A few Windows 8.1 upgrade questions....

[alphanumeric]

IMHO, If that was actually possible, it would have been mentioned in other sections of this forum, and you wouldn't be the only one claiming to have done it. Without any hard evidence to the contrary, I will say no more on this subject, as any further discussion seems pointless.

 

[Nalydyenlo]

Hurrah for him! With that same magic he'd surely be able to install Ubuntu on his Xbox using a Mac OS disk!

What I want to know is about users who have the windows 8 disk and key and have upgraded to 8.1. If for whatever reason they want to do a fresh install of their new updated OS (8.1) which they got for free, do they have to re-install 8 and then do the store download/upgrade thing all over again? If so can they expect the free upgrade to remain in the store indefinitely?

 

[theog]

Take look at post two.

 

[Nalydyenlo]

Sure, there's a trick whereby you can get the 8.1 ISO using your 8 key, but you still can't install or activate 8.1 using an 8 key. You get this: 'This key is for a different edition of Windows.....blah blah'.

 

[theog]

Post two.

REF: http://www.eightforums.com/installa...-windows-8-but-only-have-wmc-upgrade-key.html
When you find your email, you can

Take a look at those posts for more info.

Chick here: :ar: http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/18309-windows-8-windows-8-1-iso-download-create.html

How to download Windows 8.1 ISO with a Windows 8 key.
Chick here: :ar: http://www.eightforums.com/installation-setup/33164-how-download-windows-8-1-iso.html

Chick here: :ar: http://www.eightforums.com/installa...retail-windows-8-1-windows-8-product-key.html

 

[Nalydyenlo]

Oh so you have to install 8.1 with a generic key and then you can activate after it with your 8 key! Nice. I didn't read it closely enough, thanks!

EDIT - Sadly though your WMC key for 8 won't work for this which is the only key I have for Windows now. I just tried it on an un-activated win 8.1 on my laptop which was installed from the ISO. It said something like: 'You can't activate this edition of Windows with that key...' or words to that effect.

 

[alphanumeric]

Hurrah for him! With that same magic he'd surely be able to install Ubuntu on his Xbox using a Mac OS disk!

What I want to know is about users who have the windows 8 disk and key and have upgraded to 8.1. If for whatever reason they want to do a fresh install of their new updated OS (8.1) which they got for free, do they have to re-install 8 and then do the store download/upgrade thing all over again? If so can they expect the free upgrade to remain in the store indefinitely?

If all you have is Windows 8.0 install media, then yes, you'll have to install 8.0 and then upgrade though the store. How long it stays in the store is up to Microsoft. One would think if they remove it from the store then they make it available as a separate downloadable update or give you some other option.

 

[alphanumeric]

Oh so you have to install 8.1 with a generic key and then you can activate after it with your 8 key! Nice. I didn't read it closely enough, thanks!

EDIT - Sadly though your WMC key for 8 won't work for this which is the only key I have for Windows now. I just tried it on an un-activated win 8.1 on my laptop which was installed from the ISO. It said something like: 'You can't activate this edition of Windows with that key...' or words to that effect.

Buying a Media Center key is cheap compared to a full version key for Core Or Pro. That's because you need to already be running Pro to use it. It only works though the Add Features option. If you could install with it people would skip buying Pro and just grab the cheap MC keys and cheat Microsoft out of some $$. Each Media Center Key is only good for use on one PC so it becomes the key that PC activates with. If you run a key finder utility that reads the key out of the registry it will read out the MC key as that's the one the PC is currently using. Also keep in mind that the ISO downloaded from here, http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/18309-windows-8-windows-8-1-iso-download-create.html is version specific. If you use a Core key you get Core, use a Pro key and you get Pro. When you do the actual install the key you use to activate has to match the installed version. Core won't accept a Pro key and vise versa. The full TechNet ISO's are not like that. They are multi edition and can install core or Pro depending on what key you type in. They also will not accept MC keys for installation.

 

[theog]

Oh so you have to install 8.1 with a generic key and then you can activate after it with your 8 key! Nice. I didn't read it closely enough, thanks!

EDIT - Sadly though your WMC key for 8 won't work for this which is the only key I have for Windows now. I just tried it on an un-activated win 8.1 on my laptop which was installed from the ISO. It said something like: 'You can't activate this edition of Windows with that key...' or words to that effect.

Go to
https://www.mswos.com/

 

[alphanumeric]

Oh so you have to install 8.1 with a generic key and then you can activate after it with your 8 key! Nice. I didn't read it closely enough, thanks!

EDIT - Sadly though your WMC key for 8 won't work for this which is the only key I have for Windows now. I just tried it on an un-activated win 8.1 on my laptop which was installed from the ISO. It said something like: 'You can't activate this edition of Windows with that key...' or words to that effect.

