Solved W8 picking up old serial?

Hi all,

Really confused on this one - Bought a Sony Vaio Pro 13 and as per usual with all my new laptops, a fresh install is done.

So on i went armed with my USB with Windows 8 created from an iso file from the microsoft site (i have msdn access).

The iso is a "multiple version" iso which has W8 and W8 Pro (en-gb_windows_8_x64_dvd_915412.iso)

Normally i would expect at the end of the install for the screen to allow me to enter my serial which in turn actives/deactivates features but for some reason, it has not this time round.

instead, the properties of my computer suggest a serial has already been entered "Current product key" *****-66ABC

Now i know i can "add features" and enter the serial that way but my question is, where is it picking the old serial from? i can only guess that the old serial is the one the laptop came with which is Windows 8 and not Windows 8 Pro.

The install was quite painless and normal in terms of removing all partitions ( left the windows re and the sony recovery) so is it picking it up from there somehow?

Thanks

Fixed
looks like it does indeed pick up the serial from somewhere

Creating a notepad txt file called pid.txt and putting into the /sources folder on the usb stick with W8 media will override it.
The contents of the file is

[PID]
Value=XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX

Where xxxxx is the serial number of the os you are installed. in my case , w8 pro

Laptops and some brand names come with a backup partition, if you want a really clean setup you have to kill and reformat that partition too before the install.

Now i know i can "add features" and enter the serial that way but my question is, where is it picking the old serial from? i can only guess that the old serial is the one the laptop came with which is Windows 8 and not Windows 8 Pro.

Click to expand...

It is coded in to the UEFI/BIOS firmware.

Machines that ship with Windows 8, have their key embedded in the BIOS. the installer finds it and uses it. Makes reinstalls a snap. And no activation issues.