Database Users

[Q] Window 8 wont boot up!!

Help would be great. I have a dell inspiron laptop (not sure exactly what model it is) and I made the mistake of downloading windows 8 consumer preview when it first came out and installing it directly on the laptop rather than dualboot or usb stick. It worked fine for a couple of days and then out of nowhere it wouldn't boot up. When I press the power button the screen will light up and the w8 logo will appear but it won't go past that part. Sometimes It will say auto repairing itself but I've left it on for two days to see if it would fix itself but It didn't. Is there a way to get in safe mode to atleast re install the iso file? I've been without a laptop for a couple of months already and can't afford to buy a new one!

vic509 said:
Help would be great. I have a dell inspiron laptop (not sure exactly what model it is) and I made the mistake of downloading windows 8 consumer preview when it first came out and installing it directly on the laptop rather than dualboot or usb stick. It worked fine for a couple of days and then out of nowhere it wouldn't boot up. When I press the power button the screen will light up and the w8 logo will appear but it won't go past that part. Sometimes It will say auto repairing itself but I've left it on for two days to see if it would fix itself but It didn't. Is there a way to get in safe mode to atleast re install the iso file? I've been without a laptop for a couple of months already and can't afford to buy a new one!
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so am I correct in thinking you have no installation media at all for windows? any version?
If so do you have access to another PC because to be honest, your probably going to need it
I assume you have tried hitting F8 on boot to get to the boot menu and that didn't work either?
in terms of your hardware its cool, that's not the issue, the software is, having an install disk would have made things a lot easier....

Yes I have access to another pc and no I don't have any available. I downloaded a newer version of the win8 in ISO format and put it on a dvd disc and tried installing it through the f12 key right when you boot up. The disc drive started running but nothing happened afterwards. Windows recently released a new version of win8. Should I download that one and try it again the same way I tried the first time?

vic509 said:
Yes I have access to another pc and no I don't have any available. I downloaded a newer version of the win8 in ISO format and put it on a dvd disc and tried installing it through the f12 key right when you boot up. The disc drive started running but nothing happened afterwards. Windows recently released a new version of win8. Should I download that one and try it again the same way I tried the first time?
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ok, you hit F12 to get in to the boot menu is that correct? then you selected the DVD drive and it made some noises but did nothing?
Ok, Boot menus can be troublesome
What I suggest is go in to the BIOS and change the boot order to DVD first THEN HDD, if that doesn't work then take the HDD out of the boot order altogether, you will need to turn it back on again though to complete the setup
also, I want you to see if the DVD boots on another computer, the first ISO I downloaded was corrupted and whilst mine booted it would always fail to install, re downloaded it and no problems at all
Its probably worth downloading the RP ISO anyway, the previous version the CP, was mass tested in the open market so any issues with installing wouldn't have been worked out in the CP, hopefully the RP would have got most of them,

Hi, i did what you recommended and it worked fine until the install process! It took me to the install screen and i pressed install. Afterwards it gave me the option of automatically doing the install or choosing custom options only. I choose the automatic and it told me that i had to remove the disc and restart the computer and re inster the disc for it to continue! The problem is that everytime i do that it wants to boot up the original way where it wouldnt work! Any ideas. Should i choose the custom option instead ( but i dont know what to choose if i do it that way)??!! Thanks for your help

Reload and options
vic509 said:
Hi, i did what you recommended and it worked fine until the install process! It took me to the install screen and i pressed install. Afterwards it gave me the option of automatically doing the install or choosing custom options only. I choose the automatic and it told me that i had to remove the disc and restart the computer and re inster the disc for it to continue! The problem is that everytime i do that it wants to boot up the original way where it wouldnt work! Any ideas. Should i choose the custom option instead ( but i dont know what to choose if i do it that way)??!! Thanks for your help
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HI!
Yes, you are right.
Boot to the install media, at the option to do custom, select custom.
When the screen loads showing the partitions (drives)
-Click advanced on the bottom right
-highlight each partition and delete them (this will loose all data saved there but unless you have a boot disk or usb or remove the drive from the laptop, the data is usless anyway)
At this point you can click continue, or next Windows setup will auto create the partitions it needs and unpack the files, then finish install.
If you get any issues with files missing or media is corrupt from the ISO, you will need to down load it again, use the MS download manager or some manager to ensure the download is good and the file CRC matches what they have on the download site. I have seen this a lot lately so don't waste your time restarting the install if it has an error while coping files, just get a new download.
I hope this Helps.

