Putting new windows os on used computer

The problem I have with everyone oohing and ahhhing over 8/8.1 and it's boot times....I have 7 on an SDD for my gaming rig, it's 2.5 years old, and STILL boots to a fully usable desktop in 17 seconds.

The 8.1 UI is the best 8 UI yet, but that's like saying this rash burns the least of all my STDs.

 

...yep, but mine is doing a boot (cold start) in about 2-3 seconds... waking from "sleep" mode takes like a second..
...so, far, i'm liking win 8.1... it seems like a good blend of the old w/ the new...

 

under the hood 8 is solid. i like it a lot.

it's the tonka toy 8 original UI and its ilk that put it in the non-starter column for me. if you don't mind modding it (I have a lappy at work with 8.1 that I use daily) it can be a great OS.

Right out of the box though, I'll still recommend 7. Personal preference.

 

My mom and dad went to walmart and they said they didn't sell windows 7 anymore so I called best but and they don't either. They want to start using their computer again so they bought the 8.1 full version. I'm gonna install on the computer my wife got hopefully tomorrow. What is the easiest way to install the cd since I've never had to do this before. Do I just insert the cd software and it starts or what. Please give me easy/basic instructions

 

wanna tacoma, ...please see my post #19, ...there are two different "ways" to install win 8/8.1... once you get everything it setup for one or the other, it's easy to install the OS... you'll boot the computer and immediately hit <F11> repeatedly until the boot device selction menu comes up, ...you'll need to select "CD/DVD", or "UEFI CD/DVD", ...(see my aforementioned post), depending on whether you're installing it in UEFI or not... but before you click one, make sure the CD/DVD is in the drive, and then make the selection and it will boot from the installation disk (CD/DVD). that will guide you through the install procedure where you'll be partitioning the hard disk and installing win 8/8.1...

 

I did see your post but got a little confused on how to do it. Especially when you said I had to check for drivers and stuff like that. Just looking for the easy way and best way for first timer.

 

I don't know what UFEI and BiOS is or mean

 

BIOS is basic input output system. it's the lowest level control ... it is where you can control the motherboard and system components directly. generally, you don't wanna fuss around in there if you don't have to if you aren't experienced.

what wiley is talking about is using a somewhat new tech standard, UEFI, a protected boot type, to install win 8 on your machine. and, I mean do disrespect here Wiley OR Wanna, but that's way over his level bro.

 

also, the OP said that it was an older computer. I doubt it even has UEFI support.

OP,

1. Stick the DVD in and reboot.
2. The computer will prompt you to boot from the DVD by hitting any key. If you forget to do this, you will need to reboot again
3. The installation will begin loading
4. A screen will ask you some regional settings. Set these and click next
5. a screen will ask you to install now. Click it
6. Enter your product key
7. Agree to the license terms
8. The next screen will ask if you wish to upgrade or if you wish to perform a custom install. You want a custom install because you want to wipe the computer clean of everything and start from scratch.
9. The next screen will show you a list of installed hard drives and/or partitions. We are going to wipe everything out and start fresh. Click the drive options button.
10. Systematically click each of the partitions/drives in the top section and click delete for each one. At the end, you should have the screen say, "Drive 0 Unallocated Space". If you have more than one drive, you may also see, "Drive 1 Unallocated Space", and so on.
11. Highlight Drive 0 and click next. The installer will do all the formatting and stuff for you. This is the point where it is actually doing the installing and you can go get a cookie.
12. The computer will restart. Leave it alone and let it boot until it gets to a screen asking you to personalize. Do all the personalization stuff until you get to the point where you see the tile interface
13. You are pretty much done at this point, but it's good to get all the updates. From the tile interface, type "Windows Update". It should show a list of programs. One of them is titled "Windows Update" and has an icon of a blue screen with a green up arrow and a green down arrow. Click that.
14. Install windows updates. You may have to search for updates several times and install them, as the computer will discover more as you new updates are installed.

You are done.

 

Good article explaining why & what is UEFI: http://www.neoseeker.com/Articles/Hardware/Reviews/asus_uefi_bios/

 

wanna tacoma,

...here is a great video that walks you through the process of doing a clean OS install... he shows you how to make the computer "boot" from the installation media, go through the install process, ..and then after the OS is installed, he shows you how to install more up-to-date drivers that will hopefully give better interoperability between the OS and the hardware...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxaVBsXEiok

..one thing I'm a little worried about for you is whether this "used" PC you are getting will have sufficient hardware for win 8/8.1.. is there anything you can tell us about this computer, especially how much RAM and the size of the hard disk?... we need to see if it meets the minimum system requirements for win 8/8.1...

