How to get pre-installed windows 8 on new hard drive

dental

New Member
Messages
5
Hello,

I just bought a lenovo Z580 with windows 8 and I also have a new hard drive coming. The first thing I tried to do was create factory restore disks so that when the new hard drive gets here I can remove the old hard drive and replace it with the new one and put the pre-installed windows 8 that came with the laptop on it. I can't however find a way to create factory restore disks. Is this still possible and if not what are my options for replacing a hard drive for this laptop and using the same windows install that originally came with it? I would prefer to not have to clone the hard drive because the new hard drive is an SSD so I will want to install windows with AHCI mode on.

Ultimately, I want to do a clean install of windows 8 on the new laptop using the existing pre-installed windows 8 key. I imagine this would be pretty simple if I had windows 8 install discs but I don't have those either as they didn't come with the laptop. Any ideas on what my options are to make this work?

Thanks for your time.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    win 8
I would imagine your laptop has a recovery partition, if you were to image and transfer that partition you should then be able to use it to install windows 8 with AHCI enabled!?

That's if your BIOS makes AHCI mode available.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    win8 pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self build
    CPU
    Intel core i7 3930k @ 4.17GHz
    Motherboard
    Asus p9x79 pro
    Memory
    4x4GB Corsair Vengeance LP xmp quad channelled
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GTX660 ti, Signiture 2, FTW 2GB GDDR5
    Sound Card
    Onboard Realtek 7.1
    Monitor(s) Displays
    32" Samsung tv, 21" Dell monitor both 1080 native
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080 x2
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 830 256gb sata3 ssd, 4x250gb sata2 hdd RAID_0, 3tb ZyXEL NSA-310 (nas).
    PSU
    Tagan tg-800-bz 800w modular
    Case
    Icute mesh with 280mm side fan
    Cooling
    Corsair H80 (2x120mm push and pull)
    Keyboard
    Microsoft comfort curve
    Mouse
    Anker 8000dpi 1000m/s precision gaming mouse
    Internet Speed
    10MB
    Other Info
    Logitech 5.1 with phantom channels. xbox 360 pad for windows.
So if I do Create a Recovery Drive and Tick the box "Copy the recovery partition from the PC to the recovery drive." I will be able to boot with a new blank hard drive from the created recovery drive (from USB) and install windows 8 on the new hard drive? Is it straight forward from that point forward? Sorry for being stupid but I was under the impression this recovery drive couldn't be used to install windows 8.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    win 8
a recovery "partition" is different, it allows you to reinstall when your system has gone bad it may work form the usb but I expect you would have to use a program (paragon has a 30 day trial I believe EaseUS partition manager will do the same for free) to copy the partition image to usb then use a boot disk/usb (created by the backup/recovery program) to "recover" the partition to the new drive and then install from there.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    win8 pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self build
    CPU
    Intel core i7 3930k @ 4.17GHz
    Motherboard
    Asus p9x79 pro
    Memory
    4x4GB Corsair Vengeance LP xmp quad channelled
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GTX660 ti, Signiture 2, FTW 2GB GDDR5
    Sound Card
    Onboard Realtek 7.1
    Monitor(s) Displays
    32" Samsung tv, 21" Dell monitor both 1080 native
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080 x2
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 830 256gb sata3 ssd, 4x250gb sata2 hdd RAID_0, 3tb ZyXEL NSA-310 (nas).
    PSU
    Tagan tg-800-bz 800w modular
    Case
    Icute mesh with 280mm side fan
    Cooling
    Corsair H80 (2x120mm push and pull)
    Keyboard
    Microsoft comfort curve
    Mouse
    Anker 8000dpi 1000m/s precision gaming mouse
    Internet Speed
    10MB
    Other Info
    Logitech 5.1 with phantom channels. xbox 360 pad for windows.
You can do what I did.

