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I build my own desktop. I first had Windows Vista on it, which I bought on a DVD. I then skipped Windows 7 completely, but later upgraded to Windows 8 when Microsoft had a promotional period for it early in 2012 when it just came out.

Now I'm replacing the motherboard and also swap the HDD to SSD, and I'm curious. Can I still install Windows 8 as an upgrade like I did before? And if yes, then how?

PS. Technically I'm using it on the same computer.

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  • You would have to install Windows Vista and upgrade that installation since the license you purchase only allows you to do that. You could in theory transfer the actual instance of the installation to the ssd depending on the size, place it in a mode so it will accept the new hardware, basically migrating your installation. This process of course well documented on the web.
    – Ramhound
    Jan 9, 2014 at 2:14
  • @Ramhound: Oh, I didn't know that Windows 8 allows this migration thing. What do I search to get more info on it?
    – MikeF
    Jan 9, 2014 at 2:17
  • technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh824938.aspx Sysprep should allow you to configure Windows to install any drivers required to boot on the next reboot ( on the new motherboard ).
    – Ramhound
    Jan 9, 2014 at 2:21

1 Answer 1

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Installing Windows 8 from a USB drive or DVD without upgrading from a previous version of Windows (e.g. 7, Vista, XP):


Go to the following page and select "Windows 8" to download WindowsSetupBox

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/upgrade-product-key-only

Run WindowsSetupBox.exe

Enter Windows 8 product key purchased from Microsoft

Select "Install Windows"

Select "Install by creating media" after the "Downloading" progress bar completes

From here, you have a choice to download an .iso or directly create a bootable USB drive installer.


Some things worth noting:

A Windows 8 product key is not a Windows 8.1 product key: A Windows 8 product key will not work with a Windows 8.1 installation. However, once Windows 8 is installed, you can upgrade for free to 8.1 through the Windows Store app.

Download the ISO as a backup: If you download the .iso, then you can always create a bootable USB drive yourself later or burn it to a DVD. Having a backup up of the .iso can be handy.

Making a bootable USB installer without the WindowsSetupBox: I have had good results using Your Universal Multiboot Installer (YUMI) to create bootable USB drive installers for both Windows and Linux distributions:

http://www.pendrivelinux.com/yumi-multiboot-usb-creator/


Edit: when you paid to upgrade from a previous version of Windows, you should have received an email with your product key for the version of Windows you upgraded to.

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  • Thanks, it was very informative. I will try that. And yes, I do have an email with the product key.
    – MikeF
    Jan 9, 2014 at 17:23

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