How to Clean Install Windows 8.1 on Your Computer?

Microsoft hasn’t ended Windows 8.1 support. We believe that many users are still running Windows 8.1 or want to install Windows 8.1 on their computer. Or for some reason, they want to reinstall Windows 8.1. Well then, how to reinstall Windows 8.1 on PC?

Microsoft offers official Windows 8.1 disc image (ISO) files download for all users. For those who want to fresh install Windows 8.1 or reinstall Windows 8.1, they can download the Windows 8.1 ISO file from Microsoft, burn it to a USB drive, and then install Windows 8.1 from USB.

Of course, if you have a Windows 8.1 installation DVD at hand, you can directly use it to clean install or reinstall Windows 8.1.

If you are not clear about these steps, this post is helpful for you. In this post, we will show you how to clean install Windows 8.1 using the Windows 8.1 installation drive.

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How to Clean Install Windows 8.1 on Your Computer?

Step 1: Back up Your Data

To protect your data, you should back up your data on the PC before you clean install Windows 8.1. You can use MiniTool ShadowMaker, a professional Windows data backup software, to back up your data to an external hard drive. This software has a trial edition and you can use it for free within 30 days.

MiniTool ShadowMaker TrialClick to Download100%Clean & Safe

Step 2: Download Windows 8.1 Disc Image File

1. Go to Microsoft’s Windows 8.1 software download page.

2. Scroll down to the Select edition

3. Select the Windows 8.1 edition you want to download.

4. Click Confirm.

5. Select the product language.

6. Click Confirm.

7. Click 64-bit Download or 32-bit Download according to your situation to download the Windows 8.1 ISO file on your computer.

Now, you get a Windows 8.1 ISO file. Next, you need to create a Windows 8.1 installation USB drive by using a special tool to burn the ISO file to a USB drive.

Step 3: Create a Windows 8.1 Installation USB Drive

We recommend using Rufus to create a bootable USB drive for Windows 8.1. This tool is popular and safe.

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In this post, we will show you how to download Windows 11 onto a USB drive using Windows 11 Media Creation Tool and Rufus.

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Step 4: Clean Install Windows 8.1 from USB

1. Connect the Windows 8.1 installation USB drive to your computer.

2. Boot your computer into BIOS and set the device to boot from the connected USB drive. If you are using a Windows 8.1 installation DVD, you need to set your computer to boot from DVD instead.

3. After a few seconds, you will see the following interface. Then, change the parameters if necessary and click Next to continue.

4. Click Install now.

5. Enter the product key for activating Windows 8.1.

6. Click Next.

7. Check Accept the license terms.

8. Click Next.

9. Click Custom: Install Windows only (advanced).

10. Click Drive options (advanced).

11. Select the partition that you want to install Windows 8.1.

12. Click Delete.

13. Click OK to confirm the operation.

14. Select the empty drive that you just delete it.

15. Click Next.

16. Windows Setup begins to install Windows 8.1 on your computer. The whole process will last for a while. You should wait patiently. During the process, your computer may restart several times.

Tip: Recover Your Lost Data

If you lose your important files by mistake on your Windows computer, you can use professional data recovery software like MiniTool Power Data Recovery to get them back.

This MiniTool software is specially designed to recover your lost and deleted files from hard drives, SSDs, SD cards, memory cards, USB flash drives, and more.

MiniTool Power Data Recovery TrialClick to Download100%Clean & Safe

Bottom Line

Want to clean install or reinstall Windows 8.1 on your computer? This post shows you a full and easy guide. Should you have other related issues, you can let us know in the comments.