Setup Installation :: Error - Product Key Entered Does Not Match Any Of Windows Images?
Nov 25, 2013
I recently purchased a MSI GT70 laptop that came preinstalled with Windows 8. Rather than try and uninstall all the bloatware, I was planning on just doing a clean install. Little did I know that Microsoft had changed the game when it comes to authentication on Windows 8 with the bios linked product keys.
The Windows 8 usb drive that I used previously to install Windows 8 on other computers does not work, I believe that is due to it recognizing it as a RETAIL version trying to be installed on an OEM system. Searching around, it seemed other people had success with using an .ISO from TechNet or MSDN and the installation automatically pulling the product key information. The .iso I used was sourced from the Microsoft store download.
After booting to the disk, I received this error: The product key entered does not match any of the Windows images available for installation. Enter a different product key.
I tried manually adding the PID.txt file with the product key I pulled from pkeyui (cross checked with showkey.vbs and RWEverything) but that resulted in the same error. For this notebook, the product key and MSDM are identical, whereas I read other people were finding two different product keys. One nestled deep in the bios and the other being what you see when you run Belarc Advisor etc.
Burning the .iso to a DVD and then starting the setup inside a session of Windows 8 resulted in a different error: this product key cannot be used to install a retail version
So once again back to the issue of using a retail .iso with an OEM product key to try and do a clean install. As far as I know you can't download an "oem .iso" but I'm not sure how to get the retail .iso to play nicely with the product key I have.
So exactly how does one do a clean install of an OEM windows 8 build on a laptop that comes preinstalled with windows 8? If I can't sort this out, I may be stuck with rooting out the bloatware.
I' am currently using a custom made laptop which I had to repair due to an hardware failure. After I got the PC back I reinstalled Windows but the product key I had wasn't working properly any more. Knowing that after an hardware change this is not an uncommon problem, I just used the option "Activate by phone" and everything went fine.
Unfortunately the last day I got the blue screen with the error 0xc0000021a, which I know is caused by misconfigured system files in the computer. Moreover this error is really similar to the error I got prior the hardware failure (0xc00000e). So I figured that maybe the Windows 8 installation I have (I purchased before Windows 8.1) has some problems, and maybe I can solve them by reinstalling directly Windows 8.1, instead of reinstalling Windows 8 and then upgrading it from the store.
The problem is that when I launch the Windows 8.1 set-up program to create a media for recovery, when asked for the product key mine doesn't work. I think this has something to do with the hardware change and with the fact that I used the "activate by phone" option, but my Windows version is legit and I paid for it, and therefore I want to be able to reset my computer if I need to (like now).
I bought 8 Toshiba Laptops for my company on 3rd Feb 2013 from Dubai . The laptops details as follows
Model: Thoshiba Laptop SC850 B560 i3 OS: Windows 8 single language
No DVD's and product key given at the time of purchase so how to get windows 8 single language software to re-install and the key for the same. As the OS were pre installed. This is to avoid future issues that may come up like software failure etc.
[ I need to download Windows 8 single language OS, product key for the same OS which is preinstalled- I can provide serial number if needed]
My company gave me a Windows 8 Enterprise product key, which I'm trying to use to upgrade a version of Windows I'm running. I visited this link -- Upgrade Windows with only a product key - Microsoft Windows Support, clicked the "Install Windows 8" button, ran the setup file that downloaded, and when prompted for the product key, entered it, only to see the message.
The product key cannot be used to install a retail version of Windows 8.
Is there another ISO I should be using? Ultimately I'm trying to get an ISO for use with my VMWare Fusion 6 install running on my Mac (10.9.1). I'm confident the product key given to me by my company is legit, but it obviously isn't a retail product key, probably some kind of corporate key or the equivalent.
I already have a Windows 8 Pro USB installer setup but I don't think it can be used to do a repair install for my Windows 8.1 Pro upgrade. So I'm trying to create a new USB installer setup specifically for Win 8.1 Pro. However, the Windows 8.1 setup window is not accepting the 8.1 Product Key that I extracted from Belarc, ProduKey and WPkey. Is there a way to get around that issue so that I can create the Win 8.1 USB installer?
I've bought Windows 8 when it was first released, but reinstalled Windows 7 again. Now I want to install Windows 8.1, but I get an error saying my product key is invalid. I've tried multiple product keys (We own multiple computers, two of which have Windows 8 installed), but I get the same error with all of them.
Edit: Because none of my product keys don't work, I can't install Windows 8 to further install Windows 8.1.
