Unless things have changed, usually the sticker key is only valid for a certain kind of media. E.g. VLK's only work with VLK images, retail keys only work with retail images...

Just recently installed Windows 7 Pro on a HP ProBook thing:

- looked up the Windows and Office license keys of the existing installation, using an utility

- download Windows 7 disk image from Microsoft and burn on a DVD

- take out the old disk with recovery partitions and installation with crappy bloatware

- put in a new SSD disk, boot DVD to install OS and install Office

- download and install HP specific drivers for peripherals (display adapter, fingerprint reader, wlan/3g, whatever)

- enjoy a relatively bloat-free Windows experience with improved battery life

I did the same, worked flawlessly. The only PITA was to put the ISO image on an USB stick.

It shouldn't be. You either use the "Media Creation Tool" which also can download the ISO or you the "Windows USB/DVD Download Tool".

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/create-reset-re... http://wudt.codeplex.com/

That's true, but in the past I've found that if I call Microsoft support and explain that I'm re-installing, they'll give me a new key over the phone.

I usually use a KMS key to install and then use the Windows+Pause dialog to change my product key to the key that is stored in my BIOS.

Free? I thought that was only if you already had 7 or 8 installed.

Yes, Windows 10 requires having 7 or 8. Still free.