Clean Install Windows 8 Professional with Media Center


Recommended Posts

Quick guide on how to modify Windows 8 disc to allow clean install of Windows 8 Professional with Media Center.

I suggest using USB flash drive, it's much faster to install and you don't have to burn DVD's. Use Windows 7 USB tool.

1. Create folders C:\W8 and D:\Mount. Copy contents of your Windows 8 disc or ISO into C:\W8.

2. Run Command Prompt as Administrator "WIN+X".

3. Paste these commands one at a time and wait for the tasks to finish


Dism /Export-Image /SourceImageFile:C:\W8\sources\install.wim /SourceIndex:1 /DestinationImageFile:C:\install.wim /Compress:Maximum
[/CODE]

[CODE]
Dism /Mount-Wim /WimFile:C:\install.wim /Index:1 /MountDir:C:\Mount
[/CODE]

[CODE]
Dism /Image:C:\Mount /Get-TargetEditions
[/CODE]

[CODE]
Dism /Image:C:\Mount /Set-Edition:ProfessionalWMC
[/CODE]

[CODE]
Dism /Unmount-Wim /MountDir:C:\Mount /Commit
[/CODE]

[CODE]
Dism /Export-Image /SourceImageFile:C:\install.wim /SourceIndex:1 /DestinationImageFile:C:\W8\sources\install.wim /DestinationName:"Windows 8 Pro with Media Center" /Compress:Maximum
[/CODE]

Windows 8 Pro with Media Center is now in C:\W8. You can delete temporary install.wim and mount directory.

  • 2 weeks later...

Say again?

I believe the user was referring to the information out there on the web that states if a user purchases the Windows 8 upgrade that they will receive the ability to get a free key for Windows Media Center for Windows 8 until a specific deadline. I believe that deadline is stated as January 2013.

Hello I keep gettin error after 2nd input can u help????

C:\Windows\system32>Dism /Export-Image /SourceImageFile:C:\W8\sources\install.wi

m /SourceIndex:1 /DestinationImageFile:C:\install.wim /Compress:Maximum

Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool

Version: 6.2.9200.16384

Exporting image

[==========================100.0%==========================]

The operation completed successfully.

C:\Windows\system32>Dism /Mount-Wim /WimFile:C:\install.wim /Index:1 /MountDir:D

:\Mount

Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool

Version: 6.2.9200.16384

Error: 0xc1420127

The specified image in the specified wim is already mounted for read/write acces

s.

The DISM log file can be found at C:\Windows\Logs\DISM\dism.log

also i dont understand the D:\Mount??

can u pm me

Hello I keep gettin error after 2nd input can u help????

C:\Windows\system32>Dism /Export-Image /SourceImageFile:C:\W8\sources\install.wi

m /SourceIndex:1 /DestinationImageFile:C:\install.wim /Compress:Maximum

Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool

Version: 6.2.9200.16384

Exporting image

[==========================100.0%==========================]

The operation completed successfully.

C:\Windows\system32>Dism /Mount-Wim /WimFile:C:\install.wim /Index:1 /MountDir:D

:\Mount

Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool

Version: 6.2.9200.16384

Error: 0xc1420127

The specified image in the specified wim is already mounted for read/write acces

s.

The DISM log file can be found at C:\Windows\Logs\DISM\dism.log

also i dont understand the D:\Mount??

can u pm me

D:\Mount mounts the image so it can be edited. I think you might have previously mounted it, try this


Dism /Unmount-Wim /MountDir:D:\Mount /Discard
[/CODE]

Then try again.

I got my hands on a new SSD that I plan to install Win8 to once it's hit GA and I can actually buy it. So this could be a bit off topic but I figure the best way would be to disconnect my current HDD with Win7, leaving just the ssd and my other drives, install Win8 on it, then reconnect my win7 HDD back so I don't lose a few things I have on it (which I'll then move over to another location and format it for reuse as a new download hdd.

I'm doing this because I don't want to dual boot with Win7 etc. Anyone else have this sort of upgrade/install in mind?

I believe the user was referring to the information out there on the web that states if a user purchases the Windows 8 upgrade that they will receive the ability to get a free key for Windows Media Center for Windows 8 until a specific deadline. I believe that deadline is stated as January 2013.

That makes more sense. I thought he was trying to say people could get a free entitlement to MCE, which would have my interest.

D:\Mount mounts the image so it can be edited. I think you might have previously mounted it, try this


Dism /Unmount-Wim /MountDir:D:\Mount /Discard
[/CODE]

Then try again.

