Activating Microsoft Windows 8 Pro with media center for free with legitimate key!

My genuine PC is not WMC it is plain W8 Pro.
Therefore procedure I intend to use is:
- install W8 Pro WMC fro iso offline
- copy the data.dat file from W8 pro retail
- slmgr /ipk wmc key
- activate over the phone with new WMC key
- should be activated here !
- go online ... pray ... slmgr /ato !

My guess is that the data.dat should give a starting point of an already activated system.
using /ipk will force to update the tokens.dat to HW hash and add non activated state to the data.dat history
phone activation should now add activated to data.dat history.
and /ato should just confirm everything is right.

Problem is to know whether or not the data.dat file also contains information about the HW or is this information contained only in tokens.dat

looking at the customer agreement ... It says that you are allowed to transfer your license from one machine to another as long as the previous machine is "deactivated" (this is different from W7 OEM that was tighten to a specific HW).
This seems to imply that if you move your license to a new machine (I.E. install your W8 on a new machine) the activation must be accepted and should deactivate the activation on the previous machine. It is not specified if this can be done directly online or if the transfer has to be done by a M$ person?
There is a restriction of selling to another person the license only one time but it seems that there no limit for you to move from machine to machine

 

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Then procedure will not work... You need WMC activated genuine data.dat.

 

If you are using the same email address then you will receive the same key as the first time.
tested with several email and always the same result

 

when I did /slmgr -ato I get an error message but my system still show activated and windows updated fine. What is the proper instruction to get it show activated because I did the data.dat with a batch command from a user here.

Now showing not activated so how do I fix this?

 

Yes it used to do that but now it does not even accept you to give the same address.
But my problem is that it even does not allow me to send a new address

 

What was error message? you can use slmgr /dlv command to check activation status..

 

It may work if you have a data.dat from retail uprade and install Just W8 pro .. test with running slmgr /ato run slmgr /dlv .. if genuine you have a clear upgrade path to use WMC through adding WMC the normal way .. I am testing this method currently, waiting , wiping a drive for the test.. Will let you know

 

you will need to replace the data.dat file again because you ran slmgr /-ato

 

I not getting what you are testing WMC upgrade activation for just Pro?

I am getting is that you used data.dat of pro activated & genuine(From real PC not VM). Then for test you will install pro on different PC or VM & will replace data.dat & enter that genuine pro key. Then you run /ato.
At this point if PC will be different then you will get message that key is already in use or if you use phone activation then you will consume unlock count for key & yes status will be genuine & then upgrade to wmc will be again genuine.

If you are trying this then its normal procedure what we trying here is to just activating WMC if pro is KMS or MAK activated.

 

using a data.dat from upgrade retail of W8 Pro (already activated) with a new install of W8 Pro then adding WMC free key .. Is the final result fully activated and genuine ? that's why the test

 

non-genuine It worked before but now i doesn't so is there a way that I can replace the data.dat again to see if it work?

 

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@redroad: so process you describe would be :

• install W8 pro on new system (offline)
• copy data.dat from retail activated W8 pro
• update to WMC using clean WMC key (offline)
• activate phone? / online ?

end up with W8 Pro system still active + W8 WMC active and genuine ?

 

I find it strange that the Non-Genuine Error: 0xC004C4AA does not have a description in slui.

Code:

slui.exe 0x2a 0xc004C4AA

So the question is did MS really just tack on additional online activation checking for the WMC free upgrade problem?
The possibility exists that somebody just forgot to add the description, weird.

The scenario I am thinking through:
If upgrades are going to be validated via the activation chain in the data.dat, what will happen if you get your legally purchased Win 8 Pro Upgrade key and decide to do a clean install? Will online -ato also sooner or later make you non-genuine. There are lots of reasons for doing a clean install like moving from 32bit to 64bit.

If someone has a legal Win8 Pro upgrade with a clean install could you backup your store folder and try ONLINE:

Code:

slmgr -ato

 

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The only way it may possibly work if the Windows 8 Pro installation (Base Licence) on the 2nd machine is installed using the same product key as the 1st machine from which you acquired the data.dat.

Meaning your Windows 8 Pro (Base Licence) is now associated with your 2nd machines hardware on MS's activation Server before you upgrade with your clean WMC Key.

Do you see the problem? Shared Base Licence on 2 machines.


when you go ONLINE:

Code:

slmgr -ato

make sure you have a backup of your store folder, particularly for the 1st machine.

 

Yep and @the W8 Pro stage if activated just choose the "add features" to upgrade the WMC part .. I'm getting ready to test shortly .. Working on as install ISO to be straight MSDN .. I'll let you know what happens in about 1.5 hours