the setup file that downloaded, and when prompted for the product key, entered it, only to see the message.
The product key cannot be used to install a retail version of Windows 8.
Is there another ISO I should be using? Ultimately I'm trying to get an ISO for use with my VMWare Fusion 6 install running on my Mac (10.9.1). I'm confident the product key given to me by my company is legit, but it obviously isn't a retail product key, probably some kind of corporate key or the equivalent.
I've bought Windows 8 when it was first released, but reinstalled Windows 7 again. Now I want to install Windows 8.1, but I get an error saying my product key is invalid. I've tried multiple product keys (We own multiple computers, two of which have Windows 8 installed), but I get the same error with all of them.
Edit: Because none of my product keys don't work, I can't install Windows 8 to further install Windows 8.1.
At the beginning, when I have started to setup windows 8 ,everything goes okay until the product key, I get an error message saying 'We couldn't verify the product key. Check the installation media'
And I had tried to install windows 8 on another PC with having same product key then I have noticed the product key has worked on that Pc! and not working on my PC.
So I have tried several times to enter lots of keys. why my PC is not verify any product keys?
So, I have purchased some computers from Dell and they have Windows 8.0 Professional from the OEM. So, it was very easy for me to use my MSDN media, reinstall Windows 8.0, and it simply detected and used my Windows 8 embedded BIOS key. From there, I would make any adjustments needed, run sysprep, and grab an image. This allowed me to use that image on any of the Dell's that I purchased with Windows 8 and all was great.
Then, along comes the free upgrade to Windows 8.1. I took one of my Dell's, and laid down a clean windows 8.0 image. Then I ran the Store "free" upgrade to Windows 8.1. All was well. I then cleaned up the temporary files and whatnot and tried to run Sysprep only to be greeted with an error that said, "I cannot validate your OS installation". Did some research and found that you aren't supposed to run Sysprep on a machine that you ran an "upgrade". Instead, you are supposed to install from scratch.
Ok, let's do that. Grabbed the 8.1 ISO from MSDN, put it onto an installable USB key, started the install and it now prompts me for a key. It won't detect or use the embedded 8.0 key that is on the box. So, I cannot actually clean install Windows 8.1 with the embedded OEM key, even though I can freely upgrade to 8.1.
I'm not going to take my new Dell computers, lay down the clean 8.0 image and then upgrade each of them manually via the store to Windows 8.1. This takes way too long.
I'm not going to use my MSDN keys to install onto these machines, because I don't want them to activate these keys. They aren't the legit keys for these machines. These machines have legit OEM Windows 8 keys and 8.1 is a free upgrade to 8.0, so it seems like these legit keys would work. I paid dell to have a valid OEM license on the computer, that is what I want to use.
Any way to get 8.1 Pro to install clean, on a machine with an embedded 8.0 Pro key.
Ive used pirated bootables with preinstalled product keys in the past but am now on the straight and narrow, wanting to add my product key to my legitimate copy of windows 8. This way I wont have to worry about having it written down, losing it or entering it incorrectly, since it will be automatically entered for me. How I can add the product key to my bootable image?
View 3 Replies View Relatedi have a problem switching from windows 7 home premium to window 8.1.
what to do?
I tried to reinstall windows on a second hard drive, but it won't accept my product key, assumedly because I am already using it for the current windows installation on the first hard drive.
How do I transfer my license to allow a reinstallation on the second hard drive? That's the best option, so I can go back to the first drive if I want to.
Second option: If I wipe the current windows partition clean, will that enable me to reinstall on the second hard drive?
Have a couple of different problems with my 8.1
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 recently purchased a MSI GT70 laptop that came preinstalled with Windows 8. Rather than try and uninstall all the bloatware, I was planning on just doing a clean install. Little did I know that Microsoft had changed the game when it comes to authentication on Windows 8 with the bios linked product keys.
