Looking for Windows 8 license or serial number for my new HP Notebook before setting up the OS

[numetro]

Holy mostly relevant and some irrelevant facts Batman!   Thanks!... really, thanks.

All of Dell's information also told me and millions of other people that there was no way in Seattle, or anyplace else, that Windows 7 could ever be installed on a Dell Inspiron desktop computer manufactured in 2006, and that's also what Microsoft's info said, but lo and behold, when talking to Microsoft techs in India, and following the advice of "Ashish", who's name was repeatedly corrected to "Hashish" by my spell check, Windows 7 works just fine with no registry edits on that computer, and Ashish was the MS tech manager who generously sent me not just one, but two copies of Windows 7 Ultimate, because the first one kept crashing upon installation and erroneously giving us a "bad installer disc" error message number.

Later, when the second copy of Windows 7 Ultimate sent to me also kept crashing upon attempted installation, finally an angry Indian woman on the MS tech support phone line one night at 3:30 am PST told me that if I was getting repeated blue screen crashes during an attempted OS installation, that I must have defective RAM in that machine... and after running the built-in Dell hardware test on my RAM, that was exactly the problem.

Yes, the factory RAM that came in that machine from Dell had been defective all along.  And along with a complete programming botch-job like Windows Vista, the two of those things gave first my mother, then me who inherited that computer, endless grief before all was resolved.

After paying 80 bucks for some new RAM, and cursing at the little RAM sticks that were taken out, Windows 7 Ultimate installed flawlessly.

Then I had a 2nd, free Windows 7 Ultimate installer to give to my nephew, who had also been saddled with a Dell laptop that had the dreaded Windows Vista on it, and now he's 1000% happier because he is no longer plagued with that digital suppository of an operating system known as "Vista"... see the video linked below if you haven't already seen anything of this British TV show...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yi_2020LJQo

As for Meg Whitman, it seems that she hasn't been any better for HP customers than get-around-girl, Carly Fiorina, and Whitman wasn't any more successful politically, since, during the same election cycle, I think, she lost the California Governor's race to the much better, far more honest, infinitely more well qualified candidate, Jerry Brown... praise Jezus!

So, as in case of the filthy-rich, politician wannabes, Fiorina and Whitman, it appears that money can't buy everything, thank goodness.

It'll take me a day or two to decipher everything else you've last posted, lasvegaswireman, so I'll thank you again in advance for all of that.

Kudos!

numetro

[OsbourneVernonL]

Sorry about that I must have miss read your post but I do believe if you just google hp sales and navigate through the site you should be able to find a contact number. Didn't you have any luck at all with the support center?

[numetro]

Hi OsbornVernonL,

That's okay... most people who answer questions on forums don't correctly read the question they are answering.

But did you read any of the replies from lasvegaswireguy on this thread?   Oh wait, never mind on that question... your first sentence in your last post answers that question.

lasvegaswireguy says, five posts back, that there is no way in H-E double toothpicks that either HP nor Microsoft will ever provide me with my own Windows 8.1 license number...

QUOTE:

"Again, all OEM computer manufacturers are required by Microsoft to encrypt the Windows 8/8.1 product key and embedded it in the BIOS/CMOS. With the requirement to put the Windows product key in the BIOS/CMOS, Microsoft no longer provides a Microsoft COA that contains the product key. Please see Microsoft Community - No COA for OEM version of Windows 8 !!!

Again, unless the computer came with Windows 8.1 Pro, it doesn't have Microsoft Downgrade Rights and Microsoft isn't going to trade you Windows 7... PERIOD.

You can't read the Windows 8.1 product key, as it is encrypted and embedded in the BIOS/CMOS of your computer. Window 8.1 OEM that came with your computer can read the information and use it to activate the Windows license. That is it... end of story... nothing else... nothing and no one will be able to extract the key for you and Microsoft isn't going to provide you with a free copy of Windows 7."

UNQUOTE

I think lasvegaswireguy's use of "Again" , "PERIOD" and "end of story"  stresses his undying confidence that he's right in pounding in to me that I will never, ever get my Windows 8.1 license number, nor will I ever get MS to swap an unused Windows 8.1 pre-install for a copy of Windows 7, though I debunked that assumption of his... after all, three repeated uses of cliches always really drives a point home for me.   :^p

As for your question about whether I had any luck with support center, if you mean the HP phone tech support center that I talked about before... are you kidding?   Let me answer that question by quoting myself with what I replied to you with in my third post on this thread...

QUOTE:

"It's despicable, after waiting an hour on the line for HP phone tech support, that no one ever answered, and I suspect that I could wait until my bowels explode for them to answer, and after two days or more of waiting, I'd probably still be listening to their insipid promo recording over and over."

UNQUOTE

Do you think, after that experience, that I'd ever fall for that fake HP tech support phone number again?... and adding additional insult to an already insipid recording to listen to 1500 plus times, the whining biotch on the promo recording that plays repeatedly spouts a HP URL that is a dead and she redundantly encourages me to go there?  Sorry, I may be a glutten for punishment, or if I'm not on my wheat free diet, a gluten for punishment, but I'm not stupid.

Of course, that "until my bowels explode"  thing would only apply if I'm on a wired land line telephone and the curly cord doesn't reach to the potty room... and I think it's really bad etiquette, and totally unsanitary, to use one's cell phone or a wireless land line phone while on the toilet.

For any further directives on where your questions can be answered previous to the post where you asked them, please refer to this entire thread.

Thanks,

numetro 

[numetro]

Oh joy!  I just got an email notice from this HP forum telling me...

QUOTE:

"numetro, Congratulations on becoming a "Tutor" in our community! Thanks for your participation in the HP Support Forum, keep the conversation going!"

