reload OS on V5-123-3466 pre-sales question

edwardsmarkf

Hello - I have been a DELL laptop owner forever now and am considering switching over to acer, but we are not off to a good start.

 

On the v5-123-3466 I hope to switch out the HDD for an SSD which looks very easy to do (unlike Asus) -- however i cant seem to get a straight answer if the v5-123-3466 ships with a micro$$oft win-8 key or not.  normally i would expect to see a key either in the packaging or on a sticker on the bottom of the unit.

 

The Asus i just returned (and ate the Newegg 15% restocking fee in addition to the shipping charges) didnt have a key, hence my concern.  i dont want to pay another $50 just to find out i cant reload the OS for some silly reason such as 'Asus does not have a key'.

 

Erlene x7224 of Acer customer support suggested i ask best buy, but I should think this is an easy question to get answered.  It would be tragic if my switchover from Dell to Acer was ended because of such a basic issue.

Sharanji

 

No machine released with Windows 8 from vendor will come with a Windows 8 License sticker underneath, regardless of the brand.

This is one of Microsoft's security measures to reduce piracy. The Product key is electronically stored in the firmware of your mainboard.

That's certainly a plus, especially when the numbers on those product key stickers wear out or are just too small to easily read.

 

So if you need to reset or reinstall Windows 8, you don't need to hunt for the product key. It's automatically applied and activated.

 

 

 

Click the Kudos  to say “Thanks” for helping!

Sharanji

 

No machine released with Windows 8 from vendor will come with a Windows 8 License sticker underneath, regardless of the brand.

This is one of Microsoft's security measures to reduce piracy. The Product key is electronically stored in the firmware of your mainboard.

That's certainly a plus, especially when the numbers on those product key stickers wear out or are just too small to easily read.

 

So if you need to reset or reinstall Windows 8, you don't need to hunt for the product key. It's automatically applied and activated.

 

 

 

Click the Kudos  to say “Thanks” for helping!

edwardsmarkf

so just swap out the hard drive, load the win-8 OS from ISO-USB, and the thing magically finds the key in the 'puter firmware?

Sharanji

Yes, when you reload windows using USB recovery media, the product key would be automatically applied and activated.