ASUS Ultrabook UEFI Windows 8 refresh / install nightmare

houldsworth1

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I have an ASUS ultrabook. Being an ultrabook it has a small SSD drive and no DVD drive.

It came originally installed with Win 8 and was later upgraded to Win 8.1.

After a while the system started behaving in very odd ways and I decided to reset from protected OS region.

Try #1 - When I tried to reset I received an error stating that it could not refresh because there were files missing. I read somewhere that you can't refresh using the Win 8 copy after you have upgraded to Win 8.1.

Try #2 - I have a retail copy of Windows 8 on a USB drive so I thought I would just install that. First problem - the key is no longer on a convenient sticker but is, instead, embedded in the UEFI. I was able to find a tool that exposed that only to receive an error stating that I can't use that key with a retail copy of Windows 8. Arrgh!

Try #3 - I have a Dell desktop running Win 8 and used that to create a Windows 8 recovery drive on a USB stick. I was able to use that to run a refresh which seemed to work (it certainly erased all the files) but the system is still not right. For example I can't run Netflix because it keeps telling me I am missing components. I tried installing the components it suggested for Chrome - no luck. I then tried installing MS Silverlight to run it in IE...again no luck, still get the missing components message and the install of Silverlight failed.

Any thoughts where I go from here?

I have a Win 7 key from a retired PC and could create a Win 7 install drive which is probably my next option, but I have no idea if the UEFI thing is going to interfere with that.

Any help greatly appreciated.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8.1

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 should be able to refresh using the downloaded 8.1 .iso after burning to a DVD.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home Grown
    CPU
    i7 3770K
    Motherboard
    ASUS P8Z77 -v Pro, Z87-Expert
    Memory
    16 G
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GTX 680 Classified (2)
    Hard Drives
    Kingston SSD 240 GB
The key being rejected may be because your current install is the Single Language version. Open the System screen (Windows key + pause/break key) and see what it says under Windows edition. Also click Help, about Windows and see what that says. Once you figure out what exact version you have you can download the correct ISO from option 1 of the link Ztrucker posted. The new download in option 1 will let you install 8.1 with an 8.0 OEM embedded key. I installed 8.1 Core from that link Create installation media for Windows 8.1 - Windows Help and did a clean install on my ASUS laptop. It came with Windows 8.0 Core. The OEM 8.0 key was used to install 8.1 and I was not prompted to enter a key. It activated online automatically with no issues.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Education 64 Bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus
    CPU
    AMD Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition Deneb 3.7GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS M4N68T-M V2 µATX Motherboard
    Memory
    8GB 4GBx2 Kingston PC10600 DDR3 1333 Memory
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA Geforce GT640 2 Gig DDR3 PCIe
    Sound Card
    VIA VT1708s High Definition Audio 8-channel Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    22" LG E2242 1080p and 2 19" I-INC AG191D
    Screen Resolution
    1280x1024 - 1920x1080 - 1280x1024
    Hard Drives
    Crucial MX100 256 GB SSD and 500 GB WD Blue SATA
    PSU
    Thermaltake TR 620
    Case
    Power Up Black ATX Mid-Tower Case
    Cooling
    Stock heatsink fan
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wireless K350 Wave
    Mouse
    Logitech M570 Trackball and T650 TouchPad
    Internet Speed
    80 Mbps Down 30 Mbps Up
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    HP DVD1040e Lightscribe - External USB2
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