malone wrote:
I have been given a five-year old laptop with Window 8 and want to
upgrade it to Windows 8.1.
I went to the Windows store and clicked "download" on the "Upgrade to
Windows 8.1" page. After a short period it came back with "Something
happened and the installation of Windows 8.1 can't be completed."
"Something happened.."!! Well, we all know that Microsoft error messages
can be enigmatic, if not totally useless. But Microsoft appears to have
reached a new low with "Something happened"!
Can anyone suggest how I can discover a more useful reason for this
failure? Or another way of upgrading to Windows 8.1?
Microsoft provides a download page for media, but it requires a *retail*
key to enable downloads. This severely curtails the ability of legit
customers, to get a legit disc.
For *oem* laptop owners, there is Heidoc URL generator. The URL that
points to the ISO file for Windows 8.1 is valid for 24 hours.
https://www.heidoc.net/joomla/techno...-download-tool
here is a picture of that, currently at version 5.29, and no longer
able to provide Windows 7 media.
https://s18.postimg.org/eomu5q7h5/heidoc_529.gif
The Win8.1 Home/Win8.1 Pro disc comes in a 32 bit version (2.5GB)
and a 64 bit version (3.5GB). You should select the disc that
matches the bit-ness of your OS. The System control panel may
hint at this - if it mentions 64 bit, then it's probably a 64 bit
install.
There are two "Copy Link" buttons on the right side. Click the 32 bit button,
then go to Notepad and Paste. Click the 64 bit button, then go to
Notepad and Paste. Now, you have recorded the two URLs that are valid
for download for the next 24 hours. You can paste the URL into any browser,
and start the download straight from Microsoft. The download doesn't
come from Heidoc itself. Once you've captured the two URLs in notepad
and saved them (in case the power goes off), you can then concentrate
on your downloading activities.
*******
Assuming Windows 8.1 has the ability to mount ISO files simply by
right-clicking them, you can select "mount" and the ISO will appear
as a "virtual DVD drive" in your running copy of Windows 8.
Double click the setup.exe on that virtual DVD drive, to kick
off an Upgrade install to 8.1.
The DVD image is only needed during the "copy phase". If the
computer reboots, and the virtual DVD is lost, the later stages
of the installation can proceed without the image.
You can burn the ISO to a DVD if you want, and load the DVD into
your DVD tray, and do the Upgrade install that way. An Upgrade
install preserves your programs and data. A program for converting
an ISO, to a bootable DVD, is available here.
http://www.oldversion.com/windows/do...mgburn-2-5-0-0
2.5.0.0_SetupImgBurn_2.5.0.0.exe 2,169,915 bytes Jul 26, 2009
CRC32: 39CD6FC6
MD5: F3791CFACDAC03B9E676E44AA2630243
SHA-1: E07BCC23B495D0A966BAE359EA9E0E3A11888454
If your laptop was originally an actual Win8 OEM machine,
the license key is in the ACPI MSDM table in the BIOS. And the
upgrade installation can automatically see that key and activate.
For other possible combinations, you might want to gather
your license key information first, before you start.
Always make a *full* backup before beginning. If anything
untoward happens, you can restore from backup. Macrium Reflect Free is
available as an example of a product with an emergency boot CD and
the ability to back up to an external hard drive, or even to a
Windows File share on another computer.
http://www.macrium.com/reflectfree.asp
*******
If your computer does not have a DVD drive, and you want
the ability to make a "clean" install of 8.1 at a future date,
this tool will transfer a Vista/W7/W8/W81/W10 DVD to a USB key
of appropriate size. Even though the tool was written in
the Windows 7 era, it has served me well when transferring
ISO images of DVDs, onto a USB stick instead. This runs
faster than the 5MB/sec my DVD drive can manage on reads.
"Windows 7 USB DVD Download Tool
(extracts from ISO9660 file and copies files to USB stick)"
The first link is the README, the second link the download.
http://web.archive.org/web/201201022...usbdvd_dwnTool
http://web.archive.org/web/201110052...B-DVD-tool.exe
If you operate that tool from a 64-bit OS, it can make
32 bit or 64 bit USB sticks. No hackery is required.
If you operate the program from a 32-bit OS, there
is a "trick" to using the program. You need to extract a
copy of a 32-bit version of bootsect.exe . A 32-bit DVD will
have a copy. Place the copy of bootsect.exe into the
program folder, so the program can find it in preference
to itself extracting the 64-bit version off some ISO
(the 64-bit program won't run on a 32-bit system).
Then things should work for any ISO you offer it.
C:\Documents and Settings\User Name\Local Settings\Application Data\Apps\Windows 7 USB DVD Download Tool
bootsect.exe (32-bit executable) 112,904 bytes
And really, who cares about the Windows Store, anyway... :-)
Paul