"You Don’t Need a Product Key to Install and Use Windows 10"

[TechLady]

Question...is all this still true?

"After you’ve installed Windows 10 without a key, it won’t actually be activated. However, an unactivated version of Windows 10 doesn’t have many restrictions. With Windows XP, Microsoft actually used Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) to disable access to your computer. These days, Windows just complains at you in a few minor, cosmetic ways. Initially, you won’t notice a difference. Eventually, Windows will start nagging you a tiny bit. First, you’ll notice a watermark in the bottom-right corner of your screen. You’ll also see a “Windows isn’t activated. Activate Windows now.” link at the bottom of the Settings app. This is the only form of nag you’ll see–there are no pop-up windows, for example.

Aside from these basic limitations, your Windows 10 system will continue to work forever. There are no nag prompts aside from the watermark, you’ll get all the system updates, and everything else is completely functional. The only thing that could change this is a Windows 10 update, but Microsoft has become increasingly lenient since Windows 7."

http://www.howtogeek.com/244678/you-dont-need-a-product-key-to-install-and-use-windows-10/

 

[TurricanII]

Rather than put code in Windows 10 to display a watermark why don't they simply put code in to read the actual valid serial number that can be found in the bios? Someone in our office installed or imaged a Windows 10 Pro machine and managed to leave it in a state where it wouldn't activate.

The valid Windows 10 Pro key can be revealed with a key finder program from BIOS but the operating system will not accept the new key.

It's probably just another unintended consequence of ill thought-out logic, or poor programming, that we will have to work around in due course.

 

[NviGate Systems]

I know Windows 8.1 will force you to open Activation every now and then and complain, not sure if 10 behaves the same.

Older versions of Office had test modes that used special product keys (2007) that gave you a fully functional product used for testing deployment etc. But it would fail Office Genuine Advantage.

One of the downfalls of Windows and Office is the complexity of the various channels products can come from and the lack of a true universal Windows 10 image that can self adapt to any key. But this is not new news.

Sometimes the reason Windows won't accept the key is it's not the right edition or channel version. I believe Microsoft also does some restrictions based on regions.

 

[Larry Sabo]

Question...is all this still true?

I used that article to install and use W10 on an old Vista system I have but rarely use. It works fine. I don't use the system very often so don't know for how long it will remain usable, but it's better than trashing a system that would be trashed otherwise. Yeah, I know Linux could have been installed to make it useful but I'm a Linux retard and have no interest in (read: not enough brain cells left to manage) learning/memorizing CLI commands and switches.

 

[Porthos]

Yeah, I know Linux could have been installed to make it useful but I'm a Linux retard and have no interest in (read: not enough brain cells left to manage) learning/memorizing CLI commands and switches.

Amen Brother.

 

[nlinecomputers]

Want a free legal copy of Windows 10. Join the insider program. Slow or fast ring is a free copy of Windows in exchange for beta testing.

 

[TechLady]

Double Amen, Larry. Yeah no I'm not looking for free copies of Windows, I'm just thinking about clients that are super-broke right now from the holidays. They will have the money eventually, just not right this minute.

 

[Larry Sabo]

They will have the money eventually, just not right this minute.

... at which point they can just pay for a W10 license and be legal without any additional effort or having to re-install anything.

 

[TechLady]

Right, exactly. That's where I was going with this, and that's good news.. I was just curious if Microsoft would make their system unusable until that happens.

Re: the Insider editions, given the oopsies MS has been pushing out for the regular Win 10, I'm really not interested in signing me or anyone up for even more beta hell.

 

[Altster]

but I'm a Linux retard and have no interest in (read: not enough brain cells left to manage) learning/memorizing CLI commands and switches.

Well believe it or not, you really don't need to use the CLI - unless of course, you really want to. There are many very good desktop distros that will work just fine for older equipment.

 

[Diggs]

CLI finally became redundant back around Ubuntu 8.4 days. There is very little that requires it these days and in fact I use Windows CLI more than Linux CLI these days (DISM, netsh, stop/start, etc.) But yes, there is a learning curve.

We like Mint xfce on the laptops (some even 32-bit) we use for Pandora and the like. Linux workstations are Mint Mate for us just 'cause were Gnome-centric. I always thought Linux would gain more traction by now.......

 

[Larry Sabo]

Well believe it or not, you really don't need to use the CLI

Yeah, I know. Before getting a hardware imager, I used to use Mint and sometimes Puppy to copy user data from drives that wouldn't show up in Windows, and they worked fine. It's when things didn't work fine that I have felt frustrated with not knowing how to resolve issues. It's not that I couldn't learn Linux with a little effort; it's that I'd rather dedicate the effort and brain cells to tasks with more immediate payback, like data recovery and fixing PC problems that regularly arrive at the door. (Plus, I've gotten lazy in my old age. )

 

[Diggs]

Yeah, I know. Before getting a hardware imager, I used to use Mint and sometimes Puppy .... )

Ha! I still keep Puppy on a machine on the bench. Sometimes you just got to have root and don't want to think about it - heh!

 

[fencepost]

My purchased version is due for a refresh (aka, my knowledge is out of date), but for Linux for use in recovery scenarios I'd look really really hard at Parted Magic. $9 (or $49 with 1 year updates) for a pre-built ISO designed for recovery, etc. and with just about all the appropriate tools pre-installed. Sure you could download something, fire it up with persistence (so your changes are saved) and install all the appropriate tools, but meh, $9 is not a high price to pay just for the time savings. It generally updates 5-7 times a year, so the annual purchase is more of a "thanks" than a money saver.

 

[cypress]

My purchased version is due for a refresh (aka, my knowledge is out of date), but for Linux for use in recovery scenarios I'd look really really hard at Parted Magic. $9 (or $49 with 1 year updates) for a pre-built ISO designed for recovery, etc. and with just about all the appropriate tools pre-installed. Sure you could download something, fire it up with persistence (so your changes are saved) and install all the appropriate tools, but meh, $9 is not a high price to pay just for the time savings. It generally updates 5-7 times a year, so the annual purchase is more of a "thanks" than a money saver.

Thanks for the reminder. I need to purchase Parted Magic and learn it.