Windows 8 $14.99 Upgrade Code is Now available


Recommended Posts

Interesting, didnt ask me - I've just upgraded Win7 and it went flawlessly, I've seen a few vids of the 'learning curve' people have to go through, and Im quite enjoying the experience.

But is the ISO bootable? if Yes it's simple you can do a clean install altough there is FAQ on Microsoft support site for windows 8 that says:

You upgraded to Windows 8, but didn't have a previous version of Windowsinstalled (error 0xC004F061)

If you see error 0xC004F061 when you try to activate Windows 8, it means that you're using a product key for an upgrade version of Windows 8 and a previous version of Windows wasn't on your PC when Windows 8 was installed. To install an upgrade version of Windows 8, you must already have Windows 7, Windows Vista, or Windows XP installed on your PC.

If you formatted the drive before the upgrade version of Windows 8 was installed, you won't be able to use your upgrade product key to activate Windows 8. To activate Windows 8, you'll need to install your previous version of Windows, and then reinstall Windows 8. For help with the activation process, contact support.

Did you get that error with the 14.99 upgrade or the 24.99 upgrade? I hear the 14.99 upgrade has more limitations than the normally priced upgrade

btw, if anyone is interested in the $39.99 upgrade from XP/vista/win7 to win8 Pro(+WMC), he can try with the Windows Upgrade Assistant, download link: http://go.microsoft..../?LinkID=262205

Sweet, I thought it was pointless to make people who want to download it wait another day (I know, first world problems), and the upgrade assistant let me buy it for $39 and it's downloading now.

It's for people who just bought a PC with Windows 7 (I think in like the last month or two). They get the $14.99 upgrade.

If you bought a Windows 7 PC months ago you can still get the upgrade but it'll cost you $39.99.

So people are paying once for Windows 7, then the very cheapo price of $15 for 8 -- I did not misunderstand then. :laugh:

Was anyone already running Windows 8 able to buy using the upgrade assistant...it should be available in my country but I keep getting the Not available in your region message. probably the issue is that I am already running Windows 8, but want to purchase a legit key.

Seems the ?14.99 key is 'upgrade' ONLY! It will let you install from any ISO image, but will NOT activate if it was a clean install!! You need Win7 installed first. :(

Windows 8 has a 'reset your pc' option where it cleans your whole system but maintains the activation, so it will be just like a clean install, I suppose.

Was anyone already running Windows 8 able to buy using the upgrade assistant...it should be available in my country but I keep getting the Not available in your region message. probably the issue is that I am already running Windows 8, but want to purchase a legit key.

Also having this issue. Trying to buy another key for my HTPC but I've already got Win 8 Pro on my main machine :(

Well, good news :) The old method of installing from upgrade disk as clean install works, same method as for Win7 ;)


Change the following registry key before activating:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Setup/OOBE

Change "MediaBootInstall" from "1" to "0"

Then type "slmgr /rearm" into a command prompt, wait for conformation prompt.

Restart the PC.

Activate.
[/CODE]

Confirmed 100% working :)

  • Like 1

Also having this issue. Trying to buy another key for my HTPC but I've already got Win 8 Pro on my main machine :(

Got it to work, just run the upgrade assistant in Windows XP Service Pack 3 compatibility mode. It will give you your key that way. Was able to activate my installation that was activated using a fake KMS server last August.....and it is a clean install!

Good question, I think it lets you pick. Download this yesterday and installing this now. Will let you know shortly. I need the x64 so hopefully x64 and 32 in the same iso.

6 minutes left to see what it downloaded. Keys should work on MSDN & TechNet discs too, incase it downloads just 32-bit media.

6 minutes left to see what it downloaded. Keys should work on MSDN & TechNet discs too, incase it downloads just 32-bit media.

Installed x64. I guess it downloads whatever version you have as an update?

It looks really crist tbh and IE10 looks surprisingly good. Time to play around a bit and see. First thing first windows update!

Download is painfully slow!

lol it download within 30 mins for me. Then again I dl it yesterday.

It downloaded 64-bit, I was running 64-bit when running the upgrade assistant.

However it downloads just the install files "C:\ESD" (hidden folder) and comparing the original 64-bit disc from TechNet, there is alot of differencies. 64-bit for Technet is 3.33 GB and this is 2.61 GB, this doesn't have install.wim, it has install.esd which is 1.96 GB, install.wim from Technet is 2.68 GB. I guess install.esd has some skus removed.

Just tested and the key works fine when doing a clean install from Technet disc :)

It downloaded 64-bit, I was running 64-bit when running the upgrade assistant.

However it downloads just the install files "C:\ESD" (hidden folder) and comparing the original 64-bit disc from TechNet, there is alot of differencies. 64-bit for Technet is 3.33 GB and this is 2.61 GB, this doesn't have install.wim, it has install.esd which is 1.96 GB, install.wim from Technet is 2.68 GB. I guess install.esd has some skus removed.

Just tested and the key works fine when doing a clean install from Technet disc :)

Is there any way to get the 64 bit install media whilst on 32 bit?

Is there any way to get the 64 bit install media whilst on 32 bit?

Dunno, it didn't give any choice on 64-bit. Did you try upgrade assistant on 32-bit OS? Also there is a lot of places to get the untouched original disc as .iso image, just check that the SHA-1 is the same as stated on TechNet and MSDN.

