3. The Product Key screen may or may not appear. It probably won't, but it depends on where you got the media from. Again, depending on your media, you may not ever have to enter the product key, and Windows will simply read the key and activate automatically.
4. See number 3. The Product Key for Windows 8 is in the BIOS, so you will need to obtain it before doing any of this. From an installed OS, you can download and run RWEverything (ACPI/MSDM) to obtain the key. You can also get it from a linux live disc by typing the following in the terminal:
sudo hd /sys/firmware/acpi/tables/MSDM
Secondary questions:
1. Belarc may not return the correct key under certain circumstances. Verify it with RWEverything.
2. You can do either. If you create it during the install, you might have more flexibility over the sizes - Windows is limited to how much it can "shrink" a partition once it is live, but you are more likely to give yourself too little space for C: by creating it in the beginning. Give yourself AT LEAST 80GB (100-120GB is better) for the OS. Is there a specific reason you want to separate the OS/data by creating separate partitions?
If you are going to reinstall, then none of the recovery partitions are going to do you any good. Delete them ALL, then simply install to the Unpartitioned Space on the disk - Windows will make whatever partitions it needs.
Leave it in UEFI or Legacy/BIOS mode ... Windows will adjust and install how is needed. If your disk is larger than 2TB, you MUST use UEFI, but other than that there is no reason to use one or the other.
if i understand you correctly... the install/reinstall will be fairly automated, right?
if so... will following these steps work for me? -
Insert the Windows 8 DVD into your optical drive and restart your computer. At the Dell logo screeen, tap the F12 key repeatedly until the Please Select Boot Device: menu appears. Select CD/DVD/CD-RW Device and press Enter. The Windows 8 Setup appears.
Select Language to install, Time and currency format, and Keyboard or input method and select Next.
Select Install Now. The Product Key screen appears.
Locate your Product Key and type it into the box provided, then click Next to continue.
Accept the license terms described in the License Terms screen. Click the checkbox at the bottom of the screen to accept and click Accept to continue.
At the Which Type of Installation do you Want screen, select Custom: Install Windows only (advanced).
At Where do you want to Install Windows? screen, select Drive options (advanced). Remember that the next step will delete all existing information on your computer so be sure to back up what you want to keep. For a clean installation, delete all partitions that are shown by highlighting them one at a time and selecting Delete. After you have deleted all partitions selectUnallocated Space and then select New. Click Apply to create your new Windows 8 partitions, then click Next.
Windows will now be freshly installed on your computer.
is this all?
if so, 2 more questions, please. :)
the Product key of windows 8 - is the key/number reported by Belarc (under software licenses) one that i use?
if i want to create 2 separate partitions-one each for windows/system and data - should i do it during reinstall? or can i do it latter?
Is there a specific reason you want to separate the OS/data by creating separate partitions?
not a technical reason... or rather a reasoning born out of understanding.
long back, someone had suggested that i keep data separate - for safety (of corrupting data) and ease of reinstalling without data being affected... if i remember correctly.
would you say it is not required?
thanks a lot. you have eased my anxiousness and made a lot of things clearer for me.
Certainly not required. Helpful? Maybe. I think the best reason for keeping them separate is if it makes sense for how YOU organize your files. It is not inherently safer to separate them, but it can reduce the amount of files you need to copy when you reinstall the OS. However, unless you are one of those people who like to reinstall often to keep a "clean" system, you probably are only going to reinstall when your drive dies, in which case, you have to copy/restore all of them anyway.
theflash1932
9 Legend
•
16.3K Posts
2
October 3rd, 2014 12:00
Yes, but please note:
3. The Product Key screen may or may not appear. It probably won't, but it depends on where you got the media from. Again, depending on your media, you may not ever have to enter the product key, and Windows will simply read the key and activate automatically.
4. See number 3. The Product Key for Windows 8 is in the BIOS, so you will need to obtain it before doing any of this. From an installed OS, you can download and run RWEverything (ACPI/MSDM) to obtain the key. You can also get it from a linux live disc by typing the following in the terminal:
sudo hd /sys/firmware/acpi/tables/MSDM
Secondary questions:
1. Belarc may not return the correct key under certain circumstances. Verify it with RWEverything.
2. You can do either. If you create it during the install, you might have more flexibility over the sizes - Windows is limited to how much it can "shrink" a partition once it is live, but you are more likely to give yourself too little space for C: by creating it in the beginning. Give yourself AT LEAST 80GB (100-120GB is better) for the OS. Is there a specific reason you want to separate the OS/data by creating separate partitions?
theflash1932
9 Legend
•
16.3K Posts
1
October 3rd, 2014 10:00
If you are going to reinstall, then none of the recovery partitions are going to do you any good. Delete them ALL, then simply install to the Unpartitioned Space on the disk - Windows will make whatever partitions it needs.
Leave it in UEFI or Legacy/BIOS mode ... Windows will adjust and install how is needed. If your disk is larger than 2TB, you MUST use UEFI, but other than that there is no reason to use one or the other.
biroo
24 Posts
0
October 3rd, 2014 11:00
theflash1932...
thank you friend...
my HDD is 500 gb.
if i understand you correctly... the install/reinstall will be fairly automated, right?
if so... will following these steps work for me? -
The Windows 8 Setup appears.
The Product Key screen appears.
is this all?
if so, 2 more questions, please. :)
thank you.
biren
VinOth_VingO
2 Intern
•
285 Posts
0
October 3rd, 2014 13:00
Try system restore or system image.
biroo
24 Posts
0
October 3rd, 2014 19:00
not a technical reason... or rather a reasoning born out of understanding.
long back, someone had suggested that i keep data separate - for safety (of corrupting data) and ease of reinstalling without data being affected... if i remember correctly.
would you say it is not required?
thanks a lot. you have eased my anxiousness and made a lot of things clearer for me.
regards
biren
theflash1932
9 Legend
•
16.3K Posts
1
October 3rd, 2014 22:00
Certainly not required. Helpful? Maybe. I think the best reason for keeping them separate is if it makes sense for how YOU organize your files. It is not inherently safer to separate them, but it can reduce the amount of files you need to copy when you reinstall the OS. However, unless you are one of those people who like to reinstall often to keep a "clean" system, you probably are only going to reinstall when your drive dies, in which case, you have to copy/restore all of them anyway.