Solved How do I know if my Windows 8.1 is genuine Windows?

etrtxcooi

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Hi all

I'm a newbie - my apologies if anything here is amiss, if I'm in the wrong forum etc.

I live in Brisbane Australia. I recently purchased a new laptop, from a major retail chain, which came pre-loaded with Windows 8.1. I assumed as soon as I did a few Windows updates after activating the product I'd get the "Get Win 10" app installed and I could find out whether my machine would run Win 10, I could reserve an upgrade etc. (I didn't make notes as I was setting up the machine and it's a week or so in the past now so now I can't remember if I was asked to activate the Windows or not).

The upshot was I never got the app - to this day.

On the Microsoft communities forum, I was pointed to the FAQ page for Win 10 which I visited. One thing said there was if you weren't running genuine Windows, you wouldn't get the app. I tried to follow advice I found in various places online to establish whether my OS was genuine 8.1. One indicator mentioned was a Windows sticker on the machine. Mine doesn't have one. There's one of the "Intel inside" stickers, and an "AMD Raedon" and an "energy star" one but nothing else.

There was also advice to go through control panel to look for a window with system info. I did this and it seems like the genuine examples shown in screenshots online except there was no expected link to further info on the OS, just to terms and Conditions.

I thought there might be (in the Windows or Microsoft Support web pages somewhere) a "click and test" page for checking whether your OS is genuine Windows. Anyone able to help me here?

Many thanks

ausgumbie
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
Make sure to buy Windows or a PC with Windows preinstalled either directly from Microsoft or from a local or online retail store that you know and trust. Also look for key features of genuine Windows, such as the Certificate of Authenticity (COA), a proof of license label, and an edge-to-edge hologram. Genuine Windows - Windows Help

Any other papers came with System might have COA on it.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro 64bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    CyberPowerPC Gamer Xtreme 1502 (GX1502)
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 5820K 3.30 GHZ 64 bit 6-Core Processor
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-X99-UD3
    Memory
    G.Skill 16GB Quad Channel DDR4-2400MHZ
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GeForce GTX 970 SSC ACX 2.0+ DDR5 4GB
    Sound Card
    Creative Sound Blaster ZxR 5.1
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS PA24Q 24" Pro Art IPS LCD/LED Backlit 1920x1200
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1200 16:10
    Hard Drives
    SAMSUNG 850 EVO 250GB SATA 6Gb/s 2.5" Internal SSD,
    Crucial MX100 512GB SATA 6Gb/s 2.5" Internal SSD,
    WD WD10EZEX-00RKKA0 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 3.5 Internal HDD
    PSU
    EVGA SuperNOVA 750 G2 750W 80 Plus Gold Full Modular
    Case
    AZZA Cosmas Black Gaming Case
    Cooling
    Cool Master Hyper 212 Evo Dual 120mm, ( 2) Noctua PWM 120mm Case Fans (1) Gelid PWM 120mm Blue LED
    Keyboard
    Logitech K800 Illumiated Wireless Keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech M570 Wireless Trackball
    Internet Speed
    84mbps /94mbps
    Browser
    Mozilla Firefox 41.0.1 / Microsoft Edge/ IE 11
    Antivirus
    Norton Security 2015
    Other Info
    Pioneer BDR-209DBK 16x Blu-Ray Burner, LG 24x Dual Layer DVD Burner,
    StarTech Front Bay 22-in-1 USB 2.0 Internal Multi Media Memory Card Reader,Logitech Z906 5.1 Speaker system
go into your system info and see what version of windows 8.1 you are running

only windows 8.1 and windows 8.1 Pro will get windows 10
windows 8.1 with bing - I assume will not - as it is only cheap oem only software

windows 8 /8.1 does not come with a coa when purchased through an oem

you could also download > showkey plus > from Showkey - Windows 10 Forums
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 3.1 > Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS 8700
    CPU
    I7
    Memory
    24 GB
Hy KYHI

All the System popup says is:
Windows Edition
Windows 8.1
Then (c) Microsoft Corporation etc

It doesn't say anything else about the version - just Windows 8.1

Cheers
ausgumbie
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
However - this just in...

I have the new machine up at the moment (at uni using their bandwidth. My Telstra allowance for the month is about shot and I'm doling out what I've got over the next few days).

