Updated W8.x install keys

Markverhyden

Markverhyden

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Was over at heidoc recently and they had some additional keys so I thought I would post the whole group here.

From - http://www.heidoc.net/joomla/technology-science/microsoft/70-windows-8-direct-download-links

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])


Also a review of getting W8 iso's. (Edited to reflect the current state)

The link to download the images from M$ - http://windows.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows-8/upgrade-product-key-only

You can use a W7 machine to run the installer (will not run in XP) from M$ from the above link. You will need a legitimate key such as one from an existing machine, purchased online or Technet. The installer ones above will not work. Once the download is complete you will have an installation window popup and one of the options is to create installation media. You can pick an ISO. I seem to remember them having a USB stick option as well. According to heidoc.com there may be limitations on how you can use the ISO.
This procedure however has some restrictions, as it will determine the language and bit edition of the download from the system on which it is executed, and doesn't allow to change these parameters.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
That looked great.
Things got complicated when I tried to get Windows 8.1 home and pro with the provided generic keys.
I got this error message : "We can't connect right now. Check your Internet connection and try again"
Of course, I have googled that and tried almost suggested things. It looks like these keys are blocked or something like that.

Did anyone succeed in creating such ISOs ?
 
fabs said:
That looked great.
Things got complicated when I tried to get Windows 8.1 home and pro with the provided generic keys.
I got this error message : "We can't connect right now. Check your Internet connection and try again"
Of course, I have googled that and tried almost suggested things. It looks like these keys are blocked or something like that.

Did anyone succeed in creating such ISOs ?
Click to expand...

These keys don't work for the 8.1 upgrade/iso. You need a retail key for that.
 
fabs said:
OK. I know that these keys cannot be activated but I thought that they allowed to download what is needed to build the ISO files.
Click to expand...

I know what you meant. I had the same issue when trying to download 8.1 with the no Internet connection error when using those keys. After a while with Google, I gathered that you need a "real" key for that, whether retail, OEM or Technet.
 
This could be easily found using a tool like ProduKey.
I work in a hospital and we use Win 7, so, I do not have lots of Win8 to fix.

Thanks for your input ;)
 
tek9 said:
I know what you meant. I had the same issue when trying to download 8.1 with the no Internet connection error when using those keys. After a while with Google, I gathered that you need a "real" key for that, whether retail, OEM or Technet.
Click to expand...

I could swear I had used one of those generic keys to build an ISO. Bought a Gateway laptop just for working with W8 and UEFI. But that was a couple of months ago or so. I do remember getting the "can't connect to the Internet" at some point.

Been very busy today but I spent a few minutes looking around and testing. I am also unable to get either Installer to work with any of the keys. But I noticed this on the Heidoc site.

The Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 Setup Tools

If you have a valid Windows 8 or 8.1 product key (it used to work for all keys, but now there seem to be some restrictions), you can produce an iso file using the Windows 8 Setup Tool. Download and execute the file Windows8-Setup.exe from Microsoft, enter your product key, and have the tool download the Windows 8 or 8.1 setup files. The tool will then be able to compile an iso file or bootable USB stick from the download. This procedure however has some restrictions, as it will determine the language and bit edition of the download from the system on which it is executed, and doesn't allow to change these parameters.
Click to expand...

The windows 8 setup is from the M$ link above. But what I find interesting is what is in red. Never noticed that before. Today I tried doing this on a W7 Pro VM on my Retina. I'll have to fiddle around with it some more in the next few days on my D630 w/ W7 Pro to see what happens. I know I did build two ISO's, W8 and W8.1, but have yet to test them on anything.
 
I edited the OP to reflect the current state of retrieving the images from M$. I'll have to test the ones I have and see if they install on a different machine without any issues. Also found an interesting post about a work around of sorts.
 
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