Windows 8 reinstall with no media

jpfahy

I have a Packard Bell Windows 8 laptop on which the HDD has physically died. I have no backup or install media. It's out of warranty. I have bought a new hard disk, now how the hell do I get it up and running again?????

Stuxnet

I would use a linux live cd/usb to mount the broken hdd, see if you can copy off the install.wim from the recovery partition and use that to make a recovery cd/usb. Unless there is a two inch hole gaping through the hdd, hdd's are rarely broken, stuff can be resuced off them easily with a live usb, create an ubuntu live usb with this if your not familiar, it easy, and boot the usb as you would boot a cd OS, you should be able access your hdd then and have a poke around.

jpfahy

Stuxnet wrote: »

I would use a linux live cd/usb to mount the broken hdd, see if you can copy off the install.wim from the recovery partition and use that to make a recovery cd/usb. Unless there is a two inch hole gaping through the hdd, hdd's are rarely broken, stuff can be resuced off them easily with a live usb, create an ubuntu live usb with this if your not familiar, it easy, and boot the usb as you would boot a cd OS, you should be able access your hdd then and have a poke around.

Thanks but the hard drive is physically dead, won't spin up. Kaput, Knackered, Kicked the bucket!!

Overheal

Windows 8 media is downloadable from digital river, I'm almost definitely absolutely positive. USB install option is a definite.

aidan_walsh

Windows 7 is distributed by Digital River, but 8 and 8.1 are not. You can create a bootable USB drive or ISO file, but you need a working copy of Windows to run the WindowsSetup tool on.

Stuxnet

jpfahy wrote: »

Thanks but the hard drive is physically dead, won't spin up. Kaput, Knackered, Kicked the bucket!!

the motor is dead, (or something popped) the disk is fine
open it up, you can fix it ..