How about the Advance Tokens Manager? Can it not do a backup and restore of the OEM activated Windows 8 or 8.1 when I decide to make a clean install?
Is there any hope for this situation: Laptop has bad hard drive. Bad bad, doesn't spin just makes funny noises. No recovery discs/backups made. Laptop is a Dell Inspiron that came with Windows 8 but has no COA sticker. Laptop BIOS does not have an MSDM table.
as it came with 8 it should have the key in bios. You should be able to replace the disc, install a new windows and activate again W8 by using the appropriate os (guess core was installed) and have a full functional and activated system
As I said in my original message the BIOS does not contain an MSDM table and thereby does not contain the product key. I have tried the Windows 8 "Dell" CD from these forums as well as a Core CD and a CoreSingleLanguage CD and it requests a key to activate. I've tried several of the "generic" keys and none of those allow it complete any sort of activation by reading the BIOS either.
Very strange. Notebooks with preinstalled Windows 8 should have a MSDM table. Have you had a look into the battery tray ? Sometimes the COA sticker is placed there.
I have checked under covers, under the hard drive, under the battery, even on the A/C adapter as I've seen a few there. No dice. No key. After posting this I ended up calling Dell and they conferenced the customer in and are sending (free of charge) recovery CDs to him. I'll see what they are and if they come with a key or not. Perhaps they have some special version that still uses SLIC? If not I guess they'll be sending a key with the discs. The laptop actually belongs to a customer. He is quite inept so I doubt he would've gotten into any sort of BIOS updates.
As mentioned I have tried reloading windows several times. I installed a hard drive and loaded windows without problems. It just won't activate. I used RWeverything to determine it has no MSDM table. There is no MSDM tab under ACPI. Just SLIC. It's apparently a pretty common problem with early Dell windows 8 machines as I have read quite a bit on the topic through google searches. Just thought someone here may have run into it and have a solution as the knowledge here tends to be a step above the rest of the junk on google when it comes to matters such as these.
@Please-8 It is impossible. @greenephillip It is also impossible for getting a PC with Windows 8.x pre-installed but without MSDM table. Is the motherboard replaced somehow??
Machine is just out of warranty if it had been repalced it would have been by Dell but customer said he hadn't had any problems before now. Not too sure what state the OS was in, the drive doesn't spin up even anymore. There is no key on the machine anywhere I can find, inside or out.
I used one of the generic keys from forums.mydigitallife.net/threads/28669-Microsoft-Toolkit-Official-KMS-Solution-for-Microsoft-Products/page548?p=792313&viewfull=1#post792313 I believe to install it the first time but it wouldn't activate. I don't have the exact error at this time. I'll try reloading again (I have a stack of different discs I've tried.) Again, i'll try to get the exact message. Didn't try phone because I couldn't find a product key and assumed they would want it. I have since gotten Dell to send me discs for the machine but they didn't send a key with them and it wants a key during install. I believe I tried both and it just echoed the generic key I used to load the OS. I'll try it again and double check all of these answers. Thanks everyone for your efforts regardless of outcome.
Are you really certain this machine came with windows 8 pre-installed. Personally I think it may have came with windows 7 pre-installed but customer was eligible for free windows 8 RTM upgrade and if that is the case there would be no key in MSDM table. So you need to ask if person received windows 8 upgrade dvd and key separately.