I used Acronis True Image 2012 to crate an image backup of my SATA II 80GB boot drive, all partitions.
Replace the SATA drive with my new 128GB SSD drive.
Restored the backup image to the SSD.
Booted and all was well, everything worked exactly as before only a whole lot faster.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro X64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo IdeaCenter K450
    CPU
    Intel Quad Core i7-4770 @ 3.4Ghz
    Motherboard
    Lenovo
    Memory
    16.0GB PC3-12800 DDR3 SDRAM 1600 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Integrated HD Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP h2207
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050@59Hz
    Hard Drives
    250GB Samsung EVO SATA-3 SSD;
    2TB Seagate ST2000DM001 SATA-2;
    1.5TB Seagate ST3150041AS SATA
    PSU
    500W
    Keyboard
    Wired USB
    Mouse
    Wired USB
    Internet Speed
    3GB Up, 30GB Down
    Browser
    SeaMonkey
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender; MBAM Pro
    Other Info
    UEFI/GPT
    PLDS DVD-RW DH16AERSH
You can do what I did.

I used Acronis True Image 2012 to crate an image backup of my SATA II 80GB boot drive, all partitions.
Replace the SATA drive with my new 128GB SSD drive.
Restored the backup image to the SSD.
Booted and all was well, everything worked exactly as before only a whole lot faster.

Should work fine if your drive is already in AHCI mode.

I found IDE mode works but obviously you need trim for an ssd.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    win8 pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self build
    CPU
    Intel core i7 3930k @ 4.17GHz
    Motherboard
    Asus p9x79 pro
    Memory
    4x4GB Corsair Vengeance LP xmp quad channelled
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GTX660 ti, Signiture 2, FTW 2GB GDDR5
    Sound Card
    Onboard Realtek 7.1
    Monitor(s) Displays
    32" Samsung tv, 21" Dell monitor both 1080 native
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080 x2
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 830 256gb sata3 ssd, 4x250gb sata2 hdd RAID_0, 3tb ZyXEL NSA-310 (nas).
    PSU
    Tagan tg-800-bz 800w modular
    Case
    Icute mesh with 280mm side fan
    Cooling
    Corsair H80 (2x120mm push and pull)
    Keyboard
    Microsoft comfort curve
    Mouse
    Anker 8000dpi 1000m/s precision gaming mouse
    Internet Speed
    10MB
    Other Info
    Logitech 5.1 with phantom channels. xbox 360 pad for windows.
EaseUS partition manager & Acronis True Image, Bootable Recovery CD/DVD will not boot with Secure Boot, as all new OEM manufacturer's PC with Windows 8 have Secure Boot enabled.

You will need to use the Windows system image, as the Bootable Recovery CD/DVD/USB will boot with Secure Boot

http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/8956-system-image-create-windows-8-a.html

http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/5132-recovery-drive-create-usb-flash-drive-windows-8-a.html

http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/2855-system-repair-disc-create-windows-8-a.html
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    ME, XP,Vista,Win7,Win8,Win8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Other Info
    Notebooks x 3

    Desktops x 5

    Towers x 4
I can't say I fully understand any of these solutions but here is where I am so far. I have an old 150 GB HDD that I'm testing the process with until I get the SSD.

First I created a system image of the 500 GB HDD that the laptop came with. I then created a system repair disc. I took out the 500 GB HDD and put in my old 150 GB HDD (which has been formatted to contain 1 partition which is set to active). Started the computer up with system repair disc and chose to restore system image and it picked up the system image I had created (in another external HD). I tried to restore the image on the 150 GB HDD but got error 0x80042412. I tried a lot of things including formatting the 150 GB HDD in different ways and even creating a new image of the 500 GB HDD but I continued to get this error. I read online that this is likely because the image is of a larger HDD and even though that 500 GB is almost completely empty (brand new computer nothing on it) it still won't "fit" because it tries to create those same partition sizes on the smaller HD. Since my SSD that is coming is 120 GB I figure I would run into this problem with that as well so I went searching for another solution.

At this point I went in bios to at least make sure I could even switch to AHCI. I discovered that it was already in AHCI so now I figured the "clone" options would become available to me since windows was already installed in the mode I wanted it to be for the SSD. I downloaded Macrium Reflect and am now trying to clone the 500 GB HDD to the 150 GB HDD. I'll let you know the results.

Please give me any information if you think I went wrong anywhere or can confirm any of my suspicions. Thanks.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    win 8
Do clone all needed partitions.

