Brovid Hasselsmof[Growling historic on the fury road]Registered Userregular
Hmm. Well that's a bit annoying as I ordered a Windows key after getting home from work. I've emailed to ask if I can cancel it, hopefully they'll take pity on me as I already spent £700 on PC bits with them.
Hmm. Well that's a bit annoying as I ordered a Windows key after getting home from work. I've emailed to ask if I can cancel it, hopefully they'll take pity on me as I already spent £700 on PC bits with them.
If not opened you should be able to return it if they don't cancel it outright.
Microsoft really doesn't care about windows licensing anymore. As long as you have a key that was valid at some point, there's a 90% chance it'll just work, a 9.9% chance that you'll have to make an automated phone call to get it working and a 0.1% chance that it wont' work.
Even if it's a ten year old Windows 7 key that I've since upgraded through 8 to 10?
That seems weirdly generous for a giant corporation.
yep, they really don't care about selling people windows anymore. It makes a (relatively) small amount of their revenue these days. they'd much rather people just use Microsoft products every day, and people using Windows is the most likely way that happens.
Hell, if you install Windows 10 and don't activate it with a valid key, the only things you can't do are change the wallpaper and live with a watermark in the bottom right of the screen. It is otherwise fully functional.
They want everyone at home to use Windows, even for free, so that they can be ubiquitous and make it harder for companies to deviate off Microsoft software (where they make their money).
I just grabbed one extra case fan, a big HDD, and a big SSD since I knew they'd drop significantly by now so it wasn't worth bothering with them in my initial build.
I also only got the HDD after checking online to make sure I wasn't just being ridiculous and finally finding someone with my weird case who actually showed how to install an HDD in it! I've never installed one in a case that didn't just use rails so I was extremely confounded. I'm so happy someone asked for follow-up photos because the description did not entirely make sense to me. Turns out there's a couple mounting spaces if you open the back panel, but instead of being parallel to the floor of the case, they're parallel to the sides.
I also have a question: Is there any reason for me to bother swapping the small SSD I'm gonna be using for the system with the big SSD I'll use for games for the nearest-CPU position? I mean I guess to answer my own question everything will feel incredibly fast to me compared to my current build but I wanted to check if there's some definitive reason to change this.
Edit: To clarify yeah these are NVMe. Which is nice because the SATA setup for this case seems really inconvenient!
if they're PCIe 4 NVME drives, the most premium current AMD chipset (X570) supports multiple PCIe4 NVME drives because it has lots of PCIe 4 lanes, if it's the more budget current AMD chipset (B550), typically only the top M.2 slot supports PCIe 4 speeds and any other slots will be limited to PCIe 3 speeds. I haven't done research on the equivalent intel chipsets but I assume it's something similar? But if they're PCIe 3 NVME drives or SATA drives it doesn't matter.
if they're PCIe 4 NVME drives, the most premium current AMD chipset (X570) supports multiple PCIe4 NVME drives because it has lots of PCIe 4 lanes, if it's the more budget current AMD chipset (B550), typically only the top M.2 slot supports PCIe 4 speeds and any other slots will be limited to PCIe 3 speeds. I haven't done research on the equivalent intel chipsets but I assume it's something similar? But if they're PCIe 3 NVME drives or SATA drives it doesn't matter.
And even for the top level cards, some of the slots are chipset slots, and some are cpu slots. I forget which one was better, but IIRC they're generally both rated at PCie4 at the point where you need to worry about it
Extract your old windows 7 key out of the registry from the old PC and use the Windows 10 installer from Microsoft and you can put it in and it’ll generate a new Windows 10 key behind the scenes without you even being connected to the internet.
Nintendo ID: Incindium
PSN: IncindiumX
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jungleroomxIt's never too many graves, it's always not enough shovelsRegistered Userregular
yeah every valid key since 7 is pretty much good forever
**UNLESS ITS A STUDENT VERSION YOU GOT WHILE IN COLLEGE.**
I had to re-buy Windows after updating my CPU to a 3600 and the guy at MS said, flat out, they can't refresh a student license like they can with home or pro or whatever. I'm guessing US education purchases licenses by a fuckton, because the same thing happens with Windows government editions.
