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I'm repairing an Acer Aspire V5 571p laptop for my roommates. They bought it off some dude on Kijiji. To make a long and not very interesting story short, I could not access the BIOS, so about an hour ago as of posting this I removed the CMOS battery in order to reset the BIOS.

Then I remembered that Windows 8 product keys are encrypted in the BIOS. Yet I also remember reading that OEM product keys are now tied to the motherboard.

So, when I finally go to reinstall Windows 8, will I be able to retrieve the OEM product key?

TheTechInYourCloset
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1 Answers1

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The OA 3.0 product key is now embedded in the MSDM table in the UEFI and won't be wiped with a simple CMOS reset. Use NirSoft's ProduKey or FirmwareTablesView to view and retrieve it.

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Windows 8.x should automatically detect the key and activate. Just in case it doesn't, phone-based activation should sort any issues out quickly.

Karan
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  • In answer to your queries: 1) Win8 ISO is available using [this tool](http://superuser.com/a/747579/138343). Can be booted from only if you change boot order in BIOS. 2) You can run something like [this](http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/CmosPwd) from a Windows or Linux LiveCD/USB to unlock the BIOS, but again the problem is of boot order. Removing the CMOS battery or checking the laptop manual for ways to reset the BIOS by shorting pins/using jumpers on the motherboard would be your last resort. – Karan May 18 '15 at 08:15
  • Wait, just thought of another possible solution. 3) You can try installing Win8 on the HDD while it's connected to a different laptop, then sysprep it and put it back. Sysprep would be required because the laptop hardware would be different. Also, that 7-character hint you're seeing is for the Acer master password, but I don't think the algorithm for it has been reverse engineered yet as it has been for [others](http://dogber1.blogspot.com/2009/05/table-of-reverse-engineered-bios.html). – Karan May 18 '15 at 08:25
  • OEM keys issued by PC manufacturers will not activate, they need to be an integral part of the factory restore discs for them to work. They are volume license keys tied to the bios with a certificate, they will not activate on a reinstall from non factory discs. – Moab May 19 '15 at 23:22
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    @Moab: Funny, I've done just that with multiple Win8 laptops. All came with crapware pre-installed and so I used a retail DVD (and on occasion an MSDN ISO burnt to disc/USB) to install a clean version and each time it activated fine. Only once I had to use phone activation but that might have been for other reasons, such as the activation limit having been reached on that particular laptop. On all the rest though, no problems at all. – Karan May 19 '15 at 23:27
  • @Moab: I've also used the MS [Media Creation Tool](http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/create-reset-refresh-media) to download and burn a clean ISO, and that activated too on both OEM desktops and laptops. Mind explaining how, if according to you only factory discs should work? – Karan May 19 '15 at 23:32
  • Maybe it changed for W8, It would never work for W7 for me, since they are Volume License Keys, they would never activate on Dell or HP products, always had to use the key from the sticker. Maybe my bad luck. – Moab May 19 '15 at 23:42
  • @Moab: No COA keys any more for Win8 as you well know. BTW for the same reasons (clean install) I have done the exact same with Acer, Asus, Sony, Samsung and Lenovo Win7 laptops (matter of fact am using one right now to post) and they activated too after installing from a USB stick with ei.cfg deleted. Dell and HP might be doing something different though, I have no idea. I don't think my answer merits a downvote though. – Karan May 20 '15 at 00:58
  • Edit your answer so I can upvote. – Moab May 20 '15 at 15:05
  • @Moab: Edited it slightly. – Karan May 20 '15 at 17:40
  • There's also this GitHub repo: https://github.com/christian-korneck/get_win8key –  May 20 '15 at 18:24