1. #1
    Deleted

    Unhappy windows 8 trouble

    So I had a plan... I was going to use the windows 8 that came with a laptop I bought a couple of months ago.

    It came pre-installed on harddrive of the laptop but it's also on a 'recovery' disc for whenever I fuck up my laptop so bad it's beyond repairing...

    Now my question is : would it work to copy the ISO file from that cd and use it to install from a usb onto my new pc... ?

    There was no product key delivered with it , the registration was completed through the internet when I first booted my laptop...

    But could it work ? How would the program notice it's being installed on another pc ? because it would obviously work a second time on the laptop , right ?

    pls help

  2. #2
    Quote Originally Posted by odylong View Post
    But could it work ? How would the program notice it's being installed on another pc ? because it would obviously work a second time on the laptop , right ?
    AFAIK the OS ties itself to a motherboard, change anything else and you are OK. However, the most I have ever heard anyone having to do(even with the OEM versions that are supposed to only be sold with a complete system) is call up microsoft to get it on another machine, they won't deny you.

    You are going to need to find your key, even to reinstall. It should be somewhere on the laptop/packaging/manuals.

  3. #3
    Deleted
    Quote Originally Posted by Afrospinach View Post
    AFAIK the OS ties itself to a motherboard, change anything else and you are OK. However, the most I have ever heard anyone having to do(even with the OEM versions that are supposed to only be sold with a complete system) is call up microsoft to get it on another machine, they won't deny you.

    You are going to need to find your key, even to reinstall. It should be somewhere on the laptop/packaging/manuals.
    wait so the new pc has to have the same motherboard as the laptop for the installation to work ? wut ?

  4. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by odylong View Post
    wait so the new pc has to have the same motherboard as the laptop for the installation to work ? wut ?
    No, I am quite certain it will even be able to tell two of the same MBs apart. The point it if you replace the MB or install it on another machine it will recognize it is installed on a different machine and then you may or may not have to call MS to get it activated. Win 8 may do it differently, you will have to check.

  5. #5
    If it's OEM(Dell/Alienware, whatever), then it's tied to the hardware, and if you change something in it(usually the motherboard), it probably won't even start because it'll detect that something is amiss.

    Download speccy and click on "operating system", your serial key should be there, if you can't find it anywhere else.

  6. #6
    Old God Vash The Stampede's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by odylong View Post
    Now my question is : would it work to copy the ISO file from that cd and use it to install from a usb onto my new pc... ?

    There was no product key delivered with it , the registration was completed through the internet when I first booted my laptop...

    But could it work ? How would the program notice it's being installed on another pc ? because it would obviously work a second time on the laptop , right ?
    All Windows installations are the same, but the product key tells the installation what to install. Modern computers don't use product keys, so motherboards bios comes with something called SLIC. That is basically your product key. You can modify the bios in your motherboard to use the OS, but that wouldn't be legal.

    Of course you could always use Linux, but you have to know something about computers to get anywhere with it. No seriously, distros like Mint17 work really well as a replacement from Windows. Wine for linux is soon getting Native DX9 to play Windows games at near full speed on Linux. But you have to be willing to leave your comfort zone.

    - - - Updated - - -

    Quote Originally Posted by odylong View Post
    wait so the new pc has to have the same motherboard as the laptop for the installation to work ? wut ?
    Yes, they've been doing this for years. The motherboard and OS are tied together, for better or worse. Usually worse.

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