"Windows 8 Installation has Failed" - Since Jan. 20th...

jonnboy1976

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Member
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Since I purchased the Win 8 Pro Upgrade online from Microsoft on Jan 20th, Ive been trying to get in to install. I have Windows 7 Ultimate on a HP laptop. I've had the Microsoft "live help agents" or whoever remotely access/control my pc 3 times already. I knew as much or more than 2 of them did, after several hours with each of them ultimately coming up with no solution and/or me having to end the remote session to go to work or to bed. The third agent was sincere in wanting to get this fixed for me, and she was much more knowledgeable about the everything involved. But once again, after almost 2 hours with her, we didn't get anything fixed and I had to go to work.
I'm almost ready to give up and get Microsoft to put the money back on my Visa...but I still have (some) hope! And after 20 yrs with Windows/Microsoft, this is my first bad experience. And it is BAD. But I really want Windows 8, and this site is the first one I've run across that gave me hope again! :)

HELP please. I'll be very thankful and appreciative. I've tried the steps below. (Now instead of Windows 8 install stopping at 36% everytime, it stops at 50% everytime).


"Uninstall any security software before attempting to upgrade.
Disable any encryption software you might have installed.
Disable/uninstall disk utility software such as DVD/CD burning utilities or third party defragment programs such as Perfect Disk.
Make sure your computer is updated (devices and applications).
Disconnect any external devices before installing.
Check your hard disk for any errors:
- Click Start
- Type: CMD
- Right click CMD then click Run as administrator
At the Command Prompt, type: chkdsk /r /f
Exit the command prompt.
When you restart your system, your computer will be scanned for errors and attempts will be made to correct them.
Another thing you can do is disable Start items:
Click Start
Type: MSCONFIG.
Hit Enter on your keyboard
On the General tab, click Selective Startup.
Under Selective Startup, click to clear the Load Startup Items check box.
Click the Services tab, click to select the Hide All Microsoft Services check box, and then click Disable All.
Click OK.
When you are prompted, click Restart.
After the computer starts, check whether the problem is resolved.
Run the System File Checker utility.
SFC/Scannow checks your Windows installation for errors and corrects them. This will help with ensuring that a smooth upgrade occurs.
Click Start
Type: CMD, from the results, right click CMD
Click ‘Run as Administrator’
At the Command Prompt, type: sfc/scannow
This will check for any integrity violations
Restart your system"

Also- I have tried the install MANY times from each of the following: desktop, from bootable USB, and from CD I made from the ISO. Upgrade and Custom.

??
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 7 ultimate sp1

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win7 Ult on DIY; Win8 Pro on MBP/Parallels; Win7 Ult on MBP/Boot Camp; Win7 Ult/Win8 Pro on HP
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    DIY Rig; MacBook Pro (MBP)/Parallels/Boot Camp; HP Pavilion dv6500t Laptop
    CPU
    Intel i7-2600K (sometimes OC'd to 4.8 GHz)
    Motherboard
    ASUS P8P67 Deluxe Rev B3
    Memory
    16 GB Corsair Vengeance
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA 570 SC
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Gateway
    Hard Drives
    Dual Boot:
    Win7 Ult RAID 0 on OCZ Revo x2 and
    Win7 Ult RAID 0 on Caviar Black SATA 3's
    PSU
    Cooler Master Silent Pro 1000W
    Case
    Cooler Master 932 HAF
    Cooling
    Zalman CNPS9900MAX-B CPU Fan
    Keyboard
    Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 5500
    Mouse
    Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 5500
    Internet Speed
    20 Mbps Download/2+ Mbps Upload
    Other Info
    Pioneer Blu-ray Burner/DVD Burner
Under BIOS. Tried clean install and normal both many times. And the Upgrade Assistant many times as well with no issues coming up from it....
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 7 ultimate sp1
I seem to remember that when I had the same error, I found some information in the log files.

This was doing an Upgrade install, and I think it's in a hidden or system folder (you'll need to change View options in Explorer to show these) somewhere in the working folders it creates - the path ended in a folder called "Panther".

The files were called setuperr.log and setupact.log.

May be worth looking these files out after an Upgrade install and seeing if there's something in them (probably near the end) that might show the problem (to someone more knowledgable to me though!)

Of course ignore this if you've already covered this ground.

