FAQ Windows 8

Additional FAQs and Guides Updated 23rd of March 2015

The wikis listed below are all unofficial documentation. They have been written and adapted to tackle the problems of the Dell Microsoft OS Forum by me, Philip Yip, the Dell Community Rockstar natakuc4.

Dell Technical Support may not be able to assist with unofficial configurations such as the unofficial driver sets or installation of Windows with Retail Media.

Microsoft Windows 8.1

Information

• Explanation of the OEM and Retail License (Philip Yip)
• Dell Computer Support for Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 (Dell)*

* A number of unofficial drivers have been made for unsupported systems. See below.

Dell Backup and Recovery (UEFI)

• Dell Backup and Recovery/Alienware Respawn Tutorial Videos (Philip Yip)

Using a SSD Boot Drive with a Data HDD and Dell Factory Settings (UEFI)

• Using a SSD and HDD together with Dell Factory Settings (Philip Yip)

Download - Retail/OEM

• Download Windows 8.1 OEM and Retail - The Windows 8.1 Media Creation Tool (Philip Yip)

Download - Trial

• Download Windows 8.1 Enterprise 90 Day Trial (Philip Yip)

Dell OEM Media Request Form

• Request a Dell Windows 8.1 Recovery USB (US and CA)

Installation - UEFI

• Windows 8.1 Installation Installation Only (Philip Yip)
• A Clean Install of Windows 8.1 All Instructions (Philip Yip)

Refresh and Reset - UEFI

• Creating a Windows 8.1 Refresh Image (Philip Yip)
• Performing a Windows 8.1 Refresh (Philip Yip)
• Performing a Windows 8.1 Reset (Philip Yip)

SSD and HDD Configurations Clean Installation - UEFI

• Solid State Drive and Hard Drive Configuration (Philip Yip)

Virtualisation

• Installation of Windows in a Virtual Machine using VMware Player and Using Legacy hardware and Software in a VM Video Tutorial (Philip Yip)

Updating Windows Offline (WSUS Offline Update)

• Updating Windows Offline using the WSUS Offline Update (Philip Yip)

Dell Official Technical Support Video Channel

• Dell Technical Support Videos for Windows 8 (Dell)

Microsoft Office, OneDrive and Related Programs

Microsoft Office 2013

• Microsoft Office Product Identity Card (Philip Yip)
• How to Replace a Lost Office 2013 Digital Product Key (US and CA Only) (Dell)
• Download Office 2013 (Philip Yip)

Microsoft Office 2013 WebApps

• Office 2013 Web Apps and OneDrive (Philip Yip)
• Download Office 2013/365 (Philip Yip)
• Microsoft Office Product Identity Card (Philip Yip)

Microsoft Office 2010

• Microsoft Office Product Identity Card (Philip Yip)
• Download Office 2010 (Philip Yip)

Microsoft Office 2007

• Microsoft Office Product Identity Card (Philip Yip)
• Download Office 2007 (Philip Yip)

Microsoft Mathematics

• Download Microsoft Mathematics (Philip Yip)

This has an addin for Office 2007, 2010 and 2013.

Windows Live Essentials 2012

• Install Windows Live Essentials (Microsoft)

Windows Defender Definitions

• Latest Definition 64 Bit (Microsoft)
• Latest Definition 32 Bit (Microsoft)

Microsoft Mouse Without Borders

• Microsoft mouse Without Borders (Microsoft)

System Drivers

• Preparation of SATA Drivers (Philip Yip)
• The BIOS Update (Philip Yip)
• Checking Hardware IDs in the Device Manager in Windows Vista, 7 and 8.1 (Philip Yip)
• Driver Installation Order (Philip Yip)
• Direct Links to System Drivers: The Dell FTP Website (Dell)
• The Microsoft Update Catalog (Philip Yip)
• Driver Installation via the Device Manager (Philip Yip)
• Dell Unofficial Driver Sets - MBR (Philip Yip)

• • Dimension Desktops
  • Inspiron Desktops 
  • Inspiron Laptops 
  • Latitude D Laptops 
  • OptiPlex Desktops
  • Studio Laptops
  • Vostro Desktops
  • Vostro Laptops
  • XPS Desktops 
  • XPS Laptops
• Dell Wireless Cards - Hardware IDs (Philip Yip)

Data Recovery - MBR

• Data Recovery Using Fedora (Philip Yip)

Diagnostics - UEFI

• F12 Pre-Boot Diagnostics (Philip Yip)

Cleaning your Drive - UEFI

• Use of DISKPART (Philip Yip)

Cleaning your Driver - MBR

• Securely Wipe your Hard Drive with DBAN (Philip Yip)

Software Maintenance

• CCleaner and Defraggler (Philip Yip)
• MalwareBytes’ Antimalware (Philip Yip)
• Recovering a Hijacked Internet Explorer (Philip Yip)