This going to sound like nit picking but I just want to clarify some. You don't have to install with a generic key. You only have to install with a generic key if you are going to activate with a Windows 8.0 key. If you have an 8.1 key you can skip that step and enter it during the install. If its a valid legal code Windows 8.1 will activate online automatically in the background without any extra steps. I have no idea why Microsoft did that? Why block 8.0 codes for install but allow activation with one? It really sucks for OEM PC's with embedded 8.0 codes as they are ignored and you get prompted to enter a code if you try installing 8.1. Those Product codes aren't printed on the COA stickers either so most owners have no idea what their 8.0 code is or how to find it. It will be interesting to see how 8.2 handles this.

 

[Nalydyenlo]

All I've got is a win 8 pro + media center upgrade key and a win 8.1 pro retail ISO which I downloaded. My original win 8 key is lost and unrecoverable. I know I can install 8.1 pro from the ISO with a generic key, but will there be any way to activate it? I already have 8.1 installed and activated on my machine (via the app store upgrade), it's just that I want the option to be able to do a fresh install from disk if the need arises.

 

[theog]

All I've got is a win 8 pro + media center upgrade key and a win 8.1 pro retail ISO which I downloaded. My original win 8 key is lost and unrecoverable. I know I can install 8.1 pro from the ISO with a generic key, but will there be any way to activate it? I already have 8.1 installed and activated on my machine (via the app store upgrade), it's just that I want the option to be able to do a fresh install from disk if the need arises.

Oh so you have to install 8.1 with a generic key and then you can activate after it with your 8 key! Nice. I didn't read it closely enough, thanks!

EDIT - Sadly though your WMC key for 8 won't work for this which is the only key I have for Windows now. I just tried it on an un-activated win 8.1 on my laptop which was installed from the ISO. It said something like: 'You can't activate this edition of Windows with that key...' or words to that effect.

What key do you have?

 

[Nalydyenlo]

Like I said, a WMC pro upgrade key only.

 

[dencal]

All I've got is a win 8 pro + media center upgrade key and a win 8.1 pro retail ISO which I downloaded. My original win 8 key is lost and unrecoverable. I know I can install 8.1 pro from the ISO with a generic key, but will there be any way to activate it? I already have 8.1 installed and activated on my machine (via the app store upgrade), it's just that I want the option to be able to do a fresh install from disk if the need arises.

Do you have a Microsoft Account?....If so did you save your settings into SkyDrive....if so you should be able to retrieve them.

 

[theog]

All I've got is a win 8 pro + media center upgrade key and a win 8.1 pro retail ISO which I downloaded. My original win 8 key is lost and unrecoverable. I know I can install 8.1 pro from the ISO with a generic key, but will there be any way to activate it? I already have 8.1 installed and activated on my machine (via the app store upgrade), it's just that I want the option to be able to do a fresh install from disk if the need arises.

Like I said, a WMC pro upgrade key only.

Recap on the Q & A.

Your other thread.

http://www.eightforums.com/installa...-windows-8-but-only-have-wmc-upgrade-key.html

I have had this same problem and for some reason i did not have the email anymore, I was directed to this site https://www.mswos.com/ but i needed an order no that was on the email that i did not have so i went on to windows store site and went to live chat and asked them to help.I gave them my email address but they would not tell me anything until i gave them my billing address last 4 digits from the card i used to pay with and my phone No for security then hey presto they sent me the email again hope this helps.
Dell

Go to
https://www.mswos.com/

View attachment 34593

or
Live Chat with Customer Service
Microsoft Support

 

[Nalydyenlo]

Thanks everyone for all the help and suggestions, but bloody hell, too many hoops for me! I'll stick to my system image backup in case I need to re-install. Anyway, I found a little offline KMS emulator thingy that allows you to activate an installation for 6 months at a time - you just have to take a minute to reactivate it every 6 months. I'll only resort to that of course, if I lose my legit system image backup or if it becomes corrupt.

 

[alphanumeric]

Thanks everyone for all the help and suggestions, but bloody hell, too many hoops for me! I'll stick to my system image backup in case I need to re-install. Anyway, I found a little offline KMS emulator thingy that allows you to activate an installation for 6 months at a time - you just have to take a minute to reactivate it every 6 months. I'll only resort to that of course, if I lose my legit system image backup or if it becomes corrupt.

You do know that that is illegal, and discussion of such things will likely get you banned from this forum?

 

[Nalydyenlo]

You do know that that is illegal, and discussion of such things will likely get you banned from this forum?

I was just describing the worse case scenario. It's unlikely that I'll ever need to fall back on such a piracy measure as I have a legit, fully activated copy of win 8.1.

 

[alphanumeric]

Worst case scenario is you have to buy a new license to use Windows. Or call Microsoft to straighten it out. Oh also, if you post and then edit the post, the original unedited post is what shows up in the notification email thread subscribers get. We see what you originally said.

 

[Nalydyenlo]

Worst case scenario is you have to buy a new license to use Windows...

Ah, 'twould never come to that!

....Oh also, if you post and then edit the post, the original unedited post is what shows up in the notification email thread subscribers get. We see what you originally said.

I sorry you had to see all those cursed grammatical mistakes!