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How to download OEM copy of Windows 8

Anonymous
2015-03-13T09:07:09+00:00

Hi,

My friend's Asus S200E laptop was purchased with Windows 8 installed and therefore has a Windows 8 licence (BIOS embedded). It has had a new hard drive fitted following a drive failure. I need to obtain an OEM copy of Windows 8 in order to reinstall Windows. To the best of my knowledge I cannot install Windows 8.1 without going via Windows 8 as I understand that the Win8 Product Key won't work with 8.1.

My friend had not taken the trouble to create a recovery disk from the recovery partition prior to the failure.

I have managed to extract the Product Key from the BIOS and went to the Microsoft website www.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows-8/upgrade-product-key-only where I downloaded and ran windows8-setup.exe

When prompted for the Product Key, I entered the 25-character code I had extracted from the BIOS. The response was "This product key cannot be used to install a retail version of Windows 8".

Please advise where I can download an OEM version of Windows 8 to use with this Product Key?

Chris

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Install and upgrade

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  1. Anonymous
    2015-03-13T10:34:20+00:00

    Hi,

    My friend's Asus S200E laptop was purchased with Windows 8 installed and therefore has a Windows 8 licence (BIOS embedded). It has had a new hard drive fitted following a drive failure. I need to obtain an OEM copy of Windows 8 in order to reinstall Windows. To the best of my knowledge I cannot install Windows 8.1 without going via Windows 8 as I understand that the Win8 Product Key won't work with 8.1.

    My friend had not taken the trouble to create a recovery disk from the recovery partition prior to the failure.

    I have managed to extract the Product Key from the BIOS and went to the Microsoft website www.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows-8/upgrade-product-key-only where I downloaded and ran windows8-setup.exe

    When prompted for the Product Key, I entered the 25-character code I had extracted from the BIOS. The response was "This product key cannot be used to install a retail version of Windows 8".

    Please advise where I can download an OEM version of Windows 8 to use with this Product Key?

    Chris

    You are looking at the highly flawed and for the OEM license non-functional downloader. Microsoft have since improved the downloader to give a Windows 8.1 with Update 1 .iso. This new downloader does not require a product key so can be used with the OEM license. The main trick is selecting the correct Edition of Windows 8.1 as sometimes "Windows 8.0/8.1" is sold as "Windows 8.0/8.1 Single Language" or "Windows 8.0/8.1N". If you use the correct Edition you will bypass the input your product key screen and be taken straight to the license agreement screen. If the wrong Edition is selected, you'll be prompted for a product key. Also I recommend using Rufus to make a Bootable USB which will allow you to install in GPT in a UEFI BIOS with SecureBoot enabled. See here for more details where I demonstrate the procedure on my Dell laptop:

    http://dellwindowsreinstallationguide.com/download-microsoft-windows-and-office/download-microsoft-windows/download-windows-8-1-retail-and-oem-iso/

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  1. Anonymous
    2015-03-13T23:53:58+00:00

    Theres been a demand for such a tool since Windows 8 was released. Its a good tool but theres a couple of things which could be improved. I'm glad my guide helped.

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  2. Anonymous
    2015-03-13T22:29:56+00:00

    Thanks, Philip. I downloaded the Microsoft Media Creation Tool from the URL you provided and successfully downloaded and burned a bootable installation DVD for Windows 8.1.

    As you predicted, it did not ask for a licence key before installation and once completed I verified that Windows was authenticated. It looks as though Microsoft have provided a useful tool for the user community, even though it's well concealed.

    The laptop is now up and running with Win 8.1 and has successfuly downloaded and installed the latest Windows updates.

    Many thanks.

    Chris

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