Hi all, I utilized the US$39.99 upgrade offer on Windows.com and used it on a system running Windows 7 Ultimate. This Windows 7 installation was is non-legit in the sense that it was activated by Daz Loader. Long story short: Yes. It works. You won't run into any trouble at all. I wrote an extensive post on upgrading. The entire process has been captured here: davejunia. com /2012/10/windows-8-pro-upgrade-experience/ My post count is too low to post a link: So, remove the spaces before and after com. Also, found out if you could do a clean install using the $39.99 upgrade on a system with no OS. I hope you find this useful.
"For users who are wondering if you can use the Upgrade version of Windows and do a clean install on a system with no OS – Yes, you can. This is a question most people ask, worrying that they have to first install a preceding copy of Windows before using Windows 8 upgrade. If your computer goes up in flams in future or your drive dies and you have to start completely fresh: No problem, just stick in the DVD / USB, boot from it, enter your product key and you’re good to go. You do not need an OS or its old product key. It is clear from above that the Upgrade Assistant simply verifies if you qualify to upgrade to Windows 8 Pro and if you do, allows you to purchase a Windows 8 Pro license. This license or product key is to a full version of Windows 8 Pro. The moment the license/product key is sold to you – it is good for full installations of Windows 8 Pro. I hope this clarifies the queries of most people. You don’t have to keep your old OS / old product key. Just keep the Windows 8 Pro product key assigned to you." Did you verify activation after installation? You didn't have a 3 or 30 day countdown?
Brilliant link, briliant guide. Knowing this, I'll take the plunge andboot from CD tonight. Can you confirm you've activated it successfully?
Wow cool. I'm gonna order tonight. That's really cheap. I will try to do a clean install since i don't like to upgrade. I guess it has to check first that you are running a genuine version of Windows 7 before it allows you to buy the OS and download it. Probably you don't need to have Windows 7 running to be able to install 8, just before you buy and download.
Yes, I verified activation. My blog post isn't a guide really. It just clears up some big questions that's all. Thanks for the kind comments. This is exactly what I did: I first installed via 'Keep Nothing' thinking it was a clean install. It worked fine. I then realized it wasn't a clean install. So, I put the DVD back in, booted from it, deleted my Win 7 partition, repartition, formatted and installed Windows (Clean Install of course). And here I am.
a bit question? is this OEM or a RETAIL key, what if my motherboard not working anymore and i would replaced it? can i use again the upgrade key? thanks
OA 2.1 / 3.0 refers to activation methods that Microsoft uses. OA 2.1 is used in Windows 7 and had an incredibly effective 'crack/loader'. As such, Microsoft used OA 3.0 which is a lot harder to crack. In fact, I believe the only way to do so is via a KMS server. I believe Windows 8 Pro licenses are all retail. Even the system builder version (AKA OEM version) allows you to move the license to a new (or rebuilt) PC as long the old one is deactivated.
Yes, you could do that. First you need to install AND activate Windows 8. After that proded to Windows Store and start to install/upgrade with Media Center. EDIT: That's what MS tells on their Website!!