Windows 8 Downgrade-007 SB.PNG
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    ME, XP,Vista,Win7,Win8,Win8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Other Info
    Notebooks x 3

    Desktops x 5

    Towers x 4
I am cloning all 7 partitions that were on the original 500 GB HDD. Maybe if this works I can try to get fancier and try to figure out which ones are needed and just clone those.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    win 8
Welp, it worked, thanks a lot guys. I think this will be the approach I'll take. I'm going to see if I can identify the needed partitions now so that I don't end up with extra partitions. How can I know which partitions are needed? Particularly there is a "lenovo" partition that is taking up 25 GB. I would prefer to not clone this one when i get the SSD to save some room. Is it needed?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    win 8
I would imagine the 25GB partition is the restore partition I mentioned earlier. You will definitely need c:\ and the 350MB "system reserved" partition. The others should be data partitions but you can check that before imaging.

I'd resize c:\ before creating it's image to make it fit.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    win8 pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self build
    CPU
    Intel core i7 3930k @ 4.17GHz
    Motherboard
    Asus p9x79 pro
    Memory
    4x4GB Corsair Vengeance LP xmp quad channelled
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GTX660 ti, Signiture 2, FTW 2GB GDDR5
    Sound Card
    Onboard Realtek 7.1
    Monitor(s) Displays
    32" Samsung tv, 21" Dell monitor both 1080 native
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080 x2
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 830 256gb sata3 ssd, 4x250gb sata2 hdd RAID_0, 3tb ZyXEL NSA-310 (nas).
    PSU
    Tagan tg-800-bz 800w modular
    Case
    Icute mesh with 280mm side fan
    Cooling
    Corsair H80 (2x120mm push and pull)
    Keyboard
    Microsoft comfort curve
    Mouse
    Anker 8000dpi 1000m/s precision gaming mouse
    Internet Speed
    10MB
    Other Info
    Logitech 5.1 with phantom channels. xbox 360 pad for windows.
I would imagine the 25GB partition is the restore partition I mentioned earlier. You will definitely need c:\ and the 350MB "system reserved" partition. The others should be data partitions but you can check that before imaging.

I'd resize c:\ before creating it's image to make it fit.

The three System Reserved partitions with uEFI BIOS & gpt HD Drive mode are

Recovery = 300mb.
System = 100mb.
MSR (Recovery) = 128mb.

There is NO System Resevred = 350mb.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    ME, XP,Vista,Win7,Win8,Win8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Other Info
    Notebooks x 3

    Desktops x 5

    Towers x 4
I would imagine the 25GB partition is the restore partition I mentioned earlier. You will definitely need c:\ and the 350MB "system reserved" partition. The others should be data partitions but you can check that before imaging.

I'd resize c:\ before creating it's image to make it fit.

The three System Reserved partitions with uEFI BIOS & gpt HD Drive mode are

Recovery = 300mb.
System = 100mb.
MSR (Recovery) = 128mb.

There is NO System Resevred = 350mb.

Really? I must upgrade soon lol am waiting till Haswell though :thumb:
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    win8 pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self build
    CPU
    Intel core i7 3930k @ 4.17GHz
    Motherboard
    Asus p9x79 pro
    Memory
    4x4GB Corsair Vengeance LP xmp quad channelled
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GTX660 ti, Signiture 2, FTW 2GB GDDR5
    Sound Card
    Onboard Realtek 7.1
    Monitor(s) Displays
    32" Samsung tv, 21" Dell monitor both 1080 native
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080 x2
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 830 256gb sata3 ssd, 4x250gb sata2 hdd RAID_0, 3tb ZyXEL NSA-310 (nas).
    PSU
    Tagan tg-800-bz 800w modular
    Case
    Icute mesh with 280mm side fan
    Cooling
    Corsair H80 (2x120mm push and pull)
    Keyboard
    Microsoft comfort curve
    Mouse
    Anker 8000dpi 1000m/s precision gaming mouse
    Internet Speed
    10MB
    Other Info
    Logitech 5.1 with phantom channels. xbox 360 pad for windows.
Not sure if I should start a new thread; here goes anyway.

  • Asus K55A new laptop with 750GB HDD came with Windows 8. I upgraded it to Windows 8 Pro with Media Center.
  • Bought a new Seagate 750GB 7200rpm SSD+HDD Hybrid with the intent of cloning...scrapped that idea.
  • Swapped Hard Drives and properly installed Windows 8 from another copy with Secure Boot True (confirmed in Powershell).
  • Upgraded that to Windows 8 Pro with Media Center.

