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Darren said:
It's only a matter of time before Windows is essentially free IMO. Basically is now with 7 and up keys activating it.
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Won't be free for new builds. If thats the case, MS don't won't make any money. They've cut their profits by giving free upgrade to 10 if you have 7 or 8 as is.
 
johnb35 said:
Won't be free for new builds. If thats the case, MS don't won't make any money. They've cut their profits by giving free upgrade to 10 if you have 7 or 8 as is.
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I was debating with someone on another forum about this a couple of days ago. They insist that Windows is FREE since during installation you are asked for a Product Key but you can click on "I don't have one" and it will install and work fine with only a watermark and no ability to change the desktop background. I couldn't convince them that MS does not have a free version of Windows so I gave up. You can't win against stupid.
 
strollin said:
I was debating with someone on another forum about this a couple of days ago. They insist that Windows is FREE since during installation you are asked for a Product Key but you can click on "I don't have one" and it will install and work fine with only a watermark and no ability to change the desktop background. I couldn't convince them that MS does not have a free version of Windows so I gave up. You can't win against stupid.
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I installed Windows 10 in I believe September of last year via USB through Microsoft's free download. When I installed Windows, it asked for the activation key. I selected 'skip for now', and haven't been asked for a key since.

I have no watermark, I receive all Windows updates and security updates, and have full functionality of the operating system.

From what I can tell, Windows 10 is free at this point. It does not seem like Microsoft is worried about enforcing product keys anymore, probably due to the ad revenue they receive from handing your personal information to third parties.

Not only that, third party sites that sell Windows keys have taken off, also probably having an affect on Microsoft's lack of enforcement concerning product keys.
 
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OmniDyne said:
I installed Windows 10 in I believe September of last year via USB through Microsoft's free download. When I installed Windows, it asked for the activation key. I selected 'skip for now', and haven't been asked for a key since.

I have no watermark, I receive all Windows updates and security updates, and have full functionality of the operating system.

From what I can tell, Windows 10 is free at this point. It does not seem like Microsoft is worried about enforcing product keys anymore, probably due to the ad revenue they receive from handing your personal information to third parties.

Not only that, third party sites that sell Windows keys have taken off, also probably having an affect on Microsoft's lack of enforcement concerning product keys.
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Was this a "clean install" on a machine that NEVER had either Win 7 or Win 8 on it? It's still possible to upgrade an existing Win 7 or Win 8 machine to Win 10 for free but in this instance we're referring to new builds where Win 10 is the first OS to be installed on the machine.
 
PT Barnum is often misquoted as saying, "there's a sucker born every minute." But the saying stays true. With Win 10, Redmond has turned you into their little cash cow. There's another old saying that goes, "nothing in life is free." Why do you think m$ is pushing this OS and all of a sudden CPUs and what have you won't work with Win 7 or 8? It's like a smart device like a smart phone or tablet. It's a marketer's wet dream come true. There is so much analytics and a blatant privacy invasion it's unreal. Yet people are sheep it seems and just go with the flow. It's a damn dirty shame M$ went the route they did. It will be a cold day in hell, I mean Arctic cold before I use 10. I'm hopping for something better, and if not I'll use Linux as my every day OS and Winblows chuncks 10 for gaming only with the included hardware-based firewall blocking M$'s ASNs.

Anyway. Long live XP. LOL! No, I use 7. But XP was a fine OS.

Read Sig.
 
strollin said:
Was this a "clean install" on a machine that NEVER had either Win 7 or Win 8 on it? It's still possible to upgrade an existing Win 7 or Win 8 machine to Win 10 for free but in this instance we're referring to new builds where Win 10 is the first OS to be installed on the machine.
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It was a clean install on a new SSD.

Microsoft allows you to download the entire operating system online and install without a key, for free.

It's been almost six months and I haven't been asked for a key.
 
OmniDyne said:
Microsoft allows you to download the entire operating system online and install without a key, for free.
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If a fresh install on a new build then its only good for 30 days before activation is required. If this system was previously upgraded from 7 or 8 then it was automatically activated after installation and will continue to activate after every fresh install on same system.
 
johnb35 said:
If a fresh install on a new build then its only good for 30 days before activation is required. If this system was previously upgraded from 7 or 8 then it was automatically activated after installation and will continue to activate after every fresh install on same system.
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The system wasn't previously upgraded from 7 or 8.

I downloaded Windows 10 onto a USB stick from Microsoft, installed directly onto the new SSD alone, and skipped activation.
 
So I replaced my motherboard this morning (new processor and RAM), and Windows booted right up. It doesn't seem to care about the hardware changes.

I plan on reinstalling Windows tonight, but so far Windows does not seem to want to ask me for a product key lol.
 
OmniDyne said:
So I replaced my motherboard this morning (new processor and RAM), and Windows booted right up. It doesn't seem to care about the hardware changes.

I plan on reinstalling Windows tonight, but so far Windows does not seem to want to ask me for a product key lol.
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Search Cortana for "Activation", (it's also in Settings) and it should actually tell you if you're activated or not, and if so how you are (with a key or digital license). I have a feeling you've got activation tied to a MS account.
 
Darren said:
Search Cortana for "Activation", (it's also in Settings) and it should actually tell you if you're activated or not, and if so how you are (with a key or digital license). I have a feeling you've got activation tied to a MS account.
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Hahaha so it finally popped the activation alert! I guess the hardware change did it in.

Yeah I had been checking on the 'Activation' status every so often; it always stated Windows was activated by a key, and it showed the key digits.

I never setup a MS account, so I think it was just a trial period of some sort. I just finished reinstalling Windows and it wants the product key now lol, so it's time to pay! (finally) hehehe.

I must say though that Windows installed in less than 10 minutes (again) and it just loads all the drivers incredibly fast. I really didn't think I'd ever get over Windows 7, but man I really love Windows 10.
 
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