How to install Windows 8 on empty hard drive?

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luneki

luneki

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Jun 25, 2013
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Hi, so i'm building my pc and i have everything figured out, except the OS part.

I have an old laptop that originally came with W7, when W8 came out i went to the store and bought W8 and installed it on that laptop.

Since the W8 licence is not OEM i can transfer it to the new pc and i'll downgrade the laptop to W7.

But the problems are:

1) My build will not include a DVD drive

2) I've seen on some places you can't actually install W8 just like that, you need a previous version of windows to be able to install W8.

So what do i do? Obviously i guess install W8 from a bootable USB, but will that work?
Could i copy the W8 DVD to a usb and just boot from there?

EDIT: GUYS! i just found out my W8 copy is an UPGRADE licence.
So i guess i DO need a previous version of windows to install it right?
Could i just download a random W7 iso and leave it without activation and then install my W8?
Or do i need an actual licence just to be able to upgrade?
Also it seems there's a trick known as the "double install trick"
Could this also work?
 
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theyeti87

theyeti87

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Sep 15, 2012
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USB is the way to go. The installation process goes significantly faster when pulling the OS from USB as opposed to DVD.

The link that SR-71 sent is what you need. The software will allow you to download the flavor of Windows you want (remember you'll need a product key) and create a bootable USB drive.

To boot from USB you'll need to enter the BIOS and designate that the USB is #1 boot device priority.
 
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