Nope nothing dso i have to do it on win 7 or can it be win 8???

This method is of no use till online purchasing Media Center upgrade key becomes possible. That is not before 26th Oct.

I have my AIO ready with itegrated drivers. :)

It's not impossible to activate Pro with WMC now.

Nope nothing dso i have to do it on win 7 or can it be win 8???

It works on both. Check if the Mount folder has any files inside.

I got my hands on a new SSD that I plan to install Win8 to once it's hit GA and I can actually buy it. So this could be a bit off topic but I figure the best way would be to disconnect my current HDD with Win7, leaving just the ssd and my other drives, install Win8 on it, then reconnect my win7 HDD back so I don't lose a few things I have on it (which I'll then move over to another location and format it for reuse as a new download hdd.

I'm doing this because I don't want to dual boot with Win7 etc. Anyone else have this sort of upgrade/install in mind?

That's how I've done it too. Whats weird is that if I have single drive and I repartition it on Windows setup, it creates 350Mb system partition. But if I have my other drives attached (no Windows installs or previous system drives) it doesn't create the 350Mb partition. Is it only needed when there is single drive?

went to win 7 and now it wont work at all lol going back to win 8

Weird. Can't think of anything other than try again and with different partitions.

That's how I've done it too. Whats weird is that if I have single drive and I repartition it on Windows setup, it creates 350Mb system partition. But if I have my other drives attached (no Windows installs or previous system drives) it doesn't create the 350Mb partition. Is it only needed when there is single drive?

Weird. Can't think of anything other than try again and with different partitions.

can u do a step by step in detail for me so i know im not missing anything??? thanx

Just use the default WMC key for Pro with Media Center or default Pro key if you wan't to install Professional until you can buy it. There is no timebomb in Windows 8 so you can use it unactivated.

so media center will work with no prob. ??
This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Posts

    • If I could, I would commemorate it the best way possible: Replacing old machines that are still running Windows XP with something more modern, stable and better.     Noone and nothing should be running Windows XP in 2026.
    • Google's new hand-wave reCAPTCHA can be bypassed with a stock photo by Ivan Jenic Image: Screenshot Google is testing a new reCAPTCHA method that asks you to wave at your camera to prove you're human. So, besides solving puzzles and reading distorted text, you can now use your computer’s camera to pass the verification test. When the hand gesture verification is triggered, your browser asks for camera access and prompts you to perform a simple gesture, like a wave or an open palm. Google says it records a short video of the movement and uses AI to extract 21 hand-knuckle coordinates to complete the verification process. The video is then immediately deleted, and Google swears it doesn't keep it. The process alone can be uncomfortable for people who wouldn’t want their biometric data, which hand scans technically qualify as, recorded. But it gets even more nuanced, as early testers discovered that the new hand-waving reCAPTCHA can be passed with a simple stock image. A user on X tested the new challenge using a stock image of a hand fed through OBS Virtual Camera, and it passed. I wanted to verify it, so I tried the same thing. It took me a few tries and a few stock images, but in the end, I was also able to pass the test. I simply had to readjust the stock image of a generic person waving inside OBS, and Google’s mechanism registered it as a legitimate hand gesture. Once again, it didn’t even have to be a video or an AI-generated hand animation. Given the simplicity of the process, the entire action can be automated in minutes. All it takes is a simple Python script to render the new reCAPTCHA method obsolete. And it doesn’t even have to be an AI bot, which is usually used for solving puzzles and other verification methods. The new reCAPTCHA method is still in its early phase, and Google will, hopefully, update its AI to at least reject still images. However, this incident, combined with users’ initial skepticism about Google’s practices regarding user data, likely won’t make too many people wave at the camera anytime soon.
    • 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 "to fund healthcare and tuition" 🤣🤣🤣🤣 Who do you think you are talking about, some COMMUNIST? We are better than them, doG bless Murica!!! p.s. I'm from a country where government does exactly that, i.e. not form US.
    • Apparently not. I know it is on Edge for business at the moment, but how long will it be before it become on the home version of Edge?
  • Recent Achievements

    • First Post
      carols23 earned a badge
      First Post
    • One Month Later
      Tom Willson earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Apprentice
      Asgardi went up a rank
      Apprentice
    • One Month Later
      sunrisea2milk earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Week One Done
      sunrisea2milk earned a badge
      Week One Done
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      495
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      255
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      152
    4. 4
      Steven P.
      90
    5. 5
      macoman
      66
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!