Cheap Win 8.1 Pro License key?

This topic has 11 replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 8 years, 8 months ago by The Duke.

Viewing 12 posts - 1 through 12 (of 12 total)

Author

Posts
July 2, 2017 at 12:41 pm #9822
tadka
Participant
@tadka
Forumite Points: 0
Decided to reinstall windows and go back from 10 to 8.1 Pro. My Win 10 was an upgrade from Win 8 Home so can’t use its key. Any ideas where to get a cheap Win 8.1 Pro key? I bought one from eBay this morning for like £2.30 but it didn’t work, they sent me another one but that was a fail too. It’s gone quiet from them and if they don’t get me a working key in a day or two I will have to cancel. Are there any other options for a cheap key? I don’t want to pay full price when I already paid them once.
July 2, 2017 at 12:55 pm #9825
blacklion1725
Participant
@blacklion1725
Forumite Points: 2
It there is then it is likely to be on ebay, so you are always taking a chance as to whether it will work and if so for how long.

As much as I pull my hair out with MS as they manage to remove useful features and introduce pointless ones each update cycle, but I really do think it is best to just lump W10 and get on with it, it is the only one that will be supported so assuming you will stay with Windows long term then it is W10 or nothing in a few years.

Out of interest, are there specific things about W10 that you don’t like (I have loads!) because there may be work-arounds. Really though, unless there is a real pressing reason i would try and suffer 10.
July 2, 2017 at 1:04 pm #9826
Jason
Participant
@jason
Forumite Points: 0
Collectors’ items, I should think. Who’d want one except for a museum as an historical artefact?
July 2, 2017 at 1:10 pm #9827
tadka
Participant
@tadka
Forumite Points: 0
blacklion1725 wrote:

It there is then it is likely to be on ebay, so you are always taking a chance as to whether it will work and if so for how long. As much as I pull my hair out with MS as they manage to remove useful features and introduce pointless ones each update cycle, but I really do think it is best to just lump W10 and get on with it, it is the only one that will be supported so assuming you will stay with Windows long term then it is W10 or nothing in a few years. Out of interest, are there specific things about W10 that you don’t like (I have loads!) because there may be work-arounds. Really though, unless there is a real pressing reason i would try and suffer 10.

Win 10 is OK, but Win 8.1 to me is the best Windows MS ever made. I am not talking about the inner working or things like that, I know nothing of it, I am talking about the day to day use. I like the Metro Start menu, I like how you can access almost anything by going with your mouse into corners, it makes it easy to do things fast even when almost asleep in my chair. And it just overall 8.1 seems a bit more snappier than 10. So I am kind of annoyed to be stuck with something that doesn’t give me as much joy as what I had before. Not sure why I decided to go with 8.1 Pro, I guess I want to keep the key I upgraded from 8 to 10 as 10 for the future. Not even sure if I can go back to 8.1 with it.
July 2, 2017 at 1:16 pm #9829
blacklion1725
Participant
@blacklion1725
Forumite Points: 2
8.1 was better than 8.0 for sure, and the One Drive in 8.1 was superb (so of course MS killed it!). Really though, support for 8.1 will end (2023?) and really you are just delaying the inevitable at which point the change would be harder. MS are pushing towards a one-size-fits-all approach, and if we don’t like it tough. The recent Creators’ update is another good example where they killed the one feature that I used Edge for, while introducing loads more features I don’t need. Not great and the choice going forward will be Windows or not-Windows, there won’t be a choice of Windows versions soon enough.
July 2, 2017 at 1:23 pm #9830
tadka
Participant
@tadka
Forumite Points: 0
If that eBay dude doesn’t come through then I’ll have no choice but to just do a win 10 install. But I’d rather be on win 8.1 until they pull the plug.
July 3, 2017 at 10:51 pm #9869
tadka
Participant
@tadka
Forumite Points: 0
I did get my W8.1 activated – the third key they sent me worked.

I then decided to look into getting the Media Center just in case I want to watch a DVD one day. I turns out if you have a key for it you go to “Add Features to W8” and enter the key and the WMC gets installed. I couldn’t find any keys for sale on eBay but loads of them popped up on various forums as MS was giving them away for free a few years back. So I tried one and it worked. Only a few hours later I get a pop up saying the key is no good and asking for a new one. It didn’t lock my PC but maybe it would have eventually. So I google and it turns out there is a program called KMSpico and it activates windows for free. I google that and it appears to be a real deal. So I gave it a try and it worked.

But this whole experience left me feeling befuddled. The key off eBay… fair enough, that working I can understand. Random key off some forum that loads of people have used activates my WMC… that I could not understand. But fair enough, it did eventually get back to me and said I can’t use it. Not sure what I could have done to go back to not having the WMC. But a program that activated Windows for free… that is just bizarre. I hope that doesn’t come back and bite me in the ass eventually…
July 3, 2017 at 10:58 pm #9875
Jason
Participant
@jason
Forumite Points: 0
I wouldn’t touch that even if I was wearing rubber gloves.
July 4, 2017 at 8:32 am #9879
The Duke
Participant
@sgb101
Forumite Points: 5
It’s so hard to activate not, cos they (ms) don’t want you on it. The code that fixed all sounds very “warn”. Though it will likely work forever probably.

Is ms still kindly reminding people to move to 10,as that may get annoying.

I think your the first person I’ve heard of that actually prefers 8 to 10. 10 I find had the good bits of 10 with the bits of 7 back I know.

They problem should of gone, 7, 10, 10s then 8 home (s) . A more gradual evolution. In stead of going all out revolution.
July 4, 2017 at 8:43 am #9880
Ed P
Participant
@edps
Forumite Points: 39
With all the nasties floating around it is going to get ‘interesting’ using old vulnerable software. I’m afraid the real choice is Windows 10 or Linux at the moment. The new features of Windows 10 coming this autumn are going to be difficult to find anywhere else.
July 4, 2017 at 8:53 am #9881
tadka
Participant
@tadka
Forumite Points: 0
The Duke wrote:

I think your the first person I’ve heard of that actually prefers 8 to 10. 10 I find had the good bits of 10 with the bits of 7 back I know. They problem should of gone, 7, 10, 10s then 8 home (s) . A more gradual evolution. In stead of going all out revolution.

That’s how I feel. I feel like the 8 was a step forward and then the 10 went back to the old school windows. Maybe people just weren’t ready for the 8 🙂

Haven’t yet had any bother regarding moving to 10 but I think that was any easy problem to eliminate.

Feels good to be back with 8.1 and it’s simple and clean UI. The only thing bugging me is the activation I did with that KMSpico. I’m thinking of reinstalling again and just activating using the eBay key. Don’t really need the WMC anyway.
July 4, 2017 at 10:32 am #9884
The Duke
Participant
@sgb101
Forumite Points: 5
Personally I dont like 8, but do think if that is the way they (ms) wanted to go, they should of done it gradually. And forked it, a pro version, and a free home metro version.
Author

Posts

Viewing 12 posts - 1 through 12 (of 12 total)

You must be logged in to reply to this topic.