Windows 10: Building a new PC, can I use my Win 8.1 key to activate Win 10?

I have this PC I am using right now and has Windows 8.1 installed, but I am giving that PC away to my sister and I am building a new PC in a week and I am wondering if I HAVE to buy Windows 10, or if I can use my Windows 8.1 key even tho it is in use.

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:)

 

Win 10 not activating with Win 8 key? Should this work?

So the story goes; my motherboard gave up the ghost on my old system so I have basically built a new system. I installed Win 8.1 pro on it as this is what I was previously using and quickly realised that my new hardware did not support earlier than Win 10. I had no internet access so I used an old laptop to get a USB bootable of Win 10 pro.

When I installed Win 10 pro it accepted my key for Win 8 Pro and let me sign in with my live ID. It has now come up though saying it needs activation. Activation error 0xC004F050. Is there anyway that I can get this to activate without having to go back to Win 8.1 and upgrading to Win 10? I have already installed everything and got it nearly just the way I like it. Would really suck to have to go all the way back to a fresh install again.

Just to be clear I have a genuine working key for Win 8 pro.

Any suggestions please?

 

Win 10 Pro upgrade using Win 8 Pro product key

I just bought a new computer running Win 10 Home. When I went to upgrade to Win 10 Pro using my Win 8 Pro product key from my old computer, the upgrade wouldn't activate.

Now I'm stuck with a bunch of error messages (mainly 0xC004C003) and am being told windows isn't activated. I can't seem to get my activated Win 10 Home back.

I don't have a product key for the Win 10 Home because it came pre-installed. There's no product code recorded on the packaging or labelling on the device.

So:

How do I either

• activate the Win Pro upgrade, or
• Get my activated Win 10 home back?

 

Unable to Activate Win 8

I got Win 8 isntalled on my file server, but I am unable to activate it with the key. Says the key is invalid. Since I work at microsoft I got a retail version from the employee store. I have been doing some reading, and to be able to activate Win8 with the key there needs to be a previous version of Windows installed for it to work. WTF, so you can't do clean installs?

And the box says nothing about Upgrade version. Straight Windows 8 Pro.