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**RichTech** · (This post was last modified: 02-07-2018, 07:14 PM by RichTech.)

A Windows 8.1 with Bing Product key is different than a windows 8.1 Home or Pro. Unless you have the original recovery disc, you will not be able to activate it. Furthermore, there is no way to create recovery media for for this specific version of 8.1 and even if you do get the key from the bios and type it in, windows won't accept it since it is not the same version that has been created.

As 64z said: "...its designed for low end machines as the manufacture gets it for free and has to leave the default browser as IE with bing as the default search engine...", there is hardly any difference whatsoever, for more info, check out this article created by HowToGeek.

To be honest this is a silly edition and the fact Microsoft doesn't allow you to create media is pointless as you will have to buy a new license unless you can find a way to get a recovery disc or activate it somehow Dodgy

What does everyone else think?

**Timster** · 02-07-2018, 11:47 PM

Haven't run across any Windows 8.1 computer yet that does not auto activate as long as the computer had the original 8.1 OS installed before. I also think a low end system has no business having Windows 8.1 installed on it. I guess we would need to know the definition of low end.

**GuiltySpark** · 02-08-2018, 11:23 AM

Those editions do re-activate I don't know who's saying they don't, but they do. They're not that unlike the Windows 7 N editions really, you always get bespoke editions.

**RichTech** · (This post was last modified: 02-08-2018, 05:26 PM by RichTech.)

(02-08-2018, 11:23 AM)GuiltySpark Wrote: Those editions do re-activate I don't know who's saying they don't, but they do. They're not that unlike the Windows 7 N editions really, you always get bespoke editions.

Well GS for some reason, a laptop I have that is preinstalled with windows 8.1 Bing doesn’t reactive. The problem I think is we can’t create media for Windows 8.1 Bing

**GuiltySpark** · 02-09-2018, 10:36 AM

You could check to see if a key is embedded in the BIOS;

RWeverything

Select ACPI, then MSDM tab a product key is shown at the bottom.

If no key is shown then they may not have embedded it into the BIOS.