(Incidentally my problem was that my drive was formatted FAT32 instead of NTFS, but it was an old PC so pretty unlikely you'd get FAT32 on a Windows 7 setup.)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1, 10
I have been to the Panther folder, but not looked around inside it much. Thank you, I'm going to check out those log files now. Like I said, any possible help/something that I haven't tried or heard about is very appreciated. Thanks again. I'll let you know.....
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 7 ultimate sp1
Did you find the error log file in the Panther folder? I guess they would only appear on an Upgrade-type install though?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1, 10
Hello,

Have you tried a truly "clean" install including a full delete of all partitions and then allowing Win 8 to create the 350mb system reserved partition + your C: drive partition? The reason I am asking is because I have seen many Win 7 installations go array because the individuals opted to keep the manufacturer's partition structure (ie, Lenovo, HP, Dell, etc); however, once they did a true clean install, everything worked properly. Just a thought.

You can use Brink's excellent tutorial as a guideline here:
http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/2299-clean-install-windows-8-a.html

Note: When (if) you delete all partitions, it should look like the hard drive in step 7 of the above tutorial.
Note: You will also lose any HP bells and whistles if you go this route (ie, one-touch recovery, etc)
Note: I would make sure that I have a way to get back to Windows 7 via the manufacturer's recovery disks before starting this procedure. Good luck
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
I think you are right in essentially what you say for a variety of reasons. I think OEM preinstalls suck. A problem is that OEM's don't make it easy for one to reinstall cleanly (i.e., a clean install disc typically is not provided--one has to buy a second license). But, personally, if I bought an OEM PC, then the first thing I would do is buy MS system builder software (using the personal-use license option) and obliterate my OEM's installation. I'd just factor the cost of the software that would render me out from under my OEM's thumb into the cost of the computer.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win7 Ult on DIY; Win8 Pro on MBP/Parallels; Win7 Ult on MBP/Boot Camp; Win7 Ult/Win8 Pro on HP
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    DIY Rig; MacBook Pro (MBP)/Parallels/Boot Camp; HP Pavilion dv6500t Laptop
    CPU
    Intel i7-2600K (sometimes OC'd to 4.8 GHz)
    Motherboard
    ASUS P8P67 Deluxe Rev B3
    Memory
    16 GB Corsair Vengeance
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA 570 SC
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Gateway
    Hard Drives
    Dual Boot:
    Win7 Ult RAID 0 on OCZ Revo x2 and
    Win7 Ult RAID 0 on Caviar Black SATA 3's
    PSU
    Cooler Master Silent Pro 1000W
    Case
    Cooler Master 932 HAF
    Cooling
    Zalman CNPS9900MAX-B CPU Fan
    Keyboard
    Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 5500
    Mouse
    Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 5500
    Internet Speed
    20 Mbps Download/2+ Mbps Upload
    Other Info
    Pioneer Blu-ray Burner/DVD Burner
I think you are right in essentially what you say for a variety of reasons. I think OEM preinstalls suck. A problem is that OEM's don't make it easy for one to reinstall cleanly (i.e., a clean install disc typically is not provided--one has to buy a second license). But, personally, if I bought an OEM PC, then the first thing I would do is buy MS system builder software (using the personal-use license option) and obliterate my OEM's installation. I'd just factor the cost of the software that would render me out from under my OEM's thumb into the cost of the computer.

He should still be able to do this with the Win 8 Pro upgrade disk as long as he has a legit copy of Win 7 installed; yes?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
This has been ongoing frustration for me since I bought Win 8 Pro on Jan 20th. Never in my life had trouble upgrading or installing Windows before. And I realized today that the free Win 8 Media pack product key that I got from Microsoft weeks ago is no longer valid. It expired Jan 31st.

I'm glad I found a forum finally where people are actually knowledgeable and helpful! Thanks guys.

If I do a totally clean install, do I have to then first install Win 7, and then Win 8 Pro on top of it? And if so, wouldn't that just take me back to where I was a couple days ago? Maybe not? ......Or can I just clean install Win 8 Pro?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 7 ultimate sp1
This has been ongoing frustration for me since I bought Win 8 Pro on Jan 20th. Never in my life had trouble upgrading or installing Windows before. And I realized today that the free Win 8 Media pack product key that I got from Microsoft weeks ago is no longer valid. It expired Jan 31st.

I'm glad I found a forum finally where people are actually knowledgeable and helpful! Thanks guys.