KahulBane said:
HI!
Yes, you are right.
Boot to the install media, at the option to do custom, select custom.
When the screen loads showing the partitions (drives)
-Click advanced on the bottom right
-highlight each partition and delete them (this will loose all data saved there but unless you have a boot disk or usb or remove the drive from the laptop, the data is usless anyway)
At this point you can click continue, or next Windows setup will auto create the partitions it needs and unpack the files, then finish install.
If you get any issues with files missing or media is corrupt from the ISO, you will need to down load it again, use the MS download manager or some manager to ensure the download is good and the file CRC matches what they have on the download site. I have seen this a lot lately so don't waste your time restarting the install if it has an error while coping files, just get a new download.
I hope this Helps.
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This does resemble a copy error, or even a hard disk/hard disk controller problem.
I have a desktop computer that will no longer boot up from any IDE devices (even if their properly formatted, it also includes any optical medium), Trying to boot from them results in a "DISK NOT BOOTABLE" (something around that, Acer's boot errors are different from the usual ones.
Anyway, back on track, before all that happened, I had trouble booting the computer from the IDE HDDs, sometimes it would boot and sometimes it stuck at the Windows 7 loading screen till it said a file was corrupt or missing, or it BSOD'd.
I also recommend re-downloading and trying the install again, in extreme cases, if you have another HDD to test, try installing it on a different HDD. If that works, the problem could be your hard disk (or something more nefarious, who knows ^_^

problem installing

I installed windows 8 on my Lenovo thinkpad and chose the overwrite option when installing. For some reason in my computer tab, it still says windows 7 and my hard drive is overloaded with both os's. How can I delete the windows 7 OS and reinstall windows 8? Any help will be appreciated.

Wrong forum section, this is for Windows RT, windows 8 is the next option up the list

tymansdaddy said:
I installed windows 8 on my Lenovo thinkpad and chose the overwrite option when installing. For some reason in my computer tab, it still says windows 7 and my hard drive is overloaded with both os's. How can I delete the windows 7 OS and reinstall windows 8? Any help will be appreciated.
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does it only say windows 7 or does it list both 7 & 8
When you click on windows 7, what happens?
SixSixSevenSeven said:
Wrong forum section, this is for Windows RT, windows 8 is the next option up the list
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No its not. This is the windows 8 general section
Sent from my Kindle Fire using xda app-developers app

Thread probably got moved already (thanks, mods).
The only really "correct" way to install a copy of Windows to replace another copy of windows is to format the hard drive in between. First, back up all the files you'll wnat to keep - this process completely removes them. If you have a separate data drive, you can keep it around and/or move files to it. Insert the bootable media (flashdrive, DVD, whatever), reboot in such a way that it boots off the install media, choose an "advanced" install, then delete all the existing partitions (you may need to select "advanced" drive options to see the delete option) on the install disk, select the resulting empty space, and choose to install there. Win8 will set up its own (pretty sane) partition scheme and install itself; on most machines the process takes about 15 minutes. Afterwards, you'll have to go through the usual process of setting up your account, downloading apps, restoring those files you backed up, etc.

It was in windows RT general when I posted.

The notion of a "clean install" may be headed the way of the dodo, as standalone software would have no place under MS' new "devices & services" strategy.
With pervasive connectivity assumed, there's no need for a standalone ISO (which itself is antiquated, as many devices now don't have optical drives). OEM PCs already come with a "bound" version of the OS. White-box/custom-built PCs can install OS from online via a download-manager stub. The installed copy is then activated and bound to the particular device. This would enforce licensing and wipe out piracy in one stroke. With continuous updates, any exploit can be patched by the next update cycle.
OS updates will become a service. MS can use the XBL model and have a free tier for bug/security updates, and a paid tier for feature updates. With the app store being mandatory to buy apps, users' payment data would be on file, facilitating any monetizing effort.
Most of these are already in place. MS only needs to flip the switch and kill the standalone (ISO) software. I'm projecting it may take place as early as Win9 release next year.

