Windows 8 $14.99 Upgrade Code is Now available


Recommended Posts

If you do want the x64 upgrade ISO but only running on x86, install a x64 WRP and run the WUA, then you will download the x64.

Of course, the simpler way is just install a MSDN x64 and apply the key.

The win8 key, like win7 keys, is good for x86 or x64, and good for any language edition installed. :)

I'm kinda confused. I have 3 drives on my comp and the OS is installed on the SSD which is only 60gb. When you go to settings and look at available space, it only shows you the drive which the OS is installed. Just wondering if there is anyway to install all the MS store apps to drive D instead of C.

I can confirm:

The key WORKS on clean install provided you use the MSDN ISO and not the one you download in the process of obtaining the key.

I entered the key during the setup and it auto activated once windows was online.

  • Like 2

I can confirm:

The key WORKS on clean install provided you use the MSDN ISO and not the one you download in the process of obtaining the key.

I entered the key during the setup and it auto activated once windows was online.

Even better then, as i was going to use the ISO from MSDN anyway (Y) thanks for the info.

If you place an EI.CFG in the / sources folder before you build the ISO with the following information in it, you should be able to use the ISO for a clean install

[Channel]

_Default

I can confirm:

The key WORKS on clean install provided you use the MSDN ISO and not the one you download in the process of obtaining the key.

I entered the key during the setup and it auto activated once windows was online.

According to another site you can use the download one as well so are you sure?

According to another site you can use the download one as well so are you sure?

Many people were complaining that they had to resort to registry hack to get the download one to work. I already had access to MSDN iso so didn't bother downloading the image again. MSDN one does not require any hack. No biggie since its just a minor hassle.

I used the one I downloaded one when I purchased using the assistant program. Did a clean install no prob.

I can confirm this, using the ISO file, created when downloading from Microsoft, allows you to do a clean install and WILL activated perfectly fine.

As long as it detects Windows 7 on your hard drive, it will clean install fine.

Something I just thought about, and apologies if it has been discussed, I am currently trying to make a failed Windows 8 upgrade into something salvageable. Since from what I have read in this thread, it sounds like this upgrade code replaces the original serial number and becomes the license for whatever PC you use it on. Correct? If so, can you use just it to install Win 8 Pro when asked for the serial on install? Then perhaps use the original serial number that came with the install disk on a whole different install?

I'd imagine it'll cost the same to do an upgrade from Windows 7 Home Premium to Windows 8 Pro as going from Windows 7 Ultimate to Windows 8 Pro, right?

Or will there be a difference, seeing is that the upgrade from Windows 7 Home Premium to Ultimate is damn near 200 bucks, and basicly all you get is the cool name, lol.

Upgraded to release preview since.... So I have no way of knowing my win7 key in order to have my coupon! Great!

I can confirm this, using the ISO file, created when downloading from Microsoft, allows you to do a clean install and WILL activated perfectly fine.

As long as it detects Windows 7 on your hard drive, it will clean install fine.

what if it detects win8 rp?

Upgraded to release preview since.... So I have no way of knowing my win7 key in order to have my coupon! Great!

what if it detects win8 rp?

I'm not sure. The only way to find that out is to give it a go, if it doesn't work let us know and just use the registry fix to activate it :)

I can confirm this, using the ISO file, created when downloading from Microsoft, allows you to do a clean install and WILL activated perfectly fine.

As long as it detects Windows 7 on your hard drive, it will clean install fine.

Oh so is that the difference? The download version checks for Win 7 whereas the MSDN one does not.

I have the ISO downloaded through MSDN and I am very close to upgrading with the upgrade offer, it is a great offer tbh,

Something is keeping from doing it though :(

Just image your system drive before upgrading, keep it safe, as you'll need it. Install Win8 and play around with it, shortly realising it has to be removed (wont take long, believe me), but no worries, just restore your drive from image made earlier. ;) You lost a little bit of cash, yeah, but just think of it a a bad 'bet' on horses, you backed the donkey. :)

