Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 ISO - Download or Create

ThrashZone · Dec 19, 2014

Great job Brink especially option 3

One question,
This hidden esd folder can it be deleted after creating the 8 iso file ?
If so where exactly is it
Or should I wait until I actually create the bootable flash media ?
Cheers.

Brink · Dec 19, 2014

ThrashZone said:
Great job Brink especially option 3
One question,
This hidden esd folder can it be deleted after creating the 8 iso file ?
If so where exactly is it
Or should I wait until I actually create the bootable flash media ?
Cheers.

Sure, you could delete both folders below if you don't need them to save space.

%UserProfile%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WebSetup

AND

C:\ESD

However, Option One let's you download an ISO without having the folders above left over.

ThrashZone · Dec 19, 2014

Thanks brink

As for the second part about option 1

Cheers.

Brink · Dec 19, 2014

De nada

sparhawk · Dec 30, 2014

Do the files on this flash drive look like it should boot and run win 8.1 pro setup? I chose to install to flash drive as shown in tutorial. Do I have to prepare the drive first? It doesn't boot as is.

Ashampoo_Snap_2014.12.30_18h43m03s_001_.jpg

Brink · Dec 30, 2014

sparhawk said:
Do the files on this flash drive look like it should boot and run win 8.1 pro setup? I chose to install to flash drive as shown in tutorial. Do I have to prepare the drive first? It doesn't boot as is.
View attachment 55911

No worries. You just created a bootable Windows 8.1 installation USB flash drive. It's all ready to boot from to install Windows 8.1.

sparhawk · Dec 30, 2014

8.1 installation dvd

Thanks Brink...you sure give good instructions and I admire you a lot.

I am a Happy Windows owner....

Brink · Dec 30, 2014

freezcool · Jan 1, 2015

i bought my laptop that comes with windows 8 (already updated to win8.1), i go here http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/27129-product-key-find-windows-8-a.html#option5 to know my key and find out that is oem key. so if i use the option one is it possible to format or install again my windows 8 like it was brandnew again? i only got oem key and i dont know what to choose from the five choices: windows8.1,n,pro,single language. is it possible if i use this http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/2227-create-bootable-usb-dvd-windows-8-iso.html to install my windows 8, my computer is still activate even though its oem? just making sure here.
Sorry for my bad english and hope to get a reply before trying this. thnx in advance. and happy new yr.

alphanumeric · Jan 1, 2015

Open the System page and see what it says under Windows Edition. Right click the start button and select System.
Running winver should give you the same info. Right click the start button and select Run, then type in winver and hit enter.
That should tell you what version of windows you are running. That download will use the embedded OEM key automatically during install. Assuming you install the correct version.

Phone Man · Jan 1, 2015

The ISO you download is a clean version and does not have all the same extra programs that came with your laptop and may not have all the right drivers. Go to the laptop manufactures site and download any drivers they have for your model and save to an external device in case you need them. After install check Device Manager and see if there are any errors.

Jim

sparhawk · Jan 1, 2015

Good deal..wil do , thanks

freezcool · Jan 2, 2015

alphanumeric said:
Open the System page and see what it says under Windows Edition. Right click the start button and select System.
Running winver should give you the same info. Right click the start button and select Run, then type in winver and hit enter.
That should tell you what version of windows you are running. That download will use the embedded OEM key automatically during install. Assuming you install the correct version.

so should i choose windows 8.1? btw, what's the "N"?

freezcool · Jan 2, 2015

Phone Man said:
The ISO you download is a clean version and does not have all the same extra programs that came with your laptop and may not have all the right drivers. Go to the laptop manufactures site and download any drivers they have for your model and save to an external device in case you need them. After install check Device Manager and see if there are any errors.

Jim

There's dvd that installs manual guide and some app again when i bought it, besides i want less programs and apps anyway, dont want any bloatwares hehe. i can check it out when i decided to do this. thnx hehe.

