How to obtain the Windows 8 Pro $40 Upgrade?

How to obtain WIN 8 PRO $40 UPGRADE

Arie,
Thanks for a good article. Here is a question and a suggestion.

At the end of the article you mentioned "your files" are retained (but make a backup to be safe ".

What about installed programs? I have WIN 7 PRO -- if I ust this upgrade, will all of my installed programs be retained? Or will I have to do a new install of all my programs?

There seems to be a lot of confusion on which path to use to install WIN 8 PRO and retain installed programs. The OS you are coming from, XP PRO, Vista (Home, Pro, etc), WIN 7 (Home, Pro, etc) also seems to make a difference.

An article showing the diferent paths that alow keeping installed programs when moving to WIN 8 PRO would be really helpfut.

Thanks

 

Can I install Win8 on a spare computer for extended testing, uninstall it & then install it on my main computer with the same key ?

 

That's reassuring as the interface is all over the place & there is also program and peripherals driver issues.

 

I have just Re - installed Windows 8 Pro from a DVD pack Bought at the same time as my new PC and was tripped up by the procedure.

Just to be clear - if you do an install/upgrade over an existing Windows 8 installation -when you have run the "Windows 8 Pro" DVD, Check your displayed specs in control panel. -When I did this I noticed it was not showing my Operating system as Pro. - You have to Activate the installation using the supplied "key on a card" before you can use the new features.

I also had trouble retaining the programs I had already installed in windows 8 - it simply would not complete the install, but when I attempted a "clean" install withour retaining programs or files, the installation completed.

 

Arie,
Can you help/ comment or supply links to a solution with this "glitch" in the Win 8 Pro Upgrade?
Here is the text (from page 2) from the article "How to obtain the Windows 8 Pro Upgrade?
To quote:
Once the download completes, I suggest you start by choosing Install by creating media on the Install Windows 8 screen (Figure). You'll be offered the choice of using a USB flash drive or ISO file (Figure). If you choose ISO file, the upgrade assistant will create an ISO file from the installation files and save it to your hard disk as Windows.iso. You can then use 3rd party software to burn the .iso image to a DVD (If you are running Windows 7 you can use Windows to burn the file to DVD, just pop a blank DVD in your DVD burner & from Windows Explorers menu choose Burn disc image (Figure)).
I'll also show you the process of saving to a flash drive instead. You'll need at least a USB flash drive with 3 GB capacity. Once you choose your drive (Figure), you'll be warned that all files that are currently on the drive (if any) will be deleted. On continuing a bootable flash drive will be created. When finished, you'll be shown some information about your USB flash drive, including your Windows 8 product key (Figure).
To be able to use a bootable USB flash drive to install Windows 8, you'll need to check your computer's manual; you may need to change some settings in your BIOS to be able to boot from a USB drive. If you aren't sure if your system supports booting from USB and you have a DVD drive I suggest burning a DVD.
You can of course also select to install Windows 8 immediately, without first creating any bootable media. Select Install Now and the upgrade assistant will start the installation.
(end of quote)

I followed the download instruction and got to the last screen talking about installing. My screen did not have an option "Install by creating mediaâ€. My options, (I have a screenshot showing options I can email if you need to see), are "Install Now" or "Install later from your desktopâ€. There is no option to install by creating media.

Clicking on "Install later" closes the window. Clicking on the desktop icon "Install Windowsâ€, opens the above window.
QUESTION How do I make the ISO file , then burn a copy to a DVD and also make a USB bootable flash drive?

 

Arie,

Thanks for the reply and research. I did some additional searching and here is a summary of what I found. There has been a lot of posts ( starting around last September) and Microsoft responses to the confusion of just exactly what you download for the $39.99 Windows 8 upgrade and Microsoft has not bothered to update the information on the WIN8 download site.
I hope this helps clear up some of the confusion for the readers of this posting.

Microsoft does have a "WINDOWS 8 PRO Upgrade" support phone line:
1-877-254-4698 Mon-Fri 8 am- 1pm / Sat-Sun noon "“ 8pm (eastern std time)

Microsoft also has a web site: www.mswos.com that will allow you to make additional downloads of the WIN 8 Pro upgrade AFTER you have purchased. You will need your Order number, email address used for purchase and Product Key (shown on screen during purchase and emailed to you after purchase). Handy if you need a second download or back up. NOTE downloads need your product key to work.

