Solved 8.1 upgrades says won't work with Pentium 4 Prescott 630

[my2cents]

However looking at the different system requirements for Windows 8 vs 8.1

Can you please provide a specific reference to those CPU requurement differences so I can agree with you on this issue?

 

[DavidY]

However looking at the different system requirements for Windows 8 vs 8.1

Can you please provide a specific reference to those CPU requurement differences so I can agree with you on this issue?

It's the link in my earlier post; it shows requirements for both 8.1 and 8

The 'fine print of Microsoft's system requirements' mentioned above seem to be here:
Windows 8 (and 8.1) system requirements - Microsoft Windows

 

[my2cents]

However looking at the different system requirements for Windows 8 vs 8.1

Can you please provide a specific reference to those CPU requurement differences so I can agree with you on this issue?

It's the link in my earlier post; it shows requirements for both 8.1 and 8

The 'fine print of Microsoft's system requirements' mentioned above seem to be here:
Windows 8 (and 8.1) system requirements - Microsoft Windows

OK, thanks for that; however, the only additional CPU requirements I could find in that reference are as follows:

If your PC doesn't support PAE, NX and SSE2, you won't be able to install Windows 8.1.

And since his CPU supports all 3, where do we go from here?

 

[dirtyvu]

I went to the listed links and I can't seem to see the fine print requirements. All I see are the SSE2, NX, and PAE requirements. Maybe I'm blind. Some assistance would be very much appreciated. You guys have been very helpful!

never mind! found the text (it's further down).

 

[DavidY]

never mind! found the text (it's further down).

Yep that's the one!

For my2cents...

Windows 8

• ....
• Free Internet TV content varies by geography, some content might require additional fees (Windows 8 Pro Pack and Windows 8 Media Center Pack only)

You can check to see if your PC meets the requirements for Windows 8 by running the Upgrade Assistant.

Windows 8.1

• ....
• Free internet TV content varies by geography, some content might require additional fees (Windows 8.1 Pro Pack and Windows 8.1 Media Center Pack only)
• To install a 64-bit OS on a 64-bit PC, your processor needs to support CMPXCHG16b, PrefetchW, and LAHF/SAHF
• InstantGo works only with computers designed for Connected Standby

If your PC is currently running Windows 7 or Windows 8 you can check to see if it meets the requirements by running the Upgrade Assistant.

 

[my2cents]

To install a 64-bit OS on a 64-bit PC, your processor needs to support CMPXCHG16b, PrefetchW, and LAHF/SAHF

Oh wow! I missed that too. OK, I guess this is a "case closed" then; eh? Thank you DavidY for finding that reference. Sounds like a marked solved to me.

 

[my2cents]

never mind! Found the text (it's further down).

yep that's the one!

For my2cents...

windows 8

windows 8.1

• ....
• free internet tv content varies by geography, some content might require additional fees (windows 8.1 pro pack and windows 8.1 media center pack only)
• to install a 64-bit os on a 64-bit pc, your processor needs to support cmpxchg16b, prefetchw, and lahf/sahf
• instantgo works only with computers designed for connected standby

if your pc is currently running windows 7 or windows 8 you can check to see if it meets the requirements by running the upgrade assistant.

hey, thanks for that enlarged text!

 

[dirtyvu]

alright, this situation is getting very convoluted for me.

Alright, let's say I go out and buy a new motherboard and CPU (pretty sure anything at this point will be faster than that P4 3GHz)...

I have a Windows 8 upgrade key. What can I do? At this point, I'm willing to wipe the system and reinstall whatever apps I have to (he only really has Office; everything else is replaceable).

I tried to download the 8.1 ISO from the aforementioned tutorial and I can't because it says I have an upgrade key and thus cannot installation Windows 8 (which prevents me from doing any more of the tutorial).

 

[DavidY]

I tried to download the 8.1 ISO from the aforementioned tutorial and I can't because it says I have an upgrade key and thus cannot installation Windows 8 (which prevents me from doing any more of the tutorial).

Which PC were you downloading from? What was the error?

I think that the Install Windows 8 link from here should definitely work with an Upgrade Key, and allow you to download a Windows 8 ISO.
Upgrade Windows with only a product key - Microsoft Windows Help

The trickery with 8.1 is a loophole that could well be closed soon if it hasn't already, but a download of 8.0 is 100% legitimate and should be fine as long as you run it from a machine of the right bit-ness.

If you replaced the motherboard, you should be able to get the Windows 8 Upgrade to do a clean install- see here:
http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/13375-clean-install-windows-8-upgrade.html

If you keep the old disk you won't need any special tricks with Refresh; it should just "see" the old operating system files and allow you to delete the partition within the installer (so it's a clean install).

 

[dirtyvu]

I'm stuck all the way at the beginning.

When you go to the page, there are two links. You can't select them simultaneously like the tutorial says. There's an install windows 8.1 button and an install windows 8 button. Later in the tutorial, it implies that you install 8 before you install 8.1. When you click on the install windows 8 and then reach a point to enter the product key, I enter my upgrade product key and it says I can't install windows 8 because I only have an upgrade key, and it ends right there. This is the very beginning of the tutorial.

