OEM Win 8 versions

WTFH

50Twuncle wrote: »

What about OEM editions - do they not differentiate any more ?

Do you understand what OEM is?

When it's installed and running on a computer:
There is no difference between Windows 8.1 and Windows 8.1OEM. There is no difference between Windows 8.1 Pro and Windows 8.1 Pro OEM.
There is no difference between Windows 8.1 Enterprise and Windows 8.1 Enterprise OEM.

The difference between OEM and what a shop sells is just that - OEM is installed by the computer manufacturer. Retail versions are what you buy in a shop. But whether you have a retail or an OEM version is irrelevant, your version is NOT Windows 8 Pro or Windows 8.1 Pro, therefore you cannot downgrade to Windows 7 Pro or Vista Business.

WTFH

Can you see this screenshot?

BTW, "obtaining product keys from another source" sounds slightly illegal.

50Twuncle

Yes I am aware what OEM means - it tends to mean that an installation comes with all sorts of unwanted add-ons - such as games and utilities.


In the past - MS always used to differentiate between OEM and Retail licences - and I was unaware that this had changed.

50Twuncle

WTFH wrote: »

Can you see this screenshot?

BTW, "obtaining product keys from another source" sounds slightly illegal.

Yes I can and no it is not illegal - it is through work !!

WTFH

50Twuncle wrote: »

Yes I can and no it is not illegal - it is through work !!

If it's through work and your computer is not a work one, then it pretty much is illegal.

All the "unwanted" things in the OEM are in the Retail version too, there's no difference and there hasn't been at least for the last decade or more. Also, some of the utilities you consider as "unwanted" are actually very useful.
What I'm saying is, it's worth while understanding what you are doing and why you are doing it before proceeding. Taking advice from people with up-to-date knowledge is important. Ignoring that advice means you end up needing their help and generosity again.

50Twuncle

WTFH wrote: »

If it's through work and your computer is not a work one, then it pretty much is illegal.

All the "unwanted" things in the OEM are in the Retail version too, there's no difference and there hasn't been at least for the last decade or more. Also, some of the utilities you consider as "unwanted" are actually very useful.
What I'm saying is, it's worth while understanding what you are doing and why you are doing it before proceeding. Taking advice from people with up-to-date knowledge is important. Ignoring that advice means you end up needing their help and generosity again.

Thanks - but I am allowed a single Windows installation - for my personal use for free !!!
This seems my best (only) option at the moment
Some utilities are useful but many are not
Skype for example

NiftyDigits

Just back in town...

So...let's have a look. Looks as if you could have fun with that laptop. Did you do any research before you splashed out?

First you should create a Recovery Disc. Then you should roll back to Windows 8 via a Factory Restore if possible. Next, you should back up your Windows 8 activation using the Advanced Tokens Manager

Then in order to boot up and install Windows 7, you'll need to:

Press the F2 key when turning on the notebook so that you end up in the bios. Go to "Boot" and set "Launch CSM" to Enabled. Switch to the "Security" and set "Secure Boot Control" to Disable. Press F10 to save the settings and exit. The bios off Press ESC key so you end up with the boot menu when laptop restarts.

Once you reach that stage, let me know before you actually try to boot up and install Windows 7.

NiftyDigits

You'll need a 16GB USB Flash drive for the Recovery media.

If you haven't worked out how to do so, look here

If you don't understand how to do something, just ask.

NiftyDigits

It appears that your inability to understand the problem is ongoing.

Even if you managed to download the Windows 8 image, you could come unstuck with a key mismatch and then be back here again blaming Microsoft/ASUS...in fact everyone but yourself.

You need to identify what you have installed to your machine.

To do so, run Command Prompt as Administrator and type in:slmgr.vbs /dlv then hit the ENTER key.

kwikbreaks

You seem to be putting yourself to an awful lot of trouble to avoid a pretty minor annoyance. After I took the 8.1 upgrade the other day it seemed to have stopped classicshell from working. In fact I thought that MS had disabled it. I tried to reinstall it and was offered the option to repair the installation which I took. It's all back working again just fine and I virtually never see the hated start screen.

Modernmix seems to not be working properly for me as the store keeps appearing and the window is corrupted. I may just uninstall it as I virtually never use any of the apps anyway.