Windows 8.1 Product Key and Activation

Read my comments before yours, and in fact you need to go through the whole of the list. Basically yet again I reiterate you have to upgrade through the original supplier. Exactly the reasons I do not get a machine of the shelf.

That product key you "found all over the web" is just the generic install key for the Windows 8.1 download from Microsoft.    You needed to grab the OEM Windows 8 key from your HP computer internals ahead of the upgrade.  You should still be able to recover it from the BIOS chip.

I believe the accepted solution is to just call Microsoft.

About a week ago, I downloaded Windows 8.1 from MS Store. This was an upgrade for Windows 8 which came installed on my new HP PC.

The download was successful and Win 8.1 installed. However, Win 8.1 did not get activated and I keep getting a reminder screen to Activate Win 8.1.

This Activate Screen asks me to enter a Product Key. It gives me an error code of 0xc004c003 which states that the activation server has blocked my product key. It also gives the last five(5) characters of the blocked product key.

Well, I never entered a product key during the upgrade so I'm not sure where the product key came from.

I did a web search for the last five characters of the product key and it appears to be all over the web.

I used an application that showed the last fifteen(15) characters of the product key in my PC for Win 8.1 and they match the product key that I found all over the web.

It's no wonder that MS has blocked this key.

My question is. How do I activate Windows 8.1 since I have no product key.  MS Store did not provide a key with the download.

Dennis J. Ferrier

I went through this with my daughters  machine. The thing is you have to get the upgrade from HP. They have the update and the code you have is from them. I suggest that you contact HP and aske them what to do. As it was a long time ago I did this with my daughters machine i cannot remember how. However the good news is that it was not that long to do it as I only spend about 3 days at a time with her and that is not spent looking at screens!

  Amongst other reasons, this is one that I now build my own machines. If you buy the bits and say a MOBO from a dealer who sets up the board, a very good quality PSU and a good hard drive you can stick the lot in an old computer case along with the software of choice and normally that will be good for a long time. For example, the case my 10 is in is 12 years old, my 7 is in an 8 years old and so on.

  however, update thru HP and your problem should be solved.

@ MacHesney -- That would be why, on March 18, 2017, I asked (at the end of my reply to somchai yang) : "why did you just copy an earlier posting/reply word-for-word?"  *grin*