This is crazy. It makes me want to buy a full retail disc or a new computer rather than deal with this upgrade disc crap.

 

[Wynona]

Here's what I have and I'm told I can't upgrade to Windows 8.1 either, although I have Windows 8 64 bit dual booting with Windows 7 64 bit and haven't had any real problems except for learning how to use it.

2.93 gigahertz Intel Core2 Duo
64 kilobyte primary memory cache
3072 kilobyte secondary memory cache
64-bit ready
Multi-core (2 total)
Not hyper-threaded

At this point, I'm wondering if it could be my dual boot system that's causing the problem.

@Dirtyvu: Do you happen to be dual booting Windows 7 with Windows 8?

 

[Wynona]

Here's what I have and I'm told I can't upgrade to Windows 8.1 either, although I have Windows 8 64 bit dual booting with Windows 7 64 bit and haven't had any real problems except for learning how to use it.

2.93 gigahertz Intel Core2 Duo
64 kilobyte primary memory cache
3072 kilobyte secondary memory cache
64-bit ready
Multi-core (2 total)
Not hyper-threaded

At this point, I'm wondering if it could be my dual boot system that's causing the problem.

@Dirtyvu: Do you happen to be dual booting Windows 7 with Windows 8?

OMGoodness, my CPU won't support CompareExchange 128! Unbelievable! Microsoft has changed the specs on us! They offer a free upgrade and then change things so we'll maybe buy a new computer from them! I don't think so!

 

[Wynona]

I'm stuck all the way at the beginning.

When you click on the install windows 8 and then reach a point to enter the product key, I enter my upgrade product key and it says I can't install windows 8 because I only have an upgrade key, and it ends right there. This is the very beginning of the tutorial.

This is crazy. It makes me want to buy a full retail disc or a new computer rather than deal with this upgrade disc crap.

Do you have your key for Windows 8? I believe that's what it wants.

Looks like I'm SOL with my more than adequate Windows 7 machine dual booting with Windows 8. No way am I going to get to install the Windows 8.1 upgrade on that one.

Makes me leery of trying to update to 8.1 on this brand new machine . . . kinda like buying a pig in a poke.

 

[dirtyvu]

I found out what the issue is... Since my father cannot find his email with his product key, I used the Belarc program to find his product key. But the only product key shown is the key after you upgrade to Windows 8 Pro Pack. So when I attempt to use this new key, it says it's upgrade only. This matches what is said in the "how to do a clean installation of windows 8 with upgrade key". I can't get by the initial phase. Here's from that tutorial you listed:

"You will only be able to enter a Windows 8 or Windows 8 Pro product key.

You will not be able to enter a Window Media Center Pack or Windows 8 Pro Pack product key. These are considered to be an upgrade key and can't be used to install Windows 8. These can only be added after Windows 8 is installed, then use Add Features to upgrade to the Window Media Center Pack or Windows 8 Pro Pack."

Will Microsoft tell us the original product key if we call them?

I tried to download the 8.1 ISO from the aforementioned tutorial and I can't because it says I have an upgrade key and thus cannot installation Windows 8 (which prevents me from doing any more of the tutorial).

Which PC were you downloading from? What was the error?

I think that the Install Windows 8 link from here should definitely work with an Upgrade Key, and allow you to download a Windows 8 ISO.
Upgrade Windows with only a product key - Microsoft Windows Help

The trickery with 8.1 is a loophole that could well be closed soon if it hasn't already, but a download of 8.0 is 100% legitimate and should be fine as long as you run it from a machine of the right bit-ness.

If you replaced the motherboard, you should be able to get the Windows 8 Upgrade to do a clean install- see here:
http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/13375-clean-install-windows-8-upgrade.html

If you keep the old disk you won't need any special tricks with Refresh; it should just "see" the old operating system files and allow you to delete the partition within the installer (so it's a clean install).

 

[dirtyvu]

I'm stuck all the way at the beginning.

When you click on the install windows 8 and then reach a point to enter the product key, I enter my upgrade product key and it says I can't install windows 8 because I only have an upgrade key, and it ends right there. This is the very beginning of the tutorial.

This is crazy. It makes me want to buy a full retail disc or a new computer rather than deal with this upgrade disc crap.

Do you have your key for Windows 8? I believe that's what it wants.

Looks like I'm SOL with my more than adequate Windows 7 machine dual booting with Windows 8. No way am I going to get to install the Windows 8.1 upgrade on that one.

Makes me leery of trying to update to 8.1 on this brand new machine . . . kinda like buying a pig in a poke.

I'm answering as many of your questions in this one post to be brief.

No, the computer is not dual boot. Dual boot has too many problems when you have to regularly make changes (at least in my experience), especially with drives and symbolic links moving around.

I wouldn't worry about a new machine. I installed 8.1 on my machine (which is pretty old in itself but not ancient like my father's) without a hitch.

