Replace Win8.1 w/ Bing OS

[Pepper]

I have been doing a lot of research and have not found a definite answer so far. I have a HP laptop that has Win8.1 with Bing operating system. I want to replace the OS (clean install). If I purchase a new OEM Win8.1 Pro DVD with a "new activation key", can I install this or will the original key in the bios prevent the installation/activation?

 

[Bat 1]

You would need to extract the ISO to a FAT32 formatted USB drive, I use 7Zip
Open Notepad on your PC and copy and paste the following:

[Edition ID]
Professional
[Channel]
Retail
[VL]
0

Save it somewhere like your desktop named: ei.cfg and the type as: all files. Copy and paste to the Sources folder on your USB drive and that should bypass the embedded key.

 

[Pepper]

Will the "Retail" in the ei.cfg file cause problems when activating, since I plan to install the OEM Pro instead of the retail version?

 

[Bat 1]

No Problems. I just finished upgrading a Win 8.1 Core OS on a laptop with the embedded key to Win 10 Pro and to get past the Core Key I used:

[Channel]
_Default


[VL]
0

 

[Pepper]

So the type of activation key required to activate Win8.1 is determined by either the product key entered at the beginning of the installation or the info specified in the ei.cfg file. Is this correct? If I download the image from Microsoft, I have two options. One is download to USB drive and the other is a iso file. Which would be the easiest to add the ei.cfg file to? I am guessing the Microsoft image will be more up to date (less updates to install) than a DVD. I noticed there aren't separate images for OEM and Retail.

 

[Bat 1]

There aren't separate images for OEM, Retail or Volume License and the ISO from the Media Creation Tool will be multi edition containing both Pro and Core. It's your choice whether to make the USB or download the ISO. Personally I have somewhat slow and extremely unreliable Internet so I had downloaded the original ISOs directly from Microsoft so I could verify the Hash checksums to be positive the download wasn't corrupted. With the MCT you end up with a different unverifiable hash every time.

I'm afraid there's no difference in the number of updates you'll need to install as the MCT download will have very little or no difference from what's included in the original ISO. There are quite a few and updating has become a problem with needing to download and run standalone packages from the Microsoft Catalog. Don't know if I can find the time, but I may try to download from the MCT and make a VM install to see if there are still update problems and how to get around them.

 

[Pepper]

"the ISO from the Media Creation Tool will be multi edition containing both Pro and Core"

The MCT requires you to chose the image you want to download under edition ( Win8.1, Win8.1N, Win8.1 Pro, Win8.1 Pro N, or Win8.1 Single Language). Looks like they have a separate iso for each edition?

 

[Bat 1]

AFAIK, If you purchase a Legit Retail Key the ISO will be included. Finding one will be the hardest part. Expect to pay $200.00 US plus

N is for the EU version that comes without the media player. I used regular 8.1 for my laptop that apparently came with single language. Unless something has changed that nobody knows about, the Pro ISO from the MCT still contains Both Core and Pro ????

Right now I'm more interested in seeing if there are any problems getting updates on a fresh install. I installed Core into VMWare Workstation and so far the updates seem to be working perfectly

UPDATE: Windows update worked perfectly as well as upgrading Core to Pro

*Forgot to say that if you mistakenly install Core, since it's the Same OS, only with some features locked, You can just upgrade it to Pro using the C9WKB Key here: Activate retail Windows 8.1 with Windows 8 Product key. then activate it with your purchased Key

 

[Pepper]

Yes, Retail version of Win8.1 is somewhat rare and expensive. There are a lot more and much cheaper OEM versions around. Maybe that's because they don't work or are a pain to set up. I don't move operating systems around. It remains in the computer until it dies. Usually by that time it's obsolete anyway. In my opinion, the only advantage of the Retail version is being able to move it to a different computer. Would it be worth trying to install and activate an OEM or would it be a waste of time?

 

[Bat 1]

Hmm according to Upgrading Windows 8.1 with Bing to 8.1 Pro using Pro Pack - Microsoft Community You should be able to upgrade from Bing to Pro but I didn't know that was possible :shock: Download and Run the Ultimate PID Checker The Ultimate PID Checker Download and see what it says here:

Edition Type : Core
Description : Win 8 RTM Core OEMM
Edition ID : [8]X18-15561
Key Type : OEMM
EULA : OEM

Darn thing keep replacing "" with a Smiley Face Anytime I put a ":" and a "D" it comes out as

If it says Core You should be able to upgrade to Pro ??? You just need to get a System Builder OEM type key.

 

[KYHI]

click Go Advanced option at bottom of post and select disable smilies

 

[Bat 1]

click Go Advanced option at bottom of post and select disable smilies

View attachment 69366

Thanks

 

[Pepper]

Seems like most are trying to install a diffrent OS and trying to use the original product key. This obviously doesn't work. So in my case, I plan to use a bootable drive wiper to clear all data (Win8.1 w/Bing) and partitions on the hard drive . Then insert the system builder OEM Win8.1 Pro install DVD to install new OS. It should read the embedded bios key and see it is not compatible with the version I am trying to install, then ask for a product key. If I input the "new key" that came with the DVD, seems like the new OS should install? Am I missing something?

 

[KYHI]

insert the system builder OEM Win8.1 Pro install DVD to install new OS.
It will then, then ask for a product key.
input the "new key" that came with the DVD

DVD installs the new OS - Correct..