@urie this case can be closed as you said. Machine never came with 8 preinstalled. Was a 7 machine definately and updated to 8 last year or sometimes in the past. No 8-key in Bios is not possible even with Dell
The machine's original configuration on the dell site mentions nothing of Windows 7 but does mention windows 8. Machine was manufactured in October of Last year. I don't see how you can be so dismissive of the information provided that is counter to what you're saying. If the machine came with windows 7 why would they send windows 8 discs for free upon request of discs to reinstall the machine? Code: Part NumberQuantityDescription 6337P1LABEL..., SVC TAG/EXPRESS CODE, LATC J802J1LABEL..., INFORMATION..., NOTEBOOK..., INSPIRON..., BTSS X903C0INFORMATION..., ROYALTY..., KEYBOARD..., BLIT, ACROSS LINE OF BUSINESS... 03N1F1LABEL..., RETAIL..., INSP17, 7720, BEST BUY..., 61361 X2F611Label, Gml Inc, Microsoft, Operating System, W8, Consumer T26730Service Charge, Operating System, Windows XP OCA-MARKER W728F0SERVICE CHARGE..., OPERATING SYSTEM..., INTERNAL/EXTERNAL CHANNELS..., INSTALLER KPCKY0SERVICE CHARGE..., SOFTWARE..., OFC-2010T, MULTI-LANGUAGE... NRNXX0SERVICE CHARGE..., SOFTWARE..., EBAY-ICON, FAVORITE, W8 N3P820SERVICE CHARGE..., SOFTWARE..., WIN8, MONT, APPLICATION SUPPORT..., MULTIPLE USER INTERFACE... 67NW80SERVICE CHARGE..., SOFTWARE..., BROWSER-SEARCH, INSTAL 67NW80SERVICE CHARGE..., SOFTWARE..., BROWSER-SEARCH, INSTAL D5YR40INFORMATION..., ROYALTY..., DOLBY, OPTICAL DEVICE DRIVE..., LICENSE ... 571540Service Charge, Software, Windows 98, Fully Integrated System Test 585480INFORMATION..., SOFTWARE..., STUFF, 10MB 5JP2M0SERVICE CHARGE..., DRIVER..., MEI, INPS, 74/7720 9G5R70SERVICE CHARGE..., DRIVER..., TOUCHPAD..., INPS, 74/7720 FWW1T0INFORMATION..., ROYALTY..., BRAND, SKULLCANDY 07HF90SERVICE CHARGE..., DRIVER..., ESTR, ACROSS LINE OF BUSINESS... HXV180SERVICE CHARGE..., DRIVER..., UNIVERSAL SERIAL BUS..., INPS, 7720 KKP481Kit, Media, Digital Video Disk Drive, Resource Dvd, 7720, WIN8 XJ11G1Liquid Crystal Display, 17.3, HDF+, White Light Emitted Diode, True Life, CMI 36GRR1LABEL..., RETAIL, DELL COMPUTER CORPORATION..., RETURNPOL K260C1CORD..., Power, 125V, 2.5A, 1M, C5 United States 0W64F1SHIPPING MATERIAL..., CUSHION..., NOTEBOOK..., 17, TOP... 5Y8H50SERVICE CHARGE..., DRIVER..., WIDI, INPS, 74/7720 WHHTX0INFORMATION..., WIN8 WHHTX0INFORMATION..., WIN8 2HGHK0INFORMATION..., SOFTWARE..., ROYALTY..., MCAF11.6, 30DAY PTMT70INFORMATION..., WINRE-ADDR, 500, MB-PTN C7TH40INFORMATION..., ROYALTY..., CYBERLINK..., CONSUMER..., MPEG2 