If I do a totally clean install, do I have to then first install Win 7, and then Win 8 Pro on top of it? And if so, wouldn't that just take me back to where I was a couple days ago? Maybe not? ......Or can I just clean install Win 8 Pro?

You may want to look at this:
http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/13375-clean-install-windows-8-upgrade.html
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo Y520
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 7300HQ
    Motherboard
    OEM Lenovo
    Memory
    4GB DDR4-2400
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1 (2)
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Seagate 1TB 5400 RPM
    Keyboard
    OEM Lenovo
    Mouse
    Logitech G502 Proteus Core
    Internet Speed
    100 Mbps
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Other Info
    PC:

    AMD Athlon X4 760K
    8GB DDR3-1866
    AMD Radeon RX 460
    Seagate 500 GB 7200 RPM
If I do a totally clean install, do I have to then first install Win 7, and then Win 8 Pro on top of it? And if so, wouldn't that just take me back to where I was a couple days ago? Maybe not? ......Or can I just clean install Win 8 Pro?

The Windows 8 Pro Upgrade process must recognize a valid installation of at least XPSP3 (or higher) to progress. However, even if your current Windows 7 installation is corrupted (due to several Win 8 upgrade attempts), you may still be able to get through a clean install (as long as the Win 8 Pro upgrade process can verify the Win 7 installation is legitimate).
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
I think you are right in essentially what you say for a variety of reasons. I think OEM preinstalls suck. A problem is that OEM's don't make it easy for one to reinstall cleanly (i.e., a clean install disc typically is not provided--one has to buy a second license). But, personally, if I bought an OEM PC, then the first thing I would do is buy MS system builder software (using the personal-use license option) and obliterate my OEM's installation. I'd just factor the cost of the software that would render me out from under my OEM's thumb into the cost of the computer.
He should still be able to do this with the Win 8 Pro upgrade disk as long as he has a legit copy of Win 7 installed; yes?
I should have added that I don't want to be under MS's thumb either--to the extent possible. Part of being under MS's thumb is having to do a refresh in order to activate after doing a clean reinstall (not talking about moving to Pro)--but an actual clean reinstall of Pro, for example. I tend to reinstall frequently, for one reason or another, so I'd still want/buy the system builder software to put both MS and my OEM as far back in my rear-view mirror as possible.

On your question, yes, I think you are right about the "primo" clean installation of the Pro Pack. But, while undoubtedly acceptable to him, he might have to use the refresh procedure to activate.

To do a truly "primo" (i.e., optimized) clean install, note that no OS will be installed prior to installation. In this regard, I have used the following procedure, under BIOS, inserting the steps or trying to restart to my HDD after using diskpart (which, of course, failed) and then restarting to the installer.

1. Start up to your Windows 8 upgrade install DVD (or flash drive). Run the Diskpart command using command prompt.
2. Do the first 4 steps here: SSD / HD : Optimize for Windows Reinstallation on the disk on which Windows 8 is to be reinstalled, presumably Disk 0 in your case. Use the clean all command (not clean command) as used in the snips. Don't know why clean all is repeated in step 3; ignore the repetition. The clean all command writes zero to disc and leaves the cleaned drive having only unallocated space. Execution of this command takes considerable time, but leaves nothing on the drive--including no traces of a prior OS--whether it was an OS qualifying for upgrade or Windows 8, itself.
4. Follow the steps in Clean Install - Windows 8.
5. Check out the "Note" in step 8 of the above tutorial. I recommend having the 350 MB System Reserved Partition. At this point, your disk will have only unallocated space having used Diskpart/clean all--which is what you want.
6. Win 8 may not be activated at this point. If not, then activate using the refresh option in Clean Install with Windows 8 Upgrade.
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win7 Ult on DIY; Win8 Pro on MBP/Parallels; Win7 Ult on MBP/Boot Camp; Win7 Ult/Win8 Pro on HP
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    DIY Rig; MacBook Pro (MBP)/Parallels/Boot Camp; HP Pavilion dv6500t Laptop
    CPU
    Intel i7-2600K (sometimes OC'd to 4.8 GHz)
    Motherboard
    ASUS P8P67 Deluxe Rev B3
    Memory
    16 GB Corsair Vengeance
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA 570 SC
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Gateway
    Hard Drives
    Dual Boot:
    Win7 Ult RAID 0 on OCZ Revo x2 and
    Win7 Ult RAID 0 on Caviar Black SATA 3's
    PSU
    Cooler Master Silent Pro 1000W
    Case
    Cooler Master 932 HAF
    Cooling
    Zalman CNPS9900MAX-B CPU Fan
    Keyboard
    Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 5500
    Mouse
    Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 5500
    Internet Speed
    20 Mbps Download/2+ Mbps Upload
    Other Info
    Pioneer Blu-ray Burner/DVD Burner
On your question, yes, I think you are right about the "primo" clean installation of the Pro Pack. But, while undoubtedly acceptable to him, he probably would have to use the refresh procedure to activate.

