Windows 10 Pro Superkey?

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wjogert

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In 2018 I purchased 2 Windows 10 Pro "superkey" from ickywu. I believe a lot of forum members purchased keys from him with positive results.

Yes... it took me this long to finally rebuild my system, lol. I was under the impression that a superkey has no expiration, so I got lax.

Anyway, neither key will activate. Error code: 0xC004C003

Was I merely scammed? Do they expire? If they expire, can they be "updated"?
 
they might have been deactivated if they were part of some volume agreement. when are you feedin it the keys, during setup or after?
 
I think "ickywu" was Jim? I bought keys from him with no issues, but I used them within a few days.
 
pendragon1 said:
they might have been deactivated if they were part of some volume agreement. when are you feedin it the keys, during setup or after?
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I entered it during installation. But realized the install is not activated. Tried to enter both keys from within Windows. It takes the keys, but then fails to activate (as opposed to an invalid string of numbers).
Probably deactivated as you suggested.

So where is the best place to purchase a new key these days?
 
wjogert said:
I entered it during installation. But realized the install is not activated. Tried to enter both keys from within Windows. It takes the keys, but then fails to activate (as opposed to an invalid string of numbers).
Probably deactivated as you suggested.

So where is the best place to purchase a new key these days?
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not sure, most of the guys selling disappeared. got any old oem 7 pro keys? if you enter those during setup they still activate.
 
pendragon1 said:
not sure, most of the guys selling disappeared. got any old oem 7 pro keys? if you enter those during setup they still activate.
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LOL, I have all the keys from WIN95 through WIN8. So, I would have to format and reinstall WIN10 using the 7PRO key?
 
wjogert said:
LOL, I have all the keys from WIN95 through WIN8. So, I would have to format and reinstall WIN10 using the 7PRO key?
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you can use an 8 key too. it might activate with it from within windows, try but they sometime get rejected.. if not, it will work if you feed it during setup(offline). when you feed 10 a 7/8 key during setup it automatically converts to a generic volume license key that will activate when you go online after setup.
 
Don’t enter a key during installation. Once you have it installed, call the telephone line and activate it. Do not use the online automatic activation. It should work then.
 
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If you need a Windows 10 key, they sell them at Microsoft certified retail outlets. If you don't want to pay for a key, there are other operating systems available that are free and don't require activation.

I use these free alternatives every day and don't feel limited in the slightest.
 
B00nie said:
The tech support maybe won't care but their lawyers will strip you to the bone if they get the chance.
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The odds are very low for MS to go after you. In reality they know who has what keys. They could print out a huge list and give it to their lawyers and set them on the people if they want too. They make bank off all the telemetry they get off people. It is in their best interest to get as many people as possible on windows. Honestly it is pretty dumb to pay full retinal price on a windows key nowadays. I purchased many keys from a member on this board and only had issue with one key. I ended up waiting months to use that key so I assume it expired.
 
The chances of a grocery store clear chasing you in the street if you pick up a chocolate bar and walk out are super low....

Still not legal I hear.

I still don't understand how people can't understand keys for 5 10 20 bucks are not legal keys. If its some guy selling his companies legal volume keys from his personal email... sure the key will activate, but its still not a legal key. If you are really really in the market for a $20 key just download a keygen/crack. It will be less hassle and just as legal.

Granted MS doesn't seem to give a crap much anymore.... and they should probably give their silly OS away. Worried about all those enterprise companies wanting discounts I guess... as MS doesn't offer much worthwhile support anyway. Anyway if you really don't want to pay for a OS switch. Windows just gets worse every update it seems, while Linux gets better.
 
What is going on with NewEgg selling retail Windows 10 Pro USB for $200 and people on eBay selling the same shrink wrapped package for $50?

I'm building a new PC and need Windows, the OEM version is $50 cheaper than the retail USB stick but I have no way to download windows to make my own stick. I've been stuck using a Chromebook. The $50 shrink wraps are really tempting me.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/353491996600
 
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Tobit said:
What is going on with NewEgg selling retail Windows 10 Pro USB for $200 and people on eBay selling the same shrink wrapped package for $50?

I'm building a new PC and need Windows, the OEM version is $50 cheaper than the retail USB stick but I have no way to download windows to make my own stick. I've been stuck using a Chromebook. The $50 shrink wraps are really tempting me.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/353491996600
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They are fakes, or used keys already, they are scams. Or they print off MSDN keys and resell them, why MS got rid of technet.
 
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So much disinformation, incorrect information, fear mongering and lawyer talk in this thread. What a joke. MS validates keys before they bulk approve them for activation. They know WHERE the key came from originally when it is activated. No fear mongering or lawyer talk needed.

MacOS, well they are doing it the right way IMO. Piracy really isn't much of a concern when you control the hardware entirely. Sure there are hackintosh systems, but that isn't a drop in the bucket for Apple.
 
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jmilcher exactly, I have always said if MS wanted to stop piracy or leave a lot of people with unlicensed windows they could mass black list crap tons of keys they know have been activated on hardware they were not licensed for (specific to that device), or originally activated on (OEM). But, they do not care enough to bother....they rather you use windows than something else...

