Upon install you only need the Deployment Tools option checked. Install the Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit for Windows 8.WinRAR or other utility that can extract the contents of an ISO image to a directory.Stock Windows 8 32-bit or 64-bit ISO image.To get started let’s review the tools that are needed The file was removed from the Windows 8 and Windows 8 Pro editions but it can still be used to alter the installer behavior. Once Windows is installed, you will need to enter a valid product key within 90 days.īehind the scenes Microsoft used to rely on a file called EI.CFG to tell the installer what edition to install or to show a menu to allow users selection. This guide will help you create a custom boot CD or USB device that will display a edition selection menu similar to Windows 7 and also allow you to skip entering a product key during installation. However, the standard and pro editions prompt for a product key as soon as you try to install. The enterprise edition already lets users install without a product key since that version is configured for KMS activation servers. I can imagine there were users of Windows 7 that complained when they installed the wrong edition by mistake which they could not activate with their key and had to re-install windows and all their apps.

Depending on the product key entered the correct edition is installed. I would bet the latter since the same installation media is actually used for both the standard and pro editions of Windows 8. It is not clear if this change was an attempt to cut down on piracy or rather a simplification of the installation process. I find myself installing Windows 8 frequently and this is one of my primary annoyances while writing my new book on Windows 8.

This can be very annoying for legitimate users that simply want to install Windows 8 for testing. For the first time since Windows XP, Microsoft is forcing users to enter a product key before Windows can be installed.

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