My friend just brought a HP laptop which has windows 8 pre installed but the problem is no key is mentioned on the back of laptop. So I was wondering if she ever has to reinstall the operating system how will she do it she does not even have the key so do we legally own the OS or not.
I've decided to go ahead and reinstall w8pro given my extensive messing around with it has finally caused some quirky, unexpected results - it's a relatively new installation, so it shouldn't be too much of a hassle, didn't get a chance to install a lot of third party programs and such. The thing is, I did purchase and install the Windows 8 media center pack - how do i go about getting this back? do i have to contact ms? I'm fairly certain that i don't have an activation number for the pack, if i recall i just paid for it online and then was allowed to download it and install it.
Also, i thought i would go ahead and do a clean install all over again as opposed to a reset or refresh given i want to make certain that i'm starting from scratch again... or do you think a reset or refresh might be the better option (i'm not concerned about keeping any personal settings or files intact).
Windows update has been really messing with my pc lately. I ran update and when it installed the updates my integrated mouse ended up not working. I rolled back update and installed the updates one by one and the one I ended up not installing was the camera codec pack. Now the problem I am having is that my touchscreen won't work. If I talk to HP support they do the most basic thing they can and then when they can't fix it they tell me that I have to ship it to them because hardware is broken.
So the initial user is the one you are forced to create when first setting up Windows 8.1. It's a local user meaning that I set it up without signing into a MSA.
In both the Administrator and the initial user, all the WinRT apps/tiles work. Like the weather will show up and everything.
Whether I change the Initial User to Standard or Administrator, everything still works fine. Of course, the Administrator can't open WinRT apps which is standard and normal. And the initial user can't use apps without signing into MSA. But it all still works perfectly fine.
The problem is with the new user. The new user is meant to be in Administrator mode because it's my main account. But whether I set it up as Standard or Administrator, it's the same thing. None of my WinRT apps work.
Even when I sign into my MSA with the new user, it's still the same thing. It synchronizes to my OneDrive online. It recognizes that I'm completely signed in online. Yet it's still the exact same thing with the WinRT apps. None of them work. Even when I try to open up the Windows Store. It just continues to try to open, but doesn't go all the way through. So whether I'm signed into my MSA for the third user or not, it still gives the same problem.
I ran Windows Update, and it worked perfectly. Everything is up to date.
I don't know a lot about windows 8. I have a general enquiry to make. I would like to know that if I reinstall my windows 8 will I have to reinstall the programs of different drive. For example like I have my main OS in C: and many of my programs like steam and some other games are installed in D: so when I format my pc will I have to reinstall the programs present in D: or will there be any kind of error or something.
I'm thinking of buying a new Dell desktop but not interested in Windows 8. With my current Dell desktop I have the Windows 7 OEM disk for reinstallation. Could I use that disk to install Windows 7 on a new Dell PC (or maybe even just a partition of it) or will it refuse to install because it's a different machine?
Let's say your computer comes with Windows 8 (not 8 Pro) preinstalled, using a SLIC and not a product key. Yu decide you hate the OEM crapware and want to do a clean reinstall. Bt you don't have reinstallation media, or the media includes the crapware.
how many times i should reinstall windows or other os or how much time i can formate my pc? is this any harfull effect by installing windows many tmes( i did 30 times till today). some of my fren tell me there is certiain coating or layering in the harddisk which may break or run out with repeated format or reinstall....and drive will crash ..
Having previously upgraded to Windows 8 I restored the factory installation of Windows 7 prior to warranty repairs to my PC. Now that the repairs are satisfactorily completed what are my best options in upgrading again? On the one hand I could go ahead with the upgrade now or on the other should I wait until Microsoft have completed development of Windows 8.1?
i have a newish samsung laptop that came preinstalled with windows 8 but i need to format the stock hard drive and i was wondering how i would reinstall full windows 8 without a product key.
I've got a Samsung Ativ 500 and I am returning it so I am doing the normal "Remove Everything and Reinstall Windows" but shortly after I click the "Get Started" button and the the "Next" button I get an error message stating "Insert Media" "Some files are missing. Your Windows Installation or recovery media will provide these files."
