WMC add-on changes cd key of OS installed

churin

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Installing WMC Add-On appears to change W8's cd key to that used to install the add-on. I had to re-activate the OS after that. The new OS's name is shown as "Windows 8 Pro with Windows Media Center".

I am wondering if the CD Key for W8 Pro remains valid. What is the process of reinstalling W8 Pro with WMC without its setup DVD. Anyone did the reinstall?
 
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My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W10 Pro/W8.1 Pro/ W7 Ult
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self Built
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 5 5600X Six-Core
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte X570 AORUS Ultra 1.1/1.2 BIOS v.F32
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    16GBx2 DDR4 3600 G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series
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    Hard Drives
    1TB SATA SSD(OS) SSung 870 EVO, 1TB M.2 NVMe SSD(OS) SSung 970 EVO Plus, 4TB SATA SSD(Data)
    PSU
    Corsair RM650 650W
    Case
    Fractal Design Focus G Black ATX Mid Tower Computer Case, FD-CA-FOCUS-BK-W
    Cooling
    Cooler Master MasterLiquid Lite 120 AIO CPU Liquid Cooler
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    DURGOD TAURUS K320 Mechanical Keyboard
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    ICY DOCK 4 x 2.5 SSD to 5.25 Drive Bay - ExpressCage MR324SP-B
    ICY DOCK M.2 NVMe Mobile Rack for External 3.5" Bay - MB834M2K-B

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
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    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
Thank you for your help.
I wondered if the W8 Pro CD Key was invalidated since it was replaced with the new CD key which appeared to be for entire W8, not just for the add-on. So, your reply indicates that the new CD Key remains to be just for the add-on. Then, why change the CD Key as shown on the system properties? It is confusing.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W10 Pro/W8.1 Pro/ W7 Ult
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self Built
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 5 5600X Six-Core
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte X570 AORUS Ultra 1.1/1.2 BIOS v.F32
    Memory
    16GBx2 DDR4 3600 G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon RX 6500 XT
    Sound Card
    -
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell UP2720Q
    Screen Resolution
    3840 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    1TB SATA SSD(OS) SSung 870 EVO, 1TB M.2 NVMe SSD(OS) SSung 970 EVO Plus, 4TB SATA SSD(Data)
    PSU
    Corsair RM650 650W
    Case
    Fractal Design Focus G Black ATX Mid Tower Computer Case, FD-CA-FOCUS-BK-W
    Cooling
    Cooler Master MasterLiquid Lite 120 AIO CPU Liquid Cooler
    Keyboard
    DURGOD TAURUS K320 Mechanical Keyboard
    Mouse
    Microsoft Model 1049
    Internet Speed
    600Mbps/25Mbps
    Browser
    Firefox & IE
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender
    Other Info
    ICY DOCK 4 x 2.5 SSD to 5.25 Drive Bay - ExpressCage MR324SP-B
    ICY DOCK M.2 NVMe Mobile Rack for External 3.5" Bay - MB834M2K-B
Both keys will always remain valid.

When you install the WMC with it's key, it basically updates and changes your "Windows 8 Pro" edition to be the "Windows 8 Pro with Windows Media Center" edition now instead.

This is why they have separate keys for separate editions. You just can't do a direct clean install of "Windows 8 Pro with Windows Media Center". Instead you have to go through the routine I posted about to clean install Pro, then add WMC again.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
I completely understand what you stated.

This is my gripe: Just as we install any third party software, why don't MS let the CD Key be used for activating the add-on and leaving the CD Key of the OS unchanged? After all, the CD Key is only associated with the add-on.

After installing the add-on in my case I had to re-activate the OS. I had no idea why. The on-line acitivation did not work and it said "This CD Key is already used for another computer". This was crazy since I just got the CD Key and entered it for the very first time! I had to use tedious and time consuming activation by phone.:mad:

This must be one of the wonderful new features of W8.:(
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W10 Pro/W8.1 Pro/ W7 Ult
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self Built
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 5 5600X Six-Core
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte X570 AORUS Ultra 1.1/1.2 BIOS v.F32
    Memory
    16GBx2 DDR4 3600 G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon RX 6500 XT
    Sound Card
    -
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell UP2720Q
    Screen Resolution
    3840 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    1TB SATA SSD(OS) SSung 870 EVO, 1TB M.2 NVMe SSD(OS) SSung 970 EVO Plus, 4TB SATA SSD(Data)
    PSU
    Corsair RM650 650W
    Case
    Fractal Design Focus G Black ATX Mid Tower Computer Case, FD-CA-FOCUS-BK-W
    Cooling
    Cooler Master MasterLiquid Lite 120 AIO CPU Liquid Cooler
    Keyboard
    DURGOD TAURUS K320 Mechanical Keyboard
    Mouse
    Microsoft Model 1049
    Internet Speed
    600Mbps/25Mbps
    Browser
    Firefox & IE
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender
    Other Info
    ICY DOCK 4 x 2.5 SSD to 5.25 Drive Bay - ExpressCage MR324SP-B
    ICY DOCK M.2 NVMe Mobile Rack for External 3.5" Bay - MB834M2K-B
It was just something in the activation process that failed. It shouldn't do it all the time though unless you change computers or motherboard.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
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