I want to upgrade the 500GB HDD that came with my Dell Laptop to a 120GB SSD. Windows 8 came pre-loaded (OEM, no sticker).
Here's what I've tried so far:
Attempt #1:
Create a restore disk using the supplied Microsoft and Dell utilities.
FAILED: The installer will not allow me to restore to a smaller disk.
Attempt #2:
Create a bootable USB installer using an existing install of Windows 7 on another machine using the installer from: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/upgrade-product-key-only.
FAILED:
On the target computer: The installer fails saying there's no available image and to change the product key, however, I'm not given the option to do so, and the computer didn't come with a product key sticker.
On the computer creating the USB stick: The downloader never prompts me for a product key and instead applies the product key for a copy of Windows 8 Pro that I also downloaded on that computer (for another computer, NON-OEM).
How do you do a fresh install? This should not involve virtual machines or cloning disks. This computer shipped with Window 8 and there should be a way to legally install it.
