Alienware software and Win8 OS?

[Spock]

Hello I recently got my hands on an Alienware 18 r3 and am going to rebuild it. Now the question I have is it came with Windows 8 and I`m sticking with that but am having trouble finding it. Windows wants the key to download it but its on the bios chip so no go. II looked on the Dell website but no support. And secondly about Alien ware software? Where do I go to download the custom software for the Alienware 18 r3? I see alot of people around the net saying these laptops are picky when it comes to software so I don`t want to mess things up. Any info would be helpful Thanks....

 

[MattyB]

For laptops that store the Windows key internally on the board you should just have to use the Microsoft Media Creation Tool to create a bootable USB and once you install it on the laptop it should activate once it connects with the Microsoft activation server. You can still download Windows 8.1 from Microsoft. You'll need an 8gb USB. Once you've installed Windows 8.1, activated it and done all the updates then you should be able to go back to Microsoft and upgrade to Windows 10 for free.
What software do you want to install? If you need the specific drivers for your machine then the Dell Support page has everything you need

https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-us/product-support/product/alienware-18/drivers

You just need to enter your service tag to get the drivers specific to your laptop.

 

[Spock]

Ya I just figured out most of this. I created a Dell account and registered my machine and found the software. But thanks for the reply.

 

[MattyB]

No worries. Good luck with the rebuild.