Wow! Okay, I will do that then. I will need help though! haha
Can I burn discs of W8 so that I can install it on the new build, or do I install it now and then transfer the hard drive?
I greatly appreciate this information!
Edit: I'm downloading it now. I was wondering, is there some way to install 8 without overwriting my 7 installation? I assume I would have to create a partition?
Last edited by Frosst; 05 Nov 2011 at 12:24.
That's probably a good option. I'm using Windows 8 in dual boot at the moment, and it runs just fine. There's a couple of bugs that surface every now and then but for a free OS, it's great.
You can dual boot Windows 8 and Windows 7. Over on EF, we have a tutorial on how to do so. I've linked it below, give it a read and try it out.
Dual Boot Installation - Windows 8 and Windows 7 or Vista - Windows 8 Forums
I have been reading this and a number of other tutorials. However, I am having an issue with partitions.
I'm trying to do the dual boot with 7 and 8, but I can't shrink the volume because it just says the available value is 0 MB. This has something to do with unmovable files, right? How do I remedy this?
I just downloaded Paragon Partition Manager by the way, in case that could somehow be of help to me.
You've come up against one of the limitations of Windows 7's disk management utility, it's very basic.
Far better to use Easeus Partition Wizard: Partition Wizard : Use the Bootable CD
You need to download the PW ISO and burn it to a blank CD then boot into it to partition your hard drive.
When you're done just boot back into Windows.
Thanks!
Do I have to use that program, or will Paragon work instead?
Paragon should work but Partition Wizard in my opinion, is more reliable and efficient. Also, if you use PW, you can follow tutorial provided by Andrew (seavixen32).
I tried Paragon just to see if it would work so that I could speed the process along, and it worked. I created a large partition to put Windows 8 on.
I used Nero to burn the Windows 8 disc. Hope that worked out alright. I'm gonna try installing the OS now! I'm following tutorials to make sure I'm doing exactly what I'm supposed to.
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Now that I've gotten Windows 8 up and running, how do I go about installing my hard drive in my new build without any problems arising? Could the fact that Windows 7 OEM is on the drive cause any problems even though I would only be accessing Windows 8?
Keep in mind that I am 100% going to put the parts from this PC back into it in a couple of months. I just need to take the CPU and memory out for now so that I can use it until I get my new CPU (and more memory). At that point I would be able to swap the hard drive back in, access the Windows 7 OEM that is on it, and then delete the partition that it is on to retrieve my space, right? For now, assuming that checks out on a technical level, 200GB on this new partition will be enough for me.
The reason that I'd prefer not to delete my 7 installation right now is because I'd rather be dual booting instead of relying on just the 8 developer preview as my only OS. But I'll do whatever you guys say is necessary!!
It would have been best to install Win8 once you'd moved the HD to the new hardware. It may start up, but then again it might not. The only way to be sure is to first SysPrep to move HD to another computer or use Paragon Adaptive Restore CD on the target installation once moved.
Then again it might start up on the new hardware if you want to chance it, if not you'll just have to reinstall.
While the boot files were likely updated and remain on Win7 partition, it will not otherwise come into play if you don't attempt to start it. If you do you'll likely get a prompt to reactivate soon. This might be something you want to try, though, since MS phone activation has been known to make exceptions for good cause.
Worst comes to worst, what if I just uninstalled Windows 7 OEM completely and then just kept the W8 install? Or if I uninstalled both of them and installed W8 from scratch once I finish the new build?
But before something like that, is Paragon Adaptive Restore CD free? Is there an evaluation version that would work?
Reinstall as in reinstall W8? I'm sorry, this is extremely foreign territory for me. Anyway, if so, I guess that wouldn't be difficult since I have the disc burned.Then again it might start up on the new hardware if you want to chance it, if not you'll just have to reinstall.
Attempting to start it as in trying to boot into 7 at the dual boot screen?While the boot files were likely updated and remain on Win7 partition, it will not otherwise come into play if you don't attempt to start it. If you do you'll likely get a prompt to reactivate soon. This might be something you want to try, though, since MS phone activation has been known to make exceptions for good cause.
If it asks me to reactive and I call MS, I had thought they would say that my version is OEM and therefore I cannot use it with the new PC (i.e motherboard), but that sounds interesting. Do they just give you a product key that that nullifies the OEM? What should I tell them? Where do I find the number for their service center in my area?
Thank you so much for bearing with my lack of experience in this regard. It's all very new...
Last edited by Frosst; 05 Nov 2011 at 23:44.
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