Activating a retail Windows 8.1 with OEM Licence Key

Heksmeester

Heksmeester

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Hello all,

I've been going insane the last couple of hours trying to get my fresh installation of Windows 8.1 activated on my HP Pavilion notebook.

The notebook came pre-installed with Windows 8 but, of course, included a lot of bundled crapware and other stuff which I wanted removed. I did manage to extract the OEM licence key using RW-Everything from the BIOS (Apparently that's how they do things these days, no more stickers).

So I went ahead and did a fresh install of a retail Windows 8.1 with a generic key, only to find that after installation, it refuses to accept my legitimate OEM key when trying to change the key and activate it.

I DON'T have the HP recovery media on my HDD anymore as I deleted that partition (go figure). :rolleyes::rolleyes:

I am going absolutely insane trying to activate this god forsaken OS. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance!
 
Thanks for the reply.

I tried those instructions but it never got to the point where I could just accept the EULA. It still asked for a key and wouldn't take my legitimate OEM license. This is ludicrous!! How can Microsoft have such retarded licensing agreements? Windows is Windows?

I had to resort to using the KMS activator after installing with a generic key. I don't feel like it's piracy, since I own a legitimate license key for it. Thoughts?
 
Can't work. It's like installed pro and trying to enter a home licence key. The activation sees oem and retail as different versions
 
reactor_sa said:
Can't work. It's like installed pro and trying to enter a home licence key. The activation sees oem and retail as different versions
Click to expand...

Yes but they should then allow you to download the OEM version from somewhere. They only way to install it with that key is to then request an installation disc from HP, which is ludicrous. Why can't they just include it in the first place when you buy the laptop?
 
SirSlothXCI said:
Yes but they should then allow you to download the OEM version from somewhere. They only way to install it with that key is to then request an installation disc from HP, which is ludicrous. Why can't they just include it in the first place when you buy the laptop?
Click to expand...

I thought this may help you with the disc problem. :D

http://www.nag.co.za/2014/11/11/no-windows-8-1-install-disks-no-problem/

reactor_sa said:
Can't work. It's like installed pro and trying to enter a home licence key. The activation sees oem and retail as different versions
Click to expand...

Only because there's a file there that determines which pool of keys its allowed to activate with. Editing that file with specific commands allows you to install and activate Windows with any key you want. That's what the ISO downloader I wrote about does. Microsoft's been aware of the problem for some time and they'll be fixing it with Windows 10.
 
Last edited:
I think the problem started with buying an HP laptop.
 
vinodh said:
Fixed that for you. ;)
Click to expand...

Windows 8 is awesome. You just need to install Start8 for a Windows 7 start menu, set it to boot to desktop and ensure no button leads to the Metro UI. It's basically a faster Windows 7 then.

I did that the day I got Windows 8, which was the day after it released. I've been amazed at all the negative comments I've read throughout the OS's lifespan. I don't understand why people don't just Google their issue and take 5 min to fix it.
 
Bryn26 said:
Windows 8 is awesome. You just need to install Start8 for a Windows 7 start menu, set it to boot to desktop and ensure no button leads to the Metro UI. It's basically a faster Windows 7 then.

I did that the day I got Windows 8, which was the day after it released. I've been amazed at all the negative comments I've read throughout the OS's lifespan. I don't understand why people don't just Google their issue and take 5 min to fix it.
Click to expand...

I use Windows 8.1 on my desktop as is. I don't need the Windows 7 start menu. However, what I don't like about Windows 8 is secure boot and the embedded key system used by the OEM's. The OP would have had no issue if his HP was a Windows 7 machine since that would have had a COA and a product key.
 
SirSlothXCI said:
Yes but they should then allow you to download the OEM version from somewhere. They only way to install it with that key is to then request an installation disc from HP, which is ludicrous. Why can't they just include it in the first place when you buy the laptop?
Click to expand...
They create recovery partitions, probably sufficient for most users
 
Windows 8 and 8.1 use different licence keys, i have a 8 licence, so when i want to do a clean install i have to install 8 first with the license and then update that to windows 8.1. If i try use my 8 license with a 8.1 "disk" it says it is not a valid license key
 
SirSlothXCI said:
Problem with that tool is that it's still retail copies of the ISO that you download. OEM keys do not work during the installation process. :(
Click to expand...

Really? I'm fairly sure that these ISO sets don't have the flags to determine which pools to activate from. The regular media creation tool did that based on what key you entered. Mine is still downloading in the background, so I'll be able to confirm sometime next week.
 
web said:
Windows 8 and 8.1 use different licence keys, i have a 8 licence, so when i want to do a clean install i have to install 8 first with the license and then update that to windows 8.1. If i try use my 8 license with a 8.1 "disk" it says it is not a valid license key
Click to expand...
I've had the same issue. Luckily I have an msdn subscription so I got some 8.1 keys, no idea why Microsoft did that.
 
rinorobert said:
How does one sign up for a msdn account where one can have access to these keys?
Click to expand...

http://www.visualstudio.com/en-us/products/how-to-buy-vs

Starts at $700 per annum. Technet was cheaper but that got killed off.

The other way to get keys is if you're a student and your university has a Dreamspark Premium account. Then login to Dreamspark and link your account to get free keys.

If your university does not have a Premium account, then validate your student info anyway and you can still get Visual Studio and Server 2012 etc. Not Windows.
 
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