You can buy a used mini PC for less than the price of a new Windows 11 license. I know there are cheaper license sites out there (unclear how legit they are) but this way you get a Windows license and a spare PC to run Linux!
Cheap license sites (windows, games, etc) usually use keys bought via stolen credit cards. Pirating it is much better than buying from those sites, including for the devs that get punished for chargebacks from those keys.
Tbh if you want gray area keys. Microsoftsoftwareswap has always had verified users selling business generated licenses keys. If you HAVE to buy a key, at least buy one from vetted people and not some rando on a seller site
the devs that get punished for chargebacks from those keys.
Just to be clear… in the case of Windows, that would be M$…?
So, hurting Microsoft and getting a cheap Windows key? Where’s the downside?
They cost like $5 online, it’s not like it’s a huge risk. I’ve bought OEM keys before and they work fine. Just use a credit card so you can easily get a refund if it’s fake.
Those are usually Windows 7 or 8 keys.
Which do indeed work to activate Windows 10 and 11.
But not anymore.
Or just install Linux and never worry about that shit again lol
I agree, I don’t plan to go back! Just don’t like giving up the option.
There could be a bit of a caveat here. I when I purchased my laptop it had windows 10 installed. When I installed Mint, I could not reuse that key in a VM because it was “different hardware”. The license, could not be transferred under any circumstance. I had also purchased the upgrade to Pro through the windows store. That’s also lost.
I seldom run windows, even in the VM, but it still leaves one a bit bitter.
When I build a new PC, I could not transfer my old 7 pro retail license, even though it worked fine on my old PC running Windows 10 and it even said it was a digital license connected to my MS account.
So I bought a Win 10 pro key from one of the ebay resellers aber everything was fine… until it wasn’t. I updated the firmware for my mainboard and Windows took that for a replacement of hardware. Troubleshooter did not show three option “I recently changed my hardware” and did not give me the option to call Microsoft’s support.
Turns out it was a “one time install” key which was invalidated by changing the hardware. So it couldn’t activate a second time. And since the key seller was out of business at that time (they’ll change accounts every few months), I had no way of getting the key replaced.
Luckily, I still had an old Windows 7 COA with key and CD lying around from an old Dell business Workstation. That activated just fine.
But yeah, even if you have a valid license connected to your Microsoft account, there’s no way of seeing it in your account, and it’s not guaranteed MS will honor it.
Windows 10 links their license to the motherboard.
So as long as you use the same motherboard, the key will work.
This isn’t possible with VMs sadly.
You can extract the SLIC value from the ACPI table, and then pass it through to QEMU
See more details here: https://gist.github.com/Informatic/49bd034d43e054bd1d8d4fec38c305ec
It is my understanding that this can only be used to run the OEM license one one instance in a VM, on the specific hardware that is originally licensed. IE, you virtualize the license if the bootOS is Linux, but you can’t run 2 instances of the same windows license inside each other.
Usually calling Windows support, they’ll give you a key if you just tell them you replaced some piece of hardware due to failure, assuming you haven’t been transferring the same key around for awhile. They tend to be more invested in keeping you in the Windows ecosystem than they are are just getting one more license sold.
I called support, they said no. Asked for a one time exception, still no. The key to my knowledge was only used once on the laptop when I bought it new.
I wasn’t investing any more time in it.
Yes, an OEM license is not transferable from the hardware the OEM originally installed it on, even to a VM running on that hardware.
I reused a Win10 Pro key from a mini PC from 2015 onto a brand new build and it worked right away. Not sure what the difference is with your situation. Maybe it was your license type?
Laptop licences are linked to the hardware. You technically do not have a key to begin with.
It was the license that came on an Acer laptop. Completely non transferable per Microsoft.
Dumb q, if I install Linux and later decide to reinstall Windows, is that OEM license still good?
The answer is a resounding maybe. If you activated with a Microsoft account or if there’s a TPM chip, the chances of it still working increases. There are different kinds of licenses, but if it fails, there’s a better than not chance calling MS support and just telling them you had a hardware failure on your laptop and you need to reinstall, they’ll get you going. Not a guarantee though. And I’ll caveat and say this information is a couple years old (I don’t work in tech support anymore).