 

From what I remember it has 2gb of ram but I can't remember about the hard drive. I tried to look on the shell of the tower but it doesn't say. I tried to take the shell case off but it looks like it's pop rivoted. I guess when I plug the computer in I can look again before I install. His only has 512mb ram now.

 

I work in IT supporting users on Linux, Windows 7, XP and Windows 8. Every time a user starts and I need to train them on Linux its painful, but after a couple hours they're good. I rarely hear from those people again while the Windows 7, xp and especially Windows 8 people I hear from it feels like daily.

Honestly I switched my completely computer retarded sister to linux a while back. the first week it was constant questions, then after that nothing until 2 years later she came to me explaining she was trying to figure out a way to hack together getting itunes to work on ubuntu 12.04(4 versions higher than I installed for her btw) and I explained it couldnt be done but I could install windows for her.

Her response?

"Fuck that I'm not going back to that garbage. I' just wont buy any more apple products"

BAM, two birds with one stone bitches. lol

 

Just buy the old folks a Sinclair and a Black And White TV or an Amiga :} DOS 3 Rules!!

Cypher

 

any OS on an SSD will boot fast, nuff said

any retail store will not sell Win 7, nor will a consumer version of the computer (laptop or desktop) sell with it. You can however purchase a more corporate version (for Dell it's Latitude and OptiPlex lines) with win 7 as corporate is slower to move on.

the old computer she got from work won't support it

^ nice list

that may work for some but for a majority who purchase products may need an Apple or Microsoft software to sync/communicate with. also maybe your teaching methods lead something to be desired for Windows since you are pro-linux Windows (XP, Vista, 7) is like IOS, easy and dummied down for the "I want it just to work" people.

I also have been in computer support for over a decade and always recommend to go with what you know, unless you are willing to work through some pains of switching then it can be rewarding depending on use.

 

ok, here are the min requirements for win 8/8.1
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/system-requirements

...that's concerning if you can't get inside the case... years of dust buildup could be caked on stuff in there, ...not good... i'd recommend figuring out a way to get into the case, last resort drilling out some rivets to get a cover off... also that would be a good time to add more RAM if possible, and try to write down any printed info on the motherboard, and make note of what processor is in there... when you go to install the OS, you'll need to know which DVD to boot from, the one for 32-bit windows, or for 64-bit windows... based on how you're describing things thus far, ...i'm guessing it will have to be 32-bit windows..

 

I've never seen a case that doesn't open, just some that are trickier than others. I have never seen the need to drill out a rivet.

First, if there aren't any external screws to remove (other than the power supply, heh), then try sliding something. Most all side (and sometimes top) panels slide, sometimes with great effort.

If that doesn't work, then try to see if there is some sort of plastic/metal retention system.

Lastly, see if the front panel pivots off. I had a case where the front panel was held on with pop on/off "bolts", and once you removed it, the side panel would hinge off.

 

Agreed.

The closest I've seen were some ancient (think Pentium 1 era) Compaq servers that had a mechanism holding the cases together so devious I don't think David Copperfield could have puzzled them out. I only found out how after giving up several hours later and sawz-alling my way in. Only once I could see 'inside-out' did the latching and hinges become apparent.

Anyhow, on recent-vintage PC cases, I can say as well 99.9999% certain there's a non-breaking way to get in.

EDITED to add: See if you can snap some pics for us, Wanna. Even cell-phone pics we can probably help ya out better.

 

Tried the cd and I can't get it to boot with cd. I pressed f2 for the bios menu and I set the cd rom boot first, hard drive 2nd, Ethernet 3rd and floppy (not sure why it has one bc the computer isn't that old) is last. Saved changes and black screen and then it started xp again

 

There should either be a bios toggle to allow for booting from disc, or a hotkey to press that allows a one-time boot. From a cold start, try button mashing F1. If that doesn't work, repeat the process with F2 through F12, the ESC key, or the DEL key. One of those should work.

Also check in the bios for a setting called silent boot and turn that off. It will take longer to boot, but give you more details, possibly more options, and more time to try smacking a key at the right time.