I need to reinstall 8 on a new drive

So I'm getting a drive failure warning on one of my newly-upgraded computers...which I believe, it's an old Maxtor. I see the threads about re-downloading 8 to an iso, but will I be able to load it onto a new HD? I can reinstall XP prior to the upgrade, no problem, but am approaching this cautiously. Any input would be appreciated

I should say that going back to Win95 I've always had a full install disk, not sure how to handle 8 quite yet!

Hello Soytnly, and welcome to Eight Forums.

You will be able to do a clean install with your upgrade copy of Windows 8 just like in the tutorial below. No need to reinstall XP first, and upgrade to Windows 8.

http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/13375-clean-install-windows-8-upgrade.html

Hope this helps,
Shawn

Thanks for the response. I'm really sorry but I can't for the life of me figure out how to create an .iso image - I've looked over both tutorials above and they more or less just tell you to make it...but how? I've downloaded the windows setup file and saved it, but where do I go from there? I've been searching for two hours now, I hate to ask again but I don't know what else to do.

The tutorial below can help show you how to download another Windows 8 ISO. This is only good if you had previously used the "Windows 8 Upgrade Assistant" to purchase an upgrade copy of Windows 8 online though.

http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/13200-windows-8-upgrade-iso-redownload.html

Usually the option is offered - but not always.

If you have the HIDDEN ESD folder on your drive - you can try the isomaker I did.

Not sure where I posted it now.

Thanks again. I was able to make the .iso and burn it to dvd. When I tried to load it, I got the "disk boot failure, insert system disk and press enter" error, grrr. So, I decided I'd reload xp, which I did, sp3, then on reboot I got the same error. Not sure what to make of it, but likely there is a problem with the replacement drive. I'll put this project on the back burner I think, until I come across a cheap new drive. Thank you all for the help!!

Your DVD may have been bad. Did you get the option to "press a key to boot from the DVD" like below?



You might see if using the free program ImgBurn to burn the ISO at 4X speed to a blank unformatted DVD may work better.

I didn't get the 'press any key' option at all...I'll use imgburn and try again tomorrow...thanks for friendly advice, it's appreciated!

Anytime. In addition, double check your BIOS settings to make sure that you have the DVD drive listed first in your boot priority list, and your Windows HDD second.