The Windows 8 usb drive that I used previously to install Windows 8 on other computers does not work, I believe that is due to it recognizing it as a RETAIL version trying to be installed on an OEM system. Searching around, it seemed other people had success with using an .ISO from TechNet or MSDN and the installation automatically pulling the product key information. The .iso I used was sourced from the Microsoft store download.
After booting to the disk, I received this error: The product key entered does not match any of the Windows images available for installation. Enter a different product key.
I tried manually adding the PID.txt file with the product key I pulled from pkeyui (cross checked with showkey.vbs and RWEverything) but that resulted in the same error. For this notebook, the product key and MSDM are identical, whereas I read other people were finding two different product keys. One nestled deep in the bios and the other being what you see when you run Belarc Advisor etc.
Burning the .iso to a DVD and then starting the setup inside a session of Windows 8 resulted in a different error: this product key cannot be used to install a retail version
So once again back to the issue of using a retail .iso with an OEM product key to try and do a clean install. As far as I know you can't download an "oem .iso" but I'm not sure how to get the retail .iso to play nicely with the product key I have.
So exactly how does one do a clean install of an OEM windows 8 build on a laptop that comes preinstalled with windows 8? If I can't sort this out, I may be stuck with rooting out the bloatware.
One user logs in and all desktop icons have a pinkish "X" on them in the lower left and none of the icon work, AKA, you get an error message when you click on them:
"the operation on (path to file) was started with an invalid parameter"
Nice Windows 8.1. Something new all the time!
I downloaded a ps2 emulator and when I go to update my diretcx I get the cabinet file missing and the certificate is invalid.
View 2 Replies View RelatedFor some reason Windows 8 Pro keeps corrupting after installing updates i have used the DVD to refresh in the past but i can't boot into Windows so i can refresh without media ie copying install.wim to C drive
I'm dual booting Windows 8 Pro With Windows 7 VHD.
Its corrupted 3 times now each patch Tuesday.
I want to make win 8 iso setup with programs pre installed, that after i install win 8 i won’t need to install those programs. I have search for that option for a long time & i have found somethings[Win8PE or Iso moust] that i don’t know if they’re related for what i want to do. i know that there is option to do that,
View 1 Replies View RelatedCurrently running WinXP, meets all requirement for Windows 8. However, when I try to copy the ISO file to USB using Win7 DVD download tool to create a bootable USB device, the USB I'm trying to copy it to will not show up in the list of "Devices to Copy In".
I have tried this several times with 2 different USB drives, both 8GB, one with more than 4GB free and the another is completely empty. They both work perfectly well, but when I reach the screen with the list of devices to copy the ISO file on to (Step 3 of 4, Win7 USB/DVD Download Tool) they don't show up on the list despite re-inserting them and refreshing a couple hundred times. The only removable device that does show up is the Floppy Disk.
I am using the DVD is not an option, since my DVD player crashed last week and I don't have the time to get it fixed right now, and I'd really like to get Windows 8 installed as soon as possible.
I have been reading about tricks for downloading Windows 8.1 ISOs to perform clean installs on OEM machines.
I also happen now to be in the same situation since the manufacturer did not package any media with the OS.
But my question now is:
- How to get Windows 8.1 with Update 1 already included in ISO from an official source like MSDN?
Additional doubts:
- In this tutorial, does the process already gives you the latest Windows 8.1 ISO with Update 1 slipstreamed?
Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 ISO - Download or Create
- If this ISO can be get with torrents, what would be the source to check for file integrity and SHA from MSDN ?
- Can Windows 8.1 Update 1 ISO be installed with a regular 8.1 Pro product key?
I am installing the Direct Download version of Windows 8. As it begins to setup it goes to a screen named "What needs your attention". It says "The following things need your attention before you can continue to the installation". It goes on to say "Change the folder or file name of C:users on drive C:"
It gives me an option called "Open" which takes me to this C: drive. However, I cannot change the name of C:users. Not even with administrative permission.
