Windows 8 PCs now keep their product keys in the BIOS, a move that offers both pros and cons.
In the past, a new Windows PC would display its product key on a sticker, usually on the side of a desktop and on the base or the bottom of the battery compartment on a laptop. But with Windows 8, Microsoft has switched gears and now stores the key as a BIOS setting instead.
A response to a question on Microsoft's Answers Web site confirmed the details earlier this month:
One of the improvements Microsoft is making to Activation 3.0 for newly built machines that come preloaded with Windows 8, you won't have a COA (Certificate of Authenticity) sticker attached to the machine anymore. Instead, this will be embedded in the BIOS. This will avoid product keys from being compromised and OEMs will buy what they need.
So if you need to reset or reinstall Windows 8, you don't need to hunt for the product key. It's automatically applied and activated. That's certainly a plus, especially when the numbers on those product key stickers wear out or are just too small to easily read.
Microsoft certainly benefits from this new activation process since a Windows 8 product key embedded on one PC seemingly can't be used on another.
But therein lies the problem for the user.
Let's say you own a new PC running the standard version of Windows 8. And you own a separate retail copy of Windows 8 Pro with its own product key. You then install Windows 8 Pro on your PC. Will Windows insist on using the embedded product key, or is there a workaround so you can manually enter the key that came with your Windows 8 Pro software.
Or, let's say your current Windows 8 PC dies and you want to install the OS on a different computer. How can you do that if the product key is locked to the dead PC?
A couple of people posed those same questions on the Microsoft Answers page but have yet to receive answers.
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