Yeah if you read the fine print on student licensing, the minute you leave school it expires. Office too. I think I bought Windows XP with a motherboard and CPU from Intel 20+ years ago and have just upgraded that somehow over the years. I sure don't remember paying for 7 or 10. 7 to 10 you can still do for free easy peasy. I did it for all our old laptops here, just running the upgrade assistant.
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minor incidentexpert in a dying fieldnjRegistered Userregular
edited November 2021
Snagged a Seasonic Prime TX-850 PSU from Micro Center for $175. Pretty killer deal for a Titanium rated Seasonic!
minor incident on
Ah, it stinks, it sucks, it's anthropologically unjust
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GnomeTankWhat the what?Portland, OregonRegistered Userregular
Considering grabbing a storage upgrade today if I can find a deal. Something in the 4TB+ range. Will become just a game drive, while my 2TB NVME drive remains my OS, general software and personal files storage. Fine with something PCI-e 3.0 as long as it's M2.
So Re: Windows licensing: Friend of mine is migrating his stuff, has been asking me for help, and boy outside of the usual shit I'm kinda flummoxed as I haven't been in this world for a long time.
He has an OEM license, is there a way to transfer that? I'm looking online for guidance and the overwhelming response I'm seeing is, "No, it's OEM, you're fucked, buy a retail license." But then I see here and elsewhere people throwing out "Microsoft doesn't really care" and "You can still transfer it."
Not sure what or who to believe. If it's transferable, how do you get the original license (no sticker, sadly)? And then how do you go about using it? I'm expecting there to be a phone call involved where you have to lie to MS and tell them this is a brand new hard drive or some shit so they reactivate it, but I'm trying to establish steps to get to that point.
Did they make a Microsoft account when they installed/setup their current machine? If yes then the key should already be tied to their account and should be as simple as logging in when you set up the new rig.
So Re: Windows licensing: Friend of mine is migrating his stuff, has been asking me for help, and boy outside of the usual shit I'm kinda flummoxed as I haven't been in this world for a long time.
He has an OEM license, is there a way to transfer that? I'm looking online for guidance and the overwhelming response I'm seeing is, "No, it's OEM, you're fucked, buy a retail license." But then I see here and elsewhere people throwing out "Microsoft doesn't really care" and "You can still transfer it."
Not sure what or who to believe. If it's transferable, how do you get the original license (no sticker, sadly)? And then how do you go about using it? I'm expecting there to be a phone call involved where you have to lie to MS and tell them this is a brand new hard drive or some shit so they reactivate it, but I'm trying to establish steps to get to that point.
if the machine is still running there are some tools that can grab the license for you. Which versions of windows is he running? XP or Win7 or Vista or something else?
So Re: Windows licensing: Friend of mine is migrating his stuff, has been asking me for help, and boy outside of the usual shit I'm kinda flummoxed as I haven't been in this world for a long time.
He has an OEM license, is there a way to transfer that? I'm looking online for guidance and the overwhelming response I'm seeing is, "No, it's OEM, you're fucked, buy a retail license." But then I see here and elsewhere people throwing out "Microsoft doesn't really care" and "You can still transfer it."
Not sure what or who to believe. If it's transferable, how do you get the original license (no sticker, sadly)? And then how do you go about using it? I'm expecting there to be a phone call involved where you have to lie to MS and tell them this is a brand new hard drive or some shit so they reactivate it, but I'm trying to establish steps to get to that point.
if the machine is still running there are some tools that can grab the license for you. Which versions of windows is he running? XP or Win7 or Vista or something else?
He's running Win10. He got an old alienware PC as a hand-me-down from another friend, but I put extreme emphasis on old. His son handed him another PC, which is also running Win10, and is much newer (running a GTX 970 at least), but neither of them remember the passwords for any of the accounts, and his son is ghosting him today. He has a 1TB SSD he'd like to run with, one way or another, as both PC's are running spinners.
GnomeTankWhat the what?Portland, OregonRegistered Userregular
edited November 2021
My daughters BLD Kit gets here today. I think I'm going to crack it next week, carefully unbox the important bits, do a test bench boot, and then pack it all back in the box for her to open on Christmas.
