BIOS-embedded Windows 8 product keys - reinstall troubles?

Those purchasing Windows 8 PCs are noticing that the small "Certificate of Authenticity" that is normally home to the product key is missing, and instead a "Genuine Microsoft" label has replaced it.

This seems to be a cause of concern, and is prompting a number of questions.

Rather than using a sticker, PC manufacturers are instead embedding the product key -- associated with a fingerprint of the hardware -- into the BIOS/UEFI firmware on the motherboard. This is part of Microsoft new OEM Activation 3.0 (OA 3.0) mechanism and has been designed to combat piracy and, according to my OEM contacts, makes it easier for OEMs to order new keys from Microsoft, and even return unused keys back to Microsoft.

But what does it mean to the end user?

Read more at source:
Will BIOS-embedded Windows 8 product keys cause reinstall troubles? | ZDNet
 
well with some advice from alphanumeric and some others i solved an issue regarding this as the bios got broken by an update of some kind.

you can just run a windows 8 disc through of the same version.

it picks up the licence key and uses it then activates online.

in the bios you can export the licence key but only in it's encrypted format you need all parts should be a list, key encryption (kek) and so forth.(not actually tried this yet) but similar to other encryption methods i've used.

pop down to a local repair shop and ask for a copy of a windows 8 disc, i mean a copy of the retail version, most will have one...i certainly do. without the key the disc is useless anyway.

without trying to annoy anyone and not condoning piracy but there are sources you can go to for a iso image and burn that to disc/usb for clean install.

lots of options here but if the bios gets screwed up like it did with the one i had, it should when online activate and fix that in the bios as well, how it does that i'm not sure but it has a way of checking with microsoft servers.
 

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without trying to annoy anyone and not condoning piracy but there are sources you can go to for a iso image and burn that to disc/usb for clean install.

Digital River is recognized as an official legitimate source. But I don't know if the links to Windows 8 are up yet.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus Tansformer Book Flip TP500LN
    CPU
    Intel i5-4210U
    Memory
    8GB DDR3 SDRAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia Geforce GT 840M
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15" Touchscreen
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768
    Hard Drives
    1TB Hybrid
    Mouse
    Microsoft Wireless Mobile Mouse 4000
without trying to annoy anyone and not condoning piracy but there are sources you can go to for a iso image and burn that to disc/usb for clean install.

Digital River is recognized as an official legitimate source. But I don't know if the links to Windows 8 are up yet.

not checked myself the page is there but the last i checked the links weren't going anywhere yet.
 

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Bios updates could be interesting? Right now for a Windows 7 PC it's a one BIOS fits all deal. My Turbo 5 Model 3 has the same BIOS as any Turbo 5 Model 3. They all have the same OEM SLIC table and matching product Code. With OA3.0 Each Turbo 5 Model 3 has a unique BIOS all its own. The flash routine is going to have to pull the hash from the current BIOS and add it to the new one. Or the manufacturer is going to have to issue a unique (updated) BIOS for each PC on a one on one basis. Anyway, to make a long story short. If this process fails, flashing your BIOS could break your OEM activation. I can see a good chance of another round of "this PC is not genuine" complaints in the future.
 

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
Bios updates could be interesting? Right now for a Windows 7 PC it's a one BIOS fits all deal. My Turbo 5 Model 3 has the same BIOS as any Turbo 5 Model 3. They all have the same OEM SLIC table and matching product Code. With OA3.0 Each Turbo 5 Model 3 has a unique BIOS all its own. The flash routine is going to have to pull the hash from the current BIOS and add it to the new one. Or the manufacturer is going to have to issue a unique (updated) BIOS for each PC on a one on one basis. Anyway, to make a long story short. If this process fails, flashing your BIOS could break your OEM activation. I can see a good chance of another round of "this PC is not genuine" complaints in the future.

OA3tool generates this at build as well as all needed hardware hashes etc.

