Windows 8.1: "This key didn't work" on activation

Ho3n3r

Ho3n3r

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Hi Guys. Hoping you could help me.

I bought a retail key for Win8.1 Pro from a reseller. So I installed the incorrect ISO apparently, and when I got into Windows and tried to activate the product, I got an error of ""This key didn’t work, please check it and try again, or try different key”.

After I queried him and told me to download the correct ISO from the exact link he sent me, I proceded to do so, again formatting my PC and trying the install from the correct download link. But I still get the error.

I've tried both the fixes in this link: http://www.avoiderrors.net/solved-t...d-try-again-or-try-a-different-key-windows-8/

The registry setting, however was already set to 0, but I tried setting it to 1, restarting, setting it to 0 again and restarting again, but the key still returned the error.

On the phone activation, the response after entering all those ID's, twice, was "we could not activate your product".

Any other advice would be appreciated. I've spent most of this long weekend trying to just get my Windows activated, and it's getting pretty frustrating, after 2x 3.5 hour downloads of the separate ISO's as well.
 
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This sounds like your reseller's problem, not yours. Tell him it doesn't work, period, and he needs to give you a new key. Either that, or he needs to provide you with technical support in getting it installed.

Or, you know, if it fell off the back of the truck, you can just write it off to experience. Sometimes a bad key is just a bad key.
 
Venomous said:
call activations. there is an option to speak to a person.
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Yeah. The lady on the other side had an American accent or something. Kept having to repeat myself, and then she kept repeating herself again by saying "Please try and re-enter it". Not much help at all.

Foxhound5366 said:
This sounds like your reseller's problem, not yours. Tell him it doesn't work, period, and he needs to give you a new key. Either that, or he needs to provide you with technical support in getting it installed.

Or, you know, if it fell off the back of the truck, you can just write it off to experience. Sometimes a bad key is just a bad key.
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Thanks, will do so. He is a reseller on Carb, so I will make sure I get it working by either receiving a new key, or getting a refund. His rep there would be too valuable. I am still erring on the side of "honest mistake" as worst case scenario, he has been very helpful thus far, but I need it sorted ASAP.
 
Visser said:
Go here:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-ZA/windows-8/upgrade-product-key-only

Click on Install Windows 8.1

Download the installer and run it. You will be asked to enter the product key.

If the key is valid you will automatically download the correct version.

If the key is invalid, you have been duped.
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Thanks for the feedback.

That's where I downloaded it from originally. When I entered the key there, it said it was fine. It's only upon activation after installation that I get this issue.
 
Ho3n3r said:
Thanks for the feedback.

That's where I downloaded it from originally. When I entered the key there, it said it was fine. It's only upon activation after installation that I get this issue.
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Then the reseller probably sold you a key that has been used on too many PC's. Problem is, you will be able to download the ISO with the key, but if it does not activate (online or telephonically), I will bet my @ss that it is a ***** key.
 
Thanks for the assistance, guys. Turns out the key was a dud - the reseller gave me a new one, and it works now.

He will take it up with his supplier.
 
Ho3n3r said:
Thanks for the assistance, guys. Turns out the key was a dud - the reseller gave me a new one, and it works now.

He will take it up with his supplier.
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Glad to hear that. Just happy for you that it all worked out in the end.
 
Well, I suppose these are some of the hoops one jumps through when you're not using a key that's meant for resale. Microsoft's downloader will tell you if a key is valid or not, but it won't download the correct installation media for your key if it's not from the retail/OEM pool, which is what the ISOs from Microsoft and a few other places are set to.
 
CataclysmZA said:
Well, I suppose these are some of the hoops one jumps through when you're not using a key that's meant for resale. Microsoft's downloader will tell you if a key is valid or not, but it won't download the correct installation media for your key if it's not from the retail/OEM pool, which is what the ISOs from Microsoft and a few other places are set to.
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How do you know it's not meant for resale? And how would you explain that he had another key that now worked, if it's from the incorrect pool?
 
