There are four different Windows 8 versions; Windows 8, Windows 8 Pro, Windows Enterprise, Windows RT. If you bought a new PC that was shipped with the Windows 8 Operating system preinstalled on it, then you should have noticed that it did not ship with a product key label. This is because the manufacturers have started to embed the product key in the BIOS of the computer, instead of sticking a label on it. This allows reinstalling Windows 8 on the machine without need for the product key. While it is not necessary to enter the product key, not doing so would cause problems if you try to install Windows 8 pro on the same machine. Windows 8 Pro would be installed with the product key of Windows 8, and sometimes this could pose problems.
You can get back the features of Windows 8 Pro after installation though. You just have to go to the System Control panel and click on Get more features with a new edition of Windows. Here you can enter the new product key. This doesn’t resolve situations where you might need your original product key.
If you are thinking of downgrading your PC to Windows 7, or you are changing the operating system completely; then you would require the product key, lest you feel like installing Windows 8 again, and you would have to have the product key then. Windows 8 doesn’t natively display the product key on its operating system anywhere. Microsoft also doesn’t release any tools that are capable of displaying the product key in plain text.
There are third party applications that are capable of displaying the product key even if it is stored in the BIOS of the system. There are certain programs that are capable of showing the product key of the machine no matter where it is stored, for all windows 8 versions. These programs can be directly run after downloading them. After that click on the button that says Copy to clipboard. Once you have copied the data to the clipboard, paste it to a file and then save the file to a removable disk to keep it safe.