The OA3 is stored in a section of the BIOS that is marked as locked to prevent changes (unlike the slic tables for older windows). And so is not included in the flashable bioses from the manufacturer.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    .
Bios updates could be interesting? Right now for a Windows 7 PC it's a one BIOS fits all deal. My Turbo 5 Model 3 has the same BIOS as any Turbo 5 Model 3. They all have the same OEM SLIC table and matching product Code. With OA3.0 Each Turbo 5 Model 3 has a unique BIOS all its own. The flash routine is going to have to pull the hash from the current BIOS and add it to the new one. Or the manufacturer is going to have to issue a unique (updated) BIOS for each PC on a one on one basis. Anyway, to make a long story short. If this process fails, flashing your BIOS could break your OEM activation. I can see a good chance of another round of "this PC is not genuine" complaints in the future.

OA3tool generates this at build as well as all needed hardware hashes etc.

The OA3 is stored in a section of the BIOS that is marked as locked to prevent changes (unlike the slic tables for older windows). And so is not included in the flashable bioses from the manufacturer.


That was my point, and my fear.

Will a BIOS-flash remove the MS crap or not?

That's ALL I want to know.

If the answer is no, then I will NOT be installing Win 8 retail.

Under ANY circumstances.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Enterprise 64-bit (7 Ult, Vista & XP in V-Box)
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire Ethos AS8951G 'Super-Laptop'.
    CPU
    Intel Sandy-Bridge i7-2670QM quad-core
    Motherboard
    Acer
    Memory
    8GB DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel 3000HD / Ge-Force GT555M 2 gigs
    Sound Card
    Realtek/5.1 Dolby built-in including speakers.
    Monitor(s) Displays
    18.4" full-HD
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1024
    Hard Drives
    2x750GB Toshiba internal, 1x500GB Seagate external, 1x2TB Seagate external, 1x640GB Toshiba pocket-drive, 1x640GB Samsung pocket drive.
    PSU
    Stock
    Case
    Laptop
    Cooling
    Air-cooled
    Mouse
    I/R cordless.
    Internet Speed
    Borderline pathetic.
Bios updates could be interesting? Right now for a Windows 7 PC it's a one BIOS fits all deal. My Turbo 5 Model 3 has the same BIOS as any Turbo 5 Model 3. They all have the same OEM SLIC table and matching product Code. With OA3.0 Each Turbo 5 Model 3 has a unique BIOS all its own. The flash routine is going to have to pull the hash from the current BIOS and add it to the new one. Or the manufacturer is going to have to issue a unique (updated) BIOS for each PC on a one on one basis. Anyway, to make a long story short. If this process fails, flashing your BIOS could break your OEM activation. I can see a good chance of another round of "this PC is not genuine" complaints in the future.

OA3tool generates this at build as well as all needed hardware hashes etc.

The OA3 is stored in a section of the BIOS that is marked as locked to prevent changes (unlike the slic tables for older windows). And so is not included in the flashable bioses from the manufacturer.


That was my point, and my fear.

Will a BIOS-flash remove the MS crap or not?

That's ALL I want to know.

If the answer is no, then I will NOT be installing Win 8 retail.

Under ANY circumstances.

No this only applies to OEM windows. where it can not be removed from bios.

Retail versions do not add OA3 to the bios. They generate a hardware hash with the supplied key.
 

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Fine.

The WIN 8 RTM is being removed from the 8951 as I speak.

The CP will be removed from this tomorrow.

To Hell with W8. Try to push ME where I won't go....see what happens.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Enterprise 64-bit (7 Ult, Vista & XP in V-Box)
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire Ethos AS8951G 'Super-Laptop'.
    CPU
    Intel Sandy-Bridge i7-2670QM quad-core
    Motherboard
    Acer
    Memory
    8GB DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel 3000HD / Ge-Force GT555M 2 gigs
    Sound Card
    Realtek/5.1 Dolby built-in including speakers.
    Monitor(s) Displays
    18.4" full-HD
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1024
    Hard Drives
    2x750GB Toshiba internal, 1x500GB Seagate external, 1x2TB Seagate external, 1x640GB Toshiba pocket-drive, 1x640GB Samsung pocket drive.
    PSU
    Stock
    Case
    Laptop
    Cooling
    Air-cooled
    Mouse
    I/R cordless.
    Internet Speed
    Borderline pathetic.
Kat, BIOS SLIC tables have been around since XP, maybe even before that. This embedded code will actually make it easier to do OEM installs. The way it is now with Windows 7 and below, you have to have the matching branded OEM media to reinstall and retain your OEM-SLP activation. Now all you need is a regular Retail Windows 8 or Windows 8 Pro DVD. Clean installs to ditch the bloat ware are going to be easier to do. And as mentioned, your off the shelf bought motherboards won't have it. This embedded code is your Windows 8 license. ASUS, Gigabyte, etc, aren't going to give you a free version of Windows 8 so the code won't be there.
 