What I am curious about doing:

  • The original Hard Drive is unchanged and encased in a portable USB 3.0 enclosure.
I'd like to (after doing a full system backup) try & Restore my system from the original hard drive Recovery Partition in the USB enclose to my new Hybrid Hard Drive thereby wiping out my newest installation and returning to the original with this fast Hybrid drive.

Following the protocol for doing this, I am most curious if I would have the status of my computer back to factory pre-installed with this new hard drive

First HARD DRIVE PARTITIONS are the newest Hybrid. Second is factory. I attempted to use Mini Tool Partition Wizard to copy the Recovery Partition to the new hard drive but upon reboot, it failed because it stated the disc had changed. Haven't researched that yet.
Partitions.jpg


Thanks for any input - new here!

JERE
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Window 8 Pro with Media Center
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS K55A
    CPU
    Intel Core i5
    Memory
    8GB
    Browser
    Chrome
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
Hello jerendeb and welcome to EightForums!

For asus k55a you should have a look here:
ASUSTeK Computer Inc. -Support- Troubleshooting K55A

Try to boot with the drive connected to usb3.0 ans see if F9 sees the recovery partition on disk: that's the required one.

If this doesn't work, try to copy the recovery partition (image) from the initilal disk on usb to the new disk and then reboot only with the new disk... it should detect it if we are allowed to copy it entirely. To copy partitions there are many options available, for instance, I use Easeus Partition Master because it's easy to use.

Good luck

Hopachi
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy DV6 7250
    CPU
    Intel i7-3630QM
    Motherboard
    HP, Intel HM77 Express Chipset
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD4000 + Nvidia Geforce 630M
    Sound Card
    IDT HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15.6' built-in + Samsung S22D300 + 17.3' LG Phillips
    Screen Resolution
    multiple resolutions
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 250GB + Hitachi HDD 750GB
    PSU
    120W adapter
    Case
    small
    Cooling
    laptop cooling pad
    Keyboard
    Backlit built-in + big one in USB
    Mouse
    SteelSeries Sensei
    Internet Speed
    slow and steady
    Browser
    Chromium, Pale Moon, Firefox Developer Edition
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    That's basically it.
Okay, here's what I have tried:
I successfully copied the Recovery Partition from my original hard drive to my new installed hard drive.
I then tried Reset My PC with nothing connected externally & it booted into the RESET MODE.
The process % counter went on for about 2 1/2 hours up to 60% & then a light blue screen came on telling me the process had run into a problem. The only option if I recall correctly was to Cancel or Continue or Restart, can't remember but when I clicked it my PC booted up normally with no changes.
SO that didn't work.

I have not tried attaching the USB original Hard Drive to a 3.0 USB Port and rebooting with the F9. I will attempt that today.

Interesting too, is that when I look at my C:\ on the new hard drive in Computer that's all there is, a C:\. In Disk Management it shows the Recovery Partition.

In my original hard drive, when I looked at my Computer it showed C:\OS D:\Date E:\Recovery. So something else is different there too.

You know this isn't really that important to me but as an IT person it's now a quest to see if I can RESET this PC to factory with a new Hard Drive.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Window 8 Pro with Media Center
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS K55A
    CPU
    Intel Core i5
    Memory
    8GB
    Browser
    Chrome
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
If you encounter that problem again, try and choose something else. It's good news to see that the copy worked into booting, now you'll have to see what you can do next (I didn't performed something like this here yet and I'm also curious; I just knew from theory that a perfect partition copy should work).

Try to note the message down and then maybe some of us or ASUS can provide extra info on that.

I just hope they didn't add some kind of copy-protection to the original partition (which is also possible) but if you manage to boot it from the original (usb-connected) then you'll see if the problem occurs again or not.

Interesting too, is that when I look at my C:\ on the new hard drive in Computer that's all there is, a C:\. In Disk Management it shows the Recovery Partition.

In my original hard drive, when I looked at my Computer it showed C:\OS D:\Date E:\Recovery. So something else is different there too.
Only one partition on new disk??
The copy of the recovery partition should be the same size as original one (I guess something a bit less and up to 20GB in size) and the rest of the space needs to be auto-reformatted by the installer or manually formatted with a partitioning program.

