How do I find the product key for Windows 8.1

Do you have a link to the process to make the recovery partition, and the the recovery drive?

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/create-usb-recovery-drive  Enjoy

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

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".

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