The following procedure will help you installing Windows 8 Professional without Product Key.
Microsoft wants the users to apply a valid product key prior to installing Windows 8 Professional on to their systems. Moreover, there is not even the 30 day trial period which is usually offered by Microsoft for most beta or preview versions. However, some folks do not want to purchase the operating system before testing it, especially when it is known that there still exists certain glitches in Windows 8 and it might take a few more releases before reaching a fully stable state.
In such a case, when you want Windows 8 on your system just for the testing purpose, you might want to install it without the product key. However, that is not very simple.
You would need to follow a step by step procedure in order to let that happen.
Go through this guide to install Windows 8 Professional without the need of any product key. However, keep in mind that you would not be able to use this copy of Windows 8 Professional forever. Rather, you would be to use it for around 30 days.
Firstly, you would need to make a bootable USB that contains Windows 8 Professional. There are softwares available in the market which would help you to complete this task. This software could be downloaded for free.
However, you must have the ISO file of Windows 8 Professional either in your computer or in your friend’s computer. This ISO file would be named as either en_windows_8_x86_dvd_915417.iso oren_windows_8_x64_dvd_915440.iso, depending upon whether you have chosen to install the 64 bit version or the 32 bit version, respectively.
Next, create a notepad file in the USB flash driver’s:Sourcesfolder. Make sure that you do this step right.
In the text file, you would have to write the following text as-it-is:
[Edition ID]
Professional
[Channel]
Retail
[VL]
0
After you have written this, save the file by the name “ei.cfg” and save it as the “All files” type. You can also avail this text file from the internet for free.
Remember, you would need to mention the word “professional” below the Edition ID so that Professional version of Windows 8 gets installed, otherwise, it might install the Core version.
Once you have done this, you would have to regenerate ISO file of the operating system. You would need to make a folder named Win8Temp in the C drive of the system so that this file could be hold by that folder.
Download the Deployment and Imaging Tools and install it on your system. Now, from start screen, search for this utility to run the command prompt.
Now you would have to execute this command:
Oscdimg.exe – IcustomWin8 – m – u2 – bC:Win8ISObootetfsboot.com C:Win8ISO C:Win8Tempwin8.iso.
Now, you would need to mount the USB flash driver and install the Windows 8 Professional just like any other operating system. When the screen for entering the product key would appear, you would see an option to skip the same. Skip it and you are done.
This procedure to install Windows 8 could be applied to three versions of Windows 8 RTM, which have been released recently – Windows 8 Enterprise, Windows 8 Core and Windows 8 Pro.
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