Windows 8 and 8.1 activation

[Maximilian]

How does this work?

Ive got 3 keys here, two are retail windows 8 keys, one is a key that came with windows 8.1, got them all from dreamspark.

I gather the 8.1 key is just a generic installation key? However I clean installed 8.1 on a brand new motherboard, gave it the generic key and it tells me its activated when I get to the desktop. How can it be activated if that's just a generic key? I haven't given it any windows 8 key at all.

 

[G73S]

If you used a generic key and it tells you it's activated, then it's a cracked copy

The way it is, you install it with the generic key, then when you are in Windows, you activate it using your REAL key

 

[code65536]

Um, DreamSpark keys are MSDN keys and definitely not generic.

 

[Mushkins]

Dreamspark/MSAA/Technet keys are authenticated completely separately from retail/oem methods. If you want to get technical, they piggyback off of the MS Open Licensing system using the online activation with microsoft instead of requiring an on-premise KMS server, but they ratchet up the activation limit to something like 50 instead of the standard 5 online activations for an open license key.

In a *retail* 8.1 clean install, you would use the dummy key to install and then put in your base windows 8 key to activate on first run. The Dreamspark key is a full product key for 8.1 and just activates.

 

[G73S]

Dreamspark/MSAA/Technet keys are authenticated completely separately from retail/oem methods. If you want to get technical, they piggyback off of the MS Open Licensing system using the online activation with microsoft instead of requiring an on-premise KMS server, but they ratchet up the activation limit to something like 50 instead of the standard 5 online activations for an open license key.

In a *retail* 8.1 clean install, you would use the dummy key to install and then put in your base windows 8 key to activate on first run. The Dreamspark key is a full product key for 8.1 and just activates.

ohh that's something new I learned today. That sounds like a much better method then

 

[Maximilian]

Oh sweet :biggrin: