No Stupid Questions @lemmy.world Corkyskog @sh.itjust.works 5 mo. ago

What happens if I never activate Windows?

I am going to eventually use Linux (although need help with a good option for gaming and video library use), but I was curious how long I could use Windows unregistered for? What are the limitations of it not registered?

43 comments

Whatever you do, don't find massgravel's GitHub and run the PowerShell script (this is sarcasm btw)
- I've posted the link to the Github project so people can avoid it
  
  https://github.com/massgravel/Microsoft-Activation-Scripts
- I love how this has 81k stars on Github, a platform Microsoft acquired in 2018.
  
  Then you may be delighted to hear that, not only do they know about it, they also use it themselves
  
  (I think it's the same project, idk I didn't read all that, I'm legit concussed, but it's still funny)
- Oh yes, do not do that! I certainly didn't do it. And I'm gonna not do it again if I need to.
- Oh wow, you rule.
  
  I installed Windows in a VM for the first time in years just last week. I'll never use it enough to want to pay $200, this is perfect.
- I have 3 old DreamSpark Windows 7, 8 and 10 Pro licenses I’ve been upgrading/reusing between my main PC and laptop, so I haven’t bothered looking at the state of spoofing the MS activation process in years. Holy crap now it’s literally just on GitHub lol, used to have to download some zip on a random forum or a dodgy torrent…
It'll harass you to activate it indefinitely but Microsoft has a policy that they'd rather have people steal their operating system than pay for someone else's, so ultimately that's it. It'll just annoy you.
- they'd rather have people steal their operating system than pay for someone else's
  
  Uh... What? 99% of all alternatives to Windows are free (as in beer), whereas Microsoft is the one that charges money. Especially as a non-commercial user.
  
  Hes half right.
  
  Its not about paying for someone elses cause as you said the alternatives are free for the most part, its about not learning someone elses ecosystem so they stay in the windows ecosystem. Its why they have never come down on people using illegal copies.
  
  Maybe the beer part is adding context that I'm missing, but MacOS is not free, as proven time and time again by them suing companies who tried using copies of install disks with license workarounds to create various Hackintoshes or iMacs modified into a tablet.
  
  yeah, i think that helped kill a lot of other OSes early (like OS/2, Looking Glass, etc.) and still makes creating new paid ones difficult.
- Most active way of harassment was changing your background with a black image. I think that was win 7
- I have been running for almost a year and after first setup, didn't get a nag to activate. Just a watermark on the lower right.
It won't let you customize your settings (change your wallpaper and lots of stuff). It limits the Windows updates you'll receive. It leaves the annoying "watermark" up. It nags you to activate. I think that's about it.
- This basically just keeps companies from using unlicensed Windows for business. Also, Microsoft does go after businesses who are unlicensed. They don't give a fuck about private users cause that's not where they're making money.
  
  They probably prefer consumers running pirated Windows over consumers running Linux. As long as most people are more familiar/comfortable with using Windows than Linux, the more likely companies are to not even look at alternatives.
  
  This basically just keeps companies from using unlicensed Windows
  
  You say this but my local boba tea place their touch screen order thingie has Windows' unlicensed watermark over it but I think even their customers are too Dutch to care (me included, I actually love them for it!)
- it limits the Windows updates you'll receive.
  
  I don't think it does now does it? For the longest time ms wants to make sure all machines are up to date to try and keep, "always getting viruses" moniker away. I think maybe xp did that?
  
  Pretty sure it used to, but you may be right and my info is out if date. It's been a minute since I ran commando with it.
- Buy him out, boys!
https://massgrave.dev
Totally not a link to mass gravel.
Morning. One of my devices has been running unactivated W10 for something like 4+ years now.
I have always bought surplussed business hardware, which back in the day came with COA stickers still attached. My latest iron had two attached for some strange reason. So when Windows 10 came along with its “Upgrade Win 7 key to 10” plan, I fired up a VM (for this exact purpose) and went to work. Now (after moving them to 10 and then 11) I have a handful of Win11 Pro licenses for whatever machine I need to license.

Slowly moving away from Windows due to their AI and spyware shenanigans, but hey. Likely always will run at least one Windows rig, even if I have to spend the first day or two after install castrating it.
- See, your mistake was moving away from Windows 7.
  
  Unless you airgap the machine, Windows 7 is now becoming more and more insecure and out of date.
  
  It’s like using Debian 9 or earlier in production… not something you want to do unless you enjoy being pwned.
Don't worry about it.

https://github.com/massgravel/Microsoft-Activation-Scripts
Nothing I guess. I never activate Windows back then.
Nothing as far as I've seen. It shows the "activate windows" nagging at the bottom right, but you learn to ignore it and after a while you don't even notice it anymore.

Source: Installed windows 10 a few years back solely for the purpose of playing GTA5. Once done I didn't boot windows until I was going to try RDR2 last year. Still worked fine.
This method has worked for me for years. https://msguides.com/windows-10
U can use it how long you like. There are only some settings, you cant cange (but only in the settings, when you use the old control panel, you can sometimes still change them). Biggest issues for a standard user would probably be no background image and the watermark.
Buy him out, boys!

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