Clean install of Windows 8 impossible?!?

OK I am pretty pissed. I just ordered a Lenovo IdeaPad Y500 laptop with Windows 8 pre-installed and the first thing I'm gonna do when I receive it is do a clean install of just the OS and drivers to get rid of the 20GB of crapware that Lenovo loaded. Now, after a couple hours spent talking with Lenovo tech support and researching online, I've discovered that there's no easy way, or any way at all, to do this legally in my case without paying.

I don't have an existing Windows 7 license that I can install first and the upgrade to 8 from that, and if I did have one I'd just install that instead of dealing with 8.

Lenovo apparently does provide Windows 8 installation media without bloatware but it costs $60.

And I don't have an MSDN or TechNet subscription or any way to get a Windows 8 installation DVD from family or friends.

So right now, it looks like my only choice is to torrent a Windows 8 .iso and burn that to a DVD. I'm sorry if talking about this violates the rules of this forum but I have no idea why Microsoft pullled this stunt. It's not illegal for me to get Windows 8 installation media because I already paid for the OEM license with the laptop, so why make this so hard? Why can't you freely distribute the .iso files like you did for Windows 7?!?

This seems kind of out there, but is it possible to create a clean Windows 8 image from the factory install on my Lenovo, copy it to a USB drive or DVD, and boot it from there?

If anyone knows of a legal way to do a clean install you'll be my hero.

 

What about using Acronis or some other cloning software? I didn't choose to do this (my system was pretty light already) but from what I read, you can cherry pick what you want to keep and what you want to reinstall..

 

No disrespect, honestly, but you're wrong here. You didn't pay for a Windows 8 OEM license. You paid for a Windows 8 license with software bloat on the install that subsidized it. You got your machine for a cheaper price than what it would normally cost without the bloatware. Do you what you will but remove that notion that downloading a clean copy of Windows 8 from torrent sites or any site outside of Microsoft isn't illegal because it's not the actual software package you paid for.

 

Whatever man. If you want to talk semantics instead of trying to help me I'll just ignore you.

I never said that torrenting a Windows ISO is legal so there's no need to use a straw man argument against me. I just said that it's not illegal for me to obtain Windows 8 installation media since some PC maker's will give it to you free of charge but Lenovo isn't one of them.

I still have a hard time understanding what you're trying to say in the first place but it seems like you came in here to start argument so back off.

 

Windows 8 RTM downloads were previously available, by MyDigitalLife and other sites were hit with DMCA takedown notices to remove the links, so as of now there's no easy way to get W8 installation media for a clean install, unless you have access to MSDN (either through subscription or through a university).

I'd suggest either using partitioning software to eliminate unneeded factory install partitions and uninstall unneeded Lenovo software (at least on the Thinkpad series, the bloatware isn't bad) or if you really need to clean-install, to grab an untouched W8 installation media copy from an "alternate" site (be sure to verify that the media is untouched using checksums).

 

Thank you for the helpful reply. I came across that exact thread on the MyDigitalLife forum during my research.

I really would like to do a clean install from scratch instead of uninstalling the bloatware manually because, from what I hear, there is a ton of it on this machine. It'll be a lot more work to remove all the traces from Windows Registry and hidden folders. I usually secure erase the whole drive, including the recovery partition, using DiskPart and clean install as soon as I receive a new machine.

I know I'm walking a gray area by talking about this, but does checksum verification of a Windows 8 .iso downloaded from an "alternate" site guarantee that it has not been infected with malware? I really appreciate you helping me with this even though you are a mod and this might be close to breaking the rules of this forum.

 

Have you tried the 'refresh' option in the advanced settings in the metro app settings? It gets rid of most bloatware, but keeps personal files intact from what I know. I never tried it before unfortunately.

 

Unfortunately that doesn't get rid of the bloatware at all because it simply reinstalls them again using the factory image in the recovery partition.

The way Microsoft locked down the Windows 8 reinstalltion process reminds me of how bloody hard it was to do a clean install on XP back in the day.

 

That was cake compared to the new OA 3.0 implementation. Basically now, if you get a Windows 8 machine, your only option to have a different OS is to downgrade, and you have to meet the requirements to be able to do that (you need an eligible edition). You can re-install Windows 8 but it isn't easy; thankfully somebody found a workaround.

What OEM gives Windows media away for "free"?

 

Not sure if they still do with W8, but at least until recently Dell did provide clean-install media.

 

But I'm not trying to install Windows 8 Pro on my Lenovo; I just want to do a clean install of the included Windows 8 Core without the Lenovo bloatware. So the workaround is unnecessary for me then, right? I can just obtain a Windows 8 DVD and boot from it without any problems?

Last I heard, Dell provides a Windows 8 install disc for only a few dollars, and new customers have gotten them for free by haggling over the phone. Hopefully I can convince Lenovo to do the same thing so that I don't have to resort to pirating one. I already exceeded my budget by $150 to get SLI so there's just no way this college student can afford to shell out another $50 or more for install discs.

 

Yeah Dell supply clean windows disks. Not liking Lenovo making it so hard but I had a MSDN account so I could get clean installation media. I'd pester them on the phone, otherwise find a nice student willing to get you a copy of the installation media. Hekc I would send one to you if you wern't so far haha.

I am not 100% sure about your CD key working guaranteed since its one of those bulk batch OEM keys rather than a windows 8 key if that makes sense. It might not accept it when you reinstall. But there are workarounds out there to install without a CD key then activate your windows 8 installation once its installed? Might be your best option.

 

I know HP offers an install option called something like "minimal install" or something like that. It basically removes all the bloatware except for the HP stuff that is actually useful. Try to enter your recovery menu and see if something like that is available.

