You can make use of the product key and the Windows 8 backup media to install Windows 8 from scratch. Also sometimes to access this area it takes a key combination. If you try to install Windows using a normal disk then you will in almost all cases have to buy a retail key. I thought a volume license had to install over an oem license? If it doesn't have one, someone didn't want you to have it for some reason or it was not ordered with one. Dell or other vendor }.
If you bought a computer with Windows 8 pre-installed, this will be the most probable case. This is the answer to your original question. Also, when I searched for how to change the product key I came upon this page but do not have the Change Product Key option where this article says that I should. When I checked in system, I can see that Windows somehow goes back to the blocked bios key. Gary McDonnell wrote: When you get the machine it will have Service Tag on it - basically a serial number comprised of letters and numbers. Also make sure to run the program as an administrator if you are not already. Thanks I know this doesn't answer your question, but.
According to these 2 articles from both Dell and Microsoft this is possible: The instructions in these articles don't work the installation will always ask for a key and when you call Dell to ask how to do it they tell you to follow the instructions in these articles. Chris19delta wrote: I thought a volume license had to install over an oem license? The only exception to this general rule is that it is a Windows 8 Pro licensed computer factory-downgraded to Windows 7 Professional. There was no reason for them to, so why would they? Once the machine gets to you, it's using that key on the sticker. If so, you will need a new key to activate your virtual machine. I would imagine your machine has a factory recovery partition Most do these days that you will need to use. How can I solve this? Go to and enter that number when it asks for it. If fact if you use the recovery partition to reinstall Windows the key will not change.
If you do an online search you will find a lot of conflicting information on this subject. This means that if your computer dies or you buy a new computer while disposing off the old one, you will be able to use the same Windows 8 product key which was installed in the dead computer. When you get the machine it will have Service Tag on it - basically a serial number comprised of letters and numbers. You can then install that key with slmgr. In this case it seems very likely that you do not have the proper licensing for your server, therefore whether it works or not you will not be running a legal installation. If your product key is used to activated your laptop before.
They may have more resource to help you get your product key back. In my opinion, it is better than buying a brand new license of Windows 8 which will cost a lot more than this amount. If it doesn't have one, someone didn't want you to have it for some reason or it was not ordered with one. If your vendor is not able to solve your problem, then you can go to Microsoft support and ask them for Windows 8 replacement product key. We have experience with this software and we recommend it because it is helpful and useful :. The former is how Microsoft sell their server software i. The logic for this answer is simple: if you don't make the recovery disks for your machine then either way you will be buying them or buying a fresh Windows license to then use your own disk.
Another feature of Belarc Advisor is that it can find the product keys of all Microsoft software installed on the computer including Windows 8. This forum has some of the best people in the world available to help. Edit: Your recovery partition access is most likely in the Boot Order list. I am trying to properly document all of our Windows 7 licenses. Can I replace the blocked bios key with the new key I have which works? I had done system image backup but haven't been able to restore it and since then changed my mind to run Windows as a virtual machine, but for that, I need my product key. The installation worked fine, but it turns out the license key I recovered is just some sort of dummy. Thanks in advance Even if you could recover it, it would not help you if you plan to run it as a vm.
Why would I ever need to use the stickered product key if the recovery parition will install and automatically activate Windows? I'm sure they do need to track that, yes. Your virtual machine may be treated as another different machine. Optimaximal wrote: Chris19delta wrote: I thought a volume license had to install over an oem license? If in case you entered the product key, let me know from where you got the product key. The factory install uses a built in key, not the one on the sticker, so the key on the sticker means nothing to them. How does one propose I should continue that wouldn't involve buying the recovery disks or a new retail license? So have a look for the sticker, and that should solve your issues. If you want to get the product key of Windows, you can run ProduKey with the following command parameters to force the program to list Windows product keys: produkey. Medion said they were unable to provide a key as their images are pre-activated as expected.
. During the install process it asks me to enter a product key, but given dell bios based embedded product key how come it doesn't retrieve it automatically? ProduKey ProduKey is a small portable utility from Nirsoft which has been created for extracting detailed information about the products installed in Windows including Windows product keys. I doubt those records are something general support staff would have access to though, it's probably buried in inventory and management logs nobody ever looks at outside an audit. The factory install uses a built in key, not the one on the sticker, so the key on the sticker means nothing to them. It may come out looking a little funky but I was able to read it well enough… I have verified that the key works on my second windows 8 machine. But right now i can't even access anything in windows since i am locked out. The key on the side requires the machine to be activated via the Microsoft Activation servers.
Dont trust the 3rd party websites, they generally dont pay attention and we got lots of wrong restore discs with them. Check the Original Configuration using the ServiceTag on the Dell Website to determine what it came with. Also sometimes to access this area it takes a key combination. In that case, you will have to contact Dell support to get a valid Windows 7 Professional key or reinstall the factory image. You can then display the original configuration which will include what version, if any, of Windows Server that the system was shipped with.
Just a shot in the dark here. As those media install come pre-activated for your hardware. The latter is what most hardware manufacturers drop on their server hardware to offer something to get you going out of the box i. Microsoft performed this change to avoid product keys from being compromised. Check the Original Configuration using the ServiceTag on the Dell Website to determine what it came with. I recently purchased a Windows 8 Dell Inspiron and i've been a victim of a special type of virus that block me from booting windows 8.