You can just reactivate by troubleshooting your activation in Windows.
No need to call Microsoft about it.
The multiple posts of people not being able to do that should have made it clear that doesn’t always work.
Yes
Definitely yes.
As long as you use the same motherboard.
On 10 right now, but honestly have had enough of the whole Windows ecosystem. (Like today I ran across a look at these exciting Windows 11 September updates! woo! aren’t you excited! video, and it was almost all embarrassingly cosmetic. Except for the part where they’re finally adding native support for archive formats (.7z, .rar, .tar) that everyone else has supported for decades: how fucking charming am I supposed to find that announcement after all these years of using 3rd party apps, when the probability of the native support being buggy as hell is very high? And that was just one example; there’s a full list in the description box.
No thanks. It’s clear they did all this just to be able to simultaneously slather AI hooks all through the OS works, free for now but not forever, and I’m just not interested in that either. Nothing against AI, I just don’t want it integrated into my OS. I also like my privacy, believe in keeping my own shit on my own computers, and enjoy not having a significant portion of my hardware computing load dedicated to the collection and sale of my data.
But MS isn’t the only game in town anymore. I tried some hardware-light Linux distros on a 13 year old MacBook recently just to see what the fuss is about, and was gobsmacked at how well they ran with 4GB of RAM and a slow (by today’s standards) processor. Holy shit. So I did a bit of hardware upgrading so I could run even more, and yesterday I installed Fedora 38 with KDE Plasma on that same MacBook with 16GB of RAM and a 1T SSD. It picked up every bit of that hardware on its own, too; I didn’t have to configure a thing.
It’s almost too easy, lol. It’s Linux so I thought I was going to be overwhelmed with command line shit, but no, not at all: the few times I needed the command line, the exact syntax was a web search away, with plentiful discussion, documentation, and even demo videos to choose from.
And if I don’t like it, I can try as many as I like off USB drives until I see something I like and decide to install that instead, and there are literally dozens, if not hundreds of distros now.
So Microsoft can keep that AI-ridden ad-ware Windows 11 shit. I’ll keep 10 for now (installed on a 7 license, lol) until I’m fully comfortable with Linux, and then that’s that.
Put it this way. I now have a screaming fast machine that runs on 13-year-old hardware where every software I could want for it is free, open source, and backed by a gazillion gurus both pro and amateur for whom no question is too arcane; why the hell should I give that up for the baggy, bloated, slow, privacy-invasive advertising delivery service that is Microsoft Windows?
I know there will be issues with Linux as I get to know it and use it, just because there are issues with every OS. There may even be things I find I can’t get past, and if that happens I try other distros or suck it up, lol. But fuck MS if they think I am going to pay actual cash to help them serve up my privacy while they deliver unwanted ads to me every time I boot it up.
Thank you for coming to my Ted talk, lol.
Here is an alternative Piped link(s):
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
I’m open-source; check me out at GitHub.
I was lucky to receive 10 Windows 7 and Visual Studio Ultimate keys for personal use, in the Windows 7 era.
Once the “you can use Windows 7 keys to activate Windows 8/10” thing, combined with Microsoft accounts came around, I created 10 Microsoft accounts with 10 of my email addresses.
I’ve been able to activate Windows versions 7-11 with all 10 keys (and I can change to older Windows without issue) and been able to upgrade Visual Studio Ultimate to the current version year after year this way.
I wonder if the already upgraded keys attached to Microsoft accounts, that become a bit version fluid, will remain able to use higher versions.
I have some Windows keys back from college (software policy stated you kept your software if you graduate), I hope those continue to work for me as well.
Damn, that’s a lot of keys! Lucky alright. Do you use them all at once though? o_O That’s a lot of computers.
You guys are using keys?
My first legit Windows Version I installed(not pre-installed) was when my university gave keys out for free.
