How do I find the product key for Windows 8.1

No it dont 8.1 says you need to buy a key for $100

I bought Windows 8 and upgraded my Windows 7 installation . This is a homemade machine I built myself .

   I then did the Store update to Windows 8.1

   I then proceeded to have nothing BUT problems with Windows 8.1 culminating with me needing to  do a refresh or reset ....... which it would NOT let me do because I didn't have a Windows 8.1 key. ( And no I didn't create a system recovery image ..... because that was the one major issue I was having , that it wouldn't let me create a system recovery image !) .

    Something in the update to Windows 8.1 is breaking MANY systems out there , not just homebrewed systems , but many corporate systems as well . I know that at my wifes workplace , IT has told everyone that if they update their own machines to Windows 8.1 , they will be terminated on the spot . Apparently someone found a way around the corporate policies to update to 8.1 and has cost their IT department 100's of hours of work over the last week alone . They have to force out a generic backup of the users drive then install whatever software that particular user was supposed to have . ( Their IT department is understaffed and most are still in school getting degrees so best policies are not in effect ).

The point is , Microsoft needs to find a way to mark a Windows 8.1 key as associated with a Windows 8 key so that if a user updates to Windows 8.1 from Windows 8 through the store , that if something does go wrong , they have SOME way of remediating the issue without having to reinstall Windows 8 from scratch .

   In my case , since it was an upgrade , that means I would have to install Windows 7 first , then Windows 8 , then update to Windows 8.1. Since I have ran into this issue ( and have backup software ) . I have made a raw image of Windows 8 , so if my next attempt to update to Windows 8.1 goes south ( which I am almost certain it will ) , restoring my computer to Windows 8 will be a breeze.

   I am NOT the standard Windows user though ! Most people don't know to shell out money for something like Acronis backup software , or to make multiple backup images of OS's across multiple media "just in case".

there is a downloadable executable, WindowsSetupBox, that can be used to create an ISO image if you have an 8.1 product key.

This is the only way to get it free. Once you have install Windows 8.1, create a recovery Partition and then a recovery drive and use this to recover, or refresh. Hope this helps and if you need further assistance post and we will be glad to assist you.

The above opinion is mine and mine alone and doesn't necessarily reflect that of Microsoft, it's employees, or any other member of this forum.

"When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe." -John Muir

The problem this is causing us is that to do any repair or recovery you need installation media.  To create a recovery DVD or thumb drive, you have to have a Windows 8.1 product key,  Since none was provided as part of the free download, the question is: How do we obtain a key? I suppose we could contact Microsoft Support when we have a problem but that would be unnecessary if we had a key.