How to Install Windows 8.1 – a step by step guide

Before you start make certain you have your Motherboard Disc and graphics card disc or preferably a newly downloaded driver from nVidia (or AMD).

click here for nVidia Graphics Card Driver

click here for AMD Graphics Card Driver

If you are reinstalling Windows 8.1 over your existing installation, make certain you have backed up all your Data, as you may lose it all.

Put your Microsoft Windows Disc in your CD/DVD drive and start/restart your computer.

When you see the above message come on to the screen press any key. Please note that a Wireless keyboard may not work at this stage and that you may need to use a wired keyboard instead.

If you don't see this message then you may need change the boot order of your drives, please refer to the below link.....

How to boot from your CD/DVD drive.

If you see a Windows Boot Manager Screen with "Windows Setup EMS Enabled", just press Enter to continue.

When the above screen appears select the correct Time & Currency Format and then click on NEXT

 

You can type in your Windows 8 Product Key at this stage and click on NEXT.

 

Check "I accept the license terms" and click on NEXT

 

Click on CUSTOM INSTALL WINDOWS (ADVANCED) to install a new copy of Windows. If you are reinstalling Windows, make certain you have already backed up any files before you proceed.

In the above example you can see that there are 4 partitions but only two hard drives. Disk 0 is 1 hard drive but has 2 partitions while Disk 1 is also a hard drive with 2 partitions.

We are going to delete all the partitions on Drive 0 only in this example. If you have 2 hard drives you may wish to keep all the data on the 2nd hard drive and therefore you need only to delete the partitions on Drive 0 while keeping Drive 1 as it is.

Highlight Disk 0 Partition 1: System Reserved and click on DELETE. (You will lose all your data)

Now click on Disk 0 Partition 2 and click DELETE  (You will lose all your data)

Please note, most of the time the old Windows installation should be on Disk 0 but sometimes it can be on Disk 1. The way to tell is to look for the System Reserved Partition. This usually indicates that is the drive that Windows is already installed on. If you have other drives you may want to keep them as they are and only delete the drive that has Windows already installed on it.

In the above example we have deleted both partitions on Drive 0 and have left Drive 1 as is.  Note how Drive 0 is now Drive 0 Unallocated Space - ready for a new Windows installation.

You can actually install Windows on either Drive 0 or Drive 1. This is OK and will work fine. The drive numbering is determined by the BIOS of the motherboard and sometimes you may find that your Windows installation needs to be on Disk 1 instead of Disk 0 if you have more than one drive.

Now select the Disk you wish to install Windows on and click on NEXT.

 

Windows will begin to install.

 

Windows will restart at least once, if you see the above message again, just ignore it. (Pressing any key now will start the whole process off from the very beginning.)

 

Type in a name for your PC (not your UserName) and click on NEXT

 

Click on Use Express Settings

 

If you have a Microsoft Account you can sign in now. Otherwise, click on CREATE A NEW ACCOUNT (you don't actually need to create a new account, but you will need to click it to continue)

 

You can now click on SIGN IN WITHOUT A MICROSOFT ACCOUNT to continue

 

Type in a USERNAME (not the same as the PC Name) and then click on FINISH

 

You will now be presented with the Metro Tile screen. Click on the DESKTOP Tile.

 

RIGHT CLICK on the Start Button for the Menu. Left clicking will just take you back to the Metro Tile Screen.

For a Windows 7 Desktop and Full Menu system we recommend you download and install ClassicShell

You should now be finished installing Windows 8.1. You can now remove your Windowsdisc from the CD/DVD drive.

IMPORTANT: You are not quite finished. You will need to install your MOTHERBOARD DRIVERS and your GRAPHICS/VIDEO CARD DRIVER.

 

In the above example we have inserted the ASRock Motherboard driver disc and clicked on the DRIVERS TAB.

You will need to install the INF Driver, HD Audio Driver, Rapid Storage Driver, ME Driver and Realtek LAN Driver (to connect to the Internet). The other files are not necessary. You do not need to restart your computer between them.

Clicking on INSTALL ALL will automatically restart the computer. Not recommended.

 

In the above example we have inserted the ASRock Motherboard disc for an AMD system.

You will need to install the AMD ALL in 1 Driver, HD Audio Driver, LAN Driver (to connect to the Internet), ASMedia SATA3 Driver and the ETRON USB3.0 Driver. The other files are not necessary. You do not need to restart your computer between them.

Clicking on INSTALL ALL will automatically restart the computer. Not recommended.

 

you can also download the latest drivers for your Motherboard

Click here for ASRock Motherboards

Click here for Gigabyte Motherboards

Click here for ASUS Motherboards

In general for Intel based motherboards you will need the INF Driver, LAN driver (for internet connection), the Intel Management Engine Driver, Intel Rapid Start Driver and Realtek Audio Driver for your particular motherboard.

Then you will need to install your Graphics/Video card driver.

click here for nVidia Graphics Card Driver

click here for AMD Graphics Card Driver

It is important that you install your Graphics/Video card driver as above.

 

CHECKING THAT ALL DRIVERS HAVE BEEN INSTALLED....

Click on the START Button and select CONTROL PANEL

Click on the drop down menu on VIEW BY and select LARGE ICONS and then click on DEVICE MANAGER.

As you can see in the above example we are missing a driver for the PCI Simple Communications Controller.

You can right click on it and search for the driver online.