The title says it all. I currently have installed Windows 8.1 VL with all my programs setup as I would like. I have an unused 8.1 WMC key and now realise I need WMC on this computer. My question is: Is it possible, without reinstalling, to switch from 8.1 VL to 8.1 WMC or 8.1 Retail so that I can upgrade to WMC and use my WMC key? Thanks for your help.
Ah. So is my best bet to backup data and install 8.1 Pro? Input generic key, then upgrade to 8.1 WMC and input my key?
You would normally need to activate pro before upgrading. It's possible to use someone else's data.dat, but its forbidden to share them here as they include personal information such as installation ID.
You may do an "upgrade install" by running setup from the non-VL media and installing the same edition you already have, without losing anything other than the time it takes to do it.
So if I have 8.1 Pro Volume with Rollup installed and I do an "upgrade install" with 8.1 Core/Pro I wouldn't lose any of my currently installed programs?
I used the Hotfix Downloader to convert Windows 8.1 Pro to Windows 8.1 Pro w/WMC but when I try to install it says the product key can't be validated, even though I know it is a genuine key. Any ideas? Thanks.
For me this didn't work in my tests, not sure if in that case upgrade is only possible via Store (this works mostly).
This is something like catch22, because you set product edition as WMC, so it won't accept Pro keys anymore, but then WMC key is only a upgrade key, it won't be accepted for installation. The only way out is do it like everybody else, add EI.cfg.
Tried to Upgrade Win ProfessionalWMC 8 to 8.1 via Install Media several times with different ei.cfg files, PID.txt or entering Key with dism ... to no avail . So far this only worked via Windows Store. Nevertheless i still recommend fresh install .
Well, every Microsoft's product key matches a (or some) license file(s). If a product key doesn't have its corresponding license file(s), it can't be installed into your system. A VL system doesn't contain Retail license files, so you can't use a Retail key on VL systems. The license files are stored in: Code: C:\Windows\System32\spp\tokens Try to grab the Retail license files from the Retail installation ISO (inside sources\install.wim) and copy them to your system. (Remember to backup first!) And then, run: Code: slmgr /rilc Then you MAY be able to install a Retail product key by running: Code: slmgr /upk slmgr /ipk <PRODUCT KEY> Someone has tried this on Office and it works. But I'm not sure whether this works for Windows ... If not, do a clean install.
Yeah, i know already. Problem was at install, where only the Retail Install key is accepted, in case there is no ei.cfg .
There are some general key that you can find on the internet for your WMC. Using the Hotfixdownloader, you can verify your keys. It's always possible after the installation to change your key. Do a google search using Windows 8.1 wmc key. Lievre