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Cheapest legit Windows 10 license?

T

theISHkid

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jan 29, 2004
147
42
Moore, OK
Does anyone know where to get the cheapest legitimate Windows 10 Home license for bootcamp use?
And if I go with a DVD version as it's usually a little bit less expensive is that an okay option to use for bootcamp? Is it fairly simple to make an ISO file for installing? I've seen a Windows 10 Home, OEM DVD at B&H for $100.

I've also seen some unopened discs on eBay from anywhere between $25 dollars and $60 dollars. Any reason not to go with one of those options?
 
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You can download the iso straight from Microsoft and the keys are easy and cheap to come by. Plenty of companies out there doing volume licenses
 
Gav2k said:
You can download the iso straight from Microsoft and the keys are easy and cheap to come by. Plenty of companies out there doing volume licenses
Click to expand...

Are those licenses 100% legal and legitimate though? When I get a new computer next year can I transfer that license to a different computer?
 
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Unless you're a company, I don't believe volume licensing is legal, but I could be wrong.
 
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theISHkid said:
Are those licenses 100% legal and legitimate though? When I get a new computer next year can I transfer that license to a different computer?
Click to expand...
OEM licenses are not transferable. There's a grey area in Microsoft's terms that says that OEM licenses require a hardware purchase. Many companies will sell an OEM license with any purchase of hardware - even a USB cable.
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Gav2k said:
You can download the iso straight from Microsoft and the keys are easy and cheap to come by. Plenty of companies out there doing volume licenses
Click to expand...
I think that you are confusing "OEM license" with "volume license".

Volume licenses require regular connections to a company KMS (Key Management Server) to maintain activation. No KMS, no activation. (And the volume OS kit is "Windows 10 Enterprise" only, not one of the consumer editions.)
 
chrfr said:
They may work to activate Windows but they are not sold in a way that complies with Microsoft's license.
Click to expand...
Maybe that you are not familiar with, but they are legal. It has been discussed on the forum before and hardforum would not allow it if it was not legal.
 
theISHkid said:
Are those licenses 100% legal and legitimate though? When I get a new computer next year can I transfer that license to a different computer?
Click to expand...
Here’s what I’ve run into.
They sell it cheap to they can’t sell it anymore.
Sure it works when you get the key but if you need to reload it there’s a chance that key will be consumed or blocked
 
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bruinsrme said:
Here’s what I’ve run into.
They sell it cheap to they can’t sell it anymore.
Sure it works when you get the key but if you need to reload it there’s a chance that key will be consumed or blocked
Click to expand...
this happened to me. I purchased a cheap license for $24 from scdkey. it worked until I deleted the VM it was running on and tried to transfer it to my PC.

it would not and I called Microsoft for help activating it. They told me that my key was counterfeit. The same thing happened to 2 other licenses that I bought from the gray market.


They seem to work until you need to transfer them to another computer or reinstall windows. They won't activate and then you're stuck with unlicensed version.

this might be ok if you don't change computers often. I change computers like I change my socks so I have to have a legit license.
 
jagooch said:
this happened to me. I purchased a cheap license for $24 from scdkey. it worked until I deleted the VM it was running on and tried to transfer it to my PC.

it would not and I called Microsoft for help activating it. They told me that my key was counterfeit. The same thing happened to 2 other licenses that I bought from the gray market.

They seem to work until you need to transfer them to another computer or reinstall windows. They won't activate and then you're stuck with unlicensed version.

this might be ok if you don't change computers often. I change computers like I change my socks so I have to have a legit license.
Click to expand...

I also bought a cheap Windows 10 license from SCDKey. It was for an old PC was was gonna give to someone... but I still have it. Windows activated just fine.

But I needed its SSD for another PC so I removed it. This thread makes me want to put another drive in this PC and see if Windows will still activate with this cheap key.

I think the license is tied to the motherboard... so should activate when I reinstall. I'll report back.

In your case... I think the VM might be the problem. I'm not sure how VMs and (cheap) Windows key relate.
 
Michael Scrip said:
I also bought a cheap Windows 10 license from SCDKey. It was for an old PC was was gonna give to someone... but I still have it. Windows activated just fine.

But I needed its SSD for another PC so I removed it. This thread makes me want to put another drive in this PC and see if Windows will still activate with this cheap key.

I think the license is tied to the motherboard... so should activate when I reinstall. I'll report back.

In your case... I think the VM might be the problem. I'm not sure how VMs and (cheap) Windows key relate.
Click to expand...
Microsoft said that they had blacklisted the license, so there is no way to activate it on any computer, bare metal or virtual.
 
jagooch said:
Microsoft said that they had blacklisted the license, so there is no way to activate it on any computer, bare metal or virtual.
Click to expand...

Well that sucks. :(

At least it was a cheap license.

So if you had a real legit license from a reputable retailer... could it be used in a VM? Or are there special rules for VMs?
 
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I need a key as well. I just fired up an old Dell desktop I have, and put a fresh install of Windows 10 on it. I despise Windows, however, sometimes you just need a Windows computer for something.

Without the key, it still lets me do basically whatever I want in the OS, except "personalize" my PC, fine with me. Not sure how long it will let me keep using without Windows activated? I am going to throw a decent graphics card, more RAM, and an SSD in this machine and it will be a pretty decent PC.

It is so weird to use Windows again, uhh....


:apple:
 
SRLMJ23 said:
I need a key as well. I just fired up an old Dell desktop I have, and put a fresh install of Windows 10 on it. I despise Windows, however, sometimes you just need a Windows computer for something.

Without the key, it still lets me do basically whatever I want in the OS, except "personalize" my PC, fine with me. Not sure how long it will let me keep using without Windows activated? I am going to throw a decent graphics card, more RAM, and an SSD in this machine and it will be a pretty decent PC.

It is so weird to use Windows again, uhh....


:apple:
Click to expand...
Dell used to have an OEM version of Windows where it checked the BIOS and if it was a Dell it would install Windows without activation. IIRC it was Windows 7 so maybe it didn't transfer all the way to Windows 10.
 
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daflake said:
Cheapest legit way for a license...

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/windows-10-home/d76qx4bznwk4?activetab=pivot:eek:verviewtab

Volume/OEM license are not legit for home use in the manner you are trying to get one. If you are a student, you can get it for free legally as the post above stated.
Click to expand...


$200.00 for Windows 10 Pro, which is what I have installed, Microsoft can suck it!

I will go back to my copy of Windows 7 Enterprise, or Pro, which I have several keys for because I was once in MSDN. The keys never expire either, which is pretty cool.

:apple:
 
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