Windows Windows 10 on Mac

[Irishman]

In the past, I've been leery of Boot Camping Windows because of the price of a Windows 10 license.

Now, this past week I have seen two yt videos showing how you can download it from MS for free and check a tick box saying "I don't have a product key", and get a barebones installation.

Does anyone here know what the deal is about this?

 

[Bart Kela]

How old are those YouTube videos? Microsoft had a program for free upgrades to Windows 10 for Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 users, but that program expired in August 2016.

Free Windows 10 upgrades are apparently still available to those who use "assistive technologies". A judicious Internet search will turn up resources (articles, videos) on how that process works.

 

[Irishman]

How old are those YouTube videos? Microsoft had a program for free upgrades to Windows 10 for Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 users, but that program expired in August 2016.

Free Windows 10 upgrades are apparently still available to those who use "assistive technologies". A judicious Internet search will turn up resources (articles, videos) on how that process works.

This one was uploaded to MrMacRight's channel about a week ago, and I just viewed it today.

The other one was on a youtube channel called Nerd on a Budget, found here:

He made that video at Xmas time 2016.

 

[reh]

I installed Windows 10 via Bootcamp without a product key a few weeks ago and have had no issues. Supposedly, it'll work fine except you can't customize some personalization settings such as the desktop background. See the link below for more info.

http://www.howtogeek.com/244678/you-dont-need-a-product-key-to-install-and-use-windows-10/

 

[Paulk]

I've never used Bootcamp, though I may do when I get a new Mac. Of course, if its possible to install Windows 10 I may try to do that next time. I only have the one game, Drakensang, and I'm satisfied with that. More and more games are coming out with Mac access, so it is much less of a problem than it used to be.

 

[jeremysteele]

I installed Windows 10 via Bootcamp without a product key a few weeks ago and have had no issues. Supposedly, it'll work fine except you can't customize some personalization settings such as the desktop background. See the link below for more info.

http://www.howtogeek.com/244678/you-dont-need-a-product-key-to-install-and-use-windows-10/

Yep, this is exactly it. I have it installed on several VMs for pen test practice, and don't run into too many issues without keys. They have loosened up a lot compared to older versions of windows, where it would reboot after a timeout, etc.

That said, IMHO, if you are using it for any extended period of time I would still recommend purchasing a proper license.

 

[imacken]

I've never used Bootcamp, though I may do when I get a new Mac. Of course, if its possible to install Windows 10 I may try to do that next time. I only have the one game, Drakensang, and I'm satisfied with that. More and more games are coming out with Mac access, so it is much less of a problem than it used to be.

Seriously? Less and less top games are coming out on Mac because of Apple's lack of support for Open Gl, and Metal is a long way off being put into games.
Even Feral had to (temporarily) shelve Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, and F1 2015. Frontier stopped development on the Mac Elite Dangerous, etc.
Two or three years ago, Mac gaming was much healthier than now for top titles.

 

[Irishman]

I installed Windows 10 via Bootcamp without a product key a few weeks ago and have had no issues. Supposedly, it'll work fine except you can't customize some personalization settings such as the desktop background. See the link below for more info.

http://www.howtogeek.com/244678/you-dont-need-a-product-key-to-install-and-use-windows-10/

reh,

Could you keep us informed as far as any hangups or changes you experience with that copy of Windows?

 

[reh]

reh,

Could you keep us informed as far as any hangups or changes you experience with that copy of Windows?

Sure, no problem.

 

[kaioshade]

Windows 10 will function, but will get increasingly naggy with their prompts to activate it with a product key.

 

[Huntn]

How old are those YouTube videos? Microsoft had a program for free upgrades to Windows 10 for Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 users, but that program expired in August 2016.

Free Windows 10 upgrades are apparently still available to those who use "assistive technologies". A judicious Internet search will turn up resources (articles, videos) on how that process works.

For the OP: As I understand it, regarding assistive technologies, the requirement is to say "yes" and you are good to go. And if you want to buy it, I purchased a copy of Windows 10 (the serial number) for $20 at Bonanza.com, at least you used to be able to within the last couple of months. You download Windows 10 from Microsoft.

 

[jeremysteele]

For the OP: As I understand it, regarding assistive technologies, the requirement is to say "yes" and you are good to go. And if you want to buy it, I purchased a copy of Windows 10 (the serial number) for $20 at Bonanza.com, at least you used to be able to within the last couple of months. You download Windows 10 from Microsoft.

I can say without a doubt any consumer purchasable windows 10 key for less than $40 will be pirated or incorrectly licensed. Absolutely, 100%. Those keys are most likely MSDN, Edu, or bulk-purchased enterprise keys that are being incorrectly distributed. In many cases they are pirated keys. If it comes with a legit Microsoft COA, then it is probably a bulk purchase that was stolen. Remember: passing verification checks does NOT mean it is legitimately licensed.