I have Windows 8.1 installed and then I installed Windows 7 afterward and now the system is using the Windows 7 bootloader as opposed to the Windows 8.1 bootloader. What I want to do is get set the Windows 8.1 as the default bootloader.
my laptop came with a pre installed windows 8 having gpt format but i downgraded to windows 7 and reformatted it to ntfs,.. now I want to go back to windows 8 and format the drive to gpt again, but the external hard drive that contains the backup image was corrupted. What should I do?
I bought a new XPS 13" Ultrabook this year and all worked fine. However, all of a sudden the laptop does not boot anymore. I am wondering if there is a way to reinstall windows 8 or to recover everything? I made I diagnostic check (F12 when booting) but no errors are found. However, my problem is that the laptop has a) no CD player and b) I also have not received another device like a USB stick with the software with the laptop. How can I reinstall the system?
I'm trying to reinstall win8 Pro w/ Media Center on an older Dell C2D system for a friend. She has no discs as she got it from her brother for x-mas a little while back and she's unable to get them as he lives out of state.
I used a program to extract the keys, but it seems that the media center add-on has overridden the pro key and it wont let me install windows. I noticed it gave me an internet explorer key that was different from the win8 key, but it rejected that too.
Is there a way to extract the original win8 pro key? I couldn't seem to find anything with google.
I purchased a dell inspiron 5521 a few months back but i didn't get any windows 8 CD with it. I have to reinstall my windows, but when i try to do it with my friend's original windows CD, error says product key entered is different. I don't even know the product key for my windows 8.
I thought Windows Search would be only the indexer function. So I went to Control Panel, Add remove programs, Install or Remove Windows components/resources (I have portuguese windows) And I removed Windows Search
But now I can't use any search feature (example: on explorer, on w8 start menu). So I tried to install again selecting "Windows Search" on windows components, but after click OK, nothing happens!
I am new to Windows 8, I had a corrupt update, it was fixed, but my tile format is completely not how it should look...plus my built in apps, specifically photos, are gone...
I got windows 8 online and I went to try and use the re install feature but its prompting me with this "Some files are missing. Your Windows installation or recovery media will provide these files" But since i got it online I don't have the CD but I do have the product key
You'll need to use the recovery tools on your installation media. If you don't have any installation media (like a disc or USB device), contact your system administrator or PC manufacture.
Press Enter to try again Press F8 for Startup Settings Press Esc for UEFI Firmware settings
When I press Enter OR F8 screen just flashes but nothing happens and I also tried to re-install windows 8, installation was successful but windows could not load but appeared that couldn't attempt the repairs.
I build my own desktop. I first had Windows Vista on it, which I bought on a DVD. I then skipped Windows 7 completely, but later upgraded to Windows 8 when Microsoft had a promotional period for it early in 2012 when it just came out.
Now I'm replacing the motherboard and also swapping the HDD to SSD, and I'm curious. Can I still install Windows 8 as an upgrade like I did before? And if yes, then how?
I have never dabbled in the installation or reinstallation of Windows 8 so far, but I am looking for information on how to re-install windows 8 onto a desktop computer that does not come with restore discs.
Now is it true that the CD-Key is stored on the BIOS? Or was that just a rumor that was floating around, I have never had true clarification on that.
If the answer is no, where would I find the CD-Key at that point?
Basically it is for a desktop computer that is no longer functioning and there were no restore discs created during original operation of the computer.
I have a gateway laptop with windows 8 on it and need to use the recovery disks. When I put one it goes through the language and all that then it says switch to legacy bios mode, i do that and it says switch to uefi mode. I have gone thru this a thousand times now. what to do or how to do it. I know it has one other mode but I can't get it to that mode to try.
I accidentally reinstalled Windows 8.1 on a MBR partitioning style. I'm debating whether to start over and make sure I do it properly as GPT. I haven't installed any programs yet...is it worth it? (my MB is recent, supports UEFI, and im installing to an SSD).