 

Since the key is hard coded on Windows 8 systems, it should re-install the core yes. But I don't want to advocate any "free" methods that may cross into a grey area of legality - whether they'd work or not. You can try giving Lenovo a ring and see if they can provide a System Builder OEM disc for you, but good luck haggling on the cost!

 

Thanks for the helpful replies guy. I really appreciate it.

I've talked with a few Lenovo reps about this on the phone but haven't gotten anywhere. The Lenovo factory restore doesn't offer something similar to the HP "minimal install." They don't sell Windows install discs, only Lenovo backup ones with the bloaware. And I couldn't convince any of them to send a System Builder DVD (which I'm sure they have) my way as a small courtesy for making a $1000+ purchase.

Right now I've got about a week before my laptop arrives while I tackle this problem. Is there any way for me to create my own bootable Windows 8 installation media, either through a free Microsoft download or from the OEM installation on the laptop?

I'm sorry if I'm making this so hard ("Why doesn't this idiot just buy a Windows 8 DVD?") but I really cannot afford to pay the $100.

 

The "best" answer I can give is to make a friend that has an MSDN account and ask them to download Win8 for you. I can confirm that the MSDN ISO will activate against OA 3.0 (a slight tweak to a config file may be needed). We actually do this at work with the Lenovo laptops we get, as they come preloaded with Windows 7 and Win8 is on discs. The discs take about two hours to install and are horribly bloated. We made an MSDN USB key and we slam that on instead, works great.

The Hail Mary play would be to use Magic Jellybean or another "get me the Windows key off my computer" app and plug it into MS's "download Win8 with just a key" page:
Upgrade to Windows 8 with only a product key - Microsoft Windows

It might still offer to download an ISO.

(I still recommend getting an MSDN ISO)

 

i have dream spark or whatever at my college. PM me today or tomorrow and i'll try to take a look when i get a chance. No guarantee my community college has it.

 

Have you checked if it is possible to somehow get to installation media starting from here?

 

Whats wrong with using Windows 8 Refresh option?

Not all of OEMs reinstalls their bloatware on their lowest level.

 

You can do a fresh install of Windows 8 with the upgrade method by opting out of migrating data during the install process. I don't know if using a key finder utility will work with OEM, as (if I remember correctly), OEMs use a factory key for install that does not match the key in BIOS/OA 3.0.

That may have changed with Windows 8 though.

 

I've already verified that in this case, Refresh/Reset both reinstall the bloatware.

 

Is this method actually possible to do on my Lenovo? I thought you can only run upgrade from an older OS like Vista and 7?

Which key is guaranteed to activate, the OEM one or the one in the BIOS? I know I can get the BIOS key by using Belarc Advisor or Magical Jelly Bean, but what about the OEM? Maybe Lenovo can give me that info?

 

You can run it when upgrading solely the edition (Windows 8 to Windows 8 Pro, for example), but since you're just trying to reinstall the core that's probably not the most useful info for you.

BIOS. The key that any key-finding utility spits out will be the one in the registry, which is the factory OEM key they use to mass install. Again though, I'm not sure if this is the same method with Widows 8. The key on the OA sticker or in the SLIC was what would be used for activation, but the key in the registry from factory was different and just part of mass deployment.

 

Thanks for clarifying.

So as I understand it, I still can't get anywhere without Windows 8 installation media since the upgrade method has been shot down. And I should have no problems with product key and activation unless I'm trying to upgrade to Pro in which case I can use the workaround you linked to earlier.

 

Actually his work around post is very useful. But a lot of times turning off Secure Boot and Enabling CSM in the BIO's will let you boot what ever you want. Even unsigned iso's of Windows. This let's you add a ei.cfg file with volume licensing turned on (from his post) in the Sources directory of the ISO without the need of a second install disk. This will let you select the Pro version of Windows 8. If you don't need Pro just boot up with a retail copy of W8 and it should auto activate standard edition (that they computer came with from a big name OEM) and not even bother you for a serial, thanks to the horrible SLIC 3.0.

The only real reason one would need Windows 8 Pro is domain join.

I don't like this Secure Boot and SLIC 3 stuff at all. Took me a long time to figure out how to get my machine to just boot and reinstall Windows 8 (without the crapware).

Note if you buy / build a custom PC and not from a big box manufacure you wouldn't have this problem as you can boot and install whatever version of Windows 8 you want. Also you could buy a PC from the Microsoft store. It's not widely publicised but the machines they sell come with just Windows 8 and no crapware.

 

The laptop has already been purchased. All I need right now is some way to obtain Windows 8 Core installation media.

 

The selection is extremely limited, though. Basically your only options here would be barebones systems and gaming laptops from boutiques. If you want any other category of laptop, you're out of luck.

 

However you decide to proceed with this make sure you make system restore disks before you attempt the re-install just in case something goes wrong...

 

Got an install disk (Win 7) when I got my Alienware M17x R3 last year.

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk 2

 

Typically when I've purchased a new system the first thing I was asked to do is make some restore disks. I purchased a Windows 8 system and it made the restore on a flash drive. The times I've made restore disks it made a system disk and drivers and programs disks which you had to install separately. All companies offer the restore DVD's/disks for a fee.

I think it would be just as easy for you to go into add/remove programs and remove them yourself. Bloatware shouldn't really affect you unless they are set to run at startup and you can remove them from starting with the OS by removing them from startup. The only way they program can affect you is if you click on them to run or startup. They may take up space but programs use little space and data is what really uses space.

 

That seems to be the case. MS has really tried to crack down on piracy. OEM cooperation just furthers the hassle for us end-users, along with OA 3.0 and dismissal of retail versions of Win 8.