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Dell Windows 8 bios based product key Reinstall problem
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. I can't even get to the windows login page. I tried to reinstall using a bootable windows 8 ISO file which i found on the net.
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?
Do i need a specific dell recovery/ install disk which will retrieve the product key or am i just doing something wrong??
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?
Do i need a specific dell recovery/ install disk which will retrieve the product key or am i just doing something wrong??
Philip_Yip
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December 10th, 2013 04:00
Officially you should contact Dell to get a Dell Reinstallation USB/DVD.
If you reside in the US you can fill in this form:
http://lt.dell.com/lt/lt.aspx?CID=266887&LID=4921161&DGC=SM&DGSeg=DHS&RED=301&DURL=https://www.dell.com/support/diagnostics/us/en/19/nondiagnostichome
If you don't reside in the US your only choice is to call Dell Technical Support.
Unofficially sometimes end-users are having issues procuring media. Especially those who reside outside the US as there is NO ONLINE MEDIA REQUEST FORM for non-US customers.
Theres been some complications with media (mainly because of Microsoft who messed it up big time).
For instance the Windows 8.1 retail downloader and .iso media rejects Windows 8.0 product keys and vice versa. For the Dell OEM media I'm not certain if the same problem exists. The .iso you found on the net might not be a reliable installation source.
In the meantime you can try installation using the generic product key here:
http://www.heidoc.net/joomla/technology-science/microsoft/70-windows-8-direct-download-links
Then you can try using RWEverything to view your Windows 8 product key:
http://forums.tweakarena.com/showthread.php?t=226
Finally you can select change product key to the one you found with RWEverything and attempt to activate.
There have been a few that have reported such a procedure to work but I have not tested this as I don't have an OEM license.
dellscientist
1 Message
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December 10th, 2013 06:00
So according to what i listed, i can download a temporary/generic version of Windows 8 by using the following keys:
XKY4K-2NRWR-8F6P2-448RF-CRYQH (Windows 8 Professional)
RR3BN-3YY9P-9D7FC-7J4YF-QGJXW (Windows 8 Professional with Media Center)
FB4WR-32NVD-4RW79-XQFWH-CYQG3 (Windows 8 [Home])
XHQ8N-C3MCJ-RQXB6-WCHYG-C9WKB (Windows 8.1 Professional)
GBFNG-2X3TC-8R27F-RMKYB-JK7QT (Windows 8.1 Professional with Media Center)
334NH-RXG76-64THK-C7CKG-D3VPT (Windows 8.1 [Home])
...use it for 4 months and then enter a genuine Key? Can this genuine key be the embedded oem already preinstalled in computer? Or is it a seperate REtail one?
thanks
strive2trade
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December 10th, 2013 07:00
?
Philip_Yip
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December 10th, 2013 13:00
Yes you can install with they keys and use Windows 8.1 for a limited time.
It will not let you activate however and eventually after the trial expires will auto-log you off to force you to activate.
As mentioned Microsoft have severely messed up this media situation making 8 and 8.1 extremely difficult to repair and install.
I don't have a system with an OEM install so I have not managed to do much testing with the OEM product key so I cannot say for sure whether or not the key can be changed to the embedded BIOS key or not.
However this user here has reported success in carrying out a similar procedure:
So there is a chance that it will work.
Philip_Yip
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December 10th, 2013 13:00
P.S. if you have success via this procedure please post back to let me know.
strive2trade
3 Posts
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December 11th, 2013 13:00
Thanks for the info, and i'll keep you posted with the results in case dell fails to ship me a recovery CD.
asinblue
1 Message
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May 26th, 2014 19:00
Any update?
ebayironman
4 Posts
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February 12th, 2015 14:00
I can confirm that you can install Windows 8, 8.1 of the same version, either home or pro etc. Use the trial key to get it to install, then use the RWEverything to pull the unique, not OEM key from the UEFI/BIOS, and it will activate.
The automated process of Win8 install pulling the key out of the bios has not worked for me, probably due to the installation media I have available.
I use a Windows 8.1 AIO with all versions on a USB key.
Philip_Yip
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February 12th, 2015 19:00
The Microsoft Windows 8.1 Media Creation Tool gives more up to date installation media. The Windows 8.1 with Update 1 .iso now accepts both Windows 8 and 8.1 product keys.
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/create-reset-refresh-media
The main problem is selecting the correct edition of .iso. This can be checked by looking at system properties in a working installation. See here for more details:
http://dellwindowsreinstallationguide.com/download-microsoft-windows-and-office/download-microsoft-windows/download-windows-8-1-retail-and-oem-iso/
Anonymous User
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May 1st, 2015 12:00
Yes confirmed working. Did this today life saver :)