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Thread: Unable to use Product Key to activate Windows 8 Professional Upgrade after a clean install

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Posts
    331

    Unable to use Product Key to activate Windows 8 Professional Upgrade after a clean install

    I have bought a new Windows 8 Pro Upgrade from microsoft. I also got a product key with it and I have used it to download and do a clean install on my computer. But after when the new Windows 8 was installed I am not able to use the same product key to activate this version of Windows because it is telling me that the key can be only used for an Upgrade? Why it cannot be used after a clean install? Does anyone know how to activate Windows 8 with this key now? Thanks.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Posts
    2,680

    Re: Unable to use Product Key to activate Windows 8 Professional Upgrade after a clean install

    You should have read from the line, that it is an upgrade and hence you will have to upgrade it in the same system because the clean installation is not supported at all. You can try to reinstall your old version of Windows 8 and then you can run the upgrade again. Since you have done a clean insall of Windos 8 from the installation disc, then you might need to call the Tech Support of Microsoft to help you out for activating Windows 8 Pro in your system.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Posts
    1,370

    Re: Unable to use Product Key to activate Windows 8 Professional Upgrade after a clean install

    Did you try to go to Start and then in Search/Run type "slui 3" without quotes and then put in the key that you have purchased. Incase, that is not working for you then you can try to contact microsoft for the technical support. They will be able to activate the version of your Windows 8 very quickly without any trouble, since you have bought it genuinely. Get the number of their tech support from the below link:

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/319726
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  4. #4
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Posts
    3,267

    Re: Unable to use Product Key to activate Windows 8 Professional Upgrade after a clean install

    The solution for this issue is to change a registry key. It worked for me without any problems, so hopefully it will work for others too, follow the below steps:

    1. First of all go to Start and then in the Search type regedit.
    2. After that located this registry key - HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Setup\OOBE
    3. Now you need to change the value for 'MediaBootInstall' from 1 to 0
    4. After that you have to open an elevated command prompt by running as admin.
    5. Now you can try to run the this command: slmgr -rearm
    6. After that restart the computer and then at startup type in activate windows and then type in the key. Check if Windows is activated fully or not.

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