If it's the ROG logo you're after, don't worry about that - that's in the BIOS/UEFI. I completely wiped my drive, blank-slate, and still have the ROG logo. If you don't, make sure the Boot CSM option is off in the bios/uefi settings; if it's off you'll have a plain windows 8-style boot logo. Also, the embedded key will work with any Windows 8.1 install media, it doesn't have to be the original Asus setup. All you're missing if you don't use the Asus-customized setup is the pre-installed drivers and bloat, which can all be found in the eSupport folder or downloaded from their site.