Hi znod,

I'm sure you know much more about the clean install process than I; however, FYI, When I did my Win 8 Pro upgrade from XPSP3, the key was recognized and the installation was activated. Now, when I went to do a clean install of Win 8 Pro (after having upgraded successfully), I took the full format route, and the key was still recognized and the installation was (again) activated, without the need for a refresh (or any additional actions). So, I guess my question is "Was I just lucky?"

Thanks,

norepli
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
I can't say why some have to use the refresh procedure and some do not. I have seen others say the same as you. Using the steps I described above I had to use the refresh procedure in clean installing Win8 over a prior clean installation of Win8.

Oh, and don't confuse me with one of those that knows a great deal about installing. I am learning, learning, learning, ....
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win7 Ult on DIY; Win8 Pro on MBP/Parallels; Win7 Ult on MBP/Boot Camp; Win7 Ult/Win8 Pro on HP
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    DIY Rig; MacBook Pro (MBP)/Parallels/Boot Camp; HP Pavilion dv6500t Laptop
    CPU
    Intel i7-2600K (sometimes OC'd to 4.8 GHz)
    Motherboard
    ASUS P8P67 Deluxe Rev B3
    Memory
    16 GB Corsair Vengeance
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA 570 SC
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Gateway
    Hard Drives
    Dual Boot:
    Win7 Ult RAID 0 on OCZ Revo x2 and
    Win7 Ult RAID 0 on Caviar Black SATA 3's
    PSU
    Cooler Master Silent Pro 1000W
    Case
    Cooler Master 932 HAF
    Cooling
    Zalman CNPS9900MAX-B CPU Fan
    Keyboard
    Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 5500
    Mouse
    Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 5500
    Internet Speed
    20 Mbps Download/2+ Mbps Upload
    Other Info
    Pioneer Blu-ray Burner/DVD Burner
I can't say why some have to use the refresh procedure and some do not. I have seen others say the same as you. Using the steps I described above I had to use the refresh procedure in clean installing Win8 over a prior clean installation of Win8.

That's good to know... thank you!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
Thanks guys very much for your help!
Just to be clear before I attempt your instructions above, I want to completely wipe my hard drive clean and then install win 8 pro? I'd been told (or read) before that win 8 pro had to be installed on a system that already had a windows OS currently installed. ??
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 7 ultimate sp1
NO, NO, NO! You want to do a clean install, and part of that process will be to format the hard drive (which essentially wipes the hard drive clean for you); however, this process will only work "IF" you have a valid installation (XPSP3 or higher) resident on the hard drive.
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
Both see my post 14 above.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win7 Ult on DIY; Win8 Pro on MBP/Parallels; Win7 Ult on MBP/Boot Camp; Win7 Ult/Win8 Pro on HP
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    DIY Rig; MacBook Pro (MBP)/Parallels/Boot Camp; HP Pavilion dv6500t Laptop
    CPU
    Intel i7-2600K (sometimes OC'd to 4.8 GHz)
    Motherboard
    ASUS P8P67 Deluxe Rev B3
    Memory
    16 GB Corsair Vengeance
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA 570 SC
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Gateway
    Hard Drives
    Dual Boot:
    Win7 Ult RAID 0 on OCZ Revo x2 and
    Win7 Ult RAID 0 on Caviar Black SATA 3's
    PSU
    Cooler Master Silent Pro 1000W
    Case
    Cooler Master 932 HAF
    Cooling
    Zalman CNPS9900MAX-B CPU Fan
    Keyboard
    Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 5500
    Mouse
    Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 5500
    Internet Speed
    20 Mbps Download/2+ Mbps Upload
    Other Info
    Pioneer Blu-ray Burner/DVD Burner
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