Ask a new question

Do i need product key to reinstall windows 8?

I purchased an HP laptop with windows 8 already installed. From the system settings I am making a restore disk. My question is, if I have to ever use the restore disk to reinstall windows 8 will I need a product key? If so is there a way to see my current system product key on my computer?

* Please try a lower page number.

* Please enter only numbers.

* Please try a lower page number.

* Please enter only numbers.

Hi dmgarbula,
Thank you for posting the query on Microsoft Community.
As you told windows 8 was preinstalled on your computer.We would like to tell you that the product key will not need to be entered as it will use the manufacturer's product key.
 
How to find product key?
1. Open the original packaging of the OEM software; the product key should be printed on a sticker located somewhere on the case. Some software has the sticker on the back side; others will have it on the inside of the case.
2. Examine your computer's case for an OEM product sticker; this is common for computers produced by major retailers running Windows.
3. Open the manual that came with the software; OEM keys are printed on the inside front cover, or inside the back cover. Occasionally the key will be printed on a loose piece of paper tucked into the manual.
4. Contact the computer retailer that provided you with the software; retailers often keep records of product keys belonging to their customers in the event the keys become lost.
 
Hope this answers your query. You can write back to us for further queries/issues related to windows and we will be glad to assist you.

10 people found this reply helpful

·

Was this reply helpful?

Sorry this didn't help.

Great! Thanks for your feedback.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback, it helps us improve the site.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback.

With Windows 8, Microsoft has changed from stickers that have the product key that the user has to type in when installing the operating system to new BIOS embedded product keys. The idea is that by eliminating the sticker, you eliminate one of the easier ways for nefarious users to get a legitimate product key. Eliminating the product key sticker also removes any worry that the sticker might get damaged while at the same time eliminating the long and irritating process of typing in various letters and numbers when installing the operating system.

If the user has to reinstall the operating system on a machine that came with Windows 8, the installation process automatically grabs the software product key from the motherboard BIOS with no input from the user. This means that those familiar Windows product key stickers will no longer appear on the Windows 8 computers.

 

-------------------------------------

New computers that come preinstalled with Windows 7 often have what is called a recovery partition. This is used to reinstall the operating system in the event of a system crash. To access it, you will need to boot into when you start your computer by pressing a function key. This can be either F1, F2, F9, F10, F11, F12 or even DEL or Tab key. Consult the owners manual that came with your PC for instructions about how to reinstall Windows.

For HP, press F11 directly after powering up the unit
Best,
Andre
twitter/adacosta
groovypost.com

28 people found this reply helpful

·

Was this reply helpful?

Sorry this didn't help.

Great! Thanks for your feedback.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback, it helps us improve the site.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback.

hi.6 months ago I bought a Lenovo z 50-75 laptop with an original win 8.1 pro os. on 20th july I got get win 10 app.i waited until 29th.then tried to upgrade but my terrible connection  failed the update every time. someone told about win 10 iso file. which  was easier to download by idm. and faster with no fail.i did it.the first time it took so long to install win 10.so I shuted down my lap top. the retried it and did it this time. after 1 hour, I found my pc is not activated because I had to update from my win 8.1.i wrote my win 8.1 product id on a paper(thought it's product key) and tried to activate win 10 with it. after I got there is no way tried to to go  back  to win 8.1. but now I see I have product id of it, not the product key. i reseted pc to get rid of win 10 but didn't work. also I have a Lenovo dvd that says win 8.1 drivers(64bit).but nothing happens when I put it in dvd player. I lost win 8.1 and 10 both. just because I don't have a good internet connection. now what should I do. shooting lap top out of the window?

3 people found this reply helpful

·

Was this reply helpful?

Sorry this didn't help.

Great! Thanks for your feedback.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback, it helps us improve the site.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback.

cam anyone help?i bought a new laptop with pre installed win 8.1 pro 64 bit. until the day of upgrading to win 10 every thing was good.i couldn't upgrade from win 8.1 because of my horrible internet speed. so downloaded iso and did a clean instal. after a week i got i have to go back to win 8.1 and upgrade from there to be able to activate win 10. i have no recovery disk or restore point or even my win 8.1 product key. people say the key is already inside the bios or uefi. that means if i download a win 8.1 pro x 64 it will be activated or i'm dead? what the hell should i do? i didn't do anything illegal. in first days no body said me i shouldn't do a clean instal. heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelp!

