Solved Windows 8.1 OEM Product key encoded on Motherboard

rowlands111

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Hey one and all,

I'm just wondering if anyone out there would know what would happen to my Acer motherboards hard coded Win 8.1 product key, when I use a Win 8.1 Pro key to upgrade my system (By using the Add features to Windows in Control Panel) Would the new Pro key replace it? Or what, if anything relevant to me, the user, would happen? haha

I'm a student with a University here in the U.K, and we have Dream Spark membership...so free Windows 8.1 Pro (or Vista) all round! (o

Cheers!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Predator G3-605
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 4770 @ 3.4GHZ
    Motherboard
    Acer Predator
    Memory
    16GB DDR3 @ 798MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia GTX 770 2GB - Personally Overclocked
    Sound Card
    N/A
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer Pradator full HD LED 24''
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Corsair Neutron GTX 240 GB (Boot)
    2 TB Seagate
    PSU
    500W
    Case
    Acer Pradator G3-605
    Cooling
    All standard
    Keyboard
    Corsair Raptor K50 RGB
    Mouse
    Acer Optical Mouse
    Internet Speed
    40Mbps
    Browser
    Chrome
    Antivirus
    Bitdefender Windows 8 Security
It may or may not remain there, however the new key would be the active or installed one. I did the same thing and the OEM key did not show up in ShowKey 1.1
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 8.1 Update 1 Pro 64bit
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Pavillion H8-1202
    CPU
    I7-2600 @ 3.4 GHz
    Motherboard
    PEGATRON
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NIVDIA GeForce GT 520
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC656GR CODEC
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung SyncMaster S22B350
    Screen Resolution
    1920X1080 32 bit color
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 850 EVO SSD 500GB
    Keyboard
    Razer Blackwidow Ultimate 2013
    Mouse
    Logitech M510
That's what I needed to know, Nuccii! Thanks!

Think I'll make a note of that OEM key before going ahead with this just in case, even if it is useless for the most part - at least I officially ''own'' a key now, and Dream Spark allowed me to download a Windows 8.1 (All Editions) ISO which for me meant, Christmas came early.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Predator G3-605
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 4770 @ 3.4GHZ
    Motherboard
    Acer Predator
    Memory
    16GB DDR3 @ 798MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia GTX 770 2GB - Personally Overclocked
    Sound Card
    N/A
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer Pradator full HD LED 24''
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Corsair Neutron GTX 240 GB (Boot)
    2 TB Seagate
    PSU
    500W
    Case
    Acer Pradator G3-605
    Cooling
    All standard
    Keyboard
    Corsair Raptor K50 RGB
    Mouse
    Acer Optical Mouse
    Internet Speed
    40Mbps
    Browser
    Chrome
    Antivirus
    Bitdefender Windows 8 Security
Glad to hear it, Christmas in July
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 8.1 Update 1 Pro 64bit
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Pavillion H8-1202
    CPU
    I7-2600 @ 3.4 GHz
    Motherboard
    PEGATRON
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NIVDIA GeForce GT 520
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC656GR CODEC
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung SyncMaster S22B350
    Screen Resolution
    1920X1080 32 bit color
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 850 EVO SSD 500GB
    Keyboard
    Razer Blackwidow Ultimate 2013
    Mouse
    Logitech M510
It may or may not remain there, however the new key would be the active or installed one. I did the same thing and the OEM key did not show up in ShowKey 1.1

Hey Nuccii, my query was pretty much satisfied but I just had one niggling after thought before I go ahead with this upgrade.

I'm considering not ''activating'' my Pro product key and keep it for another machine, as I'm not likely to use the virtual machine software...or the remote desktop feature, which as far as I can tell, is the only difference between Core and Pro.

With that in mind, if I did do the upgrade, and then wanted to use the Pro product key on say, a custom gaming PC, how would you go about ''de-activating'' Pro on the previous PC, so it can be activated on the new one, any clue?

The good news is, I right-clicked This PC, and selected ''Change Product Key'' and input my OEM key - there was no ''confirm'' option and it automatically verified it to be valid and in a sense ''activated'' again, so this tells me I can use the OEM key again for my build, but again, I'm not sure if that's because in my system's current state, the key is tied to the MB.

Final query here, before I make a decision on upgrading to Pro, or just leaving the key aside til I actually need it.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Predator G3-605
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 4770 @ 3.4GHZ
    Motherboard
    Acer Predator
    Memory
    16GB DDR3 @ 798MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia GTX 770 2GB - Personally Overclocked
    Sound Card
    N/A
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer Pradator full HD LED 24''
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Corsair Neutron GTX 240 GB (Boot)
    2 TB Seagate
    PSU
    500W
    Case
    Acer Pradator G3-605
    Cooling
    All standard
    Keyboard
    Corsair Raptor K50 RGB
    Mouse
    Acer Optical Mouse
    Internet Speed
    40Mbps
    Browser
    Chrome
    Antivirus
    Bitdefender Windows 8 Security
Try it on the other machine.

If it complains, you may need to ring MS. They will do it for you.

Type slui 4 at cmd prompt to get the toll free number to call.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    7/8/ubuntu/Linux Deepin
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
If you are upgrading to Pro, you must use the new key. If you want to use the key on another machine in the future you would have to Contact Windows Activation Service for the change and it would have to deactivated on the old machine.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 8.1 Update 1 Pro 64bit
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Pavillion H8-1202
    CPU
    I7-2600 @ 3.4 GHz
    Motherboard
    PEGATRON
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NIVDIA GeForce GT 520
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC656GR CODEC
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung SyncMaster S22B350
    Screen Resolution
    1920X1080 32 bit color
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 850 EVO SSD 500GB
    Keyboard
    Razer Blackwidow Ultimate 2013
    Mouse
    Logitech M510
Ah thank's for those two helpful answers, seriously!

I didn't actually consider/know that MS could help with activation and such. Cheers guys.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Predator G3-605
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 4770 @ 3.4GHZ
    Motherboard
    Acer Predator
    Memory
    16GB DDR3 @ 798MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia GTX 770 2GB - Personally Overclocked
    Sound Card
    N/A
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer Pradator full HD LED 24''
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Corsair Neutron GTX 240 GB (Boot)
    2 TB Seagate
    PSU
    500W
    Case
    Acer Pradator G3-605
    Cooling
    All standard
    Keyboard
    Corsair Raptor K50 RGB
    Mouse
    Acer Optical Mouse
    Internet Speed
    40Mbps
    Browser
    Chrome
    Antivirus
    Bitdefender Windows 8 Security
It may or may not remain there, however the new key would be the active or installed one. I did the same thing and the OEM key did not show up in ShowKey 1.1

There is a new ShowKey by Superfly for showing OEM keys ---

View attachment ShowKey v1.3.vbs

screenshot_100.jpg
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1.1 Pro with Media Center
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Gateway
    CPU
    AMD K140 Cores 2 Threads 2 Name AMD K140 Package Socket FT1 BGA Technology 40nm
    Motherboard
    Manufacturer Gateway Model SX2110G (P0)
    Memory
    Type DDR3 Size 8192 MBytes DRAM Frequency 532.3 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI AMD Radeon HD 7310 Graphics
    Sound Card
    AMD High Definition Audio Device Realtek High Definition Audio USB Audio Device
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Name 1950W on AMD Radeon HD 7310 Graphics Current Resolution 1366x768 pixels Work Resolution 1366x76
    Screen Resolution
    Current Resolution 1366x768 pixels Work Resolution 1366x768 pixels
    Hard Drives
    AMD K140
    Cores 2
    Threads 2
    Name AMD K140
    Package Socket FT1 BGA
    Technology 40nm
    Specification AMD E1-1200 APU with Radeon HD Graphics
    Family F
    Extended Family 14
    Model 2
    Extended Model 2
    Stepping 0
    Revision ON-C0
    Instruction
    Browser
    Opera 24.0
    Antivirus
    Avast Internet Security
To be quite honest I did already use Belarc to retrieve the key, and to my joy it worked!

