Monday 18 February 2013

Reinstall Windows 8 with product key

New Windows 8 (OEM version) machines have the product key embedded into the bios, so any attempt to reinstall a different edition of Windows 8 results in an EPIC FAIL.

And if that's not enough new systems have a feature called SECURE BOOT which blocks any malware, viruses to run in the rootkit of Windows.Any installation of a linux distro won't show up unless you disable SECURE BOOT.

For those tech-freaks out there who want a clean machine, a machine loaded with crapware is frustrating.
Now don't worry.

1) First install Windows 8.

Just use notepad to make a file called PID.txt and put the following in the file:

[PID]
Value=XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX

Place your windows 8 key in where the X's are and save the file to the /sources directory in the root of your USB key. 

The PID file overrides the pre-installed OEM key in the bios of your computer.  Windows 8 installation starts right up.  Now you can clean install Windows 8.

2) Then go to your bios and disable SECURE BOOT. Don't worry it is not of much use for an average user who doesn't do much clicking on the net.:P

3) Then install your linux distro.
If Windows 8 doesn't show up in the dual boot menu, use BOOT REPAIR in linux to repair the grub menu.

- open a new Terminal, then type:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:yannubuntu/boot-repair && sudo apt-get update
- Press Enter.
- Then type:
sudo apt-get install -y boot-repair && boot-repair &
- Press Enter


  • launch Boot-Repair from either :
    • the Dash (the Ubuntu logo at the top-left of the screen)
    • or System->Administration->Boot-Repair menu (Ubuntu 10.04 only)
    • or by typing 'boot-repair' in a terminal
  • Then click the "Recommended repair" button. When repair is finished, note the URL (paste.ubuntu.com/XXXXX) that appeared on a paper, then reboot and check if you recovered access to your OSs.
  • If the repair did not succeed, indicate the URL to people who help you by email or forum.