 

[DavidY]

I found out what the issue is... Since my father cannot find his email with his product key, I used the Belarc program to find his product key. But the only product key shown is the key after you upgrade to Windows 8 Pro Pack.

Will Microsoft tell us the original product key if we call them?

Yes you're right - that would be why it doesn't work and you'd need the key that was from the original email, not the key after an upgrade to Media Center or Pro Pack.

I'd give Microsoft a call. One extra bit of information (in case you didn't know) is that Windows 8 goes out of support in 2 years; in the same was as Windows 7 with SP1 is supported, but Windows 7 without SP1 went out of support 2 years after SP1 appeared:

From here:
Windows 8.1 Support Lifecycle Policy

Windows 8 customers will have two years to move to Windows 8.1 after the General Availability of the Windows 8.1 update to continue to remain supported under the Windows 8 lifecycle.

Since we've just had General Availability, you have 2 years to upgrade to 8.1 and stay supported, and since Microsoft changed the processor specs on you, there's a good case that they should help you switch to 32-bit. They may also have a better solution on how to switch than what I suggested.

This is crazy. It makes me want to buy a full retail disc or a new computer rather than deal with this upgrade disc crap.

If you do end up buying a disc, then look for boxed copies of Windows 8 Pro Upgrade (from XP/Vista/7) that might still be on sale. I don't know what it's like where you are, but here in the UK they're still on sale by Amazon etc. and much cheaper than 8.1. Also I believe the boxed DVDs have both the 32-bit and 64-bit versions in the box so you can choose which to install.

 

[Wynona]

@DavidY

If I read the above message correctly, if I change to Windows 8 32 bit, I will be able to upgrade to 8.1?

And now for the less serious side: I read somewhere (on the Eightforums) to try the Upgrade Assistant. There were two versions, so I downloaded both . . .

I was in Windows 8 on the dual boot machine, ran the oldest Upgrade Assistant and got told that Windows 8 is no longer available in "my area"!

I just thought it was hilarious that I was on a Windows 8 system and told it's no longer available. BTW, I'm now downloading Windows 8 32 bir (x86) from Technet. I surely will be sad to see Technet gone, since my subscription made it so very handy to test Microsoft products.

So, now I'm assuming that I can format the Windows 8 64 bit product from its share of the hard drive and install Windows 8 32 bit. I'll be sure to run the Upgrade Assistant before making any permanent moves.

 

[DavidY]

@DavidY

If I read the above message correctly, if I change to Windows 8 32 bit, I will be able to upgrade to 8.1?

Hi Wynona,

I hope so; I think it's clear that it won't work on Windows 8.1 64-bit; the other side of the coin (whether it will work in 32-bit) is what I'm assuming from the system requirements but I've not seen any confirmation.

If the Upgrade Assistant is gone (makes no sense to me either!) does the link to the plain Setup program ("Install Windows 8" on this page) still work?
Upgrade Windows with only a product key - Microsoft Windows Help

 

[dirtyvu]

Alright, wanted to give my follow-up to let everyone know the results...

Quick recap:

- PC has a Pentium 4 (Prescott) 630 3 GHz.
- PC had 64-bit Windows 7. Windows 8 Upgrade media installed 64-bit Windows 8 (no choice in the matter, you can only upgrade "same for same"; if you previously had 32-bit, you get the 32-bit upgrade). Been using Windows 8 since it debuted.
- Went to the Windows Store to upgrade to Windows 8.1. CPU failed requirements check.

This is the new system requirement that is present in Windows 8.1 but not present for Windows 8:
"To install a 64-bit OS on a 64-bit PC, your processor needs to support CMPXCHG16b, PrefetchW, and LAHF/SAHF"

My CPU failed the last two requirements and thus would not allow installation of 64-bit Windows 8.1.

My solution:
- Formatted the HDD and installed 32-bit Windows 8 from my upgrade media (using the tutorial here at eightforums).
- Note that the tutorial said I needed to do some steps to activate a fresh install of Windows 8 using upgrade media. THIS STEP WAS NOT NEEDED. When I went to System, it said my Windows was already activated.
- Then upgraded to Windows 8.1 via the Windows Store. I tried the 8.1 ISO method (mounting it and then running setup.exe but it failed to recognize my Windows 8 key and I didn't have a Windows 8.1 key).

Now the system works great with 8.1! My father is using it with a touchscreen monitor and the improvements to 8.1 really helped.

Want to give special thanks especially to DavidY (thank goodness there's someone that reads system requirements in their entirety!) and my2cents! You guys were awesome!

My father is still going to buy a new computer (prices are amazing nowadays!) but this should extend the life of this current one. In case anyone wanted to know, he's buying a new fully loaded desktop PC with Haswell Core i7 with 16 GB RAM, DVD burner, etc. for less than $700! It's a great time to get a PC.

 

[my2cents]

Hey friend,

That is wonderful news and a magnificent summary of events.

Cheers,

my2cents