Windows 8 Boot Options

Greetings Everyone,
I wanted to share with everyone what I encountered.
I didnt like windows 8. I had severe kernal issues, 4500+ errors on a brand new computer and if I sneezed BSOD occurances! If you want help in any form removing windows 8 just let me know! It can be intense since it isnt a simple 'Install Windows 7'.
I know getting into safe mode or any of the BIOS is difficult to do without the start up disk.
I did a quick write up on how to get into boot options and BIOS as well.
**Note I didnt do a search, I am feeling lazy! **
Steps to get to the Boot Options in Order to get into Safe Mode -
1- Rest your cursor in the upper right hand corner for the charm to appear.
2- On the bottom of the charm you will see ‘Change PC Settings’ Click on that.
3- In this window you will see a few options, the one want to click on is - Update and Recovery.
4- Next you will see Advanced Options. This could potentially be different depending on the version.
5- Choose the Procedure to get into ‘Troubleshoot Start Up options’ (I can not remember the exact name, it is one that will get you into boot up and start up options)
6- Now you should be able to configure into the BIOS and what needs to be corrected are 2 main steps.
A- Change Secure boot to disable
B- Change to Legacy Boot Enable
C- This is an option to disable UEFI as well if you want.
7- With these tasks done you should now see that getting into BIOS, Boot options and safe mode is feasible.
Enjoy!!
XDA has freely given to me and I will freely give back when I can. By all means, share, give thoughts, make love..lol

Or you can do it the normal way.... F2, F10, F11, F12 or whatever other key your computer has set to bios, just press it as you turn the machine in and the PC boots straight into bios not windows. I thought this was common knowledge... Seriously, takes all of a second compared to your method.
Might be useful for guys on tablets and no external keyboard though, thats about it.

That's a great suggestion. However, it won't work until you disable secure boot and enable legacy boot. Windows 8 is a different animal. I wish it was as easy as rapidly mashing the F keys..
The entire purpose if this is to get to the F mashing sequence.. This will get people to that point.
Sent from something not stock

Droidnoobi said:
That's a great suggestion. However, it won't work until you disable secure boot and enable legacy boot. Windows 8 is a different animal. I wish it was as easy as rapidly mashing the F keys..
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Both windows 8 laptops I have tried did it first time with no modifications or altering of settings in windows. Secureboot/legacy boot *do not* prevent bios access. One of these 2 machines is my own, I certainly did not change the settings, the other was a relatives brand new machine. I also have a windows 8 desktop, however it had windows 7 previously which I updated to windows 8, so that may not be the fairest test to say that it can boot into bios directly (which it can) without altering windows 8 settings.
Windows does not have access to change the bios settings. It has no way to prevent your system booting into bios, hell thats how a PC works, load bios from RAM which then loads the bootloader from hard disk which then loads windows. Pressing F keys just interrupts the BIOS before loading the bootloader, windows doesnt even exist at this point in the boot cycle.

SixSixSevenSeven said:
Both windows 8 laptops I have tried did it first time with no modifications or altering of settings in windows. Secureboot/legacy boot *do not* prevent bios access. One of these 2 machines is my own, I certainly did not change the settings, the other was a relatives brand new machine. I also have a windows 8 desktop, however it had windows 7 previously which I updated to windows 8, so that may not be the fairest test to say that it can boot into bios directly (which it can) without altering windows 8 settings.
Windows does not have access to change the bios settings. It has no way to prevent your system booting into bios, hell thats how a PC works, load bios from RAM which then loads the bootloader from hard disk which then loads windows. Pressing F keys just interrupts the BIOS before loading the bootloader, windows doesnt even exist at this point in the boot cycle.
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Then your settings or something must be different because in order for me to even do anything at all I had to follow specific steps, turn legacy boot on, turn secure boot off..
I am grateful you have an easier time then I did.

SixSixSevenSeven said:
Both windows 8 laptops I have tried did it first time with no modifications or altering of settings in windows. Secureboot/legacy boot *do not* prevent bios access. One of these 2 machines is my own, I certainly did not change the settings, the other was a relatives brand new machine. I also have a windows 8 desktop, however it had windows 7 previously which I updated to windows 8, so that may not be the fairest test to say that it can boot into bios directly (which it can) without altering windows 8 settings.
Windows does not have access to change the bios settings. It has no way to prevent your system booting into bios, hell thats how a PC works, load bios from RAM which then loads the bootloader from hard disk which then loads windows. Pressing F keys just interrupts the BIOS before loading the bootloader, windows doesnt even exist at this point in the boot cycle.
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Droidnoobi said:
Then your settings or something must be different because in order for me to even do anything at all I had to follow specific steps, turn legacy boot on, turn secure boot off..
I am grateful you have an easier time then I did.
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@Droidnoobi is correct, you have to disable secure boot on the UEFI to access the BIOS. Otherwise, Windows boots too fast for you to press the keys. I believe it boots in 200 miliaseconds, which is too fast for anyone to press a key.
I did manage to disable secure boot and driver signature enforcement and enable legacy boot. However, I still can't install a second OS on my HP laptop. I've got both Ubuntu and Android (x86) installed, but they won't boot. Any suggestions?

