Phuturist,
So I checked out my Cube I7. I has no OEM license key stored in BIOS. In fact it has been activated by an Retail license Key. That is strange, because Retail keys are more expensive than OEM keys. (Cube may not be able to be recognized by Microsoft as an OEM). So it would seem they are typing in individual Retail keys during each OS install. Now the first time the computer connects online it will register with Microsoft and then the Key and Hardware hash will be tied together, and stored with Microsoft. After that first registration no key is needed to do OS reinstall, it will then be able to be activated by its Hardware Hash alone. Since you did a clean install before that first registration, that retail key has been lost. You would think that Cube or the re-seller (who ever is doing the OS installs) would keep track of retail keys tied to Serial Numbers, but just as good of a chance they are not. Maybe they can just send you a new Key.
For everyone else, the Retail Key is a bit better than an OEM key, in that it can be transferred to another computer. It might be worth downloading showkey and saving the retail key, for future use if needed.
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