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Posts

    • Win11Debloat 2026.06.14 by Razvan Serea Win11Debloat is a lightweight, easy to use PowerShell script that allows you to quickly declutter and customize your Windows experience. It can remove pre-installed bloatware apps, disable telemetry, remove intrusive interface elements and much more. The script also includes many features that system administrators and power users will enjoy. Such as a powerful command-line interface, support for Windows Audit mode and the option to make changes to other Windows users. All changes made by Win11Debloat can be easily reversed, and most removed apps can be restored via the Microsoft Store. A full guide on how to undo the changes is available here. Win11Debloat features: Below is an overview of the key features and functionality offered by Win11Debloat. Please refer to the wiki for more information about the default settings preset. Remove a wide variety of preinstalled apps. Click here for more info. Disable telemetry, diagnostic data, activity history, app-launch tracking & targeted ads. Disable tips, tricks, suggestions & ads across Windows. Disable Windows location services & app location access. Disable Find My Device location tracking. Disable 'Windows Spotlight' and tips & tricks on the lock screen. Disable 'Windows Spotlight' desktop background option. Disable ads, suggestions and the MSN news feed in Microsoft Edge. Hide Microsoft 365 ads on the Settings 'Home' page, or hide the 'Home' page entirely. Disable & remove Microsoft Copilot. Disable Windows Recall. Disable Click to Do, AI text & image analysis tool. Prevent AI service (WSAIFabricSvc) from starting automatically. Disable AI Features in Edge. Disable AI Features in Paint. Disable AI Features in Notepad. Disable the Drag Tray for sharing & moving files. Restore the old Windows 10 style context menu. Turn off Enhance Pointer Precision, also known as mouse acceleration. Disable the Sticky Keys keyboard shortcut. Disable Storage Sense automatic disk cleanup. Disable fast start-up to ensure a full shutdown. ...and more. Once you’ve downloaded the Win11Debloat file (Get.ps1), just follow these quick steps: Locate the Get.ps1 script file. Right-click the file and select Run with PowerShell from the context menu. If prompted by User Account Control (UAC), select Yes to grant the script the necessary administrative permissions. Win11Debloat 2026.06.14 changes: This is a minor release that hopefully addresses the false positives in Windows Defender and Bitdefender that prevented users from downloading and/or running Win11Debloat. Refactor Get-RegFileOperations.ps1 to address false positives by @Raphire in #626 Add logging around WinGet app retrieval and increase timeout to 20s by @Raphire Download: Win11Debloat 2026.06.14 | Open Source View: Win11Debloat Home Page | Screenshots 1| 2 Get alerted to all of our Software updates on Twitter at @NeowinSoftware
    • Still using Microsoft Money 2005 in 2026 here!
    • I have a couple to mention, and they still run great on Windows 11 Adobe Lightroom Version 2 Alcohol 120% CLZ Book, Comic, Game, Movie, & Music Collector (PC - No longer sold / Grandfathered in - now mobile apps/online only) DVDDecrypter ISO Buster Pro version 1.9.1 (Still supports HD-DVD too) Nero Burning Rom 8 (Only the burning software, no backup, media converter, etc)   OpenAL (Runtime) - GuildWars 1 Reforged still uses it for 3d headphone audio PowerDVD 12 Ultra SPTD (SCSI Pass through Direct Driver) UltraISO Windows Media Encoder 9 WinImage You can tell I still sport an optical drive    
    • Linux 7.1 arrives with an NTFS overhaul and major hardware performance boosts by Paul Hill The founder of the Linux kernel has just announced the availability of Linux 7.1. This is a stable version of the kernel that will now be tested by various Linux distributions before it is shipped to users through update managers. Some users, like those on Debian, for example, might not get it for a long time, if at all, while Fedora users can expect it in the near future. With Linux 7.1 out on time, the merge window for Linux 7.2 is now open, giving contributors the opportunity to send in major new features that have been waiting for the last two months. Torvalds warned that he is currently travelling and will be in another timezone, so timing for the merge window may be irregular due to timezone differences and limited internet access. Torvalds said that he has already fetched early pull requests to allow him to do some offline work, but the travel could still cause disruption. Right now, he is not planning to extend the release, but did consider it. He said he might later regret not extending, though. In terms of this last week of development for Linux 7.1, Torvalds said there were no major or alarming changes. This week consisted mostly of smaller driver updates to GPU, networking, and sound, networking fixes, trace tooling fixes, and misc minor fixes. The shortlog this week lists fixes for driver bugs, memory leaks, I/O and USB fixes, networking and RDMA fixes, DRM/graphics fixes, and tooling and verification improvements. Specific fixes include USB series heap-overflow and buffer overflow fixes, and multiple use-after-free, memory-leak, and refcount corrections across subsystems such as i2c, zram, gpio, and net. There are fixes for graphics drivers, including amdgpu, i915, and virtio, as well as hypervisor and virtualization tweaks affecting mshv, vmbus, and hyperv. According to Phoronix, anyone running Linux 7.1 should look out for the new NTFS driver, Intel FRED for improved performance on Panther Lake and future CPUs, faster graphics with Intel Arc Battlemage, and improvements for older AMD Radeon GPUs. If you are running Linux on your computer and everything is fine, then you don’t need to worry about updating to Linux 7.1 as a priority; just wait for it to be pushed to you. If you have tried Linux on hardware but it didn’t work properly, trying again with a distro that uses Linux 7.1 could cause Linux to work on your machine, thanks to the new hardware support.
    • you can also do this with this tool: PowerSettingsExplorer made by mbk1969 at 3dguru forum.. I found it by accident researching on modern standby and annoying quirks of it in 2022
  • Recent Achievements

    • 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
    • Conversation Starter
      flexorcist earned a badge
      Conversation Starter
    • One Month Later
      AndreaB earned a badge
      One Month Later
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      508
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      197
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      139
    4. 4
      ATLien_0
      90
    5. 5
      Steven P.
      81
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!