Solved Product Key confusion

llewitha

New Member
Messages
7
Hi, my laptop has recently been causing me problems so I thought that I would reset or refresh the installation. Unfortunately I reached the point where I am totally confused. I'm really regretting upgrading from Windows 7 but maybe someone can help me out.

I purchased my laptop some 3 years ago with Windows 7 pre installed. In January 2013 I decided to take advantage of the special offer to upgrade to Windows 8 Pro and purchased it online. I successfully downloaded and completed the install.

I then added Windows Media centre.

So at this point I had a working machine a product key for Windows 8 Pro and another key for Media Centre.

Following recent updates I have run into numerous problems. Inability to get online, Windows update constantly fails, occasionally when I boot up the keyboard goes crazy, certain keys don't work at all and the w acts as a delete button!

So I decided to do something about it. I tried windows recovery via the usb that I set up sometime ago but it failed saying the media was invalid. So I then went to the Microsoft site to download an ISO version of 8.1 but it rejected my product key. Probably because the Media centre key had overwritten the Windows key.

I have a genuine version of Windows 8.1 Pro with Media centre but I cannot repair it as I don't have a product key that will allow me to download a copy of the version that I have.

If I download Windows 8 from the Microsoft site how can I then make it 8 Pro and can I also re download Media centre using my old media centre product key and then cross my fingers and trust that update will successfully work?

Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

Thanks
Llewitha
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
What site did you go to, to do the download? And what key did you use for that download? If you used a key finder to retrieve your key it likely pulled the Media Center Key from the registry. Once you upgrade to Media center it becomes the key your PC activates with. You can't download 8 or 8.1 with a Media Center key. If it was your 8.0 Pro key, you can't download 8.1 Pro with it either. Well you can but you have to have the old setup file listed in this tutorial. http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/18309-windows-8-windows-8-1-iso-download-create.html?.
Once you get the ISO you can do this. http://www.eightforums.com/installa...retail-windows-8-1-windows-8-product-key.html
The Media Center key can only be used though add features if you are running Pro.
 

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
Hi thanks for responding,
This is the site I went to to do the download Upgrading Windows with only a product key - Windows Help. Yes I used a key finder and as I said I did think that it was the Media centre key. The only other key I have is the original 8.0 Pro key.

I will try your suggestion going to that tutorial to access the old set up file and report back. Don't think I'm messing you about if you don't hear from me for a day or two. I'm going to a beer festival (real ale) so I might need a couple of days to get my head back on.

Thanks again
I'll be back

Llewitha
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
Yeah, use the 8 Pro key not the Media Center key.
 

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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