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?
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I have a Dell Inspiron 7720. I have created an uefi bootable usn flash disk with rufus 1.4b
I'm trying to boot from it so i can create a Windows 8.1 uefi installation and the problem is that the usb flash disk wont boot.
I have secure boot enabled and legacy option rom disabled.
I can't browse well from my phone at work does this file exist anywhere? I have an 8 upgraded to 8.1 but caused all kinds of issues with registries and such. I want to reformat and clean install 8.1 SP1 if possible when I get home.
View 9 Replies View RelatedI'm running Windows 8.1 on an UEFI system, clean installed from my USB-key created with Rufus. But when I try to boot with this USB-key on my older PC (which does not have UEFI), then before installing Windows it says that there is no HDD or partition Windows can be installed in? I can then boot again with USB-key select rep. PC, start cmd, change the HDD to GPT, then Windows can be installed, but then it can't boot from the HDD!!
How do I make a bootable USBkey with Windows 7 or Windows 8 that can be installed on an ordinary MBR HDD? I need to make it on my system running GPT SSD.
I have tried this:
CMD (elevated)
diskpart
list disk
select disk (selected my USB)
clean
create partition primary
active
assign
exit
and then copied my windows 8 dvd onto it.
It will boot, but Windows will only install on a GPT HDD.
What to do?
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 tried the sys command which used to work under older operating systems.
View 9 Replies View RelatedI 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.
I just bought a Laptop with Windows 8.1 it does not come with an install disk and the supplier flat-out refused to provide one, pointing me to the recovery partition saying that was all I needed.
The recovery program just reinstalls, losing data and does not have Windows trouble shooting options as found on the Windows 8 install disk. How do I create a Windows 8.1 install disk.
I have original ISO file from MSDN website - it is Windows 8.1 Update 1 Enterprise (x64) MSDN version with Slovak language interface. I create a bootable DVD (Verbatim DVD-R 4,7GB) in program ISO2Disc. This ISO I would like to install on to my system , more details about my pc - see my system specification. My motherboard is MSI Z77 Mpower with latest version UEFI - BIOS 17.12
I have a few question about installation a new windows 8.1 in uefi mode:
-what a bootable media is better ? I think USB stick or DVD disc
-what the function in the BIOS I must turn on or off, I mean the fast boot or memory fast boot
-UEFI mode is better then LEGACY mode ?
I have a bootable DVD Parted Magic , it is good Partition Manager. I must change MBR format to GPT - only GPT is supported format for UEFI , is it rue ? So , now i should format all disc inside my pc (secure erase for ssd disc and wipe for hhd). I can create NTFS partition with GPT format and aligned to 1204MB for all solid state discs and HDD. I can do this ?
I read the tutorial on building a Windows EFI USB stick from the Windows ISO. I want to build an EFI/USB from an ISO of a bootable third party application, which is not designed to boot from UEFI. First, I went through the steps in Diskpart. Then, I copied the files from the third party ISO to the USB stick. Screenshot 34 shows the objects listed from the third party ISO. The second screenshot (35) shows what I have on my Win 8.1 ISO. I tried to just copy the efi folder and bootmgr files from the Win 8 ISO, but my Win 8 system (a VM) didn't like that at all. !
View 2 Replies View RelatedHaving used Windows 8 satisfactorially for a while now on a VM I'm trying to install it on a real PHYSICAL machine.
To save the hassle of burning DVD's I decided I would like to install from a USB drive however when trying to create a bootable USB stick using the usb tool from the tutorial it always fail with "Cannot copy the files".
I've tried on 3 different USB sticks from different manufacturers so it's almost outside the possibility that all 3 USB sticks are defective. I'm trying to run this on W7 X64.
Screenshot enc
Any links to an alternative tool that will do this ...
I'm trying to install wi8 from a bootable usb device, i've this screen for more than 30 minutes now ..
it's NTFS formatted.. i set the BIOS as the following: 1st boot dev. USB-ZIP, 2nd USB-HDD, 3rd USB-CDROM i made it via Windows7-USB-DVD-tool
i have a problem switching from windows 7 home premium to window 8.1.
what to do?
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.
