Reinstalling Windows is a long, grueling experience. Once you get the OS running you have to download updates, track down the right drivers, install your apps, and put everything else together.

Microsoft offers a choice of a straight ISO file or a setup assistant that can tell you if your current environment is compatible with the new OS. Lance Whitney is a freelance technology writer and ...

Create a Windows 8.1 ISO image or save installation files to a USB flash drive with this tool from Microsoft Want to reinstall Windows 8.1 but don’t have any installation media for it? Microsoft has ...

Reader Chris needs to reinstall Windows 7 Home Basic on his laptop. Just one problem: he lost his recovery discs. A more common problem is when you need to reinstall Windows and you never had recovery ...

Sometimes, you just need to do a clean install. Unfortunately, the Windows 8 Upgrade doesn't always allow for that, throwing you an error when you try to activate ...

We may have a new version of Windows, but one story is still the same: buying a new Windows 8 PC means that you’re also buying a bunch of OEM-installed software that you didn’t ask for. This software ...

In a monster blog post that would stretch the 640KB memory limit of early PCs, Microsoft has detailed the streamlined, just-11-clicks! upgrade process for Windows 8-- as in, the installer that appears ...