2 replies to this topic

[smarteck111]

so i have this hp laptop with win 8 , it was liquid spill and bough new motherboard , i installed a new hdd too , load win8 and does not ask for key but when i log in to win 8 and try to activate it says i need to buy new key ,  this is afer i have swapped the bios chip , i tried it both ways with the new motherboard and with the new motherboard but with my original bios chip , what you guys think any input on this

[steve6375]

The Product key is written to a flash memory area of the BIOS. If a mainboard is replaced, the original manufacturer should program a new 'service' key into the new replacement board.

The original key cannot be programmed in because it has been locked to the UUID and MAC address of the old mainboard and so won't activate (even if you could program it in).

If you bought a new (different) motherboard from someone else then your OEM key is no longer valid and you have lost your licence to use it.

OEM keys are only valid for OEM boards.

A special utility is used by manufacturers to program in the key and even if you had this utility, you would need a new OEM key which would activate.

You could try phoning MS, but they will probably tell you to contact the manufacturer.

[u2o]

In some words, one copy of windows per an unique machine, really.

The process to modify a bios with a valid key (cracked-saved-into) works, but we can´t speak here about it.

Follow Steve's advice, he knows much