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  1. Member tmelo38's Avatar
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    Hello members,

    I have a question about activating Windows 8, here goes:

    can a Windows 8 Pro Retail activation key be used to activate a Windows 8 Pro OEM version?

    My Lenovo Thinkpad W530 originally came with Windows 7 Pro installed and I bought a Lenovo Windows 8 Pro Recovery Media disc set and was wondering if it will activate using the retail key.

    Any help will be appreciated.

    Thanks
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  2. Member
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    Originally Posted by tmelo38 View Post
    Hello members,

    I have a question about activating Windows 8, here goes:

    can a Windows 8 Pro Retail activation key be used to activate a Windows 8 Pro OEM version?

    My Lenovo Thinkpad W530 originally came with Windows 7 Pro installed and I bought a Lenovo Windows 8 Pro Recovery Media disc set and was wondering if it will activate using the retail key.

    Any help will be appreciated.

    Thanks
    No. You might be able to use the retail key temporarily to install Windows 8, but it won't activate unless you installed Windows 8 from a retail disc. Microsoft can determine that you installed an OEM version and not a retail version.

    If you bought the OEM Lenovo Windows 8 Pro Recovery Media directly from Lenovo as an upgrade for your individual laptop, you might try contacting Lenovo support for installation instructions.
    Last edited by usually_quiet; 13th Jun 2014 at 12:12. Reason: correction
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  3. Member tmelo38's Avatar
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    Thank you for you help, usually_quiet.
    I will contact Lenovo's customer service.
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  4. Member
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    Originally Posted by tmelo38 View Post
    Thank you for you help, usually_quiet.
    I will contact Lenovo's customer service.
    Just for fun I did a search using Google and found this link: http://download.lenovo.com/pccbbs/options/win8_method1_en.pdf
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