I just downloaded windows 8 prof from my msdn, and I made a bootable usb stick with WintoFlash and now when I am trying to install I get this message: Windows cannot open the required file D:/Sources/install.wim. The file may be corrupt or missing. Make sure all files required for installation are available, Error code: 0x80070570. I have looked into the usb stick but install.wim is just there. And I did a disk chek in wintoflash and it found this:
Found problems with source files.
Can't find file D:sourcesoot.wim
Can't find file D:sourcesidwbinfo.txt
Can't find file D:ootmgr
Can't find folder D:oot
Can't find file D:sourcesinstall.wim or file D:sourcesinstall.swm
Total errors: 5
Alright, so after restarting my Toshiba Satellite L50A16H Laptop (Windows 8.1) it gave me a blue recovery screen,
it stated:
The Boot Configuration Data file is missing some required information.
File: BCD
Error Code: 0xc0000034
Unfortunatly I haven't made a backup or recovery file to boot my computer from so I'm stuck with the issue of finding a windows 8 iso file that matches my system, i tried getting the windows 8 iso from microsofts website but it asks for a product key before it lets you download the file, the problem is that my product key is built into the laptop and Toshiba has not provided me with the key on a sticker on the bottom or through any other method. apparently its built into the BIOS. i have a 16gb USB stick that i can boot from. using a key finder is obviously not an option because i cant start up the laptop. I was also wondering if i manage to find a windows 8 iso file to boot from, will my toshiba laptop automatically fill in the product key for windows 8 as i dont have it.
The computer is an ACER Aspire 3. 4Gb RAM. 500Gb memory.
I've been using the computer for a month and a half more or less and everything went OK only few small problems but 2 days ago. It did not Boot.When starting the PC the following appeared:
Recovery
Your PC needs to be repaired
The boot configuration data file is missing some required information.
File:BCD
Error code: 0x000000d
You'll need to use the recovery tools on your.....
The first thing I did was creating a bootable USB with Windows 8 software, it did not work. SO i used Rufus, it worked and launched the Windows 8 installation and recovery but when I tried to recover, refresh, anything it told me the disk was locked... or anything the only thing I'm able to access is Command Prompt.
I've been trying some commands that I've seen online but no luck so far. Some commands tell me "OK, successfully something" But when reboot and I change to default the boot order and UEFI then the same error appears.
I am having a problem with a new Dell Inspiron 15 3520 that came with Windows 8 installed and that I had been using for only a month when it went bad.
The problems started when I turned it off about ten days ago, and went I turned it back on a couple days later, and it was stuck in the apparently famous Windows 8 "Automatic repair couldn't repair your pc"/BSOD loop. I was not able to boot into safe mode. System restores made no difference. Somewhere along the line I found something that said that I had an "inaccessible_boot_device error".
From the repair menu maze, I was able to get to a command prompt. I used this to copy almost all of my files off of computer.
Chkdsk showed no bad sectors, no bad partition records, or other irregularities. sfc returned "Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations". Some test (I do not remember which) showed that the boot record and BCD were fine. The Dell hardware diagnostic test showed everything working fine.
I am thinking that it is possible that the source of this was a virus or mechanical problem (I saw no evidence for either). If I had to guess, however, I would imagine that the computer stopped working after an automatic update pushed a corrupted/incompatible driver. I have seen discussions online about people having problems with NVIDIA video and/or SATA AHCI Controller drivers, and Windows 8 getting corrupted and stuck in the BSOD loop from that. At some point I saw a Windows Update Log (I am not sure where), that showed that, as Windows shut down the last time it was functional, automatic updates installed a new AHCI driver.
I tried downloading some new drivers for the 3520 from the Dell web site and installing them on the dead computer through a thumb drive and the command prompt. The downloads are all executables, however, and when I tried to run them, I get the message, "the subsystem needed to support the image type is not present". I believe that this message means that the driver executables are 32bit apps and won't run from a 64 bit command prompt. I also tried to use the "Drivers and Utilities" disk that came with my PC to do some driver rollbacks, but, I can't understand the file names or folder structure on the disk, and, when I try some to run some of the exe files ("setup.exe", for example) to get a gui interface, I get the "the subsystem needed to support the image type is not present" message.
