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Window 8 OEM Activation

Have OEM copy of Window 8.1 installed on new machine. Used WDS Server to reimage the machine after the reimage the OEM Key is no longer activating the copy of windows.

(The machine was not shipped with a physical OEM key as Window 8 OEM Keys are embedded in the motherboard during manufacture configuration.)

Neil Russell

You cannot use an OEM windows to deploy with WDS.

OEM is not licensed or supported in such an environment.

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McKnife

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Neil Russell

According to Microsoft...

"Re-imaging rights are a benefit granted to Microsoft Volume Licensing customers. Volume Licensing customers may re-image any software they have legal licenses for (including Microsoft OEM Software) using Volume Licensing media."

So ONLY if:

you have a volume license

You use Volume License media

So no, you can NOT reimage a COPY of your OEM drive legally. You can however create an image using a volume licensed copy of windows and image onto those OEM machines and be covered as you had an OEM license. (Legal variations by country)

TRSTeam

ASKER

I am not trying to Reimage several machines with a single OEM key. I want to Reimage machines then use the OEM key that is on the machine to activate it. I did not pull this image from a machine, use WDS to take the boot.wim and install.wim off a windows 8.1 disc.

Neil Russell

With OEM you do not have the legal right to install a different copy of Windows to the one that was supplied ON the computer. If it has a restore partition you may use that, if it has the capacity to create a set of restore DVD's you can use those.
What you can not do is just pick up a set of media, over write your disk and then use your original key to install a NON OEM version.

TRSTeam

ASKER

RWeverything worked, just what I needed.