The Get Win 10 icon has just appeared on the new machine's taskbar! Haven't checked what it'll say about the machine or Win 8.1 yet as on the other machine waiting for a Norton online chat about another matter. (While I have an audience, I'd just like to gratuitously add: "#$G&^KK!!()***%$^%##^^&&*&** Computers. Ah! Feel better now)

Cheers

ausgumbie
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
Sometimes it takes awhile after windows update for Windows 10 icon to appear, happened to me on a reinstall of Windows 8.1 recently. May of not received all the required updates yet too.
Assume means you are good...............
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro 64bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    CyberPowerPC Gamer Xtreme 1502 (GX1502)
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 5820K 3.30 GHZ 64 bit 6-Core Processor
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-X99-UD3
    Memory
    G.Skill 16GB Quad Channel DDR4-2400MHZ
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GeForce GTX 970 SSC ACX 2.0+ DDR5 4GB
    Sound Card
    Creative Sound Blaster ZxR 5.1
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS PA24Q 24" Pro Art IPS LCD/LED Backlit 1920x1200
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1200 16:10
    Hard Drives
    SAMSUNG 850 EVO 250GB SATA 6Gb/s 2.5" Internal SSD,
    Crucial MX100 512GB SATA 6Gb/s 2.5" Internal SSD,
    WD WD10EZEX-00RKKA0 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 3.5 Internal HDD
    PSU
    EVGA SuperNOVA 750 G2 750W 80 Plus Gold Full Modular
    Case
    AZZA Cosmas Black Gaming Case
    Cooling
    Cool Master Hyper 212 Evo Dual 120mm, ( 2) Noctua PWM 120mm Case Fans (1) Gelid PWM 120mm Blue LED
    Keyboard
    Logitech K800 Illumiated Wireless Keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech M570 Wireless Trackball
    Internet Speed
    84mbps /94mbps
    Browser
    Mozilla Firefox 41.0.1 / Microsoft Edge/ IE 11
    Antivirus
    Norton Security 2015
    Other Info
    Pioneer BDR-209DBK 16x Blu-Ray Burner, LG 24x Dual Layer DVD Burner,
    StarTech Front Bay 22-in-1 USB 2.0 Internal Multi Media Memory Card Reader,Logitech Z906 5.1 Speaker system
Awww

I just typed a reply and hit "Mark as Solved" thinking it would post the reply at the same time. Learning Curve! Didn't. OK, long reply short...

My new machine's "Get Win 10" app said system and file requirements were good and I managed to reserve Win 10 without setting off alarms. I'm assuming for the moment this means my Win 8.1 is genuine - we'll see come upgrade time.

Many thanks guys!

Fingers crossed,
ausgumbie
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
Glad all is good, YW !
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro 64bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    CyberPowerPC Gamer Xtreme 1502 (GX1502)
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 5820K 3.30 GHZ 64 bit 6-Core Processor
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-X99-UD3
    Memory
    G.Skill 16GB Quad Channel DDR4-2400MHZ
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GeForce GTX 970 SSC ACX 2.0+ DDR5 4GB
    Sound Card
    Creative Sound Blaster ZxR 5.1
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS PA24Q 24" Pro Art IPS LCD/LED Backlit 1920x1200
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1200 16:10
    Hard Drives
    SAMSUNG 850 EVO 250GB SATA 6Gb/s 2.5" Internal SSD,
    Crucial MX100 512GB SATA 6Gb/s 2.5" Internal SSD,
    WD WD10EZEX-00RKKA0 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 3.5 Internal HDD
    PSU
    EVGA SuperNOVA 750 G2 750W 80 Plus Gold Full Modular
    Case
    AZZA Cosmas Black Gaming Case
    Cooling
    Cool Master Hyper 212 Evo Dual 120mm, ( 2) Noctua PWM 120mm Case Fans (1) Gelid PWM 120mm Blue LED
    Keyboard
    Logitech K800 Illumiated Wireless Keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech M570 Wireless Trackball
    Internet Speed
    84mbps /94mbps
    Browser
    Mozilla Firefox 41.0.1 / Microsoft Edge/ IE 11
    Antivirus
    Norton Security 2015
    Other Info
    Pioneer BDR-209DBK 16x Blu-Ray Burner, LG 24x Dual Layer DVD Burner,
    StarTech Front Bay 22-in-1 USB 2.0 Internal Multi Media Memory Card Reader,Logitech Z906 5.1 Speaker system
Awww

I just typed a reply and hit "Mark as Solved" thinking it would post the reply at the same time. Learning Curve! Didn't. OK, long reply short...

My new machine's "Get Win 10" app said system and file requirements were good and I managed to reserve Win 10 without setting off alarms. I'm assuming for the moment this means my Win 8.1 is genuine - we'll see come upgrade time.

Many thanks guys!

Fingers crossed,
ausgumbie

Don't mean to burst your bubble, but that app merely checks compatibility... not so much genuiness... we'll only know that on the 29th once we try to activate the download from windows update. Having said that if you got your PC from a reputable retail chain, no need to worry.
 

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
Hi all

Just thought I'd drop back in to say all is well - well, as well as it is on average for everyone else post-upgrade.

My 8.1 must have been genuine because I upgraded and am now having all the character-building experiences of other upgraders.

Cheers

ausgumbie
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
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