this post was submitted on 28 Sep 2023
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You can no longer activate new Windows 11 builds with Windows 7 or 8 keys; maybe last chance to activate using Windows 7 or 8 keys, for 22H2. (www.neowin.net)
submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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[โ€“] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Nope. On all of my machines I installed Windows 10 using an official usb boot disk with a distro straight from Microsoft. It was 100% free, I didn't need an account, and I'm not being prompted to activate, nor do I have the annoying little watermark in the bottom right of my screen.

I seriously don't understand how people are paying to use Windows when Microsoft gives it away for free.

[โ€“] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

Were those OEM machines? Often times OEM computers will come with a Windows OS license during purchase and I think Windows may check the hardware thumbprint of the machine and license it automatically. Windows 10/11 is certainly not free for people who build their own machine from parts.