Midas wrote: ↑Sun Jan 23, 2022 12:39 pm
Mike.S.G. wrote: ↑If I can find 8.1 Pro x64 I think I will just install it instead.
That was precisely my choice in a new laptop I'm setting up -- I managed to download the official ISO from my university repo, but a tool like HeiDoc DotNET
Windows ISO Downloader might help you get the freely available installation images (you'll have to provide a license afterwards, if you don't already have one).
Thanks for the tip, I'll look into it. As far as a legitimate key, I'd hoped to find something at newegg or amazon, nuthin' but win10 media last I looked.
Wonderin', did 8.1 come with the important update already installed... IIRC, kb2919355, referred to as 8.1 update? When I reinstalled 8.1x64 on a new ssd on my laptop the iso I downloaded from MS thankfully had it already applied... I did however have to run a scary dism command to get .net 3.5 installed, didn't want to rely on WU to get it done.
I know this is getting a bit off topic but I'll add this last bit, I hope it will help others.
As I said, I needed to reinstall my OS on to a new ssd, I knew my iso may or may not have the important update (kb2919355), I was grateful my iso had it already applied... the horror stories of failure were numerous due to the important multi update/update installation order needed for success. I believe I dodged a bullet not having to do it manually.
Also, I needed .net 3.5, the iso didn't have 3.5 installed, WU failed most of the time for others so the best I found was running a dism command, pointing to my usb source - keeping fingers crossed... here's the tip. The install was going fine until ~ 60% complete - then progress stopped, for literally 5 or 6 minutes, stuck at 64% - so I thought. This is where you need to be patient. It wasn't stuck, but was quietly working in the background. Boom, it continued on to 100% complete, successfully installed. Point is just be patient and keep your hands off the machine. I was fretting, was about to intervene - I'm glad I didn't - hands off.
Finally, and really scary - the dreaded bios flash... don't fear this anymore, definately not if you're using newer boards. I really like Gigabyte's qflash and qflash plus (no cpu required). OTOH, I needed to update my laptop bios the old school way, again patience, hands off. Most machines will reboot on their own when done. If you can use a battery backup. On laptops, charge up the battery and also plug in to ac power while flashing
Point here... my laptop did an unexpected thing causing me to jump, and panic... as part of the update process, the fan ramps up to 100% to blow out the dust. I didn't expect this, it startled me (very loud), I thought something was wrong, and I wanted to shut down my laptop... I'm glad I didn't. I noticed the fan begin to slow - things were back to normal. Point is - hands off, be patient. I did find some info on what happened, it was normal for my Lenovo, maybe laptops in general. Modern motherboards are very easy to flash, and you should, don't wait to have a problem - mitigate it
The only thing I would avoid are the beta updates. If you feel apprehensive, of course leave well enough alone, it is after all your choice.
MSG steps off his soapbox