For reference:
Arie’s article: http://www.helpwithwindows.com/Windows8/How-To-Obtain-40-USD-Windows-8-Pro-Upgrade.html

Microsoft upgrade assistant and purchase of $40 upgrade to WIN8 Pro:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/upgrade-assistant-advisor#1TC=t1

IMPORTANT GENERAL NOTE
If you want to install the 64 bit version, you will have to download the upgrade system on a 64 bit version of Windows ( XP 64bit, Vista 64 bit , WIN 7 PRO) and create a bootable 64 bit disc. Downloading with a 32 bit system will not give you the option to make a USB or ISO file. You will only be able to install the WIN 8 , 32 bit directly.

One way if you only have access to 32 bit system:
To upgrade using Windows 32 bit system to Windows 8 64 bit do the following.

1. Go to "another PC" which has Windows 7 64-BIT
2. Run upgrade assistant there
3. Pay for the upgrade
4. Download the upgrade NOTE: Download takes about 55 to 60 minutes with cable modem, about 3 to 4 hours with DSL, don’t even try with dial up ; purchase the upgrade disk for the extra few dollars.
5. Create the media using the option in the upgrade assistant * see note about ISO file and extracting an Install disk below.
6. Come back to "my Window 7 32-Bit machine "
7. Boot the machine from the media I just created in "another machine "
8. Format primary partition (This is my preference. I don't wan't Windows 7 files)
9. Activate Windows 8 64 Bit
10. It should get activated


IF you have a 64 bit system:

Step 1: Use the Upgrade Assistant to qualify the PC and pay the $40 (US)
Step 2: When the "Install Windows 8" message appears, select "Install by creating media" to create a bootable USB flash drive or an .iso (a disk image) file. NOTE: Download takes about 55 to 60 minutes with cable modem, about 3 to 4 hours with DSL, don’t even try with dial up ; purchase the upgrade disk for the extra few dollars.
Step 3: Wait for the Assistant to download the Windows 8 Pro installation package and create the bootable media or .iso file. The flash drive must be have 3GB or more of free space available.
Step 4: Burn the .iso file, if that's the path you chose, to a blank DVD.
Step 5: Use that USB drive or DVD to boot the PC.
Step 6: When you get to the screen in Setup that asks, "Which type of installation do you want?' choose "Custom."
Step 7: Select a disk partition for the OS in the next screen. At this point, you can create a new partition if there's enough space available, or reformat the drive.
Step 8: Continue with the installation of Windows 8 Pro.

*** ISO FILE and "Install or set up diskâ€
During the download, using a 64 bit system, there is the option to download an "ISO file" (an ISO file is a compressed image file of the actual files used to install WIN 8) The ISO file can be burned to a DVD and used as a backup (good idea). More importantly, if you plan to install the WIN 8 Pro from a DVD you need to" extract" the ISO file to an install or setup DVD, also a good backup idea . The ,extracted, setup/install disk along with your product key can be used to reinstall. There are several programs that will "extract" an ISO file to a DVD. One good, freeware program is ImgBurn
http://www.digital-digest.com/software/download.php?sid=470&ssid=0&did=1
Hope this helps clear up some of the confusion

 

I wanted to upgrade from Win 8 to Win 8 Pro. The $40 upgrade won't work. MS requires that you buy the $70 upgrade pack to upgrade from Win 8 to win 8 Pro. The $40 upgrade only works to upgrade from XP, Vista and Win 7.

 

I'm running a 2009 Hewlett Packard PC with 64-bit Vista Home Premium and 8GB RAM. But my IE is gone. I noticed that, running the Windows 8 Upgrade Assistant, it attempted to open IE and failed. SO: I assume it will not be possible to UPGRADE to Windows 8, but I probably must do a clean install. Am I correct?

 

In any case I believe that doing a clean install is much better than doing an in place upgrade. You start on a clean state with much better chances of a stable system.

Just my thoughts.

 

OK on the Clean Install.
Now I am looking at another option: Might go with Windows 7 Home Premium, though it will cost a bit more. Might fit my old system better.
Greg

 

Maybe it's a bit late, a friend just asks me how much he can upgrade Windows 7 Pro to Windows 8 Pro. $40 was done and now $70, isn't it? Any last train to catch?