My VX came with Windows 8 OEM (not Pro) installed on 750GB HDD which was formatted as GPT drive (work with UEFI and the legacy BIOS).
I bought a SSD drive and wanted to install fresh Windows 8 on it. I was hesitant about migrating the current OS installation from the HDD to the newly added SSD because of the following reasons:
1. There is a chance that TRIM support by the OS may not activate
2. The partitions alignment may not be proper which can bring poor SSD results
3. I wanted to leave the ASUS install and recovery partitions intact in case I need them in the future (having a spare OS may come handy especially if one is traveling and does not have live CD).
4. There are occasions when the migration comes with problems for starting certain applications that were installed previously.
Very important: the install process is lot less complicated if one would like to install fresh Windows 8 on MBR drive. The challenge for me was to install the OS on GPT formatted drive.
Here is how I did it:
I checked which version of Windows 8 came pre-installed with the laptop by running “winver” application. The winver can be accessed by activating “search” and typing “winver”.
Here is how it can be done:
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/which-operating-systemI made note of the version and mine was Windows 8. Not pro. This meant that it is Core OEM version. This step is important because I must fresh install the same version of Windows if I want it to activate automatically with the license purchased with the laptop.
If I install different version the installation will not activate.
After many tries and fails I managed to find the proper version:
Windows 8 (x64) English
3416 MB
File Name: en_windows_8_x64_dvd_915440.iso
SHA1: 1CE53AD5F60419CF04A715CF3233F247E48BEEC4
I had to download this specific ISO from the net. I than verified the hash (SHA1). There are many free utilities on the net that can do this easily. It is important to verify the hash after downloading the ISO to make sure that it has not been modified by someone i.e. it is the original Microsoft ISO.
Please note that users with Windows 8 Pro preinstalled will have to find the appropriate OEM ISO.
After downloading I made sure that the ISO is UEFI bootable. Some ISO are not tailored for booting under UEFI. Opened the ISO with Daemon Tools Lite and noticed that in EFI\BOOT\ there was a file bootx64.efi which is exactly the file required for booting from USB drive.
This is important because I wanted to install Win8 on GPT partitioned drive.
I turned off the computer and installed the SSD drive in the second bay. Once I fired up Windows again it immediately recognized the newly added SSD and prompted me whether I would like the drive to become GPT or MBR drive. I selected GPT.
Got a brand new SanDisk Extreme USB drive (USB 3.0 and ultrafast) but you can use any other USB drive with at least 4GB of available space. Make sure to make backup because once it is made UEFI bootable the USB drive contents most probably will be wiped out.
UEFI can read only FAT32 formatted USB flash sticks (memory). In order to boot from USB under UEFI it is also important that the drive is partitioned as Active Primary FAT 32 partition.
To do this open CMD (type CMD in “search”, right click and run as administrator). In CMD type “diskpart” (without the quotes).
Than type “list disk” followed by:
• select disk #
• clean
• create partition primary
• format fs=fat32 quick
• active
• assign
• list volume
• exit
For more information here is a link:
http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/15458-uefi-bootable-usb-flash-drive-create-windows.htmlAfter USB is partitioned open the ISO with Daemon Tools Lite (once loaded it will become a separate drive letter in your computer). Copy all of the files from that drive (virtual drive) to the formatted USB.
I plugged the USB and rebooted. I went into BIOS (by pressing F2 immediately after restart) and made sure that “Launch CSM” is set to Disabled. Switched to "Security" and set "Secure Boot Control" to Disabled. I will re-enable the Secure Boot once the installation is finished.
Than went into the boot options and made the UEFI USB drive as first boot option.
Restarted and the Windows installation started. It immediately recognized the HDD partitions and the newly added SSD. I selected the SSD unformatted drive and pressed install. With the SanDisk extreme USB drive the installation lasted 3-4 minutes.
After the installation was done and after the restart I was prompted with the boot options (windows boot loader):
A) Windows 8 on Volume 8 and
B) Windows 8 on Volume 4.
The first is the SSD OS which is now made default and the second option is the old Windows 8 installation that came with the laptop. So I can choose which OS I would like to boot into. Two Windows 8 installations can coexist.
I can later use BCD edit if I want to change the boot options screen.
Connected to Internet and Windows activated just fine.
Use ASUS DVD that came with the laptop or the drivers from the official site to do the drivers install.
After this procedure you can delete the old installation in case you do not need it.