Not everyone perhaps knows that Windows is a paid operating system. Since up to Windows 7 and all previous versions it was rather easy to use Windows even without buying it, Microsoft, which sells Windows, has decided with Windows 8 to make attempts to pirate the operating system and use it without a license much more difficult.
And it is also for this reason, underestimated by many analysts, that the percentage of diffusion of Windows 8 in the world remains low and slow growing compared to Windows 7.
Microsoft has so tightened its policy of protecting Windows from piracy that the procedure to activate Windows is also quite difficult for those who buy it regularly.
The problem is not so much for those who buy Windows 8 and install it the first time, but for those who have to reinstall it, for those who have to do a new installation on a different PC or on the same PC after changing the disk or other hardware.
Windows 8 is deactivated after a hardware update of the PC, if therefore pieces have been changed such as the motherboard, the hard disk, the CPU or other system components.
In this case the Windows 8 license must be reactivated.
The same thing is required even if you are installing Windows 8 from scratch.
If you need to perform a fresh installation of Windows on the same PC or on a different computer, there are some options to activate Windows 8 .
Microsoft requires an online activation before making any functionality available to anyone using a Windows 8 PC.
On computers bought with Windows 8 already installed, a recovery disk containing the operating system must have been provided.
That OEM licensed version of Windows 8 cannot be installed on other PCs and will not work if you change the hardware of the purchased computer.
Conversely, normal copies of Windows 8, purchased separately in the store or online, can only be installed on one computer at a time.
Reactivating Windows requires a regularly purchased product key that is on the package or that has been received by email.
The Windows 8 license is different than the Windows 8.1 license so if you had bought Windows 8, you must reinstall the 8 first, activate the license and then upgrade to 8.1 afterwards.
You are allowed to update the PC hardware or install the Windows license on a new computer only after removing it from the previous computer.
How to activate Windows 8
To activate Windows 8 you need to go to the PC settings .
Then press the Windows + C keys or move the mouse to the right to open the sidebar and click first on Settings and then Change PC settings .
If Windows is not yet active you will immediately see a warning.
In PC and devices -> PC Info there is the product key and the button to activate Windows 8 online.
The same thing can be done from the Control Panel -> System screen
If an error prevents Windows from activating, additional information is provided that should be read carefully.
In another article I listed all the possible problems for activating the Windows 8.1 product key .
If you can't activate Windows online, you must call Microsoft and activate Windows by phone .
To see the number to call from Italy or from another country, press the Windows-R keys and run the slui 4 command.
At the toll-free number indicated by the activation procedure, the various automatic steps must be followed and the installation ID must be provided.
If necessary, you can also talk to a Microsoft operator who will ask you to provide all the information about it and then you can explain that you have changed your computer or have changed somewhere.
If you need to change the Windows product key, perhaps because you have upgraded with a new version, you can change the product key from the PC Info panel in PC Settings.
To do this first, use the " Windows-R " keys to open the Run dialog and run the slui 3 command by pressing Enter .
Enter the new product key and activate Windows normally afterwards.
If you want to activate an online upgrade and change version (for example Windows 8.1 Media Center Pack ) by opening just open the Control Panel and then go to System to find, under the Windows 8 Edition section, the blue link " Activate more features with a new edition of Windows 8 "
For the record, there are external programs that try to bypass Windows activation online but are not really recommended.
The problem with Windows 8 is that system updates always do a validity check making fraud attempts that were so easy with other versions very difficult.
READ ALSO: Download Windows 8.1: How to update or do a new installation
