Will I have to provide a product key when re-installing 8.1 on my ASUS laptop?

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Incredibruin

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Feb 12, 2015
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Or is the product key embedded in the BIOS (pre-installed ASUS laptop), so I will not have to enter any key when I do a clean install of 8.1?

I did a little workaround to be able to copy a recovery partition to an external drive. I did a full reset and made a newbie mistake. Now my operating system is Windows 8.1 Enterprise Evaluation, License Expired, Build 9600. When I did that full reset, that should not have affected anything in BIOS, yes?
 
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If you perform an installation of Windows 8.x that matches a key embedded into your BIOS, it should go through without asking, otherwise, another option, if you have Windows 8.1 installation media but an embedded key for 8.0 would be to install using a generic key, which won't activate, but allow you to perform the installation, then after installation, you can change your key to the proper one for that computer.

The silly issue is, you can activate Windows 8.1 with a Windows 8.0 key, but you can't install Windows 8.1 with a Windows 8.0 key, hence the need for the generic key, which you can easily find with a web search. It's not a crack or illegal activity, but a workaround for installation purposes. The alternative is to install 8...
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royalcrown

royalcrown

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May 31, 2006
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My wife's alien ware is the same way, from what I read most laptops come with it in the bios. If there is no COA sticker on the bottom, this is likely the case. I believe Microsoft forced ALLl manufacturers to bios it with 8 and up.

http://www.cnet.com/news/windows-8-moves-to-bios-based-product-keys/
 
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bigpinkdragon286

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Oct 3, 2012
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If you perform an installation of Windows 8.x that matches a key embedded into your BIOS, it should go through without asking, otherwise, another option, if you have Windows 8.1 installation media but an embedded key for 8.0 would be to install using a generic key, which won't activate, but allow you to perform the installation, then after installation, you can change your key to the proper one for that computer.

The silly issue is, you can activate Windows 8.1 with a Windows 8.0 key, but you can't install Windows 8.1 with a Windows 8.0 key, hence the need for the generic key, which you can easily find with a web search. It's not a crack or illegal activity, but a workaround for installation purposes. The alternative is to install 8, install a bunch of Windows updates, then install Windows 8.1 through the Windows Store, a rather pointless and tediously monotonous process.
 
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FALC0N

FALC0N

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Apr 5, 2010
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I have done this a couple of times, but don't recall exactly what I did that triggered OEM SLP activation.

If I remember correctly, and I might well not be, I had to use a generic install key for the installation, then changed it to the OEM SLP key (the key in bios) and it activated automatically. This was windows 8.1 (aka windows 8, service pack 1) installed on a system that originally came with the windows 8.
 
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