Are HP 8.1 discs the same as Microsoft?

[AmateurBook]

My laptop came with 7 and 8 discs. I would like to cut to the chase and install 8.1 without installing 8, updating, and adding the 8.1 update. I have an 8.1 disc that I downloaded from microsoft.com which works fine. With Microsoft discs I need an activation code, but HP discs never need one, so I assume it is read from BIOS. Can I use my Microsoft disc to install 8.1 on my laptop or will the licensing be a problem?

P.S. I previously changed from HDD to SSD, so using the recovery partition is a non-starter.

[IT_WinSec · Accepted solution]

Hello @AmateurBook

Thank you for posting in the HP Support forum.

No.

You should use your HP discs - they contain OEM type (OEM licensing) of Windows 8.1

The one that you downloaded from Microsoft's web site are for FPP licensing (full product package), these are not OEM and might not activate properly with code from BIOS.

I recommend you use the official HP recovery media to avoid issues and save time. For faster upgrade you may take a look at these:

>> https://www.extremetech.com/computing/178091-how-to-download-and-install-windows-8-1-update-1-for-fr...

>> http://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c03847367

Hope this answers your question and helps. Don't hesitate to post again if any issues.

[AmateurBook]

Thanks for the prompt answer. Yeah, I thought I wouldn't be able to use anything other than an HP disc, but I just had to ask.