Is this legal?

[bungiefan89]

Way back in June of 2011, I installed on my iMac (through bootcamp) a special copy of Windows 7... a 30 day free trial downloaded from this website to be precise. I then mounted that .iso file on to a blank disk and successfully installed the downloaded operating system on to my iMac.

I was able to continue using Windows 7 past the 30 days of the trial by using the guide on this website which effectively let me keep Windows 7 on the iMac for closer to 4 months total.

Once those 4 months were over, I couldn't rearm the 30 day trial any more... so I formatted the Windows 7 partition of the iMac's hard drive and then reinstalled the exact same 30 day trial of Windows 7 using the exact same disk, and now the whole process with re-arming Windows 7 starts for another 4 months. All my data from the first time I installed Windows 7 was saved on my Macbook before I formatted it to, so I didn't really loose anything either. I still have Windows 7 on my iMac today and can access it at any time through bootcamp.

In other words, I believe I have found a way to enjoy the benefits of Windows 7 (i.e. play Skyrim) on my iMac with minimal hassle and without paying Microsoft a dime to use the software they're charging people over $100 to use. And this has made me fearful that one day a very angry Steve Balmer will knock down my door and scream at me terrifyingly, or I will be sued by Microsoft. Do my fears have any grounds in reality given this situation?

TL;DR: I've found a loophole to get Windows 7 for free. Is this a violation of some law that can get me in trouble?

 

[simsaladimbamba]

While it will not get you in trouble, it is a violation of the EULA for Windows.

You can circumvent every trial period with constant reinstallation.

 

[wpotere]

No loophole found as you are simply reinstalling it and as said, you are violating the EULA.

 

[The Californian]

Sounds like way too much trouble to be saving $100 for Windows. Then again, you couldn't pay me to use Windows.

 

[ChristianVirtual]

... And sometimes trial versions don't run after a certain day (e.g. 2012/03/01) anymore, independent from number of EULA violations ...

 

[bungiefan89]

... And sometimes trial versions don't run after a certain day (e.g. 2012/03/01) anymore, independent from number of EULA violations ...

Oh, teh noes! My little scheme will me ruined if that should ever happen!

Well, I guess I'll just have to buy Windows 7 at that point then. Thanks for the heads up!

 

[hafr]

Microsoft doesn't go after private users. They gain more from letting you get used to their software, because then they've got you hooked. When a new version comes out, or if your trial doesn't run anymore, you're already a lot less likely to find another option than you were before you found out you could use an "illegal" copy. Kind of like drug dealers, the first one's free

Because I mean, seriously, when you can use a key that's been available for several years and still do updates and what not without any problem what so ever, it's clear that they're not coming down hard on private users with pirated licenses.

Companies on the other hand should be very careful...

 

[ldominguez1986]

Way back in June of 2011, I installed on my iMac (through bootcamp) a special copy of Windows 7... a 30 day free trial downloaded from this website to be precise. I then mounted that .iso file on to a blank disk and successfully installed the downloaded operating system on to my iMac.

I was able to continue using Windows 7 past the 30 days of the trial by using the guide on this website which effectively let me keep Windows 7 on the iMac for closer to 4 months total.

Once those 4 months were over, I couldn't rearm the 30 day trial any more... so I formatted the Windows 7 partition of the iMac's hard drive and then reinstalled the exact same 30 day trial of Windows 7 using the exact same disk, and now the whole process with re-arming Windows 7 starts for another 4 months. All my data from the first time I installed Windows 7 was saved on my Macbook before I formatted it to, so I didn't really loose anything either. I still have Windows 7 on my iMac today and can access it at any time through bootcamp.

In other words, I believe I have found a way to enjoy the benefits of Windows 7 (i.e. play Skyrim) on my iMac with minimal hassle and without paying Microsoft a dime to use the software they're charging people over $100 to use. And this has made me fearful that one day a very angry Steve Balmer will knock down my door and scream at me terrifyingly, or I will be sued by Microsoft. Do my fears have any grounds in reality given this situation?

TL;DR: I've found a loophole to get Windows 7 for free. Is this a violation of some law that can get me in trouble?

I went to that website to pick up a 30 day free trial and I was reading some of the comments and for some reason people kept on saying to only use 32bit for a mac. Is there a reason why? I would like to use the 64 bit version to run bootcamp on my macbook pro. Is it possible with 64 bit?

 

[Sincci]

Of course it is, if your mac is supported by Apple. You can check the list of supported models from here: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1846

 

[ldominguez1986]

Of course it is, if your mac is supported by Apple. You can check the list of supported models from here: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1846

Thank You, I thought so too but I got somewhat confused because I seen multiple posts saying to use the 32 bit only and I didn't understand why

 

[Hawkeye16]

I use 64 bit on my mac and have experienced nothing wrong.