Before that I used sketchy tools to activate my Windows. Since I am using Linux only my vms don’t get activated. Windows 10 runs fine without activation.
deleted by creator
that applies to vm images only
I’ve got an unactivated VM I abuse as a server that’s been running for half a year now, no idea what you are talking about
He’s actually partly correct. VMs of Windows 10 or 11 are supposed to shut down hourly if not activated. It’s been present since Windows 10 released.
Here’s a reference in case you need one: https://superuser.com/questions/933754/why-does-windows-10-shut-down-hourly-with-initiated-power-off-on-behalf-of-nt-a
You either have the registry key unset, or are experiencing a bug of the software protection mechanism.
windows…as a server…?
Space Engineers has no Linux Dedicated Server so I’m forced to run a Windows VM. It’s the only piece of software I’ve encountered that problem with and it boggles my mind why they chose to do that
ah, i assumed a web server. it’s ok for game servers i guess
The same reason I set up a windows vm yesterday.
Space Engineers. There are dockers for it but since Single Player on Linux is already suffering in Performance I don’t think the server in docker on wine will perform better.
And I used a Windows Image that I used for personal installs and never had the issue that it shutdown unactivated. Some settings aren’t available though. Nothing usually you need.
Getting Space Engineers to run on Linux is a constant experience of “Ooohh, it works. Now don’t touch anything or it’ll break!”. There are some docker containers out there that seem to work but then I’d lose the advantage of Torch and I’m not about to do that.
Really hope they provide a Linux Server for Space Engineers 2 (I assume that is what they will work on once Vrage3 is done)
What you’re describing is for bare metal Windows Server only or all editions in a VM. And that’s on purpose. You can probably guess why. Windows Home through Enterprise will run indefinitely on bare metal. It just locks down personalisation. Microsoft explicitly offers a VHD of Windows that doesn’t require activation.
Nope. On all of my machines I installed Windows 10 using an official usb boot disk with a distro straight from Microsoft. It was 100% free, I didn’t need an account, and I’m not being prompted to activate, nor do I have the annoying little watermark in the bottom right of my screen.
I seriously don’t understand how people are paying to use Windows when Microsoft gives it away for free.
Were those OEM machines? Often times OEM computers will come with a Windows OS license during purchase and I think Windows may check the hardware thumbprint of the machine and license it automatically. Windows 10/11 is certainly not free for people who build their own machine from parts.
I’ve got an entire set of windows test VMs running unactivated for about 4 years now. We have a few at work too (we actually have keys for those but nobody has bothered putting them in).
The worst that happens is you can’t set a desktop background.
Shady
deleted by creator
Install Linux and don’t have to deal with any of the shit Microsoft software
Or use Windows 10 Activator
Why? Just install Linux and be done with the windows shit
Ahemm… MAS
MAS is directly affected by this and doesn’t work anymore.
On their GitHub it looks like they’re looking for a way around it.
Hmm… interesting, I haven’t used MAS for a while because I have windows 7 OEM key stuck with my MS account I wonder if it won’t work anymore but I’m still rocking win10 anyway
I finally ran out windows 7 keys and had to buy a new one for win11, they cost 4-9$ online.
Yeah, volume keys are what I’ve been using the past ten years or so. Only one office key got blacklisted so far. Overall a pretty good deal.
Where?
Go to Amazon UK, bunch of really cheap ones there. You’ll get the key via email instantly. Ideally, install a fresh windows 10 and immediately upgrade to 11, then the key will be upgraded and remains valid even if the original one gets disabled.
i randomly picked a shady website i found by searching “windows 11 pro license key purchase”
I’ve been able to get them off ebay before for windows 10 keys. Got a pro key for 6 dollars I believe.
r/MicrosoftSoftwareSwap sells them but mine stopped working and the dude who sold it to me didn’t answer. So don’t go there.
KeysOff has been very reliable for me in the past (I’m not affiliated with them, just a happy customer) but I’m pretty sure there are multiple VLK resellers out there for Windows keys at this point.
Jumped the windows ship long ago. So glad I don’t need to deal with this nonsense anymore.
I did recently and have regrets yet . Been using to run yuzu perfectly and most games I’ve tried work great other than some games that use certain anti cheats . Going to work on RGB control soon once I have time. And I have a windows VM to adjust the controls easily on my mouse and gaming keypad which I almost never need to change.