At the beginning, when I have started to setup windows 8 ,everything goes okay until the product key, I get an error message saying 'We couldn't verify the product key. Check the installation media'
And I had tried to install windows 8 on another PC with having same product key then I have noticed the product key has worked on that Pc! and not working on my PC.
So I have tried several times to enter lots of keys. why my PC is not verify any product keys?
So, I have purchased some computers from Dell and they have Windows 8.0 Professional from the OEM. So, it was very easy for me to use my MSDN media, reinstall Windows 8.0, and it simply detected and used my Windows 8 embedded BIOS key. From there, I would make any adjustments needed, run sysprep, and grab an image. This allowed me to use that image on any of the Dell's that I purchased with Windows 8 and all was great.
Then, along comes the free upgrade to Windows 8.1. I took one of my Dell's, and laid down a clean windows 8.0 image. Then I ran the Store "free" upgrade to Windows 8.1. All was well. I then cleaned up the temporary files and whatnot and tried to run Sysprep only to be greeted with an error that said, "I cannot validate your OS installation". Did some research and found that you aren't supposed to run Sysprep on a machine that you ran an "upgrade". Instead, you are supposed to install from scratch.
Ok, let's do that. Grabbed the 8.1 ISO from MSDN, put it onto an installable USB key, started the install and it now prompts me for a key. It won't detect or use the embedded 8.0 key that is on the box. So, I cannot actually clean install Windows 8.1 with the embedded OEM key, even though I can freely upgrade to 8.1.
I'm not going to take my new Dell computers, lay down the clean 8.0 image and then upgrade each of them manually via the store to Windows 8.1. This takes way too long.
I'm not going to use my MSDN keys to install onto these machines, because I don't want them to activate these keys. They aren't the legit keys for these machines. These machines have legit OEM Windows 8 keys and 8.1 is a free upgrade to 8.0, so it seems like these legit keys would work. I paid dell to have a valid OEM license on the computer, that is what I want to use.
Any way to get 8.1 Pro to install clean, on a machine with an embedded 8.0 Pro key.
Ive used pirated bootables with preinstalled product keys in the past but am now on the straight and narrow, wanting to add my product key to my legitimate copy of windows 8. This way I wont have to worry about having it written down, losing it or entering it incorrectly, since it will be automatically entered for me. How I can add the product key to my bootable image?
I tried to reinstall windows on a second hard drive, but it won't accept my product key, assumedly because I am already using it for the current windows installation on the first hard drive.
How do I transfer my license to allow a reinstallation on the second hard drive? That's the best option, so I can go back to the first drive if I want to.
Second option: If I wipe the current windows partition clean, will that enable me to reinstall on the second hard drive?
I'm using DISM to create a custom image, we use a vlk licence key to install but this isn't being accepted on the answer file. Its definatly a valid key and being entered correctly). I'm just getting the error 'The unattended answer file contains an invalid product key' Is there anything i can do to get around this?
When I try to use the tutorial,I get as far as the Product Key entry.
The install was an original 8 I downloaded when it first came out.
I then installed 8.1, probably from the Store.
I recently downloaded and install 8.1 Media Center Pack.
Had a real problem with activation.MS Support finally had me go to where there was a long activation string and then he gave me a new Product Key, which is now on the machine and Activated.
When I get to the "Product Key" page and enter the Media Pack key, "This product key didn't work. ....."
I've been trying to install the printer software for an HP Laserjet printer and can't get it installed. I've even had an HP tech person try to install it via remote control and he couldn't. I was told that something on my system is preventing the installation.
I ran sfc /scannow and it found corrupted files that it couldn't repair. I would be happy to send any log files that may be needed.
I have downloaded Windows 8 Pro 64-bit through the students/partner site and burnt it on a DVD. When I boot from it though I get many types of errors....the most common is 0xc0000098 that says that my PC needs to be repaired and that one or more files are missing or contain errors...I have also tried burning 3 different dvds with different programs to make sure it's not a program's fault but still with no results..
I installed a free utility Rebuild icon cache that I used extensively in Win 7. This utility needs .NET Framework 2. When I run the utility it appears a notice: parsing or parser error 0xC00CE556 with some bla bla .....machine.config. default. Hit OK, then the utility works as always. Looks like a false error warning.
Checking in the Forums I made the following attempts to correct this:
sfc/scannow (as ADM)unistall all .NET (3.5 that includes 2, and 4.5.) and re-install them through Windows Update.
Unsuccessfully.
The problem is really very minor, however is annoying I am not going to re-install whole Windows 8 to get rid of it.
