OEM has a specific method to set in proper sequence they way they want Partitions. and if the PARTITIONS are not proper, it will not install, unless you use the proper method to set partitions. Acer partition is different from Dell, which is Different from HP. You can also if needed as Tito suggested. Boot to UEFI bootable media, (normally that is Windows 8.1) then FORMAT the HDD, then Clean install, I tested this method on Acer and Dell Desktops and Laptops, and Format then reboot to allow clean install, and it will install the proper version as provided by your embedded key. This is from one such OEM Recovery Disk Code: <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <!-- ResetConfig.xml for UEFI --> -<Reset> -<SystemDisk> <DiskpartScriptPath>$PBR_Diskpart.txt</DiskpartScriptPath> <MinSize>56658</MinSize> <WindowsREPartition>1</WindowsREPartition> <WindowsREPath>Recovery\WindowsRE</WindowsREPath> <OSPartition>4</OSPartition> <RecoveryImagePartition>5</RecoveryImagePartition> <RecoveryImagePath>RecoveryImage</RecoveryImagePath> <RestoreFromIndex>4</RestoreFromIndex> <RecoveryImageIndex>4</RecoveryImageIndex> <WIMBoot>0</WIMBoot> </SystemDisk> </Reset> here is a diskpart command from the same Recovery Disk Code: rem == ResetPartitions-UEFI.txt == convert gpt rem == 1. Windows RE tools partition =============== create partition primary size=305 format quick fs=ntfs label="Windows RE tools" assign letter="T" set id=de94bba4-06d1-4d40-a16a-bfd50179d6ac gpt attributes=0x8000000000000001 rem == 2. System partition ========================= create partition efi size=100 format quick fs=fat32 label="System" assign letter="S" rem == 3. Microsoft Reserved (MSR) partition ======= create partition msr size=128 rem == 4. Windows partition ======================== rem == a. Create the Windows partition ========== create partition primary rem == b. Create space for the recovery image === shrink minimum=2195 rem == c. Prepare the Windows partition ========= format quick fs=ntfs label="Windows" assign letter="W" rem === 5. Recovery image partition ================ create partition primary format quick fs=ntfs label="Recovery image" assign letter="R" set id=de94bba4-06d1-4d40-a16a-bfd50179d6ac gpt attributes=0x8000000000000001 list volume exit and if you have a HP it dictates the size of ea partition as per the total size of you HDD.
Using the "SKU = CoreSingleLanguage (*)" links i've already installed Windows 8.1 in my laptop. For this particular case, i used Windows 8.1 Single Language Spanish 64-bit and a generic key for the installation. After it, i activated it via Internet using my OEM Key.