# What you need - Windows installation media. This could be an installation .ISO or DVD - USB flash drive with at least 5GB free space. This drive will be formatted, so make sure it doesn't have any important files on it. - Technician PC - Windows PC that you'll use to format the USB flash drive - Destination PC - A PC that you'll install Windows on ### Step 1 - Format the drive and set the primary partition as active 1. Connect the USB flash drive to your technician PC. 2. Open Disk Management: Right-click on **Start** and choose **Disk Management**. 3. Format the partition: Right-click the USB drive partition and choose **Format**. Select the **FAT32** file system to be able to boot either BIOS-based or UEFI-based PCs. > **Note** > FAT32 has a file size limit of 4GB. If your WIM image is larger than 4 GB, see [If your Windows image is larger than 4GB](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/manufacture/desktop/install-windows-from-a-usb-flash-drive?view=windows-11#if-your-windows-image-is-larger-than-4gb) below. 4. Set the partition as active: Right-click the USB drive partition and click **Mark Partition as Active**. > **Note** > If **Mark Partition as Active** isn't available, you can instead use [diskpart](https://learn.microsoft.com//en-us/windows-server/administration/windows-commands/diskpart) to select the partition and mark it active. ### Step 2 - Copy Windows Setup to the USB flash drive 1. Use File Explorer to copy and paste the entire contents of the Windows product DVD or ISO to the USB flash drive. 2. Optional: add an unattend file to automate the installation process. For more information, see [Automate Windows Setup](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/manufacture/desktop/windows-setup-automation-overview?view=windows-11). ### Step 3 - Install Windows to the new PC 1. Connect the USB flash drive to a new PC. 2. Turn on the PC and press the key that opens the boot-device selection menu for the computer, such as the Esc/F10/F12 keys. Select the option that boots the PC from the USB flash drive. 3. Windows Setup starts. Follow the instructions to install Windows. 4. Remove the USB flash drive. ## Preinstall Keys

Windows Version	Product Key
Windows 8	46V6N-VCBYR-KT9KT-6Y4YF-QGJYH
Windows 8 Professional	V7C3N-3W6CM-PDKR2-KW8DQ-RJMRD
Windows 8 N	7QNT4-HJDDR-T672J-FBFP4-2J8X9
Windows 8 Professional N	4NX4X-C98R3-KBR22-MGBWC-D667X
Windows 8 Single Language	NH7GX-2BPDT-FDPBD-WD893-RJMQ4

Win8.1_English_x64.iso

Win8.1_English_x64.iso