You better do all this now, so that you can activate the Media Center add-on with DVD playback for free. The time you get that e-mail with the product key... it might be on time.
not too fussed about the media center on their machines, got funds clearing in paypal tomorrow hmmm dont wanna miss out
If I use my email address to upgrade my uncle's pc will it send me the same product key or a new one..a little worried that it will send me the same one I used for my pc on my email.
If you pay for a new key using an email address you've already used to buy one before you still get a new key. I've bought 4 all with the same email (and card).
I'm suffering with this problem. Funnily the support can't comprehend what's wrong. Going to do a win8 reinstall, activate the key. Then install win7 just to try out a network feature (not in 8), only to maybe reinstall win8, not my idea of fun.
Are you a Student (speaking to all)? Microsoft will start offering Windows 8 Pro Upgrade to student for 70$U.S on Feb 1st in the U.S. And on Feb 21st, for Canada, U.K and other countries. Here is the table: Of course, if you are in an institution that is registered to MSDNAA you have your copy of Windows 8 Pro OEM waiting for you, for free.
Ha - I tried to get a key using the en_gb pages & get told it's not available for sale in my country. Scotland.....
you get that, if you try on an existing win8 machine if you go to Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Action Center\Windows Activation there is a link to buy windows for another machine edit: just tried it, it takes you to the website and you click the buy, and it promptly goes through the same download and run assistant, so might not work
You're allowed up to 5 I think, although I'm not sure if that's just for businesses. What happens after today then? Say if you bought a qualifying PC in the UK, does the £10 off offer expire? And does the upgrade for £24.99 offer expire too? Or do the two offers have different expiry dates? Say if you can't manage to buy it today and you have a qualifying PC, could you still get £10 off £49.95 (the usual upgrade price, or thereabouts I think)? I've got 3 spare licenses now!
Well i just tried the upgrade assist and it's still coming up at £24.99 http://windows.microsoft.com/en-GB/windows-8/upgrade-to-windows-8.
Probably a simple question and apologise, but I'm a little confused; If I go through the online upgrade, it'll overwrite my Windows 7, and not just let me download an Windows 8 Pro 64-bit ISO? I installed my Windows 7 off an upgrade disc, just made a USB installer and entered my product key on installation. Wanted to do the same with Windows 8 to run it side-by-side with Windows 7 but I am assuming I can't do this using the links provided?
As I recall, once you install the Upgrade Assistant and buy the licence through it there is the option to perform an in state upgrade, download a bootable Window 8 ISO or create a bootable USB drive. The first will overwrite your Windows 7 installation, but the other two are just standard bootable Windows 8 upgrade media (32 or 64bit depending on the system you run the Upgrade Assistant on). Just make sure you perform a custom install on boot to the correct partition/drive. The only issue you may have is that if you are not installing on a partition with a valid OS already installed on it Windows 8 may refuse to activate (my experience). This would require either the pre-installation of a valid upgradable OS on the partition, or use of the *ahem* work around
So if I create a second partition on my primary drive (Around 64Gb/50% total space) through Windows 7, then choose to create a "clean install" on the second partition, it should be OK as the boot loader from Windows 7 is on the drive.
Don't know if anyone cares, but you don't actually get an ISO per se. The upgrade assistant downloads files to <BootDrive>:\ESD\Windows. When you choose to create an ISO it'll just build one on the fly from those files. FWIW, if you have access to the original retail ISO from e.g. MSDN it'll work like a charm with your key, since, as GoodBytes so eloquently stated several times, it's a retail key and a retail license.
I've read a single annoyed forum post about someone trying to dual boot and having trouble with activation because it was installed to a different clean partition, in spite of Windows 7 already being installed on the drive. I have no experience dual booting Windows 7/8 myself though. I far as I know the ISO file it ultimately it creates is just a normal Windows 8 Retail Upgrade disk that you can use on any system with a valid licence, which other than the issue of having trouble installing on a freshly formatted drve/partition, is identical to an original retail ISO. It's really nice just having proper ISOs on my hard drive ready to go when necessary. I have a 32bit ISO, a 64bit ISO and 64bit bootable usb drive handy should I need them. Anyone else still waiting on a Media Center key?
Content-wise it's probably the same, but the ISO I mentioned works around that small "needs to be installed on a PC with a previous version of Windows" issue. Have you tried having the Media Center key sent to a Hotmail/Outlook address? Mine came within minutes.
No I haven't, I don't really have access to one. There was a bit of a cock up. I applied for two codes sometime apart, but I accidentally used the same email for both. The first code came a while ago, I used it on my laptop, it worked fine. The second code came today, used it on my desktop, worked fine... until I rebooted. Media Center was there, but Windows wouldn't activate because the key is in use on another system. Turns out the second email contained exactly the same key as the first one, I just didn't realise It just let me apply again using the same email and sent me the same key without any warning. I do have Media Center installed though, and it's just waiting for a valid key, so maybe if the key comes after the deadline it will still activate. It actually says Feb 1st to use the key, and it wouldn't surprise me if MS gave people a touch more wiggle room if there is a backlog.