UNQUOTE

So, for these posts of mine, I've been promoted to "Tutor" ?!   Well, I guess that's what they called me at the chili eating competition, so why not?

Could this have anything to do with the reason why OsbornVernonL, who misreads questions and then answers his misinterpretations, got promoted to "Teacher"  on this forum?.. ah, tenure.

I love internet forums.

[OsbourneVernonL]

---

@numetro wrote:

Oh joy!  I just got an email notice from this HP forum telling me...

QUOTE:

"numetro, Congratulations on becoming a "Tutor" in our community! Thanks for your participation in the HP Support Forum, keep the conversation going!"

UNQUOTE

So, for these posts of mine, I've been promoted to "Tutor" ?!   Well, I guess that's what they called me at the chili eating competition, so why not?

Could this have anything to do with the reason why OsbornVernonL, who misreads questions and then answers his misinterpretations, got promoted to "Teacher"  on this forum?.. ah, tenure.

I love internet forums.

---

Sir

Im not sure in which direction your going with that last comment but but to make things clear on where I stand with this hole status thing on forums I really couldnt give two clicks about it, what i can tell you is that i a just a regular person and and i sometimes do make mistakes and or errors and when i do such things I would gladly offer my apologies and admit my that i was wrong no use harping on it any longer.

[numetro]

Sorry OsbourneVernonL,

I just like to find the humor contained in conversations on internet forums... no harm meant.

The next time someone like me smarts-off to you on an internet forum, may I suggest you give them "The Osbourne Ultimatum",  similar to Matt Damon, linked below, and then tell them to go get stuffed...

The Bourne Ultimatum

Thanks again,

numetro

[numetro]

Am I correct in interpreting that this laptop does not have built-in Bluetooth support?

http://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c04336100

Thanks,

numetro

[Futoji]

Hi,

Yes you are correct.

[numetro]

Okay, HP Support Agent... thanks.

But now, since I've decided to use the Windows 8.1 on this computer after advice from a tech guru friend of mine, there are several complications with making the badly needed recovery drive since HP and Microsoft have decided to deprive us of the Windows OS disks that they used to include.

To make the Recovery drive, I go through the Control Panel, then to "Recovery", then to "Set up a Recovery Drive", with a 16 gig USB flash drive (size recommended by my tech guru friend) plugged in and visible in the "This PC" window, and the Recovery software then tells me that I need at least a 32 gig drive.

I've only installed Google Chrome and iTunes so far... it must be all the extra software that the factory install includes... I haven't installed any of the Windows apps.

I have the box checked for "Copy the recovery partition from the PC to the recovery drive"  selected, then it scans for the drive, the it says "Connect a USB flash drive"  in big letters, then it says in small letters "The drive must be able to hold at least 32 GB, and everything on the drive will be deleted.".

If I uncheck the box for "Copy the recovery partition from the PC to the recovery drive", it then scans and then says "Select the USB flash drive" in big letters, and then in small letters it says, "The drive must be able to hold at least 512 MB, and everything on the drive will be deleted"... then, unlike it does if I had the box checked, it shows the "Available drive(s)"  showing my USB flash drive as "F:\ (USB20FD)"... but this is not the way the instructions, or my guru friend, say to do this.

I'm waiting to see if my guru friend is able to email me back today about these nutty problems.

So can I do it that way?... it seems if I'm not doing it from the recovery drive, it only needs 512 MB... what is the difference here?... is doing it from the main drive with only 512 Megabytes needed that way, without the box checked, going to get this done correctly?... do you know anything about doing it without the box checked?

****If not, and I have to do it with the box checked to select "Copy the recovery partition from the PC to the recovery drive" , what I'm wondering is, why doesn't it show my USB flash drive as "Available drive(s)"  when I have the box check for "Copy the recovery partition from the PC to the recovery drive" , the way it does when I don't have that box checked... it doesn't say that when I have that box checked, and it says, "Connect a USB flash drive"  instead of "Select the USB flash drive"  when I don't have that box checked.  

Also, when I don't have the box checked, it gives me the "Next"  button, but I don't want to go ahead and do it that way if that isn't the right way to do it, and it only gives you ONE chance to make yourself a recovery drive.

And now, since it says it needs 32 gigs, and the USB flash drives seem to actually have more than one GB less than they say they do (my 16 gig USB flash drive shows up as having 14.9 gigs)  then I'll need to get a 64 gig USB flash drive to truely have 32 gigs available to replace the 16 gig one that I bought if I'm going to do this from the Recovery drive, the way the instructions say to do it.

I priced them last night, and the very cheapest 64 gig thumb drive is about $30, so if Wallymart has one that size that cheap in stock, I'll need to exchange it for the $13, 16 gig USB flash drive that I already bought and opened.  When I priced them online, the 64 gig USB flash drives ranged from $30 to over $120... don't know why they vary so much in price.

This is just nuts for something that should be included with the computer itself... so I'm looking at a minimum of $30 plus tax for this, and that's if I can get a 64 gig USB flash drive for only $30... will probably have to pay more.

If I have to go the 32 gig route with the box checked, I sure hope it sees my 64 gig USB flash drive when I plug that in and I have the "Copy the recovery partition from the PC to the recovery drive" box checked.

I think the pooch's booty is hurting really bad now.

Thanks,

numetro

[Futoji]

Hi,

To address your issues and questions with the recovery media, I have a couple of documents that should help.

Right now it appears that you're using Windows to create the media, here is their document: Create a USB recovery drive.

If that isn't working for you, then you can try another way.

Creating a Recovery Image on Discs or Saving a Recovery Image to a USB Flash Drive (Windows 😎

The above document will have you use the Recovery Manager to create the media. This is also HP's recommended method.

I hope this helps in some way.