Volume License – You are using your organisations Volume Licensing and you should contact your IT department.OEM System Builder License – You Bought a Windows OEM System Builders License.Retail “Upgrade Only” License – You Bought a Full Windows 8.0 Upgrade License.Retail License – You Bought a Full Windows 8.1 License.Download Windows 8.1 .iso* Won't work for Bing Editions.

Major OEM License – Windows came licensed with your Dell, HP, ….Microsoft Windows 8.1 is sold via many different channels and there are a number of different activation mechanisms for Windows 8.1 depending on the type of license you are utilising. The older revision of this page got extremely popular due to previous issues where I compiled a working convoluted set of workarounds that are no longer necessary, Microsoft have simplified their Windows Deployment and hence made installation of Windows 8.1 far easier. There are some more in depth notes which explain in more detail how to determine your license type and explain how the activation mechanisms and if necessary workarounds work.įor all intents and purposes Windows 8.0 Service Pack 1 is Windows 8.1 so anything mentioned below that applies to Windows 8.1 also applies to Windows 8.0 unless specifically differentiated. I start with a brief introduction into Window licensing and have put together my recommended mechanisms for downloading Windows installation media and activating your product depending on your license type.

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