If you buy a cheap CD Key...

what i found was retail 7 WOULD activate 10, manufacturer OEM would USUALLY activate 10, online purchased OEM would NOT activate 10.

not that i know for 100%, i probably only tried with 40 or 50 computers.

i only ever had a couple windows 8 keys to try and they activated 10 fine. they were manufacturer OEM ON THE ORIGINAL DEVICE.

It seems to be all over the place! Some keys work, some don't...
 
I brought 4 keys from here and had no issues as of yet. If they get block oh well? I'll just buy another cheap key. Paying a few bucks a key is better then what $100+ for a "Authorized" key.
 
I brought 4 keys from here and had no issues as of yet. If they get block oh well? I'll just buy another cheap key. Paying a few bucks a key is better then what $100+ for a "Authorized" key.
So essentially what you're saying you could as well use them without paying. If they get a block, oh well, just get another one.
 
Make a bootable USB, then you can use any Key........................better than the 100-150 you will spend from a retailer.
 
Make a bootable USB, then you can use any Key........................better than the 100-150 you will spend from a retailer.
You mean Puppy linux? Yes, that one is excellent and free.
 
  • Like
Reactions: travm
like this
With all the telemetry and spying in Windows 10, it should be free.
Very true. There's a reason why the Russian Federation still runs Windows XP on Putins desktop lol. Why they don't use linux beats me. Perhaps they have web apps built on IE lol.
 
I would bet that a lot of these cheap keys are from motherboard replacements on OEM systems.

The Dell tech that does warranty repair for use told me that he ends up with a massive number of keys because of this.

Dell sends out a new Windows 10 key for every motherboard replacement even though it isn't needed since the licensing is built into the BIOS.

I've been given a few of these because the techs have absolutely no use for piles upon piles of Windows keys.

That being said, I have only ever bought a few Windows 10 keys for use of a VMWare test host. Got those off of eBay for like $4 a piece.

Any system that already has Windows 7/8/8.1 on it should be available to upgrade to 10 for free... yes, it is still free to do the upgrade.
 
read that again, slowly...

What? they do. The ONLY time it would be needed is IF you install Windows via a retail DVD.. and not even sure if it is needed then. Would you like to see a pic of one of the papers they send out with a key on it? No sticker just a CD sized piece of paper in a plastic envelope.

Even if you have never activated the original Windows 10 install that came on the computer because you re-imaged it with a corporate image (activation through volume licensing servers) as soon as you got it, re-installing with Windows 10 via the media creation tool works and activates just fine.

If it came with an earlier version of Windows, you need to install that first via the Dell Windows DVD and then do the free upgrade since the way the OEM activation works has changed and you can;t just install Windows 10 IF it hasn't been activated on the Microsoft servers with that specific motherboard before.

The keys they send out will work to license any system you want to Install Windows 10 on.
 
What? they do. blah blah blah
and what is the bios built in to?! hint; its the mobo!!
if you replace the motherboard the bios goes with it therefor you need a key. if there is a sticker on the unit that would probably work and you end up with an extra yes. you lose the board/bios there is no key in the unit.
 
and what is the bios built in to?! hint; its the mobo!!
if you replace the motherboard the bios goes with it therefor you need a key. if there is a sticker on the unit that would probably work and you end up with an extra yes. you lose the board/bios there is no key in the unit.

Most OEM replacement boards are stamped with the key in the bios, or at least the ones used for warranty repair. However, the key is not needed anyways, if an corporate image is used.
 
maybe im misunderstanding. i was thinking he meant that the device has a key in it without a board.
if its a new board for warranty replacement how/why would it have a key in bios? is it flashed into it without being in a unit?
 
maybe im misunderstanding. i was thinking he meant that the device has a key in it without a board.
if its a new board for warranty replacement how/why would it have a key in bios? is it flashed into it without being in a unit?

It is stamped into it but, I do not know how they do it
 
and what is the bios built in to?! hint; its the mobo!!
if you replace the motherboard the bios goes with it therefor you need a key. if there is a sticker on the unit that would probably work and you end up with an extra yes. you lose the board/bios there is no key in the unit.

You don't have to do anything with the new board. The new board will activate with the Microsoft servers just fine.. even if you do a wipe and clean install of Windows 10.

The old way used to be SLIC, which you could hack almost any retail motherboard with an SLIC key and you could then activate Windows just fine without having to buy an actual license.

The new way they do it for OEMs is different. Still no actual key needed as each board is somehow embedded with some sort of key or ID that Microsoft recognizes as valid.

As of Windows 10 and I think even 8/8.1 there are no more COA stickers at all on the systems. You just install Windows without entering a key and then it activates as soon as you connect to the internet.

I've been working on OEM systems since 2004. Even worked for a contractor doing Dell and IBM onsite warranty for a couple years straight back in the day. Did more later on for a while as a sub-contractor. The sites I have worked at after that have always been Dell or mostly Dell only sites.

With XP and 7, you need a Dell CD/DVD or burned ISO to do the install and have it activate properly. Not sure about 8/8.1 as we skipped those entirely.

Also, with XP and 7, if you had to replace the bottom casing of a laptop, you would be sent a new COA sticker to apply even though the key on it was never used at all unless you lost your OEM Windows CD and needed to install from a retail CD/DVD/ISO.

I know very well how the OEM windows licencing/activation works. Not just spewing out stuff I have no idea about.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: x509
like this
Any system that already has Windows 7/8/8.1 on it should be available to upgrade to 10 for free... yes, it is still free to do the upgrade.

It's 'free' because you don't upgrade, you migrate to ad/spyware
 
Very true. There's a reason why the Russian Federation still runs Windows XP on Putins desktop lol. Why they don't use linux beats me. Perhaps they have web apps built on IE lol.

