You can click Skip to use your old local account.
Windows 8 supports a new type of user account that is based around your Microsoft account, or what used to be called a Windows Live ID. And while you could still use the old-fashioned local account that you previously configured, we recommend accepting Setup’s offer to switch this account to one based on your Microsoft account. Doing so is highly recommended: You gain impressive PC-to-PC settings synchronization and integration functionality by enabling this account type. As a result, we will assume you do this.
Click Next.
In the next screen, you’ll be prompted for your Microsoft account password. Enter the password for your existing Microsoft account or click Sign up for a Microsoft account to turn any e-mail address into a Microsoft account.
After clicking Next, you’ll be prompted to enter (or at least verify) your security verification info. To help you recover your password and keep your Microsoft account safe from hacking, this screen, shown in Figure 2-15, lets you configure a mobile phone number and alternate e-mail address. You’ll receive a confirmation e-mail at your primary e-mail, and if agreed to, you can make the current PC a trusted PC for authentication purposes.
Figure 2-15: Security verification info
Click Next to continue.
Now, Setup creates your account on the PC and finalizes settings, and then further prepares the PC and logs on to the Start screen. When it’s done, you should be presented with a Start screen similar to the one shown in Figure 2-16.
If you performed an in-place upgrade or a migration, now is the time to see which customizations made it across—check by clicking the Desktop tile—and to ensure that your documents and other files are where they belong. We examine post-Setup tasks later in the chapter, but this is a good place to begin.
Figure 2-16: Welcome to Windows 8!
In some ways, this is all academic, even given the improvements Microsoft has made to Setup, especially with the web-based installer. That’s because performing a clean install will typically be a one-time affair with Windows 8, even for those that really need it: This version of Windows includes new Push Button Reset functionality that allows you to wipe out and quickly reinstall Windows 8 without needing to step through Setup again, as is the case with Windows 7 and previous Windows versions. So once you’ve got Windows 8 on a PC, it’s unlikely you’ll ever need to do this again. And since most people acquire Windows with a new PC, or upgrade from a previous release to the new version, most will never run through Setup this way at all. We examine Push Button Reset, and other ways to back up and restore, in Chapter 11.
Advanced Setup: Using the Old-School Installer
If you purchased a boxed, retail version of Windows 8 or would simply prefer to install Windows 8 the old- fashioned way, even with an electronic purchase, you can of course still do so. We don’t recommend it. But it’s important to realize that this option is still available.
If you purchased Windows 8 electronically from Microsoft, the web installer is the default install type. But you are also given the option to download the installer files as a disc image, or ISO, which you can then use to create a bootable Setup disc (or USB flash drive) so you can install Windows 8 at a later time or perhaps on another PC.
Getting Started
A couple of notes about this process:
• Product key: Microsoft will provide you with a 25-digit product key that you must have handy during the Windows Setup process. We recommend printing this out if possible or having a second PC or device available nearby so that you can read this key from that second device and input it on the PC to which you are installing Windows 8.
• Upgrade or Full: With previous Windows versions, Microsoft offered Upgrade and Full versions of each product edition. This time around there are only Upgrade versions, which can be used for both clean and upgrade installs.
• 32-bit or 64-bit: Like Windows 7, Windows 8 is available in both 32-bit (x86) and 64- bit (x64) variants. Generally speaking, you will want the 64-bit version for a clean install or migration. But if you plan to perform an in-place upgrade, you will need to use the same version, 32- or 64-bit, as your current Windows version. You can find this information in the System control panel.
• Product version: Windows 8 is available in multiple product versions, or SKUs (Stock Keeping Units). For a clean install, ensure that you’re buying the Windows 8 product version you want. For an upgrade or migration, ensure that you’re buying a product version that meets or exceeds the product version of your current version of Windows.
• Drivers: If you are performing a migration or in-place upgrade, it’s highly likely that Windows 8 will not recognize every hardware device and peripheral attached to your PC. So you will need to be ready with the drivers you may potentially need. At the least, make sure you have a Windows 7- or 8-class driver for your PC’s network adapter so you can get online. Then, you can navigate to your PC vendor’s support website to download any remaining missing drivers. We discuss this process in more detail later in the chapter.
Creating a Bootable Windows Setup Disc or USB Key
If you downloaded an ISO file from Microsoft, you can use this file to create a bootable Windows 8 Setup DVD disc or USB memory key. How you do this will depend on which version of Windows you’re currently running. In this section, we’ll look at some common scenarios.
You will need a blank recordable DVD with a capacity of 4.7 GB or higher for this purpose.
To create a bootable Windows Setup disc with Windows 7, simply double-click on the Windows 8 ISO file. The Windows Disc Image utility, shown in Figure 2-17, will launch and help you create this disc.
Figure 2-17: The Windows Disc Image utility can help you create a bootable Windows Setup disc.
If you would rather use a bootable USB key to install Windows, or are using an older Windows version, you can use Microsoft’s excellent USB/DVD Download Tool, available from the Microsoft Store. This utility, shown in Figure 2-18, will guide you through the process of creating a bootable Windows 8 Setup disc or USB memory
