windows 8.1 activation issues

[jawb]

Had a very long wait to get through to PCS support.

So far six different agents have been involved and it is rather tedious having to explain the position every time I speak to a new person.

Nobody so far has found a solution to the problem, but I am waiting a call back, so I live in hope.

The MS support line was hopeless and quite obstructive really.

Nevertheless, there is an option to buy a key from them and I suppose ask PCS to reimburse me. However, that would only be a last resort and I have no confidence that the key would work after all this.

 

[jawb]

It now appears, as suggested I think by Antcol that the DVD supplied with my pc is the wrong version of windows!

The version on the pc is 8.1 pro and the DVD we have been trying to activate is just 8.1, so there is a mismatch causing the activation to fail.

The support agent has expressed sincere apologies for the shipping error.

I am to receive a link so that I can download the right version for my pc and perform a fresh install.

I will post here to let anyone who is interested know the outcome.

 

[Distinct]

Once again as I said on the phone Jawb I am very sorry you had to speak to so many people and then finally me to get answer to this issue - do note the link we give you will be one of our personal one drives so don't share the link!

PS - give me rep for being the best at fixing stuff.

But really Jawb - sorry!

 

[jawb]

Once again as I said on the phone Jawb I am very sorry you had to speak to so many people and then finally me to get answer to this issue - do note the link we give you will be one of our personal one drives so don't share the link!

PS - give me rep for being the best at fixing stuff.

But really Jawb - sorry!

Everyone involved made a sincere effort to resolve the problem, but it appears that Sean's attention to basic problem solving methodology has come up with the solution.

The OEM discs themselves are not labelled in a manner that makes it easy to identify exactly what version of windows they contain. Unless you can boot the pc it might not be apparent what version is installed. The PCS user manual still refers to a windows serial number label on the pc case that is no longer used. There is little information about the way the activation process works - it is supposed to be automatic now, but there is much room for confusion with different versions of windows behaving in different ways.

So there is plenty of scope for wasting time solving the wrong problem.

Nevertheless I am grateful for the input of all at PCS and here who have given it their attention.

I hope to be able to report a successful resolution tomorrow.

 

[ubuysa]

Once again as I said on the phone Jawb I am very sorry you had to speak to so many people and then finally me to get answer to this issue - do note the link we give you will be one of our personal one drives so don't share the link!

PS - give me rep for being the best at fixing stuff.

But really Jawb - sorry!

I think Antcol deserves the +rep, he spotted the problem straight away. Microsoft support deserve serious -rep, they should have been able to tell that the installation id was for a different version of Windows 8.1.

I did think this was the issue as i have come across this as the key will only activate with the right version of Windows.

It is a pain in the butt that the key is embedded in the Bios and no sticker on the case. All PCs / Laptops should have a sticker on them saying which version of Win 8.1 is loaded. At least then if you cannot get into windows you will know which DVD etc to use for installation!

Nice catch!

I agree with you that not having the key (and the version of Windows it belongs to) in human readable form is a mistake.

Everyone involved made a sincere effort to resolve the problem, but it appears that Sean's attention to basic problem solving methodology has come up with the solution.

The OEM discs themselves are not labelled in a manner that makes it easy to identify exactly what version of windows they contain. Unless you can boot the pc it might not be apparent what version is installed. The PCS user manual still refers to a windows serial number label on the pc case that is no longer used. There is little information about the way the activation process works - it is supposed to be automatic now, but there is much room for confusion with different versions of windows behaving in different ways.

So there is plenty of scope for wasting time solving the wrong problem.

Nevertheless I am grateful for the input of all at PCS and here who have given it their attention.

I hope to be able to report a successful resolution tomorrow.

Hopefully your problem will result in a modification to PCS's packaging procedures to ensure that the right DVD goes in the box. It's an easy mistake to make, though it has caused you some considerable grief. I'm surprised it took PCS so long to identify the real problem and I don't think anyone at PCS should be proud of themselves for finding it, because it should not have happened in the first place.

We often get people complaining on here and asking for compensation. To your credit you have not. This is clearly a case where a PCS error has caused a customer some serious time and effort to get resolved. I really hope they recompense you in some way.

 

[jawb]

Once again as I said on the phone Jawb I am very sorry you had to speak to so many people and then finally me to get answer to this issue - do note the link we give you will be one of our personal one drives so don't share the link!

PS - give me rep for being the best at fixing stuff.

But really Jawb - sorry!

Still waiting for the link.

 

[jawb]

Sorry to ask but what are +rep and -rep ?

 

[Rakk]

Sorry to ask but what are +rep and -rep ?

You can give people rep by clicking on the little * symbol in the left of the footer of each post, you can give rep to people you believe have been helpful, if people have high rep scores they've probably made quite a few useful posts
You can see a persons rep score under their post count when they post.

 

[jawb]

I have received the link for the download

 

[jawb]

I burnt the iso image to a DVD and completed the installation from it without any issues, other than having to delete the existing partitions on the drives.

I was not asked to input any activation key and windows was activated automatically from the BIOS.

So it was as simple as that - the wrong version of windows which led to several days of grief for me.

I hope that it is a salutary lesson for all.

Many thanks for all the comments and offers of advice.

 

[SpyderTracks]

I burnt the iso image to a DVD and completed the installation from it without any issues, other than having to delete the existing partitions on the drives.

I was not asked to input any activation key and windows was activated automatically from the BIOS.

So it was as simple as that - the wrong version of windows which led to several days of grief for me.

I hope that it is a salutary lesson for all.

Many thanks for all the comments and offers of advice.

Really glad it's sorted and I'm sure PCS will put in place new ways to stop this happening again. Just glad it's working for you now.

 

[ubuysa]

I burnt the iso image to a DVD and completed the installation from it without any issues, other than having to delete the existing partitions on the drives.

I was not asked to input any activation key and windows was activated automatically from the BIOS.

So it was as simple as that - the wrong version of windows which led to several days of grief for me.

I hope that it is a salutary lesson for all.

Many thanks for all the comments and offers of advice.

Great news, very glad it's sorted!

Really glad it's sorted and I'm sure PCS will put in place new ways to stop this happening again. Just glad it's working for you now.

Mistakes happen, that's how we learn. I'm pretty sure PCS will have made certain that it won't happen again.....