Brink · Jan 2, 2015

freezcool said:
alphanumeric said:

Open the System page and see what it says under Windows Edition. Right click the start button and select System.
Running winver should give you the same info. Right click the start button and select Run, then type in winver and hit enter.
That should tell you what version of windows you are running. That download will use the embedded OEM key automatically during install. Assuming you install the correct version.

Click to expand...

so should i choose windows 8.1? btw, what's the "N"?

Since it shows that you have Windows 8.1, that would be the ISO you would want to select using OPTION ONE in the tutorial.

The European N and KN editions of Windows 8 include the same functionality as Windows 8, except for media-related technologies (Windows Media Player, web camera), and certain preinstalled media apps (Camera, Music, and Video).

You can read more details about N editions below if you like.

http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/22414-media-feature-pack-install-windows-8-n-kn.html

SaggyMaggyPoo · Jan 19, 2015

The inevitable has happened: my hard drive says it could fail 'imminently' so I'm going to install a new one. For me this is about on a par with a visit to the dentist because it's a new experience where I feel my ability could be sorely tested (and, like with the dentist, I know I'll feel better afterwards

).

Anyway, I would like to ask some simple questions to help me prepare. Some of these may certainly seem dumb (they do to me) but please bear with me:

Okay, let's start with the dumbest question:

I have the Windows 8.1.iso on a usb and plan to install with this. Presumably when I switch on after replacing the hard drive I will be able to get into the BIOS (by pressing F12 on my laptop) in order to boot to the usb? (Before anyone asks: I can't currently boot direct to a usb, I have to use Boot Manager - it's the way Dell does it - though I think I could make a usb with a GPT partition and boot direct to this. I'd prefer not to complicate things any more than I have to and though I can write those words I don't know how to carry out the action).

Incidentally, I made the .iso usb shortly after Windows released this; is there any benefit in making a new one before I start? (I remember reading that the .iso had been updated for the big 8.1 update, but my laptop had an OEM install and I don't know if this .iso works for those as well as for retail keys.)

I can read through the tutorials that should walk me through the process but is there any preparation I should do to the hard drive before starting out? Any pointers to particularly helpful tutorials or posts would be appreciated.

And I saw this comment from Shawn on the tutorial thread:

Brink said:
Before doing the installation, I would recommend to have all of your drivers downloaded from Acer and saved to a USB flash drive or some other location that's not getting formatted when doing the clean install. This way you will have them ready to install after Windows has finished installing in case you can't get an internet connection until the network driver is installed.

Sounds very sensible but what drivers are we talking about? Should I just work through Device Manager and download everything that's listed there or is there a specific set that I should have, then others can be added later?

Anything I haven't considered?

alphanumeric · Jan 19, 2015

@SaggyMaggyPoo. I'm not sure what you mean by "I have to use a boot manager" but it's not uncommon to have to change the boot order in the BIOS when booting from something other than your hard drive. Your PC will go through each device in the boot list until it finds a bootable device. To speed up the boot process I have my hard drive set as the first boot device. If I leave it like that and plug in a bootable thumb drive it will just boot to the hard drive. I have to change the order so the thumb drive is first in the list. I do this with ny BIOS quick boot menu. It lets me change the order for that one boot and then on the next reboot it goes back to the default. It's great for doing windows installs. I only have to enter the BIOS one time. I could change the order so the USB is always at the top of the list but the PC would then look for a thumb drive every time it booted up.
It's up to you as to whether you make a new thumb drive. Me I like to have the latest version, it saves doing a bunch of Windows updates after your install. If your PC has UEFI, you'll want to make sure your thumb drive supports that.
On my ASUS laptop, the only thing that doesn't work after a clean install is the scroll function on my touchpad. Windows has come a long way as far as drivers go. If this is your only PC you may want to at least download the chip-set drivers and drivers for your network adapter. Once you have Internet you can then download any other drivers you may need. Being a Dell there should be a Service Tag number on a sticker that you can enter on the Dell site. It will then list only what's relevant to you model.