So Re: Windows licensing: Friend of mine is migrating his stuff, has been asking me for help, and boy outside of the usual shit I'm kinda flummoxed as I haven't been in this world for a long time.
He has an OEM license, is there a way to transfer that? I'm looking online for guidance and the overwhelming response I'm seeing is, "No, it's OEM, you're fucked, buy a retail license." But then I see here and elsewhere people throwing out "Microsoft doesn't really care" and "You can still transfer it."
Not sure what or who to believe. If it's transferable, how do you get the original license (no sticker, sadly)? And then how do you go about using it? I'm expecting there to be a phone call involved where you have to lie to MS and tell them this is a brand new hard drive or some shit so they reactivate it, but I'm trying to establish steps to get to that point.
if the machine is still running there are some tools that can grab the license for you. Which versions of windows is he running? XP or Win7 or Vista or something else?
He's running Win10. He got an old alienware PC as a hand-me-down from another friend, but I put extreme emphasis on old. His son handed him another PC, which is also running Win10, and is much newer (running a GTX 970 at least), but neither of them remember the passwords for any of the accounts, and his son is ghosting him today. He has a 1TB SSD he'd like to run with, one way or another, as both PC's are running spinners.
I have another option but people here probably won't like it. But you can PM me.
So Re: Windows licensing: Friend of mine is migrating his stuff, has been asking me for help, and boy outside of the usual shit I'm kinda flummoxed as I haven't been in this world for a long time.
He has an OEM license, is there a way to transfer that? I'm looking online for guidance and the overwhelming response I'm seeing is, "No, it's OEM, you're fucked, buy a retail license." But then I see here and elsewhere people throwing out "Microsoft doesn't really care" and "You can still transfer it."
Not sure what or who to believe. If it's transferable, how do you get the original license (no sticker, sadly)? And then how do you go about using it? I'm expecting there to be a phone call involved where you have to lie to MS and tell them this is a brand new hard drive or some shit so they reactivate it, but I'm trying to establish steps to get to that point.
if the machine is still running there are some tools that can grab the license for you. Which versions of windows is he running? XP or Win7 or Vista or something else?
He's running Win10. He got an old alienware PC as a hand-me-down from another friend, but I put extreme emphasis on old. His son handed him another PC, which is also running Win10, and is much newer (running a GTX 970 at least), but neither of them remember the passwords for any of the accounts, and his son is ghosting him today. He has a 1TB SSD he'd like to run with, one way or another, as both PC's are running spinners.
if it's on Windows 10 it's pretty likely the key is already tied to a Microsoft account, if that's how he signs into the computer. You can go to settings-->system, and then look for the activation information. This is what mine looks like on Windows 11, 10 will look similar
if it says it's linked to your microsoft account, you should be able to just install windows on another computer, sign in with that microsoft account, and then activate. At worst, you have to make an automated call to Microsoft.
Even if it's a ten year old Windows 7 key that I've since upgraded through 8 to 10?
That seems weirdly generous for a giant corporation.
Microsoft are far more concerned about locking people into the Windows ecosystem so they can extract ongoing income from 'Telemetry', Office 365 and Gamepass subscriptions and all the other inforental schemes they can come up with. They'd like you to pay them for a new copy of Windows every 8 or 10 years or whatever but if you're not going to then it's not a dealbreaker for them any more. They'd 100% prefer you to use "Tee hee, I forgot to activate" Windows than Linux or worse yet, MacOS.
So Re: Windows licensing: Friend of mine is migrating his stuff, has been asking me for help, and boy outside of the usual shit I'm kinda flummoxed as I haven't been in this world for a long time.
He has an OEM license, is there a way to transfer that? I'm looking online for guidance and the overwhelming response I'm seeing is, "No, it's OEM, you're fucked, buy a retail license." But then I see here and elsewhere people throwing out "Microsoft doesn't really care" and "You can still transfer it."
Not sure what or who to believe. If it's transferable, how do you get the original license (no sticker, sadly)? And then how do you go about using it? I'm expecting there to be a phone call involved where you have to lie to MS and tell them this is a brand new hard drive or some shit so they reactivate it, but I'm trying to establish steps to get to that point.