Ho3n3r said:
How do you know it's not meant for resale? And how would you explain that he had another key that now worked, if it's from the incorrect pool?
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Well its far too cheap for a Windows 8.1 Pro license, for one. There is no distributor locally you could buy from that has a cost price below your supplier's. Its possible that they come from Microsoft's Dreamspark or Bizspark programs, which was a common sight on reddit in Softwareswap before Microsoft got wind of it. Its also possible that those keys originate from a country that has Microsoft licenses for way cheaper (hence your supplier's mention of the Rand/Dollar exchange rate) but that's probably not what he's doing. Perhaps you got a replacement key for an upgrade version of Win 8.1 Pro, I can't really know for sure.

All that I can positively tell you is that your supplier's announcement that he had Office 2013 Pro Plus licenses on hand for R1000 raised red flags because you can absolutely not buy that package outside of a Volume License/Enterprise agreement or through the MSDN/Microsoft Action Pack, where you need to register a valid business with Microsoft to qualify. Wherever he's getting those keys, it's not from Microsoft and it's not a legitimate source.
 
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CataclysmZA said:
Well its far too cheap for a Windows 8.1 Pro license, for one. There is no distributor locally you could buy from that has a cost price below your supplier's. Its possible that they come from Microsoft's Dreamspark or Bizspark programs, which was a common sight on reddit in Softwareswap before Microsoft got wind of it. Its also possible that those keys originate from a country that has Microsoft licenses for way cheaper (hence your supplier's mention of the Rand/Dollar exchange rate) but that's probably not what he's doing. Perhaps you got a replacement key for an upgrade version of Win 8.1 Pro, I can't really know for sure.

All that I can positively tell you is that your supplier's announcement that he had Office 2013 Pro Plus licenses on hand for R1000 raised red flags because you can absolutely not buy that package outside of a Volume License/Enterprise agreement or through the MSDN/Microsoft Action Pack, where you need to register a valid business with Microsoft to qualify. Wherever he's getting those keys, it's not from Microsoft and it's not a legitimate source.
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That's interesting. So is it contravening any kind of law if it is indeed true what you say, or is it just "frowned upon"?
 
EDIT: Never mind. I gotta learn to read between the OP and the last post.
 
DarkSpectre said:
Looks like you have been duped. Next time buy a software product from legit stores only.
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OK, Mr. High Horse. How was I supposed to know beforehand that it was "illegal"? It was a reseller on Carbonite, who as far as I know would have been banned if he did anything illegal. Why should I not have trusted him?

EDIT: If I knew it was illegal, there is no way I would've given him my money.
 
Ho3n3r said:
OK, Mr. High Horse. How was I supposed to know beforehand that it was "illegal"? It was a reseller on Carbonite, who as far as I know would have been banned if he did anything illegal. Why should I not have trusted him?

EDIT: If I knew it was illegal, there is no way I would've given him my money.
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I dunno. I don't give a **** what you do with your money. If I were you, I would rather buy retail keys from legit stores. Not from somebody you meet on some random tech forums. That way, the odds of getting duped on is significantly lower. Have a nice day, son.
 
DarkSpectre said:
I dunno. I don't give a **** what you do with your money. If I were you, I would rather buy retail keys from legit stores. Not from somebody you meet on some random tech forums. That way, the odds of getting duped on is significantly lower. Have a nice day, son.
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Well, clearly you do, since you posted a judgemental reply to this thread.

And "random tech forum"? Hahaha. You don't know much at all. Carbonite is the most trusted online tech classifieds site in South Africa. But I wouldn't expect you to know that.
 
Ho3n3r said:
Well, clearly you do, since you posted a judgemental reply to this thread.

And "random tech forum"? Hahaha. You don't know much at all. Carbonite is the most trusted online tech classifieds site in South Africa. But I wouldn't expect you to know that.
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Doesn't mean dedicated scammers won't try their luck on there, son.
 
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