So, today my wife finally handed over her old Windows 7 laptop to let me put a fresh install on it. I managed (with the help of MS Tech Support :o (had to call them)) to use a Windows 7 Pro Upgrade DVD to get an activated Windows 7 Pro license installed (yay me).
I've been checking the internetz and still see articles dated 2021 that you can still download/install Windows 10 for free, so decided to push on further. :-\
Downloaded the MS Media Creation Tool onto an USB drive and proceeded. After an hour or so, I now have what looks to be an activated Windows 10 Pro license on her old laptop. Letting it do some updates, so hopefully its still good tomorrow.
Quote from: steve58 on January 21, 2021, 07:03:04 PM
So, today my wife finally handed over her old Windows 7 laptop to let me put a fresh install on it. I managed (with the help of MS Tech Support :o (had to call them)) to use a Windows 7 Pro Upgrade DVD to get an activated Windows 7 Pro license installed (yay me).
I've been checking the internetz and still see articles dated 2021 that you can still download/install Windows 10 for free, so decided to push on further. :-\
Downloaded the MS Media Creation Tool onto an USB drive and proceeded. After an hour or so, I now have what looks to be an activated Windows 10 Pro license on her old laptop. Letting it do some updates, so hopefully its still good tomorrow.
I recall this 'offer' to have been expired some time ago.
Windows 10 will often operate for a few days without a license until it starts to nag you about it.
There are some cheap options however. Let us know if you do run into trouble.
Had you installed Win10 on the computer once before, when the free offer first came out, and then rolled back to Win 7?
Win10 detects your particular motherboard's digital ID during installation and registers it with the servers at the Great Microsoft Collective. If you later reinstall Win10 it will remember that it was there before during the free trial and authenticate itself based on that motherboard ID.
Quote from: Yskonyn on January 23, 2021, 07:59:47 AM
I recall this 'offer' to have been expired some time ago.
Windows 10 will often operate for a few days without a license until it starts to nag you about it.
There are some cheap options however. Let us know if you do run into trouble.
Yeah, I knew the offer had expired some years ago, but if you look on the internet, you'll see that it still available. MS isn't advertising it, but it still seem valid.
https://www.zdnet.com/article/heres-how-you-can-still-get-a-free-windows-10-upgrade/
I know Windows will run 30 days without it being activated. That's why I made sure I got her Windows 7 Pro reactivated first. After that I did the upgrade to Windows 10 and it shows as being activated.
Quote from: Staggerwing on January 23, 2021, 08:05:03 AM
Had you installed Win10 on the computer once before, when the free offer first came out, and then rolled back to Win 7?
Win10 detects your particular motherboard's digital ID during installation and registers it with the servers at the Great Microsoft Collective. If you later reinstall Win10 it will remember that it was there before during the free trial and authenticate itself based on that motherboard ID.
Nope. Her laptop came with Windows 7 Home preinstalled. She wanted Windows 7 Pro, so I bought Win 7 Pro Upgrade some years ago to upgrade it. It never had Windows 10 installed on it until a few days ago.
All seems well with the laptop for now. Hopefully in 31 days I can still say that. :buck2:
Quote from: Staggerwing on January 23, 2021, 08:05:03 AM
Had you installed Win10 on the computer once before, when the free offer first came out, and then rolled back to Win 7?
Win10 detects your particular motherboard's digital ID during installation and registers it with the servers at the Great Microsoft Collective. If you later reinstall Win10 it will remember that it was there before during the free trial and authenticate itself based on that motherboard ID.
Only does this for OEM licenses.
Retail keys can be bound to your MS account instead.
Quote from: steve58 on January 21, 2021, 07:03:04 PM
I've been checking the internetz and still see articles dated 2021 that you can still download/install Windows 10 for free, so decided to push on further. :-\
Downloaded the MS Media Creation Tool onto an USB drive and proceeded. After an hour or so, I now have what looks to be an activated Windows 10 Pro license on her old laptop. Letting it do some updates, so hopefully its still good tomorrow.
I did this on my PC just after Christmas. I just downloaded the Creation Tool onto the PC and went from there. No pre-attempt at in the past either. Was expecting to have to stump for the upgrade, but thought it was at least worth a shot. Wish I'd done it years ago now :-[
Just saw Father Ted's post and that prompted me to provide a brief update on my wife's laptop after a month and a half: Activated Windows 10 still active on her laptop <:-)
Wow, good job on getting that Windows 7 Pro license activated! It sounds like you've been doing some research. So, you have come across articles that claim you can still download and install Windows 10 for free. I've also seen some discussion on Reddit about this topic. It seems like many people have had success with this method.
If you're looking to upgrade to Windows 10 Pro, one thing to keep in mind is that you can often find the REDACTED online. Just be sure to verify the seller's authenticity before making a purchase.