Ph0enix_216 said:
@Droidnoobi is correct, you have to disable secure boot on the UEFI to access the BIOS. Otherwise, Windows boots too fast for you to press the keys. I believe it boots in 200 miliaseconds, which is too fast for anyone to press a key.
I did manage to disable secure boot and driver signature enforcement and enable legacy boot. However, I still can't install a second OS on my HP laptop. I've got both Ubuntu and Android (x86) installed, but they won't boot. Any suggestions?
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Funny that this *stock* HP laptop which came preinstalled with windows 8 allows me to do it without modification.... It most certainly does not boot in 200 milliseconds, add another 0, plenty of time to press a key.
Duplicated on several machines now. I am yet to find a single one requiring this so called hack.

SixSixSevenSeven said:
Funny that this *stock* HP laptop which came preinstalled with windows 8 allows me to do it without modification.... It most certainly does not boot in 200 milliseconds, add another 0, plenty of time to press a key.
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I've got an HP Sleekbook 15". It booted so fast that I couldn't boot the BIOS. I had to disable secure boot to access it at all.

Don't know about you 2 but I needed to go to a secret retreat hidden in some mountains to meditate in order to acquire the uber l33t haxxor skills of pressing F10 as soon as the display backlight turned on.
I did however need uber l33t haxxor skills to get youtube embed working so have a link instead: http://youtu.be/6_3OCjMY_pg
For whatever reason XDA instead of neatly embedding my youtube video has opted for display chunks of HTML no matter what format the youtube URL is given as. Cant really be bothered to argue with it.

SixSixSevenSeven said:
Don't know about you 2 but I needed to go to a secret retreat hidden in some mountains to meditate in order to acquire the uber l33t haxxor skills of pressing F10 as soon as the display backlight turned on.
I did however need uber l33t haxxor skills to get youtube embed working so have a link instead: http://youtu.be/6_3OCjMY_pg
For whatever reason XDA instead of neatly embedding my youtube video has opted for display chunks of HTML no matter what format the youtube URL is given as. Cant really be bothered to argue with it.
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Click to collapse
Okay, I can access the BIOS. However, now I can't get a different OS to boot. Anytime I try to boot Ubuntu or Android (x86), it fails to start and tells me that the .mbr file is missing, even though I can see it in Windows Explorer. Any thoughts?
Oh, and my computer threw a hissy fit when I pressed F10 at boot. It kept beeping and beeping and beeping quite loudly. Maybe this is why I am not allowed to have nice things At least I was able to access the BIOS.

Ph0enix_216 said:
I've got an HP Sleekbook 15". It booted so fast that I couldn't boot the BIOS. I had to disable secure boot to access it at all.
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Try holding the power button until it powers off instead of shutting down. That should at least slow down the Windows boot up. The default windows power off utilizes a form of hibernate. Or you can disable hibernate entirely, there are instructions online in various places.
I don't really have any problems with getting into bios myself.

Remix OS makes the Windows 10 error

Guys, i really need some help, my Windows 10 got some error on the UAC, making the new user, and opening the Edge browser. I can't add new user anymore, and the UAC won't turn on. When i click it, and then the pop-up to make the user account is gone. And then, i tried to install upgrading from the bootable usb, and when it's over, it was back to normal again, and when i try to open the Remix OS and shut it down, and then open the Windows 10 again, suddenly the error came back. So, any solution for this problem?