BUT, the software you've advised shows your OEM key, and the currently installed/used key, so in other words...awesomeness. Thank you for that David, that adds more relevant knowledge to this whole scenario I seem hell bent on putting myself through. lol (ultimately I just didn't want to have to pay out more money for voiding keys when I already have two, hence why am posting)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Predator G3-605
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 4770 @ 3.4GHZ
    Motherboard
    Acer Predator
    Memory
    16GB DDR3 @ 798MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia GTX 770 2GB - Personally Overclocked
    Sound Card
    N/A
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer Pradator full HD LED 24''
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Corsair Neutron GTX 240 GB (Boot)
    2 TB Seagate
    PSU
    500W
    Case
    Acer Pradator G3-605
    Cooling
    All standard
    Keyboard
    Corsair Raptor K50 RGB
    Mouse
    Acer Optical Mouse
    Internet Speed
    40Mbps
    Browser
    Chrome
    Antivirus
    Bitdefender Windows 8 Security
Glad to be of service. :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1.1 Pro with Media Center
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Gateway
    CPU
    AMD K140 Cores 2 Threads 2 Name AMD K140 Package Socket FT1 BGA Technology 40nm
    Motherboard
    Manufacturer Gateway Model SX2110G (P0)
    Memory
    Type DDR3 Size 8192 MBytes DRAM Frequency 532.3 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI AMD Radeon HD 7310 Graphics
    Sound Card
    AMD High Definition Audio Device Realtek High Definition Audio USB Audio Device
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Name 1950W on AMD Radeon HD 7310 Graphics Current Resolution 1366x768 pixels Work Resolution 1366x76
    Screen Resolution
    Current Resolution 1366x768 pixels Work Resolution 1366x768 pixels
    Hard Drives
    AMD K140
    Cores 2
    Threads 2
    Name AMD K140
    Package Socket FT1 BGA
    Technology 40nm
    Specification AMD E1-1200 APU with Radeon HD Graphics
    Family F
    Extended Family 14
    Model 2
    Extended Model 2
    Stepping 0
    Revision ON-C0
    Instruction
    Browser
    Opera 24.0
    Antivirus
    Avast Internet Security
Just to report back after completing the upgrade in case anyone else applies the same over analysis of a scenario such as this:

David your software worked perfectly, thank you again.

osxAX0h.png






And here is an application that confirms that the OEM key is still in me BIOS, hooray! (RW Everything for anyone that hasn't heard of it, I've only just found it) :

xZlQ1oh.png


EDIT: So my plan is if I ever need/want to go back to Core, for whatever reason, is to restore an image I have just before upgrading...and according to the above info, that image should activate fine thanks to the ''key in the bios''

Thank's all for helping me out before performing the upgrade :)))
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Predator G3-605
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 4770 @ 3.4GHZ
    Motherboard
    Acer Predator
    Memory
    16GB DDR3 @ 798MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia GTX 770 2GB - Personally Overclocked
    Sound Card
    N/A
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer Pradator full HD LED 24''
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Corsair Neutron GTX 240 GB (Boot)
    2 TB Seagate
    PSU
    500W
    Case
    Acer Pradator G3-605
    Cooling
    All standard
    Keyboard
    Corsair Raptor K50 RGB
    Mouse
    Acer Optical Mouse
    Internet Speed
    40Mbps
    Browser
    Chrome
    Antivirus
    Bitdefender Windows 8 Security
If it's an image it's already activated, you shouldn't have to do anything.

Edit: RWEverything is a neat program, thanks for the pointer.
 

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
It may or may not remain there, however the new key would be the active or installed one. I did the same thing and the OEM key did not show up in ShowKey 1.1

There is a new ShowKey by Superfly for showing OEM keys ---

View attachment 47083

View attachment 47085

I have Windows 8.1 OEM installed and it does show the installed Key correctly but the OEM Key shows "key not present in firmware"

Firmware must mean the BIOS memory area?
I have flashed the BIOS a few times, maybe that cleared it, if it was ever there?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8.1 Pro x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Built in the basement with the usual thunder, lightning and scary organ music
    CPU
    Intel i5 4690 Quad Core 3.5Ghz
    Motherboard
    MSI Z97-G55 SLI, AMI BIOS v1.9
    Memory
    Corsair DDR3 - 8GB (2x4GB) 1600Mhz
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer 24"
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    SSD: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB,
    HDD: WD 1TB
    PSU
    Corsair HX750
    Case
    Cooler Master HAF 912
    Cooling
    Air
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wireless
    Mouse
    Logitech Wireless
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
Cheers Ztruker, I just happened to stumble across it but I agree, it's fairly cool software. Regarding image activation I wasn't taking anything for granted in OEM 8.1, but that's nice to know.

Ronster: I can see from your specs that you have a custom built machine. As far as I understand it, the embedded key is a procedure which only apply's to major OEMs that offer Windows 8/.1 as a solution.

