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?
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
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)
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.
Its why they have never come down on people using illegal copies.
They will come down on businesses using illegal copies. An individual with one or two or three copies running is not worth the legal expense.
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.
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?