I continue to get this error code everytime I try to install the update. I have verified I am logged in as and administer and have checked for spyware etc... I am running Windows 8.1 Pro with Media Center and my computer is 64-bit
Each time I try the Windows 8 upgrade assistant I get the following error: "We can't connect right now...Check your Internet connection and try again". Apparently, a number of people are having this issue
Steps to try and solve:
-Disabled AV and Firewall both software and the router firewall. -Checked to make sure date/time was correct. -Went to a different location so the IP address would be different. -Tried LAN connection.
Tried on 3 different machines, both 32 bit and 64 bit. My key is a 64 bit key. At each machine, the key passes the check. But, I always have the same error. After each failed attempt, I deleted the folder:
"C:UsersuserAppDataLocalMicrosoftWebSetupPanther" where the upgrade assistant stores info about previous attempts.
I have a pc that which it's cpu is 64 bit base and in the past i installed windows xp x64.now i want to install windows 8.1. At first I tried to install windows 8.1 X64 but after installation it cannot boot and the error is :
After that i installed window 8.1 X32 and it works fine ,but I want to know why i cannot install x64 .i am trying to installing and troubleshooting of that on other pc that is exactly like mine. I cheked the cpu with core info and the result is :
Coreinfo v3.21 - Dump information on system CPU and memory topology Copyright (C) 2008-2013 Mark Russinovich Sysinternals - Windows Sysinternals: Documentation, downloads and additional resources
Intel(R) Xeon(TM) CPU 3.20GHz x86 Family 15 Model 4 Stepping 10, Genuine Intel
Just sharing in case people have been having the same problem following a Store update to 8.1.
After downloading and installing via the store, a restart shows a bluescreen displaying:
"Recovery Your PC needs to be repaired There isn't enough memory available to create a ramdisk device Error Code: 0xc0000017 You'll need to use the recovery tools on your installation media... blah blah blah"
However, after getting that message, I was able to select F9 and it rebooted back into Windows 8 with a message stating:
We couldn't complete the update to Windows 8.1. We've restored your previous version of Windows to this PC 0xC1900101-0x20017
After a lot of digging, I decided that a system refresh was the way forward. After I did this, I installed one update - KB2871389. This made the 8.1 update visible in the store Applied the store update and it worked perfectly.
So my windows 8.1 installation became corrupted, so I backed up data and did a clean install after deleting all partitions.
After the install on the first boot, right after the process of "installing apps", it showed an error message saying an error occurred causing windows to restart, and created a memory.dmp file.
I just want to make sure this installation is stable before continuing to update to 8.1, especially after my previous issues. There are also some errors in the event log that I don't understand.
The errors came after install of Windows 8, as that was the key I had.
Windows failed to download and install 92 updates with error code 80248007
I am trying to download the windows 8.1 on a windows 8.0 Toshiba S855D-S5120Laptop. Laptop specs 2.3 APU A10 Quad Core, 700 Giga HDD, 8 Giga RAM, and graphic ATI 2 giga memory 1200 x 800 screen . The OS is the first edition of windows 8.0 and I had widows preview 8.1 on it downloaded from the windows store. When I download the windows 8.1 from the store, I get this error code 80240031 ( I looked up the error coded and it mean invalid file) at 50% file download. I have used the windows restore function to restore the laptop to windows 8.0 and still the windows update does not work. I have tried resetting setting to default factory settings and same thing happens with the download. I have also bought the window pro 8.1 pack and the same thing with the windows 8.1 it stops at 50% and same error code comes up. I have also done the WSReset.exe and no improvement. I have all of windows updates and still nothing I do is working.
I am trying to dual boot Kali with Windows 8.1 and I keep getting three errors at the installation menu. I also carefully checked that I have followed the installation instructions correctly and I have. Here are the three errors:
1.) "Empty Security Header" 2.) "error:/live/vmlinuz has invalid signature" (I double checked other sources and the grub.cfg file I have saved was/is written correctly) 3.) "error: you need to load the kernel first"
I upgraded my HP windows 7 pre-installed to windows 8.01. I tried ubuntu 13 using wubi then i removed it but once I switch on my pc , I get windows 8.01 then ubunto( which fails to boot due to windows boot error) I kept booting windows 8.01 that was working fine till I installed ubuntu 14.04 after I left an allocated partition for it to install. I made manual partition using the free space and installed ububtu. After installation, I did not find grub and I got black screen: windows fails to start ; oxc000001. after I used boot repair cd, I fixed my ubuntu and brought back grub. now the situation is I find grub 2 with ubuntu that I can access but the windows 8.01 load is not working. All my files are in windows. how to get windows 8.01 back to boot? I tried repair disc but it did not fix it stating disk error and partition drive missing.
