An Explorer.exe crash was one of the most
annoying things that could happen in earlier versions of Windows frequently
there wasn’t anything you could do but restart your system. In Window 8, you
can find Explorer in the Task Manager, just like any other program Select it
and click the Restart button to fix your problems.
Install Windows 8 from a USB Drive
1.
Prepare a USB key (The fast way)
If you shun OVOs, love speedier
installations, have a digital download of Windows 8 or just plain don’t have an
optical drive, then it’s going to be a USB-based installation for you. And
that’s just fine; it’s a great quick way to get an operating system onto your
hard drive.
The easiest way to accomplish this process
is to already have your hands on a copy of Windows 8’s downloadable .iso file acquirable
by purchasing it from Microsoft itself. If you have a flash drive of the appropriate
size (at least 4GB or greater, depending on whatever file Microsoft Lets you
grab), you’re golden. Insert your flash drive into a USB slot on your system,
and then go grab Microsoft’s iLL-named Windows 7 USB/OVD Download Tool.
Install,
the app and run it. 111.1 ask you to select an .iso file to be “burnt” onto
your USB key.
Install, the app and run it. 111.1 ask you
to select an .iso file to be “burnt” onto your USB key. Go ahead and select
your Windows 8 .iso file the fact that it’s not the same OS as the tool’s name
has absolutely no bearing on what you’re doing.
On the next screen, you’ll be asked whether
you’d Like to create a “Windows 7 backup” again, ignore the name on a USB
device or OVO. Pick the obvious answer select your USB key from the drop down
menu.
When you’re ready to let ‘er rip click
“Begin copying1” If the tool needs to format your USB key first, it’ll let you
know. Couldn’t be easier, right?
Sometimes, however, the Windows 7 USB/DVD
Download Tool mucks up it might tell you that the .iso file you’re Looking to
“burn” isn’t actually a recognizable .iso file. You know it iS; the Windows
toot disagrees. That’s a problem.
There are a number of ways around this
problem, but the most simple is to do what the Windows 7 USB/OVD Download Tool
is doing, by hand. We’ll show you how.
2.
Manually Prepare A USB Key
Start by using a freeware app like Virtual
CloneDrive to mount your downloaded Windows 8 installation .iso to a virtual
drive within your current Windows OS. Alter natively1 insert a Windows 8 OVO
into your optical drive.
Next, insert your USB key arid fire up a
command prompt as an Administrator. Within the command prompt. Load Windows
built-in Disk Partition utility by typing diskpart and hitting Enter.
Within the Disk Partition utility, you’ll
want to start out by typing list disk and hitting Enter. From there, write down
the drive number that corresponds to your flash drive—you’ll be able to tell,
as the capacity of the listed drive should match the capacity of your USB key.
Pick
the obvious answer, select your USB key from the drop-down menu.
Next, type select disk #, where the pound
sign is the drive number of your USB key that you just noted. Hit Enter DiskPart
wilt select the aforementioned drive. Now, type clean and hit Enter to remove
any existing partitions that might already be on your flash drive. Once the
cleaning process is done, type create partition primary and hit Enter to do
just that. Type select partition I and hit Enter to select your new partition,
type active and hit Enter, and then type in format FS NTFS quick to quickly
reformat your partition with the NTFS file system. Type assign and hit Enter,
and you’ll have finished making your USS key bootable!
Within
the Disk Partition utility, you’ll want to start out by typing list disk and
hitting Enter.
Now, it’s time to copy your Windows 8
installation files from their drive virtual or real to your USB key. Close
diskpart by typing exit and hitting Enter. From the command prompt, type xcopy
x:\*.* y:\ /e /f /h. In our example, however, the x:V designation should
actually represent the drive letter of your mounted Windows 8 installation .iso
file or physical DVD. The y:V’ should be the actual drive letter of your USB
key. Once you’ve made those alterations, hit Enter and let ‘er rip all of the
Windows 8 files will start transferring over to your USB key.
Once
you’ve made those alterations, hit Enter and let ‘er rip all of the Windows 8
files will start transferring over to your USB key.
And now’s as good a time as any to talk
about upgrading versus starting from scratch, since you’re Likely to be
presented with both of these options at the very beginning of the Windows 8
installation process.
Upgrading can be convenient, but a clean
install of an operating system is generally the best way to go. Right now, your
computer is likely full of crap applications you once installed and Left
behind, an old driver version or two that you’ve forgotten about, and just
general OS bloat that can hit a variety of points around your operating system
(from your Start menu to your registry). Consider the installation of a new
operating system to be kind of like the equivalent of spring cleaning in the
real world. It gives you, and your poor PC a chance to start anew.
3.
Install Windows 8 Upgrade or clean?
Once you’re ready to install Windows 8 from
your USB key, you’ll want to restart your computer and either boot into your
motherboard’s BIOS or hit the associated hot key that allows you to access the
boot menu during POST. Regardless of which way you go about it, you’ll want to
make sure your system is set to first boot off of your USB key instead of your
existing hard drive.
Be on the lookout to see if your
motherboard requires you to hit a key, any key on your keyboard to confirm that
you want to boot to your USB drive. From there, the actual Windows 8
installation process should look a Lot Like what you’re already used to, if
you’ve ever installed Windows 7 or Windows Vista.
From there, the actual Windows 8
installation process should look a Lot Like what you’re already used to, if
you’ve ever installed Windows 7 or Windows Vista.