Why else would they still let people use old 7 PRO OEM Keys or 8 keys to activate Windows 10, they didnt "accidentally" leave that open, when they said you no longer could.
 
MrGuvernment said:
jmilcher exactly, I have always said if MS wanted to stop piracy or leave a lot of people with unlicensed windows they could mass black list crap tons of keys they know have been activated on hardware they were not licensed for (specific to that device), or originally activated on (OEM). But, they do not care enough to bother....they rather you use windows than something else...

Why else would they still let people use old 7 PRO OEM Keys or 8 keys to activate Windows 10, they didnt "accidentally" leave that open, when they said you no longer could.
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Exactly.
 
Well yes obviously Microsoft charging regular people for windows has been nothing but a show for the volume license customers for many years now.

Still doesn't change the legal status of $20 keys now matter how you want to twist the situation as being ok cause MS don't care.

Only reason windows isn't free is cause 99% of Microsofts corp clients would say great no more paying MS, we hire people to do IT what do we need MS for. Just selling support like a Linux company wouldn't fly.
 
MrGuvernment said:
OSX is never cheap or free, in any sense, as they just factor in the cost into the hardware instead.
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False. All upgrades in recent years have been free. And the extra hardware cost is worth it in work use, way less wasted ours in computer maintenance. When my company went all mac, hours spent fighting with the computers reduced by at least 90%.
 
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jmilcher said:
So much disinformation, incorrect information, fear mongering and lawyer talk in this thread. What a joke. MS validates keys before they bulk approve them for activation. They know WHERE the key came from originally when it is activated. No fear mongering or lawyer talk needed.
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Once again as you seemed to miss it.

Activation does not equal legally licenced. However, you are right, MS know the history of every licence key - That's why they order PC's from retail stores and check the history of the keys used, one of the larger PC chains where I'm from got done recycling product keys.

You cannot legally buy Windows for $15.00
 
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B00nie said:
False. All upgrades in recent years have been free. And the extra hardware cost is worth it in work use, way less wasted ours in computer maintenance. When my company went all mac, hours spent fighting with the computers reduced by at least 90%.
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So you think Apple pays it's developers nothing, again, the cost of their OS, releasing upgrades and everything else over the life cycle of said product, you can bet, is all factored into the cost of their devices that will be supported by that OS to a certain level.

If you were always fighting with computers that much, it sounds like there was more wrong over all than just windows. I work for a IT Services company, we have clients with thousands of windows devices, all managed usually through SCCM and other such tools, even we don't spend much time fighting with computers....
 
MrGuvernment said:
So you think Apple pays it's developers nothing, again, the cost of their OS, releasing upgrades and everything else over the life cycle of said product, you can bet, is all factored into the cost of their devices that will be supported by that OS to a certain level.

If you were always fighting with computers that much, it sounds like there was more wrong over all than just windows. I work for a IT Services company, we have clients with thousands of windows devices, all managed usually through SCCM and other such tools, even we don't spend much time fighting with computers....
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Depends on the org. IME large windows roll outs are only ever smooth if every single machine is all nice and tightly locked down. That describes most large installs sure... not the case everywhere. The more you let end users have control of the system they are using the more you will have to be fighting with windows. lol
 
MrGuvernment said:
So you think Apple pays it's developers nothing, again, the cost of their OS, releasing upgrades and everything else over the life cycle of said product, you can bet, is all factored into the cost of their devices that will be supported by that OS to a certain level.

If you were always fighting with computers that much, it sounds like there was more wrong over all than just windows. I work for a IT Services company, we have clients with thousands of windows devices, all managed usually through SCCM and other such tools, even we don't spend much time fighting with computers....
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Then it sounds like you spent _way_ more money to IT and management than we did to Apple hardware lol. Who wants to use a totally gimped windows which is totally locked down? Or windows in general? It doesn't even have a proper terminal emulator (or didn't before the linux subsystem). And our customers are those corporate clients which you serve. I can tell you a small secret: They all hate your guts. Slow response times, they can't use their workstations to basically anything and they openly envy our macbooks in meetings. So yeah. Not convinced.
 
ChadD said:
Depends on the org. IME large windows roll outs are only ever smooth if every single machine is all nice and tightly locked down. That describes most large installs sure... not the case everywhere. The more you let end users have control of the system they are using the more you will have to be fighting with windows. lol
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Just the antivirus, spyware, adware etc. scans you need to constantly do, windows updates constantly messing things up, Windows software messing up the registry... Failing hardware, bad touchpads, bad screens even in high end laptops... And by bad I mean bad quality. They usually worked but were crap.

Once we switched to Macs it took a couple of months of getting used to the different way of doing things but then it was just smooth. Open the lid, OS is usable in less than a second. No long bootup times, no waiting for a gazillion of PUP and bloatware loading, familiar unix like file structure, familiar terminal emulator, stable operation with long battery life, great image and (for a laptop) sound quality. No antivirus pop-ups, no malware scans, no Microsoft forcing to reboot the computer in middle of working...

I was a mac hater (mostly because I believed all the haters hate). I was 100% a Windows guy and actually resisted the change. But after 3 months of use I was sold on it. I will never go back to Windows. It's linux or a mac all the way.
 
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