Installing windows X on laptop that originally came with windows 8

mystvearn · 29 May 2020

Hi,

I have a dell xps L322X laptop which came with windows 8. The laptop is too slow now even with SSD installed. Below the laptop is a metal flap saying windows 8 but with no windows key like older laptops. It has a serial number of the hardware. The laptop is now windows x home which was given for free by Microsoft few years back. Windows x was never clean installed on it, just upgraded, as given by Microsoft. How do I now clean install the laptop? It never came with a window dvd, and no conventional 16 windows key.

dalchina · 29 May 2020

It's a common misconception born of history that you need a Win 10 key in this circumstance.

The laptop has a digital activation- that is held on MS activation servers. Activation should be automatic on clean installation.

Slowness could be due to configuration issues resulting in high resource usage (CPU, disk - even when idle); insufficent free space on C: or components not performing to spec. Some people find their maximum disk transfer rate is limited to a mere 10MB/s for example.

Relevant tutorials for you:
Activate Windows 10
Use Activation Troubleshooter in Windows 10
Link Microsoft Account to Windows 10 Digital License

from useful searchable list:
Windows 10 Tutorial Index

See:
Clean Install Windows 10
- noting this requires you to delete all (4 for UEFI configurations) partitions created when Windows was installed.

And you might save space by deleting an old manufacturer's recovery partition if still present - perhaps 12-18Gb say.

mystvearn · 31 May 2020

I see. Thanks for the tips.

dalchina · 01 Jun 2020

Please remember to start a new regime of disk imaging (e.g. Macrium Reflect + large enough external storage) as early as you can after a clean install and any feature upgrade.

zbook · 01 Jun 2020

Did you want to clean install / troubleshoot Windows 8?
Or clean install Windows 10?

Bree · 01 Jun 2020

mystvearn said:

Below the laptop is a metal flap saying windows 8 but with no windows key like older laptops ...How do I now clean install the laptop? It never came with a window dvd, and no conventional 16 windows key.

The CoA sticker with a Windows key was abandoned after Windows 7. For all machines supplied with Windows 8 or later there is a key embedded in the bios. You can read this key with ShowKeyPlus.

When you boot from a Windows 10 install usb to do a clean install Setup will read the embedded key and use it to both chose the correct edition to install (Home or Pro) and to activate and register the PC's hardware ID for a digital license on Microsoft's activation servers.

A clean install on any machine with a W8/W10 key in the bios will skip asking you for a key or what edition to install, it gets all that from the embedded key.