Clean Windows 8 Install

[d85kennedy]

I have been repairing and tinkering with computers for some time now and now Microsoft has totally perplexed me.

I have a friends packard bell laptop with Windows 8 pre-installed on it. The laptop refuses to boot. I have tested the hard drive and it is physically ok. The boot loader is broken and as a result the laptop cannot boot or even see the recovery partition.

I can access the command prompt and browse all partitions on the drive - including the recovery partition. When I manually activate the recovery partition software it cannot find the disc. Also all the options to repair the boot loader do not work either.

I need to do a clean install BUT !

As far as i can tell there is no recovery disc/iso for windows 8. The recovery files are on a hard drive partition. The laptop cannot access this. The product key is within the BOIS so all I need is an OEM iso file - Microsoft and packard bell state this does not exist.

So, if I am right. All the files I need to repair the hard drive are IN THE HARD DRIVE (!) and there is no alternative.

I personally have a copy of Windows 8.1 retail on my desktop, but my product key is retail so this is no use for making a recovery usb. I also think I am running 32bit and the laptop is 64bit.

This is NUTS - even if the hard drive does turn out to be physically damaged then I still have no way to re-install Windows. I don't think you can buy OEM product keys??

Any suggestions would be welcome - (apart from installing vista)

 

[The_Prophecy]

First, your friend should create a recovery disk once the system is back up and running. OEM's (this is absolutely NOT Microsoft's responsibility if they are not selling the hardware directly to the user) should make it more clear to end users that they should create a recovery disk from the preloaded recovery partition. It would save them a lot of support costs in the end.

What your friend is stuck with however, is contacting the OEM to have the machine reimaged with the factory image. Since you have the drive there and can access it, ask your friend what (if any) data they need backed up. Copy it somewhere and restore it once the machine is returned. Once the backup is complete, have your friend contact the manufacturer and tell them what is happening. Arrange to have the machine reimaged. If they have an on-site repair service plan, great. If not, the machine will need to be sent to the OEM's repair facility. The OEM will provide shipping details for where to send the system.