This will uninstall the product key (which is generic and inactivated anyway). To do this right click on the Windows button and click Command Prompt (Admin). Windows 8.1 generic keyįinally, once the Windows installation finishes, open up an elevated command prompt. Generic keys can be found by simply googling: Microsoft has now released LEGAL generic keys used for the sole purpose of installing Windows 8.1 as an INACTIVATED copy. ![]() Install Windows 8.1 Retail with a generic key. You may have to change your BIOS settings to allow booting from DVD as the first boot device. Next, install the ISO by burning it to a DVD and booting from the DVD. You can check the official SHA-1 hashes directly from Microsoft's MSDN website, then just click on Details on the entry that corresponds to the ISO you downloaded to show the hash. I recommend to check the SHA-1 hash to make sure the ISO files are original if downloading from torrents, else you may end up with a tampered OS with backdoors which will be nearly impossible to remove (implementing backdoors on a OS install disc allows to bypass any security measure of the OS and thus make them completely undetectable). (Remember, downloading a Microsoft ISO is NOT illegal as long as you are installing it with a legal license) You can download from My Digital Life forums or even find one as a torrent or download directly from Microsoft if you happen to also have a valid retail serial number or dev account. Get the version that corresponds with what came with your laptop (e.g. Saving the $$$ involved in obtaining recovery discs from the manufacturer (such as Toshiba who thought it was ok to charge me $68 US to ship me recovery discs-with bloatware)įirst, find yourself a retail copy of Windows 8.1 ISO. Guaranteed removal of bloatware-even if you did obtain recovery discs, people don't like all the added on applications that OEMs supply with their machines. This could be for a variety of reasons (mine was a new SSD installation, while others have reported wiping their drives or recovery partitions becoming inactive or corrupt) People forget to do a recovery disc backup and their hard drive's recovery doesn't work. Some people believe a clean install is better than an upgrade from Windows 8 Here are the reasons people want to clean install Windows 8.1: If you need to re-install your Windows and your hard drive's recovery cannot be accessed or you forget to create recovery discs - it's a difficult process. Windows 8 OEM machines no longer include a COA sticker or label at the bottom of your laptop with your serial number. At the end of this article you will also find a video tutorial on how to do all of this if you do not want to read all of the below. I have successfully been able to swap licenses by first installing a retail version. Is this even possible? If it's not possible, are the manufacturer under obligation to provide me with "clean" install disks on request? ![]() If I was to obtain the 8.1 install media, am I right in thinking that I could install using the dummy key and later legitimately activate with my Win8 OEM key? If not, could I do the equivalent for Windows 8 install media? A clean Win8 upgraded through to 8.1 is still preferable to the wrongly-partitioned OEM version. I have tried using the generic keys provided in numerous threads, but these are all rejected with the message We can't connect right now (research shows that this is due to a key problem and not a network problem, I have confirmed the network is fine.) ![]() ![]() My Windows 8 OEM key is rejected with the message This product key cannot be used to install a retail version of Windows 8. The common way to clean install Windows 8.1 with a Windows 8 key shown on websites is to use Microsoft's upgrade site to download the install media by starting the Windows 8 download first, pausing it, then starting the Windows 8.1 download. I do not have any original install media, only recovery disks, and the recovery disks perform a pre-programmed install which does not have the correct partition scheme that I need, and also install lots of programs that I do not want. I am interested in a clean install of Windows 8.1. I have recently acquired a laptop with an OEM Windows 8 product key.
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