Fake news. There was a picture that was floating around where people thought it was XP, when it was clearly 7.
 
Fake news. There was a picture that was floating around where people thought it was XP, when it was clearly 7.
Regardless of that also Win7 is now abandonware. Russians would be crazy to continue to keep using Windows.
 
Sorry for the n00bish question, but how does CLI activation work?

Command Line Activation.

https://www.howtogeek.com/245445/how-to-use-slmgr-to-change-remove-or-extend-your-windows-license/

The 2 main commands are -

To install or change the license key - slmgr.vbs /ipk #####-#####-#####-#####-#####

To activate Windows - slmgr.vbs /ato

There are others at the link above but these 2 will save you from having to use phone activation most of the time.

One more thing, you have to run the command prompt as administrator or the above doesn't work.
 
I've gotten ..oh.. I lost count how many of these "cheap" keys I've gotten here and purchased a "cheap" Office 365 key on ebay .. haven't had issues with any of them. Bought a lot of OEM 7 keys from destroyed Dell/HP ..etc machines to do fresh Win 10 installs with .. no issues there either.
 
I've gotten ..oh.. I lost count how many of these "cheap" keys I've gotten here and purchased a "cheap" Office 365 key on ebay .. haven't had issues with any of them. Bought a lot of OEM 7 keys from destroyed Dell/HP ..etc machines to do fresh Win 10 installs with .. no issues there either.
Not so long ago MS sued several companies for reselling keys from recycled old workstations. They may work but they're not legal at least in the US.
 
Not so long ago MS sued several companies for reselling keys from recycled old workstations. They may work but they're not legal at least in the US.

Microsoft does not determine what's legal, the government does. The fact that MS activates a given key pretty much negates any argument they may have regarding "legality". If I give you permission to drive my car and then reported it as stolen, what do you think the law would have to say about it? :rolleyes:
 
Microsoft does not determine what's legal, the government does. The fact that MS activates a given key pretty much negates any argument they may have regarding "legality". If I give you permission to drive my car and then reported it as stolen, what do you think the law would have to say about it? :rolleyes:

It’s more like someone took the keys to your car and said it was okay to drive it because the car started.

MS activates the valid keys because they are presented to them under false pretenses (i.e. you accepted the EULA that stipulates the conditions for which you are allowed to use the software).
 
It’s more like someone took the keys to your car and said it was okay to drive it because the car started.

MS activates the valid keys because they are presented to them under false pretenses (i.e. you accepted the EULA that stipulates the conditions for which you are allowed to use the software).

OK :rolleyes:
 
... you wouldn't download a care would you?

anyhoo ... technicalities aside ... the keys worked and they are still working. :)

..kind of the same premise as reselling a DVD .. or games .. or sticking to the car analogy .. reselling a car. Ford, Chevy and all these other car manufacturers should sue used car lots then.
 
..kind of the same premise as reselling a DVD .. or games .. or sticking to the car analogy .. reselling a car. Ford, Chevy and all these other car manufacturers should sue used car lots then.

Books/CDs/DVDs/Blu-Rays are all available for resale thanks to the First-sale doctrine; you must be an owner of the work in question to qualify for this copyright exemption. Software is licensed and not sold so is not generally recognized as legally transferable (in the United States). A software key (such as a Windows 10 Activation Key) is not property and cannot be legally sold/redistributed without the permission of the owner (in this case, Microsoft).

The fact that hundreds of people do this is irrelevant. If you choose to purchase legally dubious activation keys that is your choice but to declare that this is legal and above-board is false.
 
Microsoft does not determine what's legal, the government does. The fact that MS activates a given key pretty much negates any argument they may have regarding "legality". If I give you permission to drive my car and then reported it as stolen, what do you think the law would have to say about it? :rolleyes:
Sorry but in US the EULA is a binding legal document and you will get prosecuted if you break it.
 
Sorry but in US the EULA is a binding legal document and you will get prosecuted if you break it.
No you won't. The most you will.get sued but most companies will not pursue it unless you are running a buisness of it or you are the poor soul they use to make a example off. No one is going to go to jail for it.
 
I do what I want. I'll be damned if I am going to "worry" about it being legal or not. If I want to pay a cheap price for a not so legal Win 10 key, then I will do it. Do not care if it breaks the contract or not.

:)
 
No you won't. The most you will.get sued but most companies will not pursue it unless you are running a buisness of it or you are the poor soul they use to make a example off. No one is going to go to jail for it.
Ok so you don't mind breaking the law if you won't get caught. Last time I checked HOCP didn't condone piracy in any form.
 
Ok so you don't mind breaking the law if you won't get caught. Last time I checked HOCP didn't condone piracy in any form.

Judging by the long running MS key sale threads selling suspiciously under priced keys, I would say you think [H] gives way more shits than they do.

You would also be hard pressed to prove cheap grey market keys are illegal \ piracy and not just against the MS ToS.
 
Last edited:
Books/CDs/DVDs/Blu-Rays are all available for resale thanks to the First-sale doctrine; you must be an owner of the work in question to qualify for this copyright exemption. Software is licensed and not sold so is not generally recognized as legally transferable (in the United States). A software key (such as a Windows 10 Activation Key) is not property and cannot be legally sold/redistributed without the permission of the owner (in this case, Microsoft).

The fact that hundreds of people do this is irrelevant. If you choose to purchase legally dubious activation keys that is your choice but to declare that this is legal and above-board is false.

All those types of media you mentioned are simply licensed copies, just like software. The software industry has fought to be treated differently than every other form of media and have muddied the waters some with a win or two in lower courts however the last Supreme Court decision regarding first sale doctrine in relation to grey market keys went against the publisher.
 
Back
Top