Questions/help on a clean install of Windows 8

[Dave_W]

My computer has been acting a bit funny lately so I would like to reformat my HD and would ideally like to put a clean installation of Windows 8.1 but I have a couple of problems. To being with, my computer (Dell 8500) came with Windows 7 loaded on it, so my partition has a copy of Windows 7 as well as a thumb drive they sent me. I've read several web pages that describe how to load a clean copy of W-8 but they all start with a bootable CD and/or thumb drive with Windows 8, something I do not have. I legally own Windows 8 having purchased the upgrade directly from MS (bought my computer close enough to the Windows 8 debut so it only cost me $14) but I did it all electronically and do not have a disk or thumb drive.

So my question is this - is there a way (easy or hard?) to create a bootable disk/thumb drive that would allow me to install a clean version of 8? Or should I go ahead and do the step-wise install of Windows 7 to 8 to 8.1? I've read a lot of people are big on doing a "clean install" of Windows 8 but I've yet to hear what, if any, is the advantage of such an install. Is a clean install really that much better than a step-wise installation?

Gracias amgos y' amigas.

 

[WhiteLight]

My computer has been acting a bit funny lately so I would like to reformat my HD and would ideally like to put a clean installation of Windows 8.1 but I have a couple of problems. To being with, my computer (Dell 8500) came with Windows 7 loaded on it, so my partition has a copy of Windows 7 as well as a thumb drive they sent me. I've read several web pages that describe how to load a clean copy of W-8 but they all start with a bootable CD and/or thumb drive with Windows 8, something I do not have. I legally own Windows 8 having purchased the upgrade directly from MS (bought my computer close enough to the Windows 8 debut so it only cost me $14) but I did it all electronically and do not have a disk or thumb drive.

So my question is this - is there a way (easy or hard?) to create a bootable disk/thumb drive that would allow me to install a clean version of 8? Or should I go ahead and do the step-wise install of Windows 7 to 8 to 8.1? I've read a lot of people are big on doing a "clean install" of Windows 8 but I've yet to hear what, if any, is the advantage of such an install. Is a clean install really that much better than a step-wise installation?

Gracias amgos y' amigas.

There is definitely an advantage of a clean install.
if you re-install over an existing installation, the old version will be backed up & the new version will be installed into the Win folder..
In most instances, this should be OK
But if there are any errors or viruses in your C drive, it'll probably be left behind & can effect your new installation as well.

If you've paid for the version of Windows, you'll probably get a copy if you get in touch with them..
or maybe not.. am not really sure about that cos they may have given you an installation only for the lowered cost...

but i feel Win7 was a far better OS than Win8..
so here are a couple of things you would need to bear in mind..

firstly, ensure that you have multiple partitions on your HDD with maybe 50GB at least only for Windows & your programs.
All your other content should goto the older partitions.
This way you can just backup the folders you have something saved.. like desktop, downloads, documents etc & then just format the drive containing Windows so your other data won't get effected.

If this is not the case (most new PCs don't come with partitions), then you'll have to manually backup everything you need & then format the drive.

During setup, you'll get an option to choose the drives, so if you don't have these partitions, this would be a good time to do so..
Choose 50-100GB (based on your HDD size) for Win only & the rest as per your liking.

Another advantage of this method is that, with Windows, you'll probably have to do this 'cleansing' time & time again..
so rather than backing up everything everytime & then worrying if something gets formatted that you need & in most situations feeling miserable (os you'd have possibly forgotten something), you can just format your C drive.

after this, it's your call if you want to upgrade to 8/8.1 or stay with Win7
Installing a fresh vopy of Win7 & then immediately upgrading to 8 should not give you any issues, but with microsoft & windows, you never know

you can use this to create a bootable Win7 installation CD...
Microsoft Store
if you have an ISO, you can possibly use this for Win8 even

 

[WayneF]

One Opinion: Clean install of 8 is probably not much better than a Clean 7 install followed by 8 upgrade. They have designed that to work OK.
The main idea of "clean" is to bypass years of user tampering and additions and upgrades, etc. But if all concerned is clean, it does not seem a big deal.

Normally, MS downloads optionally can include an ISO file, which can be burnt to DVD, to create an install DVD. If you have such a file, OS with extension .iso, this is it. You have to select ISO when you burn it. Then it will be bootable install DVD.

Any Dell I ever saw had a restoreable version of the OS, as shipped. There are two hidden partitions on the Dell disk. They have done the equivalent of a disk image backup into one of them, and the other small one contains a disk restore program, probably True Image. This restore is accessed by the F8 key at boot time. See How To Restore or Reinstall Microsoft Windows on a Dell Computer | Dell US
Then, it will be the same as the first day you received it. Of course, it wont have any of the years of updates, or the programs you have installed.

Therefore, the point is, however you manage it, and you get the new installation like you want it, then get yourself a disk image backup program, and and external backup disk drive, so you can make a good copy of it, and simply restore it next time there is a problem. Back it up again, frequently, like every couple of weeks. Then, at any big problem or little problem or even a whim, it takes like 15 minutes to simply restore your backup, and be back where you where when you backed it up. Very good practice.

 

[gqtuazon]

Make sure you have the drivers for your Dell otherwise certain hardwares will not be recognized by the computer.

I suggest that you download all the latest drivers to a CD or thumb drive as a precaution.

I am pretty happy with Win7 and don't see a need to upgrade.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[aroy]

I would suggest that you
. Save all your data to CD/DVD/usb HDD.
. Format the HDD
. Use the OS supplied by Dell to get a fresh Windows 7 Install.
. Upgrade Win 7 to Win 8. If you bought an upgrade, it will come with a key, which will be used while authenticating the install.

 

[§am]

Once you've backed your data up, you can use the Windows install routines to format the drive you're intending to install 8.1 on

I think you should be able to boot from the upgrade DVD straight into an installation, and when presented with the option to upgrade or 'advanced' chose the later and this is the route that allows a clean install.