 

[Potatochobit]

LMFAO

I paid over 2,800$ to have my upgraded unibody macbook pro shipped to me through airmail straight from the factory through hongkong

are you seriously crying about 'not paying a dime' for the 100$ Windows 7 costs? Do you own a hackintosh or something? because you must not be buying official apple products.

anyway, about your question- you can install the trial beta as much as you want or leave it on forever. But why would any sane person want to reinstall their computer every other month?

 

[ldominguez1986]

LMFAO

I paid over 2,800$ to have my upgraded unibody macbook pro shipped to me through airmail straight from the factory through hongkong

are you seriously crying about 'not paying a dime' for the 100$ Windows 7 costs? Do you own a hackintosh or something? because you must not be buying official apple products.

anyway, about your question- you can install the trial beta as much as you want or leave it on forever. But why would any sane person want to reinstall their computer every other month?

I agree that it is not worth saving $100 to do this all the time. I want to download a 30 day trial and see if I like it though. I hate how all these companies expect you to just buy there product. If I end up liking windows 7 being on my Mac, I will absolutely pay the $100-200 cost of Windows 7. I do believe anyone can get a copy of windows 8 right now for free while it is still in beta.

 

[hafr]

LMFAO

I paid over 2,800$ to have my upgraded unibody macbook pro shipped to me through airmail straight from the factory through hongkong

are you seriously crying about 'not paying a dime' for the 100$ Windows 7 costs? Do you own a hackintosh or something? because you must not be buying official apple products.

anyway, about your question- you can install the trial beta as much as you want or leave it on forever. But why would any sane person want to reinstall their computer every other month?

That's great, that you're all rich and powerful, but there are those who are getting the base models - then 100 bucks is a tenth of a brand new computer, or a significant part of a new computer if you sell the old one. Some of those might even have saved up for a long time, or see the 1 000 bucks as an investment, whilst 100 bucks for something they really don't need would be a waste of money. Others might have gotten their laptops as a gift.

Far from everyone who have Apple products can afford a 3 000 dollar laptop, and even those who do don't necessarily have to think that 100 dollars on an OS that they don't need is money they couldn't put to better use somewhere else.

Also, reinstalling a system and then restoring it wouldn't have to take more than a few minutes of active time. If he feels it's worth it, who are you to tell him he's insane? Especially after having bragged about buying an upgraded laptop from Apple, when "everyone" knows that it's nothing short of throwing away money since you can get the exact same upgrades for a lot less money by buying RAM, storage space or what not for half, a third or even a fourth of the price. I paid 40 euros from a webshop instead of 200 euros from Apple for 8 GB of RAM - why would any sane person not want to save those 160 euros and spend it on something else?

 

[bungiefan89]

I agree that it is not worth saving $100 to do this all the time. I want to download a 30 day trial and see if I like it though. I hate how all these companies expect you to just buy there product. If I end up liking windows 7 being on my Mac, I will absolutely pay the $100-200 cost of Windows 7. I do believe anyone can get a copy of windows 8 right now for free while it is still in beta.

Agreed. This gives me a better idea of what using Windows 7 is actually like. And while my iMac may have cost a pretty penny, it was something of a birthday present... the first real birthday present I'd received in a good 3-4 years. I'm a full-time college student, (juggling 17 credits this quarter alone...) and the only real use I have for Windows 7 is to use it as a conduit with which to play some PC games, most of which I bought for dirt cheap over Steam ($5 for BF:BC2, $2.50 for Just Cause 2, how can I resist?). I'm not going to pay $100 just for that. Not yet at least...

And as for the 'hassle' of re-arming the trial, it's a very minor code thing that I have to input once every month, and a fun little data-transfer that I have to put up with once every few months. Definitely worth it.

 

[ldominguez1986]

Agreed. This gives me a better idea of what using Windows 7 is actually like. And while my iMac may have cost a pretty penny, it was something of a birthday present... the first real birthday present I'd received in a good 3-4 years. I'm a full-time college student, (juggling 17 credits this quarter alone...) and the only real use I have for Windows 7 is to use it as a conduit with which to play some PC games, most of which I bought for dirt cheap over Steam ($5 for BF:BC2, $2.50 for Just Cause 2, how can I resist?). I'm not going to pay $100 just for that. Not yet at least...

And as for the 'hassle' of re-arming the trial, it's a very minor code thing that I have to input once every month, and a fun little data-transfer that I have to put up with once every few months. Definitely worth it.

That's what I am doing now. I just got steam and I see that almost all of the games are on windows with a tiny exception for mac. So that is my only reason to really put Windows on my Macbook. And as far as what you do, if it works for you, who am I to judge. I guess I am going to give the trial a go and if I like it i'll just buy an oem copy. Thanks for listing the site