Either way, UEFI systems (check the BIOS options utility) require a GPT formatted disk (not a classical MBR one). So this depends if UEFI is turned on or not... but if it came pre-installed with Win8 it's definitely UEFI-enabled more importantly is whether the program you used to copy had GPT functionality available. GPT disk (check original one first) -> then copy partition and create empty ones matching the ones on original disk; this is just to mimic as close as possible the original setup for the recovery program (depends on the error you received early and it can be the case the extra partitions are not required at all: all you need is the recovery partition, basically). Probably you've already had GPT disk with the new (you mentioned PRO) install you had there and that's no problem then, so just try it again, from original disk as well and see if that error still occurs or not.

Good luck again.

Hopachi
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy DV6 7250
    CPU
    Intel i7-3630QM
    Motherboard
    HP, Intel HM77 Express Chipset
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD4000 + Nvidia Geforce 630M
    Sound Card
    IDT HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15.6' built-in + Samsung S22D300 + 17.3' LG Phillips
    Screen Resolution
    multiple resolutions
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 250GB + Hitachi HDD 750GB
    PSU
    120W adapter
    Case
    small
    Cooling
    laptop cooling pad
    Keyboard
    Backlit built-in + big one in USB
    Mouse
    SteelSeries Sensei
    Internet Speed
    slow and steady
    Browser
    Chromium, Pale Moon, Firefox Developer Edition
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    That's basically it.
Re-image

Next attempt semi-failed. I choose to use the Recovey DVD I had made to attempt an Advance Startup. Well when I chose to RESET is asked for a copy of Windows 8. No option to pick a Recovery Source. So I stuck a USB Flash drive in with another Windows 8 I have and that worked. BUT...when the PC restarted it asked for the KEY to activate and since that's in the BIOS, I knew this wouldn't work. So I skipped the Activation for now. Final boot reviewed a fresh inactivated Windows 8.

Next trial. I am using Partition Wizard the latest free version. I am now attempting a Copy Disk process. I am copying my original hard drive onto my new hard drive, thereby wiping it out and placing in all partitions. When if that's complete, I am going to see how that turned out. I know there are couple possibilities, some good, some bad. Either way it will be interesting.

If it works I'll have to decide if I want to try to reset that with the Factory Recovery Partition in place, maybe then it'll all come together with a factory PC. If that fails, I give up. I'll then resort back to leaving this new disk running the old disc format. At least I'll have SSD+HDD 7200rpms.

Stay tuned for the next development...currently Saturday March 23rd at 13:25 hours eastern savings time.

Now 15:02. My old hard drive Windows 8 Pro with Media Center is still intact in a USB 3.0 enclosure. I can boot from that too. If I do, and make a SYSTEM IMAGE, might it be possible to reboot into my SYSTEM REPAIR DVD and use that IMAGE to restore to my NEW HARD DRIVE in the computer?
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Window 8 Pro with Media Center
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS K55A
    CPU
    Intel Core i5
    Memory
    8GB
    Browser
    Chrome
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
Now 15:02. My old hard drive Windows 8 Pro with Media Center is still intact in a USB 3.0 enclosure. I can boot from that too. If I do, and make a SYSTEM IMAGE, might it be possible to reboot into my SYSTEM REPAIR DVD and use that IMAGE to restore to my NEW HARD DRIVE in the computer?

Yes. I always do that image with the built in option in control panel called something like 'Win7 recovery'

One of this images should be made for the factory OS as well, and that would ease the restores too.

Just keep the factory restore partition intact, you cannot restore that if damaged they say but you can make a backup I see. You can also backup the factory restore partition on one or more DVD's with some utility ASUS provided on the pre-installed system (I have HP and they allow this, to confirm).
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy DV6 7250
    CPU
    Intel i7-3630QM
    Motherboard
    HP, Intel HM77 Express Chipset
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD4000 + Nvidia Geforce 630M
    Sound Card
    IDT HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15.6' built-in + Samsung S22D300 + 17.3' LG Phillips
    Screen Resolution
    multiple resolutions
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 250GB + Hitachi HDD 750GB
    PSU
    120W adapter
    Case
    small
    Cooling
    laptop cooling pad
    Keyboard
    Backlit built-in + big one in USB
    Mouse
    SteelSeries Sensei
    Internet Speed
    slow and steady
    Browser
    Chromium, Pale Moon, Firefox Developer Edition
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    That's basically it.
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