8.1 fresh installation

tinmar49

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Is there such a thing as running a fresh installation of 8.1 without having the COA or product at the time of setting up on a pc? I'm asking this because someone I know was given a laptop by his son which had Ubuntu and because Linux frightened the life out of him his son put W8.1 on it. Unfortunately he doesn't like 8.1 either so I told him that W7 would be more up his street, but that if 8.1 has already been paid for he could get used to it. I haven't seen the pc to get any info about the installation, but I thought that you no longer get 30 days to activate.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    win7 64
    CPU
    athlon2x2 240e
    Motherboard
    asus m4a87td evo
    Memory
    2x4gb ddr3 1600
    Graphics Card(s)
    ati 5670
If your question is whether it is possible to install Win 8.1 without activating it then the answer is yes.

Assuming he had the install media he could have installed using a generic key and not activated it. Various things don't work until you activate it with a valid key. (I'm not sure what exactly - the store I think and some other bits).

I guess you need to find out some more - has 8.1 been activated? Has it been paid for? Is it wanted?

8.1 desktop isn't that different from 7 really and you can make it even more similar with start button replacements and so on if you want to. However if you do want to change to 7 instead, doing so before starting using it would be the ideal time.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro Prieview x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    MacBook Pro Core2Duo
    CPU
    T7600
    Memory
    3
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon X1600
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Internal
    Screen Resolution
    1440 x 800
    Hard Drives
    40GB
    Keyboard
    Apple
    Mouse
    Apple
    Internet Speed
    Varies
    Browser
    Various
    Antivirus
    Defender
I have no trouble with 8.1 although I also use 7 and XP but he is in his 70's and is not very good with pc's. His wife has 7 on her laptop and he can manage that after using XP for years. I'm sure he could manage 8.1 if he had to.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    win7 64
    CPU
    athlon2x2 240e
    Motherboard
    asus m4a87td evo
    Memory
    2x4gb ddr3 1600
    Graphics Card(s)
    ati 5670
Install Classic Shell, set it's options to disable hot corners.
Set 8.1 to boot to the Desktop.

He will never even see the Metro interface unless he presses Windows key + C.

It will look and feel like Windows 7.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro X64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo IdeaCenter K450
    CPU
    Intel Quad Core i7-4770 @ 3.4Ghz
    Motherboard
    Lenovo
    Memory
    16.0GB PC3-12800 DDR3 SDRAM 1600 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Integrated HD Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP h2207
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050@59Hz
    Hard Drives
    250GB Samsung EVO SATA-3 SSD;
    2TB Seagate ST2000DM001 SATA-2;
    1.5TB Seagate ST3150041AS SATA
    PSU
    500W
    Keyboard
    Wired USB
    Mouse
    Wired USB
    Internet Speed
    3GB Up, 30GB Down
    Browser
    SeaMonkey
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender; MBAM Pro
    Other Info
    UEFI/GPT
    PLDS DVD-RW DH16AERSH
With official unaltered Windows 8 install media you have to enter a key to finish the install. So technically there isn't (supposed to be) a 30 day trial. That was the intent anyway with Windows 8. With previous versions of Windows you could just leave the product code box empty and click next, now you can't do that. But as mentioned, with Windows 8.1 there are generic product codes that will let you install without activating. Those codes won't activate as they are blocked on the activation servers. One would have to know about them though to use them, I'm not sure that's common knowledge. It is here on these forums but I'm not sure the average Joe would know. In any case if its a Retail version you can move it to another PC, so even if it was activated it shouldn't be that big of a deal. Just press the Windows Logo key and the pause/break key to bring up the system screen. Activation status is listed there.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Education 64 Bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus
    CPU
    AMD Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition Deneb 3.7GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS M4N68T-M V2 µATX Motherboard
    Memory
    8GB 4GBx2 Kingston PC10600 DDR3 1333 Memory
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA Geforce GT640 2 Gig DDR3 PCIe
    Sound Card
    VIA VT1708s High Definition Audio 8-channel Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    22" LG E2242 1080p and 2 19" I-INC AG191D
    Screen Resolution
    1280x1024 - 1920x1080 - 1280x1024
    Hard Drives
    Crucial MX100 256 GB SSD and 500 GB WD Blue SATA
    PSU
    Thermaltake TR 620
    Case
    Power Up Black ATX Mid-Tower Case
    Cooling
    Stock heatsink fan
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wireless K350 Wave
    Mouse
    Logitech M570 Trackball and T650 TouchPad
    Internet Speed
    80 Mbps Down 30 Mbps Up
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    HP DVD1040e Lightscribe - External USB2
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