New laptop needed to restore windows 8.1?

[BobMCT]

Just purchased a new Asus laptop with Windows 8.1 for a new project. I could NOT get the necessary application software to function under Windows 8.1 so I downgraded to Windows 7 64bit enterprise and it worked. Now with the project over I'm trying to bring the laptop back to its original Windows 8.1 install. Of course there was no recovery backup made prior to the downgrade but it was assumed the recovery partition would still be on the disk.

I've tried multiple ways to boot and recover from this partition but all of them don't even find that partition.
Can anyone shed some light on what I might be able to use or do to make this recovery?

Any suggestions appreciated.

 

[goombawaho]

You could look at the partitions and try to choose to make the recovery partition bootable if it still exists.

If the recovery partition is still there but not bootable, you could boot from a Windows PE environment or Windows 8 recovery DVD and launch the restore application and hope it would work. I have seen this work with Windows XP when a valid recovery partition was there but not bootable. Never tried this with Windows 8

Download or borrow a windows 8 DVD, choose correct version to install (Home, Pro, etc). Activate with key code on side of computer. ASSUMING key code on side of computer says Windows 8!!!!

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Obviously you should have created the recovery discs!!





"Living tomorrow is everyone's sorrow.
Modern man's daydreams have turned into nightmares.

 

[linney]

Most new machines come with a recovery partition allowing you to go back to the time of purchase, you will have to check your user guides (or the manufacturer's Web Site) for instructions. Choosing that path requires you to save all valuable data first.

 

[cdogg]

Bob,
When you downgraded to Win7, you might have accidentally blown away the recovery partition, at least that's what it sounds like. Check the user guides as linney suggests to make sure you are following the proper procedure for your model. If that doesn't work, then yeah that partition is probably missing. If you can still boot into Win7, then you can check to see what partitions are on the drive using "Disk Management" in the Computer Management console.

Without a recovery partition, you do have other options. As Goom suggests, you can get a hold of a recovery DVD, preferably from Asus. There will be a small fee of $10-20 to have them ship that to you (some manufacturers offer the option to download it for a smaller fee or no fee). The other option is to use a standard Windows 8 DVD to reload from scratch using the key code labeled on the laptop (also as Goom suggests). Though it's easier to get a hold of a standard Win8 DVD, there is also a disadvantage. This option will not restore the laptop to factory condition, meaning you'll have to manually download drivers and software from Asus's site after loading Windows.

-Carl
"The glass is neither half-full nor half-empty: it's twice as big as it needs to be."

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[BobMCT]

Thank you all for your comments/suggestions. I found someone with a MS Win 8.1 DVD which I'm going to try installing over the next few days. I already have the drivers from the ASUS site. (fingers crossed!)

Thanks again.

 

[goombawaho]

linney - you missed this:

When you downgraded to Win7, you might have accidentally blown away the recovery partition, at least that's what it sounds like.

And you won't have all bloat-ware that might come with it - boo hoo.

This option will not restore the laptop to factory condition, meaning you'll have to manually download drivers and software from Asus's site after loading Windows.

"Living tomorrow is everyone's sorrow.
Modern man's daydreams have turned into nightmares.

 

[linney]

I was hoping the hidden recovery partition had remained (it should have) and with the correct launching instructions from the Asus website the whole thing could have been resurrected back to factory defaults of day one.

 

[goombawaho]

Doesn't the recovery partition rely on the partition being in a certain location and respond to a keystroke upon bootup. If the partition is still there but the link is broken, it will act as if it's not there.

"Living tomorrow is everyone's sorrow.
Modern man's daydreams have turned into nightmares.