EkaWolkenmeer said:
Guys, i really need some help, my Windows 10 got some error on the UAC, making the new user, and opening the Edge browser. I can't add new user anymore, and the UAC won't turn on. When i click it, and then the pop-up to make the user account is gone. And then, i tried to install upgrading from the bootable usb, and when it's over, it was back to normal again, and when i try to open the Remix OS and shut it down, and then open the Windows 10 again, suddenly the error came back. So, any solution for this problem?
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Click to collapse
Unfortunately, RemixOS is no longer supported by their developers (even the RemixOS player), however it sounds like you're running into File System problems. I would suggest rebooting Windows into recovery mode (either through your firmware's boot menu or by holding shift while restarting Windows from the login screen), opening command prompt, and issuing a chkdsk /F /R for both a C: and D: (if you don't get anything on D: that's fine, I'm saying to do that drive too because sometimes your OS drive will get that letter under WinRE)
Another suggestion, try PheonixOS and Windows 10 instead, see if the same issue occurs.
You should also NEVER turn off UAC (I am assuming based on you saying that UAC won't turn back on, that you manually turned it off to install RemixOS) on a Windows 10 machine, it causes all sorts of issues with the UWP applications, including the built-in default ones. I know it can be annoying to say yes to every UAC prompt, but it saves you headaches like this later.

ShadowEO said:
Unfortunately, RemixOS is no longer supported by their developers (even the RemixOS player), however it sounds like you're running into File System problems. I would suggest rebooting Windows into recovery mode (either through your firmware's boot menu or by holding shift while restarting Windows from the login screen), opening command prompt, and issuing a chkdsk /F /R for both a C: and D: (if you don't get anything on D: that's fine, I'm saying to do that drive too because sometimes your OS drive will get that letter under WinRE)
Another suggestion, try PheonixOS and Windows 10 instead, see if the same issue occurs.
You should also NEVER turn off UAC (I am assuming based on you saying that UAC won't turn back on, that you manually turned it off to install RemixOS) on a Windows 10 machine, it causes all sorts of issues with the UWP applications, including the built-in default ones. I know it can be annoying to say yes to every UAC prompt, but it saves you headaches like this later.
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Thanks for responding my question. I'll try that.

No problem! Also, you can leave UAC on it's second to highest setting (Notify when I make changes) instead of fully-on, will reduce the amount of UAC popups you get. Hopefully cleaning the disk helps you.

Can't install from windows 10 home to pro of a bootable USB drive.

I Can't upgrade from windows 10 home to pro of a bootable USB. even if I write the PID.txt with the command in it and in sources. Some can help me install window 10 pro om my hp laptop within the settings activation?

Follow this guide:
Upgrade Windows 10 from Home to Pro Edition for Free
This article provides two free methods for you to upgrade Windows 10 from Home to Pro edition without formatting or losing any data. If you need a detailed guide, follow this page to upgrade your Windows 10 from Home to Pro edition right now.
www.easeus.com

Within settings or Microsoft store.

jwoegerbauer said:
Follow this guide:
Upgrade Windows 10 from Home to Pro Edition for Free
This article provides two free methods for you to upgrade Windows 10 from Home to Pro edition without formatting or losing any data. If you need a detailed guide, follow this page to upgrade your Windows 10 from Home to Pro edition right now.
www.easeus.com
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I rezolved

crisan.gabriel said:
I Can't upgrade from windows 10 home to pro of a bootable USB. even if I write the PID.txt with the command in it and in sources. Some can help me install window 10 pro om my hp laptop within the settings activation?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can use installation media (a USB flash drive or DVD) to install a new copy of Windows, perform a clean installation, or reinstall Windows 10.
After you've created the installation media, you can reset or reinstall Windows. To learn more, go to Recovery options in Windows 10.

Stephanie_Sy said:
You can use installation media (a USB flash drive or DVD) to install a new copy of Windows, perform a clean installation, or reinstall Windows 10.
After you've created the installation media, you can reset or reinstall Windows. To learn more, go to Recovery options in Windows 10.
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Click to collapse
Windows S mode is locked in BIOS i think. I create new USB, remove all partition, create, new, format whole disk and after fresh install I have again Windows Home with S mode. Last time I had to unlock bios to perform install Windows pro.
Another method is download iso, extract it, remove Windows home image and pack it again, create USB and fresh install.
It worked few year ago and I believe it will work now.
Edit: Removing other Windows image from installaction doesn't work.
Edit 2: I don't remember how to mod and unlock bios. But after few full clean reinstalls I break S mode without ms login. Next I upgraded OS version with change product key (from ebay). I'm not sure it's the right way for my pcs, but it's enough for my clients. I think the only right way is mod bios and unlock slic.