So I'm trying to run dual OS on my new windows 8 machine. I made a bootable Ubuntu 14.04 usb stick using Rufus, disabled secure boot and proceeded in attempting to install the system. However, (settings->general->advanced startup->use a device) won't detect my bootable USB. It won't boot from it at startup either, no matter how much I fiddle with the UEFI settings.
Well, I guess that is not entirely true, as I managed to get it to boot and install ubuntu after switching the UEFI boot settings to legacy boot. But windows 8 does not work under that option, so I'm having to go and change the UEFI boot setting every time I wish to use a different OS.
I' 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).
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?
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 Replies View RelatedHave 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.
Burns an ISO image to a USB (bootable) flash drive. I have tested this on Win 8. Simple and efficient. ISO to USB
View 5 Replies View RelatedI bought a toshiba satellite with a preinstalled win 8.1. I formatted all that partitioned caos and installed my beloved well known Win 7. Now I have installed win 8.1 again via recovery discs, in order to have a dual boot. Is there a way to install the last image that I created of C:/Win 7 in a new partition? When I try to install it the only chance that seems to be is that of replacing C:/win 8.1. Software, change of Drive letters (how?).
View 5 Replies View RelatedI am sure I have recovery images. Factory, and refresh. Asus shipped no recovery media. I obtained a copy of windows 8. I found out what my product key is. I have attempted every which way i can think of to get my system to recognize my recovery images exist. If i try to use "reset your pc" option it tells me unable to reset your pc. A required drive partition is missing.
If i choose system image recovery, hit cancel because it thinks the partition that definitely exists, doesn't, choose select a system image. Gives me a blank list. Choose Advanced...install a driver (you don't need to install sata driver as it recognizes my hard drive and Is listing it to choose a driver from should need be) i get an error installation had failed.
Internal error occurred (0x8007054F). No matter which driver IM trying to install. Usb, sata, dvd etc... So can't get my system image from my 32 gig stick, or my hdd.Image won't fit on dvd's. Worried i won't be able to do a clean install, as Asus's backups seem do reliable in mysituation(sarcasm) that i will lose all functionality like DVD playback, smart gesture touchpad, and some driver related setbacks.
I have checked and rechecked, and i have three system images to choose from. Total of six partitions.
Here is my situation:
-I have now installed and using two sata hard drive (Drive C "500GB" for OS and other programs and Drive D "1TB" for Games and other Documents)
-I also have SYSTEM IMAGE created before and saved it on my external hard drive.
Now I want to RESTORE that SYSTEM IMAGE saved on my external hard drive to the Drive C "500GB"
My asking is HOW TO DO IT CORRECTLY:
>Should I disconnect/unplug the SATA Cable for the Drive D 1TB before I proceed with the system image restore?
(By the way I have no problem with the procedures on how to do the system image restore)
>OR is there a RISK if I just continue with the system image restore with both SATA CABLES for both HDD not removed?
I have 10 computers with identical hardware that all have their own oem license. What I want is to have the same setup on all 10 computers. What I remember from previous Windows versions is that you had to activate Windows individually with its own oem key for every computer you restored with a preferred disk image. From what I read the product key procedure is a bit different in Windows 8 and that the key is stored in the bios? The activation should also be handled automatically by Windows, is that correct?
So what I really wonder is: Do I still have to activate every restored pc manually or will Windos 8 do this for me?
A second related question: Are there any imaging/cloning software that can be set up to promt me for a new computer name in the restore process?
So I'm creating a Windows 8 image with custom software installed, but now i'm stuck on the next steps, I've captured the image but the below link send me in a bit of confusion on the next steps! With win 7 in the past I used to be able to just capture the image and replace the original boot.wim file. Windows 8 doesn't seem to want to let me me do that. it will boot to install but a licence key field appears and doesn't like any licence I use (VLK by the way) What steps should I try and follow next?
View 3 Replies View RelatedI set up Windows 8 Consumer the way I like it -- had to create a custom inf for the screen of my Dell Mini 10 among other things.
I then created a system image on another computer on my network.
Next I wiped and reformatted the disk in the Mini.
But now, when I try to restore from the system image on the network, Windows 8 can't see or recognize the backup. I can browse to the location on my network perfectly well, but no matter what folder I browse to, from the drive letter of the backup drive to the folder named "Backup 2012-03-14 015251," I keep getting a message that there is no image there.
