Need help with windows 8 clean install on retail pc.

I cannot find anywhere a legit source (I do not consider torrents a source) to download windows 8 core. Every guide and tut says you can use generic keys and I try the ones they say but it does not work. Then they all mention that oem keys will not work either. I am calling Microsoft again....

It is standard windows 8 like I thought.

Windows 8: magenta to green

WELP, I am telling everyone I know to create recovery disks now.
(Of course the average user is screwed.)

Microsoft refuses help again.
Apparently if your hard drive dies you're screwed so sorry give us more money. You should not have to pay Microsoft or your manufacturer again to reinstall windows. That is Bull****!!!!

So now I know the real reason Microsoft embedded the key into the bios, so they can screw everyone.

Pretty much
Disposable oem's who would of thunk it
All upgrade disks are junk I don't even believe a win-7 upgrade disk is any good unless you have Vista or x-p to put upgrade from :/

ThrashZone said:

Pretty much
Disposable oem's who would of thunk it
All upgrade disks are junk I don't even believe a win-7 upgrade disk is any good unless you have Vista or x-p to put upgrade from :/

Not true, you can easily clean install with them. But they are intended for an upgrade so that is there whole point.

gregrocker said:

Andrew, that PC ships with 8.1. The problem is likely you weren't using the 8.1 installation media. I'd ask at Eight Forums for how to find media for that exact version to Clean Install - Windows 8.

I'm not that well-versed in Windows 8 but understand it should activate via the BIOS if you use that correct version. If not then seek help in their forums for how to activate it, or ask back here.

Several references were made to the need to call MS to activate Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7. I'd just like to add that while I've heard this many times, I've never had to personally do this as it activates on the web every time the correct key and version is used.

Thanks, see my top post on this page though...

Greg I was referring to the spot above where I state there is no legit way to download windows 8 core iso or pro iso that a oem key can be used on. That is why I am frustrated. Appreciate you looking though.

Thanks alphanumeric I know. But before you could always reinstall windows when needed. Now they made it so you cannot and have to pay for recovery disks. That is completely unfair in my opinion when you already paid for the pc. You should be able to reinstall windows without having to pay again.

Anyways thanks everyone.

There was an option to create recovery media on the original install. If people would just do this BEFORE they have issues it would save a lot of frustration. It's not your fault the owner didn't do it, but now its you that's getting frustrated. If they had done this you wouldn't have to pay for it now. My two laptops nagged me to create the recovery media.

The issue of having a hard time getting an ISO is one I've complained about many times over. When I put my SSD in my laptop I was not an MVP and didn't have access to MSDN. I had to resort to bit torrent to get an ISO to do a clean install. I just compared the hash of mine against what Microsoft lists on MSDN. You can look at all that info on MSDN without a subscription, you just can't download anything. I have no idea why Microsoft blocked OEM keys for that download?

We went through a period of persuading MS that it is in their interests to let their customers have the best possible install of Win7 on store-bought PC's. The result is that there is no longer any problem with downloading the ISO and when they were recently moved from Digital River to Azure servers there was no attempt to restrict them.

It helps that Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7 has one of the top web views of any tech pages. Yet sometimes I am asked pointed old-school questions by other MVP's about the legitimacy of this, or the disaster-rate, which are pretty much vanquished when I tell them we have 0 complaints and a whole lot of happy customers. Those who persist in questioning the need sound like they're in the pockets of OEM's who don't even fight it any longer. It is an infinitely better install, period. MS Customers are not even experiencing Win7 native performance until they get rid of the factory install.

So what may be missing here is the kind of advocacy at 8Forums we did here for access to clean ISO's, helped greatly by understanding Admins who put much on the line to back it and spent much time helping to determine how it could be done with the least blowback to the forums. Somewhere along the way MS dropped sanctions on these links.

If there was a OEM Clean Reinstall culture at Eight Forums it would probably already be done, may be in the works, or achieved - which is why I suggested asking there. I can promise you there will be one at Ten Forums when the time comes. We need to see what their plans are. I am in a Ten session at Global MVP Summit while I am typing this. Maybe I 'll have the chance to ask them how OEM will be handled for reinstall.