This seems to be the conclusion after I re-do the install a 2nd time. I'm using the latest macbook air with 128GB SSD. Used boot camp assistant 5.0 to partition windows with 30GB space. Updated support drivers to make win 8 work in the Mac hardware. Then I did a KMS to activate the win 8 pro for 180 days....It worked. but when I used the emailed key from Microsoft to download the media center, the resulting win 8 pro with WMC showed it was deactivated after 2 or 3 restarts instead of being permanently activated. How can I restore activation? Microsoft will have been aware already of this activation bypass loophole, and might have patched up this issue. can anyone confirm?