Win8 OEM install on crashed HD.

[Xander]

I've replaced the drive on this system. I told him last time he was here it needed replacing (28 bad sectors) and....it's crashed. No surprise.

It's a Toshiba Satellite S855-S5381. According to their site, it comes with "Windows 8". It doesn't specify "Pro" some assuming vanilla.

I'm looking at installing Win8 with a generic code and then seeing if I can pull the OEM key out of the BIOS. I want some confirmation that, if I install it with a generic key, there's no risk of me overwriting the BIOS one. I'd rather be overly paranoid than not, right?

After it's installed with a generic key, can I safely activate it with the key pulled out of BIOS with a key-extractor?

(Hate to say it but I think I've only done one of these in the last year.)

 

[nlinecomputers]

I've replaced the drive on this system. I told him last time he was here it needed replacing (28 bad sectors) and....it's crashed. No surprise.

It's a Toshiba Satellite S855-S5381. According to their site, it comes with "Windows 8". It doesn't specify "Pro" some assuming vanilla.

I'm looking at installing Win8 with a generic code and then seeing if I can pull the OEM key out of the BIOS. I want some confirmation that, if I install it with a generic key, there's no risk of me overwriting the BIOS one. I'd rather be overly paranoid than not, right?

After it's installed with a generic key, can I safely activate it with the key pulled out of BIOS with a key-extractor?

(Hate to say it but I think I've only done one of these in the last year.)

You'd have to have a BIOS flashing tool to do that. Installing windows doesn't do that.

 

[nlinecomputers]

Oh and you only need to do the bios extract/generic key if you will install 8.1 on a system that shipped with 8.0. If you install matching OS versions then it will automagicly pull the key during the install .

 

[Xander]

Good info. Like I said - being cautionary.

The regular Win8 installer wouldn't take the generic so it looks like it was Pro after all. He was specific in saying that it was still 8.0 and that he hadn't updated to .1 yet.

Used RWEverything to pull out the BIOS key and it didn't want to activate Pro with that. Le sigh. I've written the code down now so it looks like a reinstall with 8 Vanilla.

BUT...the vanilla installer won't take the BIOS' key or generic as this is the "Retail" version. I thought the key ...well, doesn't matter what I thought as there is apparently an OEM version somewhere that I don't seem to have.

 

[nlinecomputers]

Ok what sticker is on it? There should be on the bottom a hologram sticker. There are no windows oem versions. A Windows 8 disk is universal.

 

[Xander]

Just your basic:

Edit: To check, I've downloaded the Win8 Core installer from Microsoft. It's taking neither the BIOS key nor the generic one (334NH...) that is found elsewhere on TN.

Didn't someone (Porthos?) post a great bit about getting these installed? Thought I'd added to subscribed threads but it's not there now.

 

[nlinecomputers]

It's not professional.

 

[nlinecomputers]

There are generic keys for 8.0 and 8.1 need to use the correct version.

 

[Larry Sabo]

@Xander: Is the following (from this thread) the info you were thinking of?

This works for me (consolidated from other TN posts)
If the PC will boot, run RWEverything (http://rweverything.com/) to display the BIOS key.
(If the PC won't boot, delay this step until later.)
Install Win 8 using the appropriate generic key:
a) 334NH-RXG76-64THK-C7CKG-D3VPT for Core/Home (8.x)
b) XHQ8N-C3MCJ-RQXB6-WCHYG-C9WKB for Professional (8.x Pro)
If you weren't able to display the BIOS key in step 1, do it now using RWEverything
Change the product key to the one extracted in step 1
The OS will show as activated

Did this for the first time about two weeks ago for a Win 8 PC with a
new HD (the previous HD had died). Installed 8.1 instead of 8.0 so I
didn't have to go through the upgrade process. Worked great.

 

[Markverhyden]

I've replaced the drive on this system. I told him last time he was here it needed replacing (28 bad sectors) and....it's crashed. No surprise.

It's a Toshiba Satellite S855-S5381. According to their site, it comes with "Windows 8". It doesn't specify "Pro" some assuming vanilla.

I'm looking at installing Win8 with a generic code and then seeing if I can pull the OEM key out of the BIOS. I want some confirmation that, if I install it with a generic key, there's no risk of me overwriting the BIOS one. I'd rather be overly paranoid than not, right?

After it's installed with a generic key, can I safely activate it with the key pulled out of BIOS with a key-extractor?

(Hate to say it but I think I've only done one of these in the last year.)

The answer to your original question is no it did not over write the BIOS key when I tested it. Have a gateway nv570p11u. After making the recovery set I nuked the drive and performed the restore using the generic key and I was able to get the key using the tool from the link Larry posted.

 

[Xander]

Larry, that's one of the ones at least. The one from which I get the generics in any case. Thought there was a longer, more in-depth one but I'll worry about that another day.

Today's been nicely crazy busy so, a bit frazzled, I went to my local shop and ended up ranting with their tech. He managed to convince me (and now we both might be wrong) that the Win8 Core and Pro disks are identical so they're effectively AIO. x32/x64 stuff notwithstanding. His $.02 was that, based on what I'd described, was that the code was for 8.1 and that's why it kept rejecting on my 8.0 disks.

Customer was adamant that he had never installed the 8.1 update and that it was still 8.0....

Popped in my 8.1 disc, it took the key without question and is now installing merrily. No news is good news.

 

[nlinecomputers]

As I said their keys for 8.1 and 8.0. And the tech is correct. The same ISO works on both core and pro.