W0K4K0SERVICE CHARGE..., SOFTWARE..., CYBERLINK..., MEDIA..., SUITE..., ESLS, DIGITAL VIDEO DISK DRIVE... XXN9W0SERVICE CHARGE..., DRIVER..., CHIPSET, INPS, 74/7720 XK8V31Processor, I7-3630QM, 2.4, 4C, IVY, E1, P 4M3YM1ASSEMBLY..., BASE (ASSEMBLY OR GROUP)..., NOTEBOOK..., OPTIMUS, 7720 RMTMT1SHIPPING MATERIAL..., FOAM..., NOTEBOOK..., LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPLAY..., 17 K4GDH0SERVICE CHARGE..., DRIVER..., BLUETOOTH..., 2230, 74/7720 JW1M20INFORMATION..., IE@V, 100000 N2Y9J0INFORMATION..., .NET@V, 45000 NV3RN0SERVICE CHARGE..., SOFTWARE..., WIN8, MONT, AK, MULTIPLE USER INTERFACE... K1PTD0INFORMATION..., SOFTWARE..., EBAY-WEBSLICE, ROYALTY..., W8 J24RJ0INFORMATION..., ROYALTY..., MY-DELL, 3.X 1VRFT0INFORMATION..., ROYALTY..., W8, SKYPT, SKYPE C022X0INFORMATION..., BROWSER-SEARCH@V, FMSB 07DC80SERVICE CHARGE..., APPLICATIONS..., QIK-SET, INPS, 74/7720 6CHXW0SERVICE CHARGE..., DRIVER..., CARD-RDR, INPS, 74/7720 NU2420INFORMATION..., WINRE-SIZE, 15, GB-PTN P664Y1Dvd+/-Rw, 8X, Serial Ata, 12.7T, Hitachi Lg Data Storage 0YCD61Assembly, Camera, 0.92M, W/MIC, AUDI MY2971Label, Fascia, Intel, CARTON KT2TK1LABEL..., INTEL..., NO BIOS..., CI72 861F00SERVICE CHARGE..., DRIVER..., DISCONNECT..., N13P, INPS, 7720 WRHKW1Adapter, Alternating Current, 130W, Delta - Ac Adapt, 3P, Pwa Integrated, World Wide F9C2Y1SHIPPING MATERIAL..., DOCUMENTATION..., PAD..., 17 G2J3X1Hard Drive, 1T, S2, 5.4, 2.5, P11, 4K, ML500M 0616F0INFORMATION..., BOOT, GPT, OVERRIDE X278C0SERVICE CHARGE..., OPERATING SYSTEM..., DOTNET..., INSTALLER T6CXV1DPK, OPERATING SYSTEM..., W8H32/64 K0PNW0INFORMATION..., SOFTWARE..., ROYALTY..., DELLADVANTAGE 7MXG30SERVICE CHARGE..., SOFTWARE..., WIN8, MONT, EXPANDABLE SYSTEM..., MULTIPLE USER INTERFACE... RW23P0INFORMATION..., ROYALTY..., CYBERLINK..., SUITE..., CONSUMER..., DIGITAL VIDEO DISK DRIVE... 3K55D0SERVICE CHARGE..., DRIVER..., IRST, INPS, 74/7720 864KE0INFORMATION..., PLACEHOLDER, PIECE-PART 1CHTF1LABEL..., DEO, ESTAR 5.0 D865T1TECHNICAL SHEET..., TERMS AND CONDITIONS..., ENGLAND/ENGLISH..., RTLB, DELL AMERICAS ORGANIZATION... 2XK0V0INFORMATION..., WINRE-BASE, Pentium M Dothan, 1.86GHZ, 2 MEGB, 533FSB..., MB-PTN PJ2890INFORMATION..., VPEPR TM3180INFORMATION..., SLP2, ENABLE, WINDOWS XC8PN0SERVICE CHARGE..., SOFTWARE..., MCAF11.6, MULTIPLE USER INTERFACE... YK1910INFORMATION..., SOFTWARE..., 30DAY CW13H0SERVICE CHARGE..., SOFTWARE..., DBR 1.0, CSMB, BASIC TX0V00INFORMATION..., WINRE-ADDR, 8, GB-PTN 2HWDT0SERVICE CHARGE..., SOFTWARE..., MY-DELL, 