Dell Inspiron Windows 8 Key

[Kevin Marujo]

I was surprised when Windows 10 was being uploaded last Thursday morning. I was still not sure about 10 and decided to stay with Windows 8 so I declined the upgrade. My Dell started to reload 8. I shut the system down and found out that my unit is now not working. I did not download the Windows 8 disk when I got my Dell and it is out of warranty. I have a friend that works with Dell and he gave me a recovery disk. I can now boot up to the advance options mode. However it will not recover as I am getting either a hard disk lock and or a disk partition error. When I try to do a complete 8 reinstall from the disk it requires a key. My Dell did not have the key listed on the box as I have been told that it was loaded to the bios on the mother board. Dell support has been no help as they had me run a diagnosis and all checked out. They told me to run the reinstall from my recovery disk. When it asked for the key they said my hard drive must be replaced?

 

[Ex_Brit]

They're probably right. Why would you shut down a system that was reloading the previous system? That would cause catastrophic failure of the system.
I think you need the help of a forum that specializes in Windows 8 such as Windows 8 Forums as the EasyRE from Neosmart wouldn't help here I doubt.
I suppose you had your reasons to change your mind but Win 10 is by far superior to Win 8, which is now unsupported by Microsoft by the way and should be upgraded to Win 8.1 at least, once you've got it working.
There has to be a key listed somewhere on the base or back of the unit or in the case of a laptop or netbook, inside the battery enclosure. It usually is on the branding label.
However that forum should be of help in that matter.
Maybe Dell support can help you with a key for a minor charge and/or your friend give you a full version Windows 8.1 disk to allow a clean install?
Never, ever shut down a system in the midst of a) an update or b) in the midst of upgrading or downgrading c) backing up and d) in the midst of an OS installation unless you plan to a) shell out some money for repairs or b) use it as a doorstop.