Machines before ca. 2013, OEM sticker used - sticker is lost / cd-key not provided by vendor; Windows 7 or 8:
Use a program to read the Windows 7 Key. Produkey from Nirsoft does that.
Machines after ca. 2013, OEM:
Beginning with later Windows 8 versions ca. end 2013, beginning 2014 the license is embedded hardware-side in newer PCs (in the UEFI/BIOS) and most likely cannot be manually extracted and repurposed with third party programs. These devices come without an OEM sticker.
Possible solution: You can associate Windows licenses with a private MS account. And use the MS account in the future to activate Windows. You could try to add MS account to this PC and see what the activation dialogue offers. I don't think you can associate an HW bound windows license to a MS account, but it is worth a shot.
Windows 10/11 install activated with Windows 7 or Windows 8 keys:
These Windows 10/11 keys cannot be extracted, only a generic placeholder is returned. I don't know if this applies for retail versions.
Regarding licensing:
Please note, if one want to be very technically correct - according to MS terms: Even if you can activate a MS product, it doesn't necessarily mean that you have a valid license. In some countries you need the original media, the hardware and the key in order to have a correctly licensed product.
Installation without license - if you are in a hurry:
Anyways: Since Win 8 you can install Windows with the "I have no cd-key" option and use it for a 14 days without nag screen. Even after that the only disadvantage is the overlay which pops up and that you can't change the wallpaper or other minor customization options - depending on the Windows version you install (8/10/11). Make sure to select the correct Windows version (Home, Pro, Enterprise) during install. Switching Windows SKUs afterwards (Home > Pro for example) can be a pain and often doesn't work with OEM keys. Downgrading (Pro to Home) isn't supported last time I encountered such a case.
Windows OEM versions and upgrade keys:
My experience with OEM licenses and versions I encountered. Most Windows version will activate fine after entering the key during install.
Windows 7 generic OEM version: Try to activate it - it will most likley work fine
Windows 7 vendor specific OEM version (will be shown on the sticker for example "Windows OEM Lenovo"): Try to activate it post install. Otherwise reinstall and enter it while installing.
Windows 7 / 8 Upgrade Key: Try to activate it post install. Otherwise reinstall and enter it while installing. In older Windows 10 / 8 versions you had to install it with the "I don't have a cd-key" option, set a flag in the registry that you upgraded from a earlier version and then you could add the Upgrade key in activation dialogue. But I haven't encountered this in the last 5 years. I think MS doesn't differentiate anymore between upgrade or retail key.
Windows key and MS account:
You can add one or multiple Windows keys to a private MS account. To activate your copy of windows have to login in Windows with this MS account and use the system/setting dialogue to activate Windows. The dialogue will list the keys which are associated with this account. After activation you can also delete this user account if you don't need it or want to use a local user. CD-keys which are associated with a MS account cannot be used anymore for stand-alone activation. I found out because I added a key by mistake to my MS account. Edit: The check for hardware change is lax for MS account licenses (I often use different VM configurations and different machines).
Even if it's a ten year old Windows 7 key that I've since upgraded through 8 to 10?
That seems weirdly generous for a giant corporation.
Microsoft are far more concerned about locking people into the Windows ecosystem so they can extract ongoing income from 'Telemetry', Office 365 and Gamepass subscriptions and all the other inforental schemes they can come up with. They'd like you to pay them for a new copy of Windows every 8 or 10 years or whatever but if you're not going to then it's not a dealbreaker for them any more. They'd 100% prefer you to use "Tee hee, I forgot to activate" Windows than Linux or worse yet, MacOS.
I think the telemetry fear is a bit overblown. But their scheme are the subscriptions (Office, Gamepass) like you said and the "sponsored" apps you get shoved down the throat during Windows install and ofc that you continue to stay on the platform. The Web entries in Windows search results and the non-useful Widgets in Win 11 really smell of "additional ad-space in the OS".