Was this reply helpful?

Sorry this didn't help.

Great! Thanks for your feedback.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback, it helps us improve the site.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback.

 i'm on win 10 trial now.i don't have much time. 3rd party tools only shows win 10 key which is useless for me now. i don't know what to do now.

1 person found this reply helpful

·

Was this reply helpful?

Sorry this didn't help.

Great! Thanks for your feedback.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback, it helps us improve the site.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback.

i tried to use neo smart tool but got an error which says: msdm table could not open. somebody told that means there is no key on my uefi or bios. now my heart is getting stopped. i can make the win 8.1 media but it will ask for the key. the windows was pre installed on my laptop. that means it should be auto activated if i install a same version of windows. but i'm really scared. more than the time playing outlast. and the nirsoft tool only shows win 10 product key. there should be a way.oh god. i can't pay 120$ to get windows. just 2 weeks before i was on my win 8.1 .everu thing normal. but now...

2 people found this reply helpful

·

Was this reply helpful?

Sorry this didn't help.

Great! Thanks for your feedback.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback, it helps us improve the site.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback.

Trying to revert from Windows 10 (Insider Edition) to the Windows 8.1 that came on the Dell XPS 4500.  I am using the Windows Media Creation Tool and it asks for a product key, yet Dell tells me the product key is embedded on the motherboard.  They say if I want a product key besides that one (which I can't seem to access with the application as stated here?) it will be another $20??

Was this reply helpful?

Sorry this didn't help.

Great! Thanks for your feedback.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback, it helps us improve the site.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback.

For further assistance on your concern, we suggest contacting Answer Desk on this link: https://partner.support.services.microsoft.com/en-us/contact/menu/software/windows/setup/.

Was this reply helpful?

Sorry this didn't help.

Great! Thanks for your feedback.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback, it helps us improve the site.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback.

For further assistance on your concern, we suggest contacting Answer Desk on this link: https://partner.support.services.microsoft.com/en-us/contact/menu/software/windows/setup/.

1 person found this reply helpful

·

Was this reply helpful?

Sorry this didn't help.

Great! Thanks for your feedback.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback, it helps us improve the site.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback.

Yes, Product Key on preinstalled WIndows 8.1 is embedded in a chip on the motherboard.  You can audit the key using ProduKey or  Showkey which will report it as an OEM-BIOS key only (not WIndows 8 or 10).   But you should not need to insert the key when doing a Clean Install Windows 8.1 as it should be picked up automatically during install if you're doing it correctly.  See Step 4.

What Media Creation Tool are you using?  I'd create the media first, then boot it, delete all partitions down to Unallocated Space and then Click Next to begin install.  This gets it cleanest. 

However if you've not tried it yet I'd first do a Clean Install Windows 10 since no one who has done this to replace their Upgrade has had a single complaint or any subsequent issues similar to the problems reported in the inferior Upgrade install.  With Windows the quality of the install is everything and the Upgrade and Factory installs are such inferior installs that no tech enthusiast would ever run one in the first place.  With the best installs such as the one in the link, Windows 10 is far superior to previous Windows versions.

As a last resort if you still have the Dell Recovery partition on the PC, it will not boot itself from its hotkey after the Upgrade or reintsall, but you can manually Boot Recovery Partition using EasyBCD

to run Factory Recovery.  Afterwards I'd mitigate the crippling bloatware by disabling everything in Task Manager>Startup tab and of course run built-in Defender which always offers best OS performance without issues most the others cause.

Windows MVP 2010-2020 (ret).
Millions helped via my tutorials and personally in forums for 14 years.
Please notify me in my articles' Comments if a tutorial link is outdated or ads intrude.

5 people found this reply helpful

·

Was this reply helpful?

Sorry this didn't help.

Great! Thanks for your feedback.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback, it helps us improve the site.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback.

* Please try a lower page number.

* Please enter only numbers.

* Please try a lower page number.

* Please enter only numbers.

 
 

Question Info

Last updated January 3, 2024 Views 39,506 Applies to: