The Windows 8 operating system includes a number of user interface changes, but the installation process is very similar to previous operating systems. In this video, you’ll learn what to do before, during, and after an installation of Windows 8 and 8.1.
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Whenever you’re making a significant configuration change to a computer, especially installing a new version of an operating system, you want to make sure you don’t lose any data. So make sure you perform a backup before doing any type of installation. Make sure you check the minimum requirements for the version of the operating system you’re installing so that you’re sure you’re going to have enough memory and enough drive space to install the OS.
If you’d like, you can run Windows Upgrade Advisor. You can download this from Microsoft’s website. Or, you can run it manually during the Windows installation process. And of course, have your license key available, know what type of file system you’d like to install, have the original settings available, and any other questions that may be asked of you during the installation.
The Windows 8.1 requirements are for a 1 gigahertz processor for both the 32-bit and 64-bit systems. A 32-bit version of Windows 8 or Windows 8.1 requires 1 gigabyte of RAM with 16 gigabytes of free disk space. And the 64-bit version requires twice as much memory, 2 gigabytes of RAM and 20 gigabytes of free disk space.
Instead of installing onto a physical PC, I’m going to install into a virtual computer using VirtualBox. You can download VirtualBox from virtualbox.org. And this runs in Windows, in Mac OS, and in Linux.
You’re also going to need the installation media for Windows 8 or Windows 8.1 so that you can install it onto this virtual machine. I’m going to start by choosing the new option on VirtualBox. I’m going to call this new virtual machine Windows 8.1.
This is going to run Microsoft Windows. And I am going to use Windows 8.1 64-bit during this installation. So let’s click Continue.
It says that the recommended memory size for this version is 20 48 megabytes. That’s 2 gigabytes, which is correct. So we’ll take the default and choose Continue.
VirtualBox now says that the recommended size for this hard disk is 25 gigabytes. I know that the minimum is 20 gigabytes for the 64-bit version of Windows 8.1. So that 25 gigabytes is certainly room enough. I’m going to choose to create a virtual hard disk now by clicking Create.
VirtualBox gives me a number of different file types to use. I’m going to use the default VirtualBox disk image and click Continue. Now Virtual asks if I’d like to have a fixed size for this 25-gig drive, or if I’d like to dynamically allocate it as I go. And for my purposes, dynamically allocated sounds great. We’ll click Continue.
Now I’m presented with the option for the hard disk file name and the size. All of the defaults look fine to me, so let’s click Create. Now my virtual system is being created. And if I’d like to start up my virtual PC, all I have to do is put the installation media into the optical drive that’s on my computer, and VirtualBox will use that when I’m booting.
My particular system doesn’t have an optical drive. So I’m going to choose Settings, change to the storage option, and I’ve created an ISO image of my Windows setup drive. So I’m going to select that on my optical drive, my Windows 8.1 64-bit. And now that has virtually been installed into my optical drive inside of the system. So I’ll click Start.
The first option for Windows 8 ask me the language I’d like to use, the time and currency format, and the keyboard method. All of these look fine with the default, so I’ll click Next. Now I have the option to install now.
I also have a selection to repair my computer. You can use a number of different options there. But since this is a fresh installation, I’ll simply choose Install Now.
The next prompt is for the product key for Windows. So make sure you put your product key in this dialog and click Next. The next prompt is for the license agreement. And you can read through all of the different options in the license agreement. If you agree to those, you can click I Accept the License Terms, and click Next to continue.
Windows then ask what type of installation you’d like, if this is an upgrade where you have existing version of Windows and you’d like to install over that version, you can simply choose Upgrade. This is a brand new system with a completely empty hard drive. So we’re going to choose Custom Install Windows Only.
Windows then asked where I’d like to install this operating system. I have a single drive. It has one big section of unallocated space. It’s 25 gig in size.
I could create separate partitions. If I had separate drives, I could install Windows onto a different drive in a different partition. But in this case, I’m going to use all 25 gig of unallocated space and install Windows into that space by clicking Next.
Now Windows will start transferring files onto the system, putting them in the correct location. And it may reboot a number of times before it comes back with the next dialog. After the files have been installed, we can personalize this system.
You can choose a color and a PC name. We’ll call this Professor PC. And click Next.
Now we can choose to go through the express settings. You can read through what all of those might be. You have the option also to customize this. And you will be prompted to go through all of these different settings, so you can create exactly the right experience you’d like in Windows.
In this case, I’m going to choose Express Settings. It’s now going to check my internet settings and see what options I might have to log into this system. The default option is to use my Microsoft account to synchronize all of my settings throughout all of the systems that I log into.
But you can also create a local account on the system by choosing Create a new account, and then on that second screen sign in without a Microsoft account. Whether you want to use a Microsoft account or a local account is really up to your own personal preference.
I’m going to create a local account on this computer. My user name will be Professor. I’ll add a password. I’ll re-enter the password. And my password hint is secret. And we’ll click Finish.
And now Windows 8 will go through a restart. And then it will be able to log in to this desktop. Depending on what version of Windows 8 you’re installing, you may be prompted to upgrade to Windows 10. If you are prompted, you can always choose to do it later or decline the upgrade completely.
And now we’re at our desktop. And we can run through the post installation tasks for Windows 8.1. The Windows installation works well on many different kinds of hardware. But if you’re running into problems, you may want to check the installation logs or run some tests with your hardware.
And now that Windows has been installed, we want to be sure that we’re running the latest service pack with the latest security patches, and make sure that you have the security applications for anti-virus and anti-malware enabled. You’ll probably need to make sure your drivers are up to date. And of course, you’ll need to install and update any applications that you’d like to use in the Windows 8 operating system.