SaggyMaggyPoo · Jan 20, 2015

alphanumeric said:
@SaggyMaggyPoo. I'm not sure what you mean by "I have to use a boot manager" but it's not uncommon to have to change the boot order in the BIOS when booting from something other than your hard drive. Your PC will go through each device in the boot list until it finds a bootable device. To speed up the boot process I have my hard drive set as the first boot device. If I leave it like that and plug in a bootable thumb drive it will just boot to the hard drive. I have to change the order so the thumb drive is first in the list. I do this with ny BIOS quick boot menu. It lets me change the order for that one boot and then on the next reboot it goes back to the default. It's great for doing windows installs. I only have to enter the BIOS one time. I could change the order so the USB is always at the top of the list but the PC would then look for a thumb drive every time it booted up.
It's up to you as to whether you make a new thumb drive. Me I like to have the latest version, it saves doing a bunch of Windows updates after your install. If your PC has UEFI, you'll want to make sure your thumb drive supports that.
On my ASUS laptop, the only thing that doesn't work after a clean install is the scroll function on my touchpad. Windows has come a long way as far as drivers go. If this is your only PC you may want to at least download the chip-set drivers and drivers for your network adapter. Once you have Internet you can then download any other drivers you may need. Being a Dell there should be a Service Tag number on a sticker that you can enter on the Dell site. It will then list only what's relevant to you model.

Thanks for this @alpha.

Your explanation does cover my situation: my default boot order is to the hard drive, if I want to boot direct to a usb I have to press F12 at the Dell logo and enter boot manager and manually select the usb, which works for that boot only. Some time ago I followed one of Brink's tutorials to change the boot order to look for a usb first, but this failed, and when I asked on the Dell forum, I was told it's not possible.

But no problem as long as I can enter boot manager and manually choose to boot to my usb after replacing the hard drive, and you seem to be saying that I can do this. (Maybe my question should have been: where exactly IS the BIOS? I have no idea if it's on my hard drive or somewhere else and was thinking that I might lose access to it if I changed the hard drive

.)

I'm also assuming that once I boot to the Windows 8.1.iso usb I can then just follow a process. Is that correct? Or do I need to use a Windows Recovery usb first to enable me to access the Windows 8.1.iso usb?

I'm not really sure if I have the latest version of the .iso but I will check before I start.

And thank you for the tip on the essential drivers. I will get these downloaded and saved, and make a separate note of my Dell Service Tag.

alphanumeric · Jan 20, 2015

BIOS: Basic Input Output System. The BIOS is built into the motherboard. It's code written to a Microchip on the motherboard that handles the power up sequence or POST. Power On Self Test. It will run even if there is no hard drive connected. It's programed into the chip and can't be easily written over or erased. Not like DATA on your hard drive. When you press your case power button the CPU runs the code stored in the BIOS and executes the commends. It's the start up sequence for the PC. It looks for certain hardware and does some other checks and then goes to the boot device and starts up the OS and transfers control of the system to the OS. Some settings can be changed and even if you mess those up there is a load defaults option that should in most cases let you boot up your PC.

Once you boot from the install thumb drive you'll enter the install sequence. You'll get menus with options. basically here: http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/2299-clean-install-windows-8-a.html

SaggyMaggyPoo · Jan 20, 2015

Thank you for such a clear and concise explanation. Just what I needed.

I've just run through the tutorial - there's a lot there! Fortunately I will be able to have it on one laptop to refer to while I'm working on the other.

I plan to try and replicate my current system as regards the User accounts and computer name. Am I correct in assuming I will be able to use the same names and passwords again on the new hard drive, or am I going to have to come up with some new ones?

Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 ISO - Download or Create

Download Windows 8.1 Update ISO File with "Windows Installation Media Creation Tool"

Download Windows 8.1 Update ISO File with Retail Windows 8 or 8.1 Key

Download Windows 8 or Windows 8.1 Update ISO File with a Retail Key

To Create a Windows 8 or 8.1 ISO File from "C:\ESD\Windows" Folder

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