Let's go back to talking about the upgrade to Windows 8 from Windows 7 or XP which, as explained, takes place through the Upgrade Assistant program. In the update there are two options, one to install Windows 8 directly, the other to create an ISO file and proceed with an installation from DVD or USB stick.
If the ISO file was created during the update procedure, it remains on the disk and can be kept.
If instead you have chosen the fast and direct option, you will find yourself with Windows 8 installed, but without an installation disk that it would always be useful to have, both to solve errors and to reinstall the system.
Also having the Windows 8 installation DVD would also allow you to install Windows 8 cleanly.
The content of this article also applies to the Windows 8.1 update of Windows 8
Update : Microsoft has made available the download of Windows 8.1 without the need for a product key through a specific tool to be used to reset the computer and reinstall it.
The ISO file can be burned to a DVD as a disc image (using the IMGBurn program or from Windows 8 by clicking on the ISO with the right mouse button) or you can create a USB stick for Windows 8 installation that can be booted at boot .
After purchasing Windows 8 and obtaining the product key for the Windows 8 license, you can download the ISO file later .
After the purchase, in fact, Microsoft sends the invoice by EMail.
In this message you should find a line where it is written that if you need to download Windows, you can enter the product key " here ".
Then click on the " here " link to download the installer.
The first thing that is asked for is the Product Key which must be the one written in the invoice received via Email.
Go ahead and choose to create a new media that can be USB or Windows 8 Pro CD.
You can also choose to install Windows 8 afterwards and let the ISO be downloaded to be manually copied to DVD or USB.
The ISO file is about 3 GB so you will have to wait some time depending on the internet connection speed.
After downloading the file, the ISO file is saved on the hard disk.
You can download Windows 8.1 even without Email and before installation, from this page of the Microsoft site, by pressing the Install Windows 8 or Install Windows 8.1 button .
This causes a small program to be downloaded, which then allows, once executed on the computer, to download the ISO and create the installation DVD (for the download, in this case, it is necessary to already have a valid purchase Product Key ).
If the product key is rejected, see how to troubleshoot Windows 8.1 product keys here.
Keep in mind that Windows 8 can only be installed with the upgrade license and that there can be problems if it is installed on a different computer.
Sometimes, when doing a new installation, it is possible that the activation of the regular license is not successful and for this problem we will look for a regular solution in a future article.
In another article, how to create a custom Windows 8 Lite installation cd .