So I really don't need it (all I play is monster hunter world, and that runs fine) but I looked at newegg today just to see "maybe I can buy a graphics card" and...so I guess we are going back to prebuilts? prebuilt with 1TB SSD, intel i7 11700F (no clue if that is good) and a 3060 TI for 1600ish. Reviews just say it's got insufficient cooling, but compared to the hell of everything else swapping a cooler doesn't seem so bad. Talked myself out of it, but is this just where we will be for a while while consumers can't get individual parts? Or is this worse than it looks? Or maybe the parts lotteries aren't so bad now?
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If not opened you should be able to return it if they don't cancel it outright.
That seems weirdly generous for a giant corporation.
They'd rather be the defacto OS that everyone uses than leave the door open for other options.
yep, they really don't care about selling people windows anymore. It makes a (relatively) small amount of their revenue these days. they'd much rather people just use Microsoft products every day, and people using Windows is the most likely way that happens.
Hell, if you install Windows 10 and don't activate it with a valid key, the only things you can't do are change the wallpaper and live with a watermark in the bottom right of the screen. It is otherwise fully functional.
Yep, my current Win10 install started out as an OEM Win7 key a zillion years ago.
I also only got the HDD after checking online to make sure I wasn't just being ridiculous and finally finding someone with my weird case who actually showed how to install an HDD in it! I've never installed one in a case that didn't just use rails so I was extremely confounded. I'm so happy someone asked for follow-up photos because the description did not entirely make sense to me. Turns out there's a couple mounting spaces if you open the back panel, but instead of being parallel to the floor of the case, they're parallel to the sides.
I also have a question: Is there any reason for me to bother swapping the small SSD I'm gonna be using for the system with the big SSD I'll use for games for the nearest-CPU position? I mean I guess to answer my own question everything will feel incredibly fast to me compared to my current build but I wanted to check if there's some definitive reason to change this.
Edit: To clarify yeah these are NVMe. Which is nice because the SATA setup for this case seems really inconvenient!
And even for the top level cards, some of the slots are chipset slots, and some are cpu slots. I forget which one was better, but IIRC they're generally both rated at PCie4 at the point where you need to worry about it
Nintendo ID: Incindium
PSN: IncindiumX
**UNLESS ITS A STUDENT VERSION YOU GOT WHILE IN COLLEGE.**
I had to re-buy Windows after updating my CPU to a 3600 and the guy at MS said, flat out, they can't refresh a student license like they can with home or pro or whatever. I'm guessing US education purchases licenses by a fuckton, because the same thing happens with Windows government editions.
I can find some 8TB Corsairs, but on the "stupid expensive" range.
My monitor only has a DVI port on the back though so I've been using an HDMI (input)to DVI(output) cable. It works fine.
Would there be any issue running that through a hdmi kvm switch or would it be fine?
He has an OEM license, is there a way to transfer that? I'm looking online for guidance and the overwhelming response I'm seeing is, "No, it's OEM, you're fucked, buy a retail license." But then I see here and elsewhere people throwing out "Microsoft doesn't really care" and "You can still transfer it."
Not sure what or who to believe. If it's transferable, how do you get the original license (no sticker, sadly)? And then how do you go about using it? I'm expecting there to be a phone call involved where you have to lie to MS and tell them this is a brand new hard drive or some shit so they reactivate it, but I'm trying to establish steps to get to that point.
if the machine is still running there are some tools that can grab the license for you. Which versions of windows is he running? XP or Win7 or Vista or something else?
Blizzard: Pailryder#1101
GoG: https://www.gog.com/u/pailryder
He's running Win10. He got an old alienware PC as a hand-me-down from another friend, but I put extreme emphasis on old. His son handed him another PC, which is also running Win10, and is much newer (running a GTX 970 at least), but neither of them remember the passwords for any of the accounts, and his son is ghosting him today. He has a 1TB SSD he'd like to run with, one way or another, as both PC's are running spinners.
I have another option but people here probably won't like it. But you can PM me.
if it's on Windows 10 it's pretty likely the key is already tied to a Microsoft account, if that's how he signs into the computer. You can go to settings-->system, and then look for the activation information. This is what mine looks like on Windows 11, 10 will look similar
if it says it's linked to your microsoft account, you should be able to just install windows on another computer, sign in with that microsoft account, and then activate. At worst, you have to make an automated call to Microsoft.