So even though you have an OEM copy, I don't think the key copies itself to your BIOS. *Correct me if I'm wrong of course!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Predator G3-605
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 4770 @ 3.4GHZ
    Motherboard
    Acer Predator
    Memory
    16GB DDR3 @ 798MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia GTX 770 2GB - Personally Overclocked
    Sound Card
    N/A
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer Pradator full HD LED 24''
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Corsair Neutron GTX 240 GB (Boot)
    2 TB Seagate
    PSU
    500W
    Case
    Acer Pradator G3-605
    Cooling
    All standard
    Keyboard
    Corsair Raptor K50 RGB
    Mouse
    Acer Optical Mouse
    Internet Speed
    40Mbps
    Browser
    Chrome
    Antivirus
    Bitdefender Windows 8 Security
It may or may not remain there, however the new key would be the active or installed one. I did the same thing and the OEM key did not show up in ShowKey 1.1

There is a new ShowKey by Superfly for showing OEM keys ---

View attachment 47083

View attachment 47085

I have Windows 8.1 OEM installed and it does show the installed Key correctly but the OEM Key shows "key not present in firmware"

Firmware must mean the BIOS memory area?
I have flashed the BIOS a few times, maybe that cleared it, if it was ever there?

If an OEM version not installed by the MB manufacturer then probably never flashed to the chip. I have updated BIOS and still there.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer V3 771G-6443
    CPU
    i5-3230m
    Motherboard
    Acer VA70_HC (U3E1)
    Memory
    8GB DDR3 PC3-12800 (800 MHz)
    Graphics Card(s)
    HD4000 + GeForce GT 730M
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17" Generic PnP Display on Intel HD Graphics 4000
    Screen Resolution
    1600x900 pixels
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 850 EVO 250 GB
    ADATA SSD SP900 128GB
    PSU
    90 watt brick
    Mouse
    Bluetooth
    Antivirus
    Comodo
    Other Info
    Asus RT-AC56R dual-band WRT router (Merlin firmware). Intel 7260.HMWWB.R dual-band ac wireless adapter.
Rowlands111 and popeye: Thanks, that makes sense.

Maybe there is OTP (one time programmable) memory somewhere that holds the OEM serial key?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8.1 Pro x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Built in the basement with the usual thunder, lightning and scary organ music
    CPU
    Intel i5 4690 Quad Core 3.5Ghz
    Motherboard
    MSI Z97-G55 SLI, AMI BIOS v1.9
    Memory
    Corsair DDR3 - 8GB (2x4GB) 1600Mhz
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer 24"
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    SSD: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB,
    HDD: WD 1TB
    PSU
    Corsair HX750
    Case
    Cooler Master HAF 912
    Cooling
    Air
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wireless
    Mouse
    Logitech Wireless
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
Rowlands111 and popeye: Thanks, that makes sense.

Maybe there is OTP (one time programmable) memory somewhere that holds the OEM serial key?

Most likely the case and you're welcome. :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer V3 771G-6443
    CPU
    i5-3230m
    Motherboard
    Acer VA70_HC (U3E1)
    Memory
    8GB DDR3 PC3-12800 (800 MHz)
    Graphics Card(s)
    HD4000 + GeForce GT 730M
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17" Generic PnP Display on Intel HD Graphics 4000
    Screen Resolution
    1600x900 pixels
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 850 EVO 250 GB
    ADATA SSD SP900 128GB
    PSU
    90 watt brick
    Mouse
    Bluetooth
    Antivirus
    Comodo
    Other Info
    Asus RT-AC56R dual-band WRT router (Merlin firmware). Intel 7260.HMWWB.R dual-band ac wireless adapter.
@Ronster
There are two channels of OEM keys.
1. OEM:DM keys are issued to manufacturers (Dell, Acer etc) and flashed into the firmware at the factory.
2. OEM System Builder keys are issued via the retail channel and as such are only stored in the registry on installation - not the firmware.

I suspect you may have the latter installed.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    PC-DOS v1.0
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    IBM
    CPU
    Intel 8088, 4.77MHz
    Memory
    16K, 640K max
    Graphics Card(s)
    What's that?
    Sound Card
    Not quite
    Screen Resolution
    80 X 24 text
    Hard Drives
    dual 160KB 5.25-inch disk drives
Superfly, nice information!

I think this whole thread is really just for educational purposes concerning the relatively unknown details of software license, and activation in 8.1 - and, you can never have too much knowledge.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Predator G3-605
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 4770 @ 3.4GHZ
    Motherboard
    Acer Predator
    Memory
    16GB DDR3 @ 798MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia GTX 770 2GB - Personally Overclocked
    Sound Card
    N/A
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer Pradator full HD LED 24''
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Corsair Neutron GTX 240 GB (Boot)
    2 TB Seagate
    PSU
    500W
    Case
    Acer Pradator G3-605
    Cooling
    All standard
    Keyboard
    Corsair Raptor K50 RGB
    Mouse
    Acer Optical Mouse
    Internet Speed
    40Mbps
    Browser
    Chrome
    Antivirus
    Bitdefender Windows 8 Security
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