Free Windows?

[Rocco83]

I'm looking to install Windows to be able to play a few games not playable through Mac OS. OS there a way to get XP or Win 7 free? Really not interested in paying $200+ for the OS just to play some games.

 

[ideal.dreams]

No.

Pirating is illegal.

 

[ergdegdeg]

You should be able to get one if you're a student majoring in something IT related and your university participates in Microsoft's program (Academic Alliance?).

Other than that, no.

 

[vistadude]

I'm sure you could get a vista license for free from people who downgraded to XP.

 

[TEG]

To get a full license, for free, it would have to be provided by your employer for work purposes, from a college's MSDN service, or stolen (which is evil and wrong). You could try Wine, which allows you to run many Windows apps in OS X, but it is really hit-and-miss with games, or CrossOver for Mac, which should work with most games.

TEG

 

[Acorn]

you can get a copy of windows 7 home from newegg for 89 dollars. thats not an out of this world price to pay imho.

 

[balamw]

Other than that, no.

Actually, if your needs are really temporary, you can download an official ISO from a Microsoft partner and use that without a product key for up to 30 days (extendable to 120 days).

EDIT: http://www.mydigitallife.info/downl...cial-32-bit-and-64-bit-direct-download-links/

EDIT: http://windowssecrets.com/top-story/use-any-version-of-windows-7-free-for-120-days/

You are far better off buying a license properly though. The amount of time you would waste doing this quickly adds up.

you can get a copy of windows 7 home from newegg for 89 dollars. thats not an out of this world price to pay imho.

Though any license of Windows you can get for ~$100 is of questionable legitimacy (I didn't say legality or that it wouldn't work) on a Mac as it would be either OEM or Retail Upgrade.

B

 

[Acorn]

the windows home i quoted is an oem and is tied to the machine you install it on.

 

[balamw]

the windows home i quoted is an oem and is tied to the machine you install it on.

Yes, but as an end user you can't accept the System Builder License under which it is sold which requires you to resell they computer you install it on to an unrelated third party. Follow the link on the NewEgg listing and read the license for yourself.

http://www.microsoft.com/oem/en/licensing/sblicensing/pages/licensing_for_hobbyists.aspx

Must be preinstalled on a PC and sold to another unrelated party.

EDIT: And further down the page:

If you are distributing the PCs within your organization, you can’t grant the end user license terms to yourself.

EDIT: Disclaimer from NewEgg on the details tab:

Use of this OEM System Builder Channel software is subject to the terms of the Microsoft OEM System Builder License. This software is intended for pre-installation on a new personal computer for resale. This OEM System Builder Channel software requires the assembler to provide end user support for the Windows software and cannot be transferred to another computer once it is installed. To acquire Windows software with support provided by Microsoft please see our full package "Retail" product offerings.

B

 

[Rocco83]

No.

Pirating is illegal.

So is jaywalking, I'm not losing sleep over that.

I may give the $89 version a look. I'm not going to resell it, but whatever version is cheaper. Personally I won't lose sleep over shortchanging a company worth over $200 billion out of $100.
For those of you who want to step up on your soapbox and preach about illegality and piracy don't bother. It falls on deaf ears. If it was the OS I wanted to use for everything other than a few games I'd have no problem shelling out the money for it.

Guess I'll give CrossOver a go.