windows 8.1 download... what is it?

hannelius

New Member
Messages
41
hi everyone... i found this link...
Create installation media for Windows 8.1 - Windows Help
where you can download windows 8.1
to a usb flash drive or an iso for a dvd

i was thinking of using it to do a fresh install
to get rid of all the oem stuff cause it's really slow
but the page is unclear as to what it really is...
in fact it doesn't say at all...

it says to choose the same edition of windows
and to check what edition you're currently running
which makes it seem as if it's for those
who already have it...

"no it's something else..."

it also says you’ll need a product key
if you’re not running 8 or 8.1
which i am...

after six hours i have the 4gb file
which it offered to burn directly
to dvd which was nice...

afterwards it directs you to a page
where it says you need a product key to use it
and it's on the box...

what is this... does anyone know?
is it worth anything at all?

is there any way to do a fresh install of windows
without buying windows
when you already have windows?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavillion7
    CPU
    1.90 ghz
    Memory
    8.00gb
Looking at your specs. You have an HP Pavillion7 and you are running Windows 8.1 so yes, you can use this download to do fresh install of Windows 8.1 (without any bloatware). Since It is a Laptop, the product key is burnt inside the BIOS. During installation, Windows will read the product and activate it.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    8.1x64PWMC Ubuntu14.04x64 MintMate17x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home Brewed
    CPU
    I7 4970K OC'ed @4.7 GHz
    Motherboard
    MSI-Z97
    Memory
    16 GB G-Skill Trident X @2400MHZ
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450
    Sound Card
    X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Professional Series
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dual HP-W2408
    Screen Resolution
    1920X1200
    Hard Drives
    256 GB M2 sm951, (2) 500GB 850EVO, 5TB, 2 TB Seagate
    PSU
    Antec 850W
    Case
    Antec 1200
    Cooling
    Danger Den H20
    Keyboard
    Logitech
    Mouse
    Logitech Performance Mouse MX
    Internet Speed
    35/12mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
Since It is a Laptop, the product key is burnt inside the BIOS. During installation, Windows will read the product and activate it.

it is? it will? thank you!
and for checking to see what i had...

i was just ready to use it
and wanted to be sure what it was...

windows is more than 4gb...
does it download the rest?
i'll see...
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavillion7
    CPU
    1.90 ghz
    Memory
    8.00gb
i'm sure windows is more than 4gb
does it download the rest?
That is the whole thing containing compressed files, during installation Windows will expand these files so that's all you need. No extra download.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    8.1x64PWMC Ubuntu14.04x64 MintMate17x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home Brewed
    CPU
    I7 4970K OC'ed @4.7 GHz
    Motherboard
    MSI-Z97
    Memory
    16 GB G-Skill Trident X @2400MHZ
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450
    Sound Card
    X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Professional Series
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dual HP-W2408
    Screen Resolution
    1920X1200
    Hard Drives
    256 GB M2 sm951, (2) 500GB 850EVO, 5TB, 2 TB Seagate
    PSU
    Antec 850W
    Case
    Antec 1200
    Cooling
    Danger Den H20
    Keyboard
    Logitech
    Mouse
    Logitech Performance Mouse MX
    Internet Speed
    35/12mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
forgot how to format... i'll go see...
When you get into the setup, you agree to the terms, choose "Custom Install" (advanced) , then delete all the partitions on "Drive 0", you are left with "Drive 0 Unallocated Space", then you click on that and click "New" (with a yellow * beside it) , then click OK, it will say Windows will create more partitions etc etc say "yes", then once its finished click "Next" and it will begin installing Windows. Also, be sure you have the latest drivers for your PC before you set out on a clean install.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self build (Desktop) / Dell (Laptop)
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 4690k (Desktop) / Intel Core i7 5500u (Laptop)
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte Z97 (Desktop) / Dell (Laptop)
    Memory
    8GB DDR3 (Desktop) / 16GB DDR3L (laptop)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 (Desktop) / AMD R7 M270 (Laptop)
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP Pavilion 27bw
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080 (Desktop) / 3840x2160 (Laptop)
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 850 EVO 120GB
    WD Black 500GB
    WD Blue 1TB
    (Desktop)
    Samsung SSD 850 EVO 250GB (Laptop)
    PSU
    Corsair 750w
    Case
    Ultra atx
    Cooling
    Stock heatsink
    Keyboard
    Razer Black Widow
    Mouse
    Roccat Kone XTD
    Internet Speed
    250Mbps Down / 20Mbps Up
    Browser
    Chrome
    Antivirus
    ESET
that's the whole thing? thanks for the tips...

my laptop's only a year or two old
so hopefully the drivers are new enough...

i'm hoping on a dual boot with xp
i know how to do it...
so finding drivers for that ought to be fun..

might be a couple days...
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavillion7
    CPU
    1.90 ghz
    Memory
    8.00gb
Make an image of your current installation - just in case.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Vista and Win7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    2xHP, 2xGateway, 1xDell, 1xSony
    Hard Drives
    5 SSDs and 12 HDs
that's the whole thing? thanks for the tips...

my laptop's only a year or two old
so hopefully the drivers are new enough...

i'm hoping on a dual boot with xp
i know how to do it...
so finding drivers for that ought to be fun..

might be a couple days...

Instead of a dual boot why not just run XP in a VM You'll save yourself a lot of aggravation. You'll really want to run Win 8.1 64 bit UEFI
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro MC
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus G75VW / Z97 Pro
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-3610QM / I7-4790K
    Motherboard
    Z97 Pro
    Memory
    16 GB Hyundai HTM315156CFR8C-PB PC3-12800
    Graphics Card(s)
    nVIDIA GeForce GTX 670M (GF114M)
    Sound Card
    VIA 6.0.10.1600
    Screen Resolution
    1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 850 Pro 256, Samsung 850 Pro 1TB
    Internet Speed
    30 down 3 up
    Browser
    Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    NIS and Malwarebytes
A virtual OS installation is so much easier than double boot - especially for an old system like XP. Here is how.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Vista and Win7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    2xHP, 2xGateway, 1xDell, 1xSony
    Hard Drives
    5 SSDs and 12 HDs
thank you...

i have virtualbox but i've never used it...
i've heard of vmware
is it easier, better?

i might give both of them a try
after i see how the install goes..
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavillion7
    CPU
    1.90 ghz
    Memory
    8.00gb
That download will read and use embedded OEM keys, verified it myself. You just have to match the version that was installed by the OEM. If you install 8.1 Pro and your laptop came with just 8.1 (the core version) you'll get asked to enter a product code. And vise versa, install Core when it came with Pro and you'll get prompted for a key. That download will also read and use Windows 8.0 keys and let you install the matching 8.1 version.

It's Option One here, http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/18309-windows-8-windows-8-1-iso-download-create.html
http://www.eightforums.com/tutorial...e-firmware-interface-install-windows-8-a.html
http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/15458-uefi-bootable-usb-flash-drive-create-windows.html
 

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
You just have to match the version that was installed by the OEM.

that's what i did...

when i was there i felt it
but the microsoft site was so unclear
i came here...

if i didn't click on the what next link
after it burnt to dvd
which told me the opposite...
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavillion7
    CPU
    1.90 ghz
    Memory
    8.00gb
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