3.X C2N450INFORMATION..., SOFTWARE..., CRRS, UPDATE XJ3YJ0INFORMATION..., WINRE-ADDR, 200, MB-PTN T2VVD0SERVICE CHARGE..., SOFTWARE..., WINDOWS..., LVE, ESLS TJ2TJ0SERVICE CHARGE..., SOFTWARE..., RETAIL..., REGISTRATION..., 2.X 8564U0INFORMATION..., SOFTWARE..., DEFAULT, NEW TECHNOLOGY FILE SYSTEM... NWF520INFORMATION..., ROYALTY..., SOFTWARE..., MAXX AUDIO4 39FVF1LABEL..., REGULATORY..., WIRELESS..., 2230, CNB, WORLD WIDE... 5DVH71Card, Wireless, INTEL2230, World Wide YKF0M1Battery, Primary, 48WHR, Vmware 6 Core Processor, Lithium, Logic FYHV12Dual In-Line Memory Module, 4GB, 1600MHZ, 512X64, 8K, 204 N6GVC0SERVICE CHARGE..., DRIVER..., UNIFIED MEMORY ARCHITECTURE..., INPS, 74/7720 2JNK41SHIPPING MATERIAL..., BOX, ACCESSORY..., 17 YMTY21SHIPPING MATERIAL..., CUSHION..., NOTEBOOK..., 17, BOTTOM... F94X51Keyboard, 102, United States, England/English, C12NB2, WIN8 NDH7M1GUIDE..., PRODUCT..., INFORMATION..., SERI, ENGLAND/ENGLISH..., DELL AMERICAS ORGANIZATION... XP9T90INFORMATION..., BOOT, CONTAINER..., GPT M81920SERVICE CHARGE..., SOFTWARE..., MCAF-SCTY, UPDATES G25NM0INFORMATION..., BROWSER-SEARCH@V, FMSC 864KE0INFORMATION..., PLACEHOLDER, PIECE-PART XPCGT1FGA Proxy MOD XPCGT for SKU 730-2993 NY2G01KIT..., COVER..., LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPLAY..., ALUMINUM (DATA/FAX MODEM)..., WIRELESS LOCAL AREA NETWORK CARD..., 7720 6CWVJ0SERVICE CHARGE..., APPLICATIONS..., TAPE BACKUP UNIT..., INPS, 74/7720 Y0GJP1PLACEMAT..., INSPIRON..., 5720/7720, GLOBAL..., W8 DD90G0SERVICE CHARGE..., DRIVER..., WIRELESS FIDELITY..., 2230, 74/7720 WP6YC0INFORMATION..., ROYALTY..., WIN8, DOLBY5.1, CODEC 2MTX60INFORMATION..., WINRE-ADDR, 5000, MB-PTN VMNR70SERVICE CHARGE..., SOFTWARE..., HELPTILE, WIN8 N3WPN0SERVICE CHARGE..., SOFTWARE..., WIN8, MONT, AMERICA, AMERICAN..., MULTIPLE USER INTERFACE... 8MHH01SHIPPING MATERIAL..., BOX, SYSTEM..., 17, BROWN ... Y4PX81SHIPPING MATERIAL..., BAG..., NOTEBOOK..., 14.5X20, POLY FOAM... 001590INFORMATION..., 1ST BOOT, HARD DRIVE TJ6PK0SERVICE CHARGE..., OPERATING SYSTEM..., W8H64, ENGLAND/ENGLISH... WNVTG0SERVICE CHARGE..., SOFTWARE..., EDELLSHOPPINGAPP CMMNR0SERVICE CHARGE..., SOFTWARE..., WINRE, BUTTON, CSMB 7VM8J0SERVICE CHARGE..., SOFTWARE..., W8, SKYPT, SKYPE YR2T20SERVICE CHARGE..., SOFTWARE..., CRRS, MULTIPLE USER INTERFACE... 9F2T40INFORMATION..., SOFTWARE..., RETAIL..., REGISTRATION..., 2.X N9WHY0SERVICE CHARGE..., DRIVER..., LOCAL AREA NETWORK..., INPS, 7720 Y71D70SERVICE CHARGE..., DRIVER..., AUDIO..., INPS, 7720 864KE0INFORMATION..., PLACEHOLDER, PIECE-PART