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
The following comes to mind, spite, face, nose .....
 

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System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro x64
    Computer type
    Tablet
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Surface Pro 3
    CPU
    i5
    Memory
    4GB DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Graphics HD
    Screen Resolution
    2160 x 1440
    Hard Drives
    128GB SSD, 128GB MicroSD
    Internet Speed
    8GB
    Antivirus
    Bitdefender
Bios updates could be interesting? Right now for a Windows 7 PC it's a one BIOS fits all deal. My Turbo 5 Model 3 has the same BIOS as any Turbo 5 Model 3. They all have the same OEM SLIC table and matching product Code. With OA3.0 Each Turbo 5 Model 3 has a unique BIOS all its own. The flash routine is going to have to pull the hash from the current BIOS and add it to the new one. Or the manufacturer is going to have to issue a unique (updated) BIOS for each PC on a one on one basis. Anyway, to make a long story short. If this process fails, flashing your BIOS could break your OEM activation. I can see a good chance of another round of "this PC is not genuine" complaints in the future.

OA3tool generates this at build as well as all needed hardware hashes etc.

The OA3 is stored in a section of the BIOS that is marked as locked to prevent changes (unlike the slic tables for older windows). And so is not included in the flashable bioses from the manufacturer.

Ah. I wonder if it's possible to move the slic to a separate chip, possibly a removable (and therefore optional) one?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus Tansformer Book Flip TP500LN
    CPU
    Intel i5-4210U
    Memory
    8GB DDR3 SDRAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia Geforce GT 840M
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15" Touchscreen
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768
    Hard Drives
    1TB Hybrid
    Mouse
    Microsoft Wireless Mobile Mouse 4000
No but you might be able to replace the bios chip with a none windows enabled one.

But why? As it is only a key/table for the software and windows has had this in OEM bioses since xp. It's just encrypted for windows 8. It's not like this is new.
 

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No but you might be able to replace the bios chip with a none windows enabled one.

But why? As it is only a key/table for the software and windows has had this in OEM bioses since xp. It's just encrypted for windows 8. It's not like this is new.

Exactly what I was trying to say.
 

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
It is an issue for me. I have new Dell laptop bought from Best Buy. Best Buy refused to give me my Windows 8.1 key unless I pay $99- which I refused. Yesterday, I tried to create a new partition, since then, my Windows cannot boot up. Though I have created an USB Recovery, but it doesn't work. The Recovery stopped at 53% forever. I phoned up Dell, Dell also refused to support and turned me back to Best Buy. If there a way the I can find my Windows 8.1 key will solve all problem, but how?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    7

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
My Dell laptop is only 4 months new. Since I created a new partition yesterday, my Windows 8.1 no longer boot up. My USB Recovery cannot recover it. No way I can use 3rd party software to find out my Windows 8.1 Key. If I have the key, I think I can get a ISO image file from Dell. So I can re-install my Windows 8.1 back to my Dell laptop. That's what I thought.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    7
My Dell laptop is only 4 months new. Since I created a new partition yesterday, my Windows 8.1 no longer boot up. My USB Recovery cannot recover it. No way I can use 3rd party software to find out my Windows 8.1 Key. If I have the key, I think I can get a ISO image file from Dell. So I can re-install my Windows 8.1 back to my Dell laptop. That's what I thought.

Knowing what your key is likely won't help you with Dell. They probably could care less what it is. Proof of ownership and date of purchase should be all they need. You may have to order a set of recovery disks from them and hope they work.
 

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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