So, the question has to be begged: what the hell was my problem? As it turns out, my issue directly stemmed from the free Media Center upgrade that Microsoft passed out a couple of months ago (something I mentioned in previous posts). My Windows.old folder was 25GB, which is a lot of space on an SSD. When you’re confident you won’t need this anymore, you can run Windows’ cleanup tool (‘cleanmgr’ from the run line, then choose “Clean up system files”) and clean things out that way. Side note: When you do this, Windows moves your old installation to “Windows.old” on your C:\, meaning it’s just hogging up space.
Small caveats included: A) Having to reactivate my Office install, B) Having to reinstall VMware and C) Having to reinstall my mouse software (SteelSeries). Afterwards, I was back at my Windows 8 desktop, with every single app in view via the Start screen, and generally speaking, the OS just the way I left it. In all, I’d say the entire install process took about 40 minutes. So, I mounted that ISO, took a deep breath, and went for it.Īfter putting my product key in, I chose the option as seen in the shot above, and then the process soon got underway. But then I remembered that, via the install media, you can install a fresh copy of the OS while retaining your apps, settings, files and sanity. Was I really about to reformat my PC because of a stupid OS activation issue? For my legal copy of Windows 8? I sure as heck didn’t want to. I had to stand back for a couple of moments and think this through. As I moved to a new apartment at the start of the month, and my ISP/phone company cannot install my utilities until the 14th, it felt like there was just one solution: I apologized, hung up, and shouted something (probably friendly) at my PC. During the call, the lady on the other end told me that I was breaking up – despite having a 3/4 bar connection – and after moving close to a window, it was obvious that the call just wasn’t meant to be. Perhaps they work for some people, but they didn’t for me.Īt this point, I sucked it up and called Microsoft’s tech support. At the time, I didn’t think to screenshot this prompt, because I didn’t anticipate what was to come.īecause I find it silly in this day and age to call tech support and A) Riddle off your credentials, B) Riddle off your 25 character product key and C) Listen to someone riddle off a 25 character key back, I opted to seek out cracks to solve my issues rather than do the “legal” thing. For those unaware, everything in Windows you don’t expect to be full screen may very well be in Windows 8. During a quest, Windows 8 decided to kill my character with a full-screen activation nag screen. This past Friday night, I did the only thing any single, lonely male would do: I played my MMO.
0 kommentar(er)
