Hello, I was wondering if there is a way to obtain a product key for Windows 8.1 the way people when when microsoft offered the free windows 10 upgrade. My system cam with windows 10 home and I HATE it! If that's not available is there a way to purchase a product key?
Microsoft really wants EVERYBODY to run Windows 10. I am not aware of any program to downgrade consumer versions of Windows. You could probably install a retail version of Win 8.1, but that would most likely require purchasing a license and you already paid the Microsoft tax (included in the purchase price of your computer). Like you, I dislike Win 10 and refuse to use it on my computers. I purchased a new laptop last year that came with Windows 10. I wiped the drive and attempted to install Windows 7, but I found some hardware never had Win 7 drivers written. I ended up installing Windows 8.1 Pro and use KMS to activate. My preferred solution is VLMCSD on my router. That way there are no problems trying to circumvent the restrictions of self hosting a KMS server (anti-virus, Tap adapter, DLL injection, etc).
I ran into the same issue. I purchased and installed Windows 7 Pro only to discover that several things on my laptop did not work including my touchpad. I followed your lead and installed windows 8.1 pro and kms activated it. Hopefully I won't have any problems.