Hmm... I'm hoping that I can retrieve the windows 8 product key from the bios with the use of this Windows OEM Product Key Tool. I found out about it from here.
That should work when it asks for the product key during install I would think.
Edit: Reading online, it seems that maybe I should try upgrading to Windows 10 using the existing SSD if it has enough space. Then when it's done, the activation of windows 10 is tied to my microsoft account and I don't need a key. I can do a fresh install with the new SSD in.
To be frank - Windows 10 will use about 18GB of space. I have this much use d up with Kodi, VLC, Cute FTP, Chrome and drivers installed.
Since you have a 128GB SSD how about you clone the 32GB to the 128GB. Then is the 128GB boots up fine u can upgrade it from Win 8.1 w/ bing to Win 10.
............ BTW Windows 10 will chew up all the space on the 32GB m.2 SSD :'(
Do you plan to use a normal hdd or ssd as the secondary drive?
I will be using a SSD since it theoretically runs cooler
@clintchhammer, yes those are the tabs that you need to remove.
@hughr, Connector is not keyed. The cable will go in both ways. However, the contacts you see on the connector are only on one side.
There is a white locking mechanism on the connector, the contacts you see on the cable should face away from the white locking mechanism. I don't think you will break anything by inserting the cable wrong way, it just won't work.
I am traveling at the moment. But will try to take some pictures when i get home.
ravi c
the cable WORKS!
To fit the cable correctly the contacts on the cable must be facing you.
If the contacts are facing you the USB ports+power button are on the left and usb ports + hdmi + power input is on the right.
I snipped of the white ends easily and got it working in about 15 minutes.
I am using a 2.5 hdd so will observe for any heat issues.
FYI, I just spoke to a Microsoft guy at a stand set up in our local Mall and he said the Microsoft store will upgrade HP Stream Mini's to Windows 10 in the store for free using a USB stick to perform the process. This will be a clean build and I'm told the machine will be like one of their signature edition computers when complete. The HP Windows 8.1 partition will be gone, so there will be some space saved from that, and based on my Winbook TW802 tablet, Win 10 seems smaller than 8.1. I have the PC booked into the store on Saturday and pick it up a couple of days later. Will report back.
FYI, upgrading from 8.1 to 10 on my desktop resulted in duplicate restore partitions. I had to manually remove the 8.1 restore partition.I emphasize I have not yet upgraded my HP stream mini to W10 therefore I may not be correct. I'm waiting for another few months for the bugs to be sorted out. But I have upgraded two of my family's W7 PCs to W10 and I think it should not be difficult to do it yourself.
As I understand it, in order to get an activated W10 you need to upgrade from your existing OS first e.g. with W8.1 then you upgrade from that to W10 which leaves all the bloatware and restore partition etc still in place. But once you've done that then the installed W10 keeps a record in the PC of the hardware. You then do a clean install of W10 which wipes out all the bloatware and restore partition etc. This clean install of W10 then automatically activates.
Important to ensure you have the HP recovery media so that you can re-install back to original condition. Also use software to find the W8.1 Product ID in case you need it. Then, no need to wait for the W10 upgrade icon to appear; you go the the M$ website and download the W10 media creation tool which fits on a USB drive. You can use this both for doing the initial upgrade from W8.1 to W10 and then subsequently making a clean install of W10. For the initial upgrade I think you would first have to re-install W8.1 factory settings but don't allow W8.1 to install updates because you need free space on the 32GB to allow for the W10 upgrade files.
The media creation tool gives you a choice between 32 bit and 64 bit. For the 2 PCs where I've installed W10 I've found that the Windows folder after all updates for 32 bit W10 is about 8GB and 64 bit W10 is about 20GB. Therefore perhaps try the 32 bit W10; can only use 4GB ram and a bit slower but probably not much noticeable difference with the HP stream mini CPU.
My understanding is that the only way to get a free, activated version of W10 is to upgrade from W7 or W8.1. The upgrade installation of W10 also allows for the possibility to easily revert to the original W7 or W8.1 therefor the old OS and recovery partitions are still there. However after 30 days the old OS is automatically removed.FYI, upgrading from 8.1 to 10 on my desktop resulted in duplicate restore partitions. I had to manually remove the 8.1 restore partition.
I emphasize I have not yet upgraded my HP stream mini to W10 therefore I may not be correct. I'm waiting for another few months for the bugs to be sorted out. But I have upgraded two of my family's W7 PCs to W10 and I think it should not be difficult to do it yourself.
As I understand it, in order to get an activated W10 you need to upgrade from your existing OS first e.g. with W8.1 then you upgrade from that to W10 which leaves all the bloatware and restore partition etc still in place. But once you've done that then the installed W10 keeps a record in the PC of the hardware. You then do a clean install of W10 which wipes out all the bloatware and restore partition etc. This clean install of W10 then automatically activates.
Important to ensure you have the HP recovery media so that you can re-install back to original condition. Also use software to find the W8.1 Product ID in case you need it. Then, no need to wait for the W10 upgrade icon to appear; you go the the M$ website and download the W10 media creation tool which fits on a USB drive. You can use this both for doing the initial upgrade from W8.1 to W10 and then subsequently making a clean install of W10. For the initial upgrade I think you would first have to re-install W8.1 factory settings but don't allow W8.1 to install updates because you need free space on the 32GB to allow for the W10 upgrade files.
The media creation tool gives you a choice between 32 bit and 64 bit. For the 2 PCs where I've installed W10 I've found that the Windows folder after all updates for 32 bit W10 is about 8GB and 64 bit W10 is about 20GB. Therefore perhaps try the 32 bit W10; can only use 4GB ram and a bit slower but probably not much noticeable difference with the HP stream mini CPU.
As in my recent post, you'd have to backup everything and then do a complete factory reset from HP's recovery media. This should give you W8.1 at about 8GB before updates with about 13Gb free. Don't allow W8.1 to update but immediately do a W10 upgrade from a USB drive using the M$ media creation tool. That should give you an officially activated W10 but leaves stuff on the SSD to revert to W8.1. After you've got your activated W10 you can do a clean install of W10 - again using the USB drive.Not sure how I would have done this on my HP Stream as I only had 350Mb left, so there was no space to perform the Win 10 upgrade. This was why the MS Store option was perfect for me.
You posted once. Spam.For those of you who are still looking for the Prius SATA cable, this is the cheapest one I could find:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/151802721724
I bought one and it worked perfectly. The seller includes an install guide with pictures.
The Microsoft Store in my area was pretty clueless and was unable to get Windows restored on my HP Mini Stream. And my mistake for not taking the time to make a recovery USB.
I ended up going by the store, picking up the computer, taking it home and installing Linux Mint 17.2. Took about 30 minutes, and Kodi installed without an issue. And, a full Linux Mint install only uses about 7GB of drive space.
Probably what I should have done in the first place!