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/account-billing/reset-a-forgotten-microsoft-account-password-eff4f067-5042-c1a3-fe72-b04d60556c37
Blizzard: Pailryder#1101
GoG: https://www.gog.com/u/pailryder
Microsoft are far more concerned about locking people into the Windows ecosystem so they can extract ongoing income from 'Telemetry', Office 365 and Gamepass subscriptions and all the other inforental schemes they can come up with. They'd like you to pay them for a new copy of Windows every 8 or 10 years or whatever but if you're not going to then it's not a dealbreaker for them any more. They'd 100% prefer you to use "Tee hee, I forgot to activate" Windows than Linux or worse yet, MacOS.
https://www.staples.com/microsoft-365-family-15-month-subscription-for-6-users-windows-mac-android-ios-download/product_24462255
Blizzard: Pailryder#1101
GoG: https://www.gog.com/u/pailryder
Machines before ca. 2013, OEM sticker used - sticker is lost / cd-key not provided by vendor; Windows 7 or 8:
Use a program to read the Windows 7 Key. Produkey from Nirsoft does that.
Machines after ca. 2013, OEM:
Beginning with later Windows 8 versions ca. end 2013, beginning 2014 the license is embedded hardware-side in newer PCs (in the UEFI/BIOS) and most likely cannot be manually extracted and repurposed with third party programs. These devices come without an OEM sticker.
Possible solution: You can associate Windows licenses with a private MS account. And use the MS account in the future to activate Windows. You could try to add MS account to this PC and see what the activation dialogue offers. I don't think you can associate an HW bound windows license to a MS account, but it is worth a shot.
Windows 10/11 install activated with Windows 7 or Windows 8 keys:
These Windows 10/11 keys cannot be extracted, only a generic placeholder is returned. I don't know if this applies for retail versions.
Regarding licensing:
Please note, if one want to be very technically correct - according to MS terms: Even if you can activate a MS product, it doesn't necessarily mean that you have a valid license. In some countries you need the original media, the hardware and the key in order to have a correctly licensed product.
Installation without license - if you are in a hurry:
Anyways: Since Win 8 you can install Windows with the "I have no cd-key" option and use it for a 14 days without nag screen. Even after that the only disadvantage is the overlay which pops up and that you can't change the wallpaper or other minor customization options - depending on the Windows version you install (8/10/11). Make sure to select the correct Windows version (Home, Pro, Enterprise) during install. Switching Windows SKUs afterwards (Home > Pro for example) can be a pain and often doesn't work with OEM keys. Downgrading (Pro to Home) isn't supported last time I encountered such a case.
Windows OEM versions and upgrade keys:
My experience with OEM licenses and versions I encountered. Most Windows version will activate fine after entering the key during install.
Windows 7 generic OEM version: Try to activate it - it will most likley work fine
Windows 7 vendor specific OEM version (will be shown on the sticker for example "Windows OEM Lenovo"): Try to activate it post install. Otherwise reinstall and enter it while installing.
Windows 7 / 8 Upgrade Key: Try to activate it post install. Otherwise reinstall and enter it while installing. In older Windows 10 / 8 versions you had to install it with the "I don't have a cd-key" option, set a flag in the registry that you upgraded from a earlier version and then you could add the Upgrade key in activation dialogue. But I haven't encountered this in the last 5 years. I think MS doesn't differentiate anymore between upgrade or retail key.
Windows key and MS account:
You can add one or multiple Windows keys to a private MS account. To activate your copy of windows have to login in Windows with this MS account and use the system/setting dialogue to activate Windows. The dialogue will list the keys which are associated with this account. After activation you can also delete this user account if you don't need it or want to use a local user. CD-keys which are associated with a MS account cannot be used anymore for stand-alone activation. I found out because I added a key by mistake to my MS account. Edit: The check for hardware change is lax for MS account licenses (I often use different VM configurations and different machines).
I think the telemetry fear is a bit overblown. But their scheme are the subscriptions (Office, Gamepass) like you said and the "sponsored" apps you get shoved down the throat during Windows install and ofc that you continue to stay on the platform. The Web entries in Windows search results and the non-useful Widgets in Win 11 really smell of "additional ad-space in the OS".