Retail disc into OEM disc

[jumanji]

I do agree with gregrocker that with a clean install you will be the master in your own right and the fact I want to emphasize here is that my clean install still retains OEM activation keeping myself in the OEM circuit as preferred by me.

Since you were not successful in restoring your machine either with the Recovery partition or with the Recovery disks, you have all the more a valid reason to demand the OEM reinstall disk from DELL. Present this information to them and I am sure they will oblige. Insist politely that you should be able to restore from the Recovery partition as warrantied by them and that you are such a novice and do not know how to employ any other means of imaging including Windows Imaging. If need be put your demand in writing.

The queries you had raised and related matters on this topic have been widely discussed in various forums for a long time now without any legal impediments placed on them by any of the concerned conglomerates (like in the case of lightning_UK's DVD Decrypter) . You have searched the internet but not enough to take you where you want to go.

 

[DrHarry]

SLP keys use a table in the BIOS if equipped.
OEM keys are a VLK key that the manufacturer uses to pre-activate post installation without the need to go online.
The COA sticker key is an extra key that the user can use to activate a clean install.
Remember all keys are locked to the version of Windows that came with the computer.
If the computer still boots, use a key finder to grab the VLK/SLP key.
Do a clean install using that key during installation and it will activate either before or as soon as you go on line.
Save your COA sticker key to use as you please. (wink...wink)
I repeat...ALL keys are locked to the version of Windows that came with the computer.

Windows 8 and newer now use the hardware ID/Product key in tandem to generate a hash that is stored on their (M$) servers for activation of that specific machine.

 

[AddRAM]

And you dug up a thread from 2012 because ..... ??????

Oh, and Welcome to Seven Forums