I bought one of these http://www.gearbest.com/tablet-pcs/pp_252625.html however i couldn't get the windows store app to work so i decided to reset the tablet and try and reinstall windows. However I can't seem to get past the Aptio Utility setup blue screen. and toggling the volume controls to help me select options to continue to do anything... bus the onscreen buttons are in chinese

How did you try to do the reinstall? Tablets are tricky, as you can't just boot from your own media.

i just went to reset the tablet under settings. i thought it would just reinstall windows like you can on an iPad...

Did you make a usb recovery drive?

Do you know how to get to bios eg shutting down tablet, then holding power and volume up button at same time?

no, how do i do that on a mac? i can't get the tablet to do anything on screen anymore

If pc came with 8.1+bing and you did not make a recovery usb then even if you work out how to get to bios, you are probably goosed.

I'll bet the start manual said to create a recovery drive?

The recovery drive is made from the tablet itself... while it was working.

However, if you did a 'system refresh' from within Windows it should have worked. Unfortunately, as it's a 'no name' tablet, I doubt you could get support.

well i can't get the tablet to do anything...what is this rufus thing. will that help. or am i screwed

Unless you can get to bios, you are probably screwed.

Rufus is a tool for copying windows isos to a usb stick to make stick bootable.

Even then, it is doubtful a standard windows 8.1 iso will install and activate (if pc had the Bing version of 8.1 as most do).

You might be able to install it and buy a cheap 8.1 key to activate it, but financially may not be worth it.

If you can get to bios, you are probably better trying to install linux.

so is it standard practice for in order to reinstall windows on windows tablets you always have to do it via boot usb drive? there was nothing in the manual though...how comes a boot drive is not required for android or apple?

For windows pcs yes. Windows is stored entirely on a writable disk drive.

Android for example is stored in protected flash memory and cannot be overwritten easily. Remember android is much smaller (and newer) than Windows.

When windows was designed flash memory would have been phenomenally more expensive than hard disk storage.

It is only in recent years, putting windows on steady state drives has been commercially feasible, but the way it is installed has not changed really ie the steady state memory is designed to look like and act like any hard disk in effect, so the same install works on disk and flash memory.

I'd be inclined to go along with oilman's advice in post #9 or you could always see if a local PC repairer could help you but the cost of paying for the repair might exceed the initial cost of the tablet. If you do go down this route those, I'd suggest asking that repairer about a spare USB recovery drive as well. I hope that things work out for you.

but this is for windows 10 on a tablet. Is it the same as it would be for a windows pc? seems a very user unfriendly way of reinstalling an os on a tablet though.. think ill send it back for a refund and get an android. last time i try a windows tablet....

Your problem is really because you bought a cheapo foreign import.

If you had bought a linx tablet, with its excellent support forum, you would be able to do something eg you could install windows 10 and appropriate drivers.

Windows tablets are far more flexible than android devices, but you have a steeper learning curve.

One thing you could try is with a usb keyboard plugged in, hold down the delete key as it reboots, and it might jump to bios and then it is possible windows 10 could be installed which will activate using 8.1 key.