Acer W700 Windows 8.1 upgrade

deeperblue
deeperblue Member Posts: 22 New User

After upgrading to Windows 8.1 I wanted to re-install (or refresh) the OS but the only way was to install Windows 8 from the recovery disks and spend hours updating the system until the Windows 8.1 upgrade appeared in the store and then download another 3.5GB to upgrade the system. I am one of those Windows users that likes to refresh the system every now again and this is not the way I want to spend my day refreshing my tablets OS.

 

So with some research and trial and error I have found a way to do this fairly painlessly. Firstly you need to find out your bios Windows 8 product key. I used this sites program http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/product_cd_key_viewer.html and it worked very simply.

 

Next you need a copy of Windows 8.1, search in the usual places online and you should find the OS and a product key for Windows 8.1 that will allow you to install it. I burnt mine to a dvd but a usb key installation should work just the same. Use the recovery "advanced start up" setting in your settings section and install. If you upgrade it will rename the current Windows installation as windows.old and that can be removed easily later on when using "disk cleanup system files". Upgrading imports all the device drivers so it should boot up without any issues or driver installation needed.

 

After the installation is completed it will need to be activated with your legal Windows 8.0 product key from the bios of your W700 tablet. This will activate Windows 8.1 online. This takes less than 1 hr to complete but you will need to re-install all your applications again.

 

I hope this is helpful for those who like to refresh their system like I do. Remember to backup your files/photos etc before attempting any upgrade or refresh.

Answers

  • Ethos
    Ethos Member Posts: 160 Troubleshooter

    Your key want work on 8.1 .. it is just update.. 

    And why u want 8 back ? 8.1 is better ..

  • deeperblue
    deeperblue Member Posts: 22 New User

    Your Windows 8.0 key does work just fine. You need a Windows 8.1 key to install only then to activate you use your bios key from your tablet.

     

    I agree that Windows 8.1 is much better than 8.0 and the purpose for my post was to show how you can refresh your system without having to download 8.1 again and again, along with the long process of updating 8.0 until the 8.1 upgrade app shows up in the store. If you are using 8.1 and get a virus or it becomes corrupt etc or you just want to refresh your system then you will discover how long and painful it is to get the system back up.

  • Ethos
    Ethos Member Posts: 160 Troubleshooter

    u wont even use it if u just updating .. but if u doing fres install directly 8.1 then the key from your tblet wont work ... 

  • deeperblue
    deeperblue Member Posts: 22 New User

    Ethos wrote:

    but if u doing fres install directly 8.1 then the key from your tblet wont work ... 


    That is true, I just used a key I found online to enable the re-install. When it was fully installed it rejected the key and asked for another. The key from your tablet will activate Windows 8.1

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