This is from Microsoft TechNet

Windows 8 (x64) - DVD (English)

File Name: en_windows_8_x64_dvd_915440.iso

Languages: English

SHA1: 1CE53AD5F60419CF04A715CF3233F247E48BEEC4

Windows 8 (x64) - DVD (English-United Kingdom)

File Name: en-gb_windows_8_x64_dvd_915412.iso

Languages: English

SHA1: 79ED9958CF1690DD8A60A0B1B15F5DCC76C8E625

Dunno, it didn't give any choice on 64-bit. Did you try upgrade assistant on 32-bit OS? Also there is a lot of places to get the untouched original disc as .iso image, just check that the SHA-1 is the same as stated on TechNet and MSDN.

This is from Microsoft TechNet

Windows 8 (x64) - DVD (English)

File Name: en_windows_8_x64_dvd_915440.iso

Languages: English

SHA1: 1CE53AD5F60419CF04A715CF3233F247E48BEEC4

Windows 8 (x64) - DVD (English-United Kingdom)

File Name: en-gb_windows_8_x64_dvd_915412.iso

Languages: English

SHA1: 79ED9958CF1690DD8A60A0B1B15F5DCC76C8E625

Would the upgrade activation code work? Or would I need the full version of Windows 8?

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Posts

    • Forza Horizon 6 gets big bug-fixing and balancing update by Taras Buria Today, Playground Games released a big Forza Horizon 6 update with a long list of fixes, patches, and balancing tweaks that the studio promised earlier. Version 375.327 is now available on Steam, Microsoft Store, and Xbox, offering users improvements for AI, audio, design, performance, road discovery, upgrades, visuals, online play, and more. Some of the most notable changes in the Series 2 update include rebalanced drivatars, particularly their difficulty and race start behavior. As such, the game should be more balanced on higher difficulty levels, and AI cars should not shoot out when the race starts as if they have rocket boosters. Speaking of difficulty, developers nerfed Drag Tires physics for a more expected and realistic behavior. They are no longer the go-to option for record-breaking times in road racing, and all leaderboard entries with drag tires will be removed. Completionists will also be glad to get a new feature that lets you see road discovery percentage in each region, which should make discovering all roads easier while keeping it quite challenging and interesting (I spent quite a long time finding the last road). Festival Playlist is also getting some much-needed fixes, including patches for bugs that allowed completing Seasonal Jobs ahead of time or where weekly challenges would not unlock for some players. Developers will retroactively give reward points to all who could not complete all challenges due to these bugs. Other changes include changes to Horizon Play progression so that it is easier to reach Level 100, audio improvements on lower-spec devices, fixes for visual glitches, including pixelated smoke, and more. Developers also addressed the currently non-working Eliminator, an online mode gamers used to farm credits with a Hummer EV exploit. Playground Games plans to re-enable it soon. As a gesture of goodwill, players will get a free McLaren Sabre. Those who used the exploit will not be banned, but developers plan to roll back credits to a maximum of 10M for all who farmed credits using the exploit. You can find the complete changelog for the latest Forza Horizon 6 update here.
    • "Samsung is shutting down yet another app used by millions" I will fix the clickbait title for you, free-of-charge: "Samsung shutting down it's Max VPN app"
    • Microsoft brings Planner Agent to all Microsoft 365 Copilot users by Ivan Jenic Image: Microsoft Microsoft has announced that Planner Agent in Microsoft 365 Copilot is now generally available to all users with a Microsoft 365 Copilot license. Planner Agent is the latest addition in the string of AI features that Microsoft is implementing across virtually all of its products. The agent lets you manage tasks through natural language prompts directly inside Microsoft 365 Copilot. You can create and update tasks, check priorities, and get insights about current entries without leaving the chat interface. The general availability release comes with a handful of new additions on top of what was available during the initial rollout. A new plan picker lets you search and filter your plans by name, then update task names, statuses, due dates, or priorities through the agent. There's also a goals bucket now, which lets you group tasks under specific goals. This builds on the Goals view, a feature that was introduced as part of the broader Planner refresh that rolled out earlier. Image: Microsoft | Planner Agent in Microsoft 365 Copilot All AI-generated plans and tasks are created in draft mode by default, so you can review and approve changes before anything goes through. This is actually a thoughtful safety feature, because trusting AI to handle all your tasks without a human in the loop is usually a recipe for disaster. Having tasks initially saved as drafts is the best possible middle ground. Microsoft also says that not all tasks are executed equally. Simple tasks get processed quickly, while more complex ones, like building a plan from a Word, Excel, or PowerPoint file, are handed to a more capable model. Microsoft says this approach delivers the best performance, but it could also help with usage management, as you won't have to waste tokens on performing simple tasks. Planner Agent is available now across Teams, Loop, SharePoint, and other Microsoft 365 apps for anyone on a Microsoft 365 Copilot subscription.
    • To be clear I'm anti trump, the bigger point is why review this game at all?
  • Recent Achievements

    • First Post
      Cosminus earned a badge
      First Post
    • One Year In
      ThatGuyOnline earned a badge
      One Year In
    • Week One Done
      Jeroen Wilms earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Week One Done
      rolfus earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • One Month Later
      Leroy Jethro Gibbs earned a badge
      One Month Later
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      485
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      189
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      122
    4. 4
      Steven P.
      86
    5. 5
      neufuse
      73
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!