What Will Windows 8 Leave Me With?

[TrophyNostalgia]

So I'm looking into upgrading to Windows 8, however there are a few things holding me back that I would like to clarify before I jump the gun.

I'm running Windows 7 Ultimate Edition on a Dell XPS 17 Laptop (64bit ed.)

1) Are there any issues installing straight from a 64bit ed. of Windows 7 to a 64bit version of Windows 8 Pro? (Is 64 bit ed. included?)

2) Will I still be able to use my Zune HD with the new Xbox Music software on Windows 8, or will I no longer be able to sync music onto my Zune HD?

3) Say for example I get a virus, or for various reasons I need to do a clean install on my computer later on, by purchasing the $40 upgrade, how do I go about doing the fresh install, as I believe this is not the "full OS, because it needs a previous version of Windows installed to do a clean install; is that correct? Or how does that work?

4) One feature I loved about Windows 7 Ultimate was the ability to switch between multi-lingual keyboards as I frequently type in different languages, especially Russian. Is Windows 8 Pro capable of doing this?

Any other advice for starting out with Windows 8, or suggestions on upgrading are much appreciated! (I've heard from many it's probably best to just do a fresh install from scratch and re-install all your programs and files from back-up simply as rule of thumb; comments? Thanks guys!)

 

[VagrantWade]

So I'm looking into upgrading to Windows 8, however there are a few things holding me back that I would like to clarify before I jump the gun.

I'm running Windows 7 Ultimate Edition on a Dell XPS 17 Laptop (64bit ed.)

1) Are there any issues installing straight from a 64bit ed. of Windows 7 to a 64bit version of Windows 8 Pro? (Is 64 bit ed. included?)

2) Will I still be able to use my Zune HD with the new Xbox Music software on Windows 8, or will I no longer be able to sync music onto my Zune HD?

3) Say for example I get a virus, or for various reasons I need to do a clean install on my computer later on, by purchasing the $40 upgrade, how do I go about doing the fresh install, as I believe this is not the "full OS, because it needs a previous version of Windows installed to do a clean install; is that correct? Or how does that work?

4) One feature I loved about Windows 7 Ultimate was the ability to switch between multi-lingual keyboards as I frequently type in different languages, especially Russian. Is Windows 8 Pro capable of doing this?

Any other advice for starting out with Windows 8, or suggestions on upgrading are much appreciated! (I've heard from many it's probably best to just do a fresh install from scratch and re-install all your programs and files from back-up simply as rule of thumb; comments? Thanks guys!)

1) No issues unless you run into driver problems that you can always fix after. And it will download 32 bit or 64bit depending on what you run the upgrade assistant on.

2) You can still run the zune software.

3) You can do a fresh install anytime you want. Your product key is what matters here. They tell you it and e-mail it to you.

4) Windows 8 has basically everything Windows 7 has, so yes multilingual keyboard support.

Like I said. Virtually every aspect is Windows 7 is in Windows 8. They just made the start bar a full screen menu.

 

[Laura Knotek]

You'll want to get the Media Center while it is available for free. http://www.pcworld.com/article/2013...media-center-to-windows-8-free-of-charge.html

 

[kenzibit]

How do you do a fresh installation? Mine keeps on upgrading

 

[TrophyNostalgia]

Cleaning Windows Out

How do you do a fresh installation? Mine keeps on upgrading

I just finished my clean installation of Windows 8 today, I have few complaints about it. It takes a little bit to get used to it, but once you understand it, it is a beautiful, snappy, and fast operating system to use! Loving it, thanks for all the help guys.

In response to your question for clean install I had to boot from the Upgrade DVD (restart your computer, hit F2; go to your boot options, and select boot from DVD/CD.) If you downloaded Windows 8, you have to do export the OS to a flashdrive or ISO. I initially just popped the DVD in my computer and said keep nothing, but that still is not the same as a clean install and it just stored a Windows.old on my computer. You need to boot from DVD drive (or USB if you used download) select advanced install, re-format your harddrive to erase it, and then install windows fresh. Let me know if you need any more clarification.