I’m going to fully assess what actual windows software I rely on any more and migrate all of my systems to a Linux based os this weekend I think.
The amount of games that I play that work on my Steam deck already confirms that I’ll be fine there.
I probably spin up a windows vm that I could remote into from my homelab if I’ve missed anything I do need to run.
Ya I’m thinking I’ll just try some version of linux on my old laptop
To be fair, nobody actually NEEDS to deal with this nonsense. Windows works just fine without an activated key, literally the only downside is the “Please activate Windows” bug on your desktop. That’s it, everything else works fine.
But yes, using Linux is also a great option.
I don’t think system wide dark theme works without a key, although there are workarounds of course.
It does on 11
Not exactly, can’t customize it either or change certain settings. I know this because I just built a new PC and the key I had didn’t work for 2 days while I had support figure it out.
Yeah, but nothing that prevents you from using your computer.
Customisation is just aesthetics
So I can’t upgrade my sistem that works perfectly fine because it doesn’t meet one of their frivolous requirements. And now I can’t use the key that I legally purchased? Sounds like MS doesn’t want me to use their products.
They don’t want you, because they only want people that will happily conform and accept the walled garden they are slowly building towards
After Garuda Linux I don’t even use that crap on our gaming machine. Never again.
Wym man I pacman -Syu 20 times a day with no problem. You guys need keys?
You guys need keys?
Yeah, sometimes if I haven’t booted up my laptop in a while, I’ll run pacman -Sy archlinux-keyring to get the keys I need.
Haven’t happened to me yet. I’ll keep this in mind. My arch devices are constantly in use.
I had to fire up a Windows VM yesterday. Holy shit its gotten so bad. Glad I don’t need to deal with that shit on a daily basis anymore. I wish people weren’t so scared of Linux.
Scared?
Despite what Linux aficionados think, the Linux world is fractured and broken for the average person. I’ve been running dual boots or standalone linux for decades, but I still consider myself a relative beginner because I get pissed at Linux not doing what I want when I need it to and I’ll just give up trying to sort it out. Packages don’t install .make doesn’t work. .configure the same. Windows applications don’t work because Wine sucks, if it even installs correctly. Too many distros, too many versions that won’t accept apps built for previous versions, repositories disappearing and upgrade paths that aren’t intuitive. Online searches offer multiple “fixes”, but good luck. It probably doesn’t work for your distro, version, user privileges, etc. Linux for the average person sucks, and it sucks bad. Even popular ones like Ubuntu are a pain in the ass. I have all sorts of boxes running linux, from raspberry pi to Ubuntu, to Debian. The Pi’s are the best, they don’t break shit on updates or upgrade. The rest? Apt-get update is fraught with peril. I grew up with command line work, I still use it all the time, but I don’t have the patience to deal with trying to get Linux to do what a Windows machine does.
I’ve put countless elderly individuals like yourself onto PopOS! and they’re getting by just fine. This sounds like a you problem.
Elderly…lol. You’re funny.
No problem. I’m still staying on 10 though.
Yeah, same for me.
Getting rid of the automated 11 upgrade was a pain already, took me months to finally find what was making it resurface all the time.
Thing is, I wasn’t even opposed to it originally. It just didn’t work and failed systematically. And my PC wasn’t even supposed to support it, since I don’t have TPM 2.0, so no idea why it even tried.
Now with all the reports of new ways to fuck with privacy I don’t even see any reason to upgrade.
I think they removed that requirement recently… I killed the upgrade prompts originally by disabling the fTPM but they’ve come back in the last month or so.
Weird. The lack of TPM 2.0 never prevented the upgrade process in my case, but once I disabled the upgrade, it didn’t come back (though I couldn’t tell you exactly what worked for me, I googled that some time ago).
However, for a while now Windows Update has been telling me my PC didn’t have the minimal requirements to execute Windows 11. Sure enough, PC health check app tells me it’s just lacking TPM. Gee, maybe it would have helped to check that before trying back then…
