Parallels 8 + Windows 8 for beginners

Dear Forum-members,

I´m a new Mac owner and I´m really missing some Windows progs, so I decided to buy parallels desktop in the near future. On my old windows PC I´m using Win 8 update (from Win Vista).

Before starting I´ve some questions you might be able to answer at once (I searched the forum yet but I didn´t find the right answers):

1. Were can I find the informations of the installed Windows Version on my old PC (as I have to know how many licences I own, I´ve downloaded the special update offer for 30 € in October)? (Of course I found this informations on old win systems but win 8 is very special)

2. Can I install Win 8 with the downloaded Windows8-Upgrade-Assistent.exe under Parallels desktop for Mac or, if not, how can I install my Win 8 version?

3. Do you know any "Getting started" add-on where beginners can find such answers?

Thanks a lot for your help.