After working on the problem for a while, I borrowed a friend's Windows 8 installation disk set. The computer will boot to the repair options off of the 64bit disk, but not the 32bit one. I did attempt a System Refresh off of the 64bit disk, and got back the message, "The drive where Windows in installed is locked. Unlock the drive and try again."
Around the time that I was messing with the BIOS settings to get the computer to boot off of the Windows 8 disk, I started getting a message "Your PC needs to be repaired - Boot Configuration Data file is missing some required information -- File:BCD -- error code 0xc0000034" at the start of my boot ups. I am not sure if I deleted a file somewhere during my repair efforts, or if I am getting this message because the computer is confused in efforts trying to boot off of the DVD. I get this message even with the DVD removed and the BIOS set to boot off of the Windows Boot Manager, however, so I am guessing that a file is now missing. And the message stops me from getting into the repair menus/command prompt any other way except through the installation disk.
I got this msg tryng to refresh my pc . because my vaio gate app wasnt working right . so after the restar i just got the blue screen with this error the boot configutating data file dosent have valid infomation of an operating system.
Error code 0xc000098 /BCD
If I leave my Windows 8.1 PC unattended for even a short while, I find I have to push reset button to get it going again. The taskbar experiences changes in that desktop apps will not work, whereas metro apps will work. The only solution I've found so far is the reset button. This occurs often during any given day.
View 3 Replies View RelatedI ran into a BSOD while the system was unattended. I used Who Crashed and got the following information. Unfortunately I realize that may be difficult as I cannot include all of the files you typically request(only the minidump is attached) ...
Here is the info from Who Crashed:
This was probably caused by the following module: win32k.sys (win32k!NtUserGetDC+0x24)
Bugcheck code:
0x50 (0xFFFFF960000E1008, 0x8, 0xFFFFF960000E1008, 0x7)
Error: PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA
file path:
C:WINDOWSsystem32win32k.sys
product: Microsoft Windows Operating System
Company: Microsoft Corporation
Description: Multi-User Win32
Driver
Bug check description: This indicates that invalid system memory has been referenced. This appears to be a typical software driver bug and is not likely to be caused by a hardware problem. The crash took place in a standard Microsoft module. Your system configuration may be incorrect. Possibly this problem is caused by another driver on your system that cannot be identified at this time.
There haven't been any hardware changes or software installs for many months now. Scanning (SFC, CHkDKS) did not reveal any errors.
I do a lot of scheduled recording with my Windows 8/x64, tuner card, Xbox extender set up. I've been using MCE Standby Tool to be able to automatically go in and out of standby or hibernate mode for unattended recording. It worked great until I upgraded to Windows 8 and now won't go into Standby again automatically after recording a program.
View 6 Replies View RelatedI just had a new Seagate 1TB hard drive and Windows 8 installed in my Toshiba laptop. I also had ESET NOD32 Antivirus 6 installed. The only problem I have encountered so far is that the computer shuts down if unattended for about 30 minutes. Why this is happening and what I can do to prevent it?
View 2 Replies View RelatedMini dump files.
Computer specs:
Motherboard: Gigabyte z77x-ud3h
i7 3770k, never overclocked running stock
16GB crucial ballistix 4x4GB
EVGA Nvidia Geforce GTX570 HD
Antec high current 750w gamer PSU
Problem: My computer crashes randomly, sometimes while I'm working, sometimes while I'm away from the computer, there doesn't seem to be a pattern. Oddly enough, windows 8.0 ran just fine and never crashed. Windows 8.1 seems to crash much more frequently, and either blue screen or just lock up and reboot with no blue screen.
Suspected potential problem: When upgrading to windows 8.1, in order to get my very old cisco VPN client working, I had to install a citrix DNE (deterministic network) driver. I'm guessing it could be related to this and the old cisco client, though I have unchecked DNE on the network adapter and I have still had crashes, even with it unchecked/disabled in theory.