installation - How to do a clean install of Windows 8.1 with non-retail key?

10
2014-05
  • WombaT

    I cannot upgrade 8 to 8.1 because that process results in a series of bluescreens and completely system failure.

    I tried to follow this: windows-8-1-fresh-install-with-windows-8-licence but after entering key in win8 installer it yells that i cant use this key in a retail version of Windows 8. What?! its normal and legal key, which normally activates without problems. What should i do?

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    installation - When installing Windows 8, I didn't have a chance to create the default account or set up any settings
  • Kevin

    I tried to install Windows 8 on a computer. I had some problems, so these are the steps I ended up taking:

    1. Install Windows 8 over Windows 7
    2. I got confused and installed Windows 8 again xP
    3. When the OS was starting, it never got to the login screen - it would just sit at a blank blue screen after loading
    4. I used the installation disc to repair the OS

    Now Windows 8 is working correctly, but I'm bothered because I never saw any screens during the installation process that let me set up the default account or prepare any other settings. When the log-in screen appears, I don't know what information to put in to log in.

    So here are the questions I have:

    1. Am I supposed to see any screens asking me to configure Windows before installation is completely finished?
    2. Is there a default username and password I can use to log into my machine or some way to connect to an on-line account that will give me administrator access over my machine to set up a local account?
    3. Would it be worth re-installing Windows 8 one more time to make sure I see the configuration options?

    EDIT: I just finished talking to Microsoft support about the issue. The technician told me this:

    I see, this issue is normally related to Sony and Dell computers, basically the Video Driver is not available on the PC, so I recommend you to contact them, in order to get the instructions to access the PC and install the Drivers !

    I have a Sony Vaio, so now I'm off to talk to Sony...


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  • Ben Lavender

    Can you boot into the new O/S? Or even safe mode and see what accounts are there? It may be that it’s using the same NT accounts from the previous O/S and bypassing it, especially if it’s checking the TPM.

  • Kevin

    The computer I installed Windows 8 on is a Sony Vaio VPCF122FX. According to Sony's website, the computer doesn't support Windows 8. I'm going to try installing Windows 8 one more time and see if I can't "force" it to work, and if that doesn't help, I'll go back to Windows 7.

    EDIT: After reinstalling Windows 8 one more time, everything worked.