Microsoft regularly disables such keys when they catch people incorrectly using them. If you get a key that cheap that isn't disabled in the next year, consider yourself very lucky. I've seen people, time and time again, get screwed over by those "too go to be true" prices. Just FYI.

Most reports speculate that major PC builders (Dell, HP, etc) get charged at a minimum $40-50 for their home keys (obviously huge bulk purchases directly through Microsoft). And that is for severely strict licenses.

Consumer purchasable system builder/oem keys are at a minimum $80, usually $90. These are limited to one PC only.

Retail licenses are more of course, but can be freely moved around between PCs as you upgrade.

 

[Paulk]

Doesn't all this hang on what kind of game you like? I am only interested in the complex games with many roads to success. If I played simple games of the try-and-discard variety it would all be too easy, I would quickly lose interest. There are now many games that cater also for the mac - Pillars of Eternity is one such, Drakensang, Neverwinter Nights, Elder Scrolls, World of Warcraft. This route to gaming is for the players who like complex games that are well-structured. But it also means to become immersed in a game limits the number of games you can play, which for me is an advantage, All are video quality and can be played on a Mac. Thats five. I don't know what more anyone would want.

 

[Irishman]

Doesn't all this hang on what kind of game you like? I am only interested in the complex games with many roads to success. If I played simple games of the try-and-discard variety it would all be too easy, I would quickly lose interest. There are now many games that cater also for the mac - Pillars of Eternity is one such, Drakensang, Neverwinter Nights, Elder Scrolls, World of Warcraft. This route to gaming is for the players who like complex games that are well-structured. But it also means to become immersed in a game limits the number of games you can play, which for me is an advantage, All are video quality and can be played on a Mac. Thats five. I don't know what more anyone would want.

Doom, of course!

 

[kiwipeso1]

Seriously? Less and less top games are coming out on Mac because of Apple's lack of support for Open Gl, and Metal is a long way off being put into games.
Even Feral had to (temporarily) shelve Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, and F1 2015. Frontier stopped development on the Mac Elite Dangerous, etc.
Two or three years ago, Mac gaming was much healthier than now for top titles.

Strange how Elite Dangerous came out on Mac exactly 3 months after release, but then I'm only a beta tester and bow down to your false news.

 

[jeremysteele]

Strange how Elite Dangerous came out on Mac exactly 3 months after release, but then I'm only a beta tester and bow down to your false news.

They are thinking of the expansion probably. From wikipedia:

Frontier Developments currently has no plans to release the expansion for Mac OS X unless Apple provides support for compute shaders, which Frontier believes are required to render planet surfaces and other objects

As far as games not coming to Mac. All I can say is it is very hit and miss. Overwatch and Doom come straight to mind as two that should be there, but aren't. Blizzard has been a good dev for Mac in the past, and I am concerned for the future. And ID had been releasing Mac versions of games the past few years, but Doom was a surprising miss.

I still remember the mess with Torchlight 2. Originally supposed to be released simultaneously, but it took 3 years to come to Mac/Linux. Oh the complaints on Steam....

It seems like the usual complaint from developers is Apple's unwillingness to include many newer OpenGL features (due to their obsession over Metal)

Honestly at this point iOS has a much healthier gaming ecosystem than the Mac has ever enjoyed. As sad as that is...

 

[Janichsan]

And ID had been releasing Mac versions of games the past few years, but Doom was a surprising miss.

id has dropped any Mac (and Linux) support years ago, when they were bought up by Bethesda.

 

[gkarris]

I installed Windows 10 via Bootcamp without a product key a few weeks ago and have had no issues. Supposedly, it'll work fine except you can't customize some personalization settings such as the desktop background. See the link below for more info.

http://www.howtogeek.com/244678/you-dont-need-a-product-key-to-install-and-use-windows-10/

Yes, I installed Windows 10 without a key on a budget work-bench computer I made. I thought it would de-activate after a while but all it does is show a prompt like in the link and continues to update and work...

Doesn't matter for me though, all I'm using it for is testing stuff, so I don't want to spend money for a registered copy.

 

[Huntn]

I can say without a doubt any consumer purchasable windows 10 key for less than $40 will be pirated or incorrectly licensed. Absolutely, 100%. Those keys are most likely MSDN, Edu, or bulk-purchased enterprise keys that are being incorrectly distributed. In many cases they are pirated keys. If it comes with a legit Microsoft COA, then it is probably a bulk purchase that was stolen. Remember: passing verification checks does NOT mean it is legitimately licensed.

Microsoft regularly disables such keys when they catch people incorrectly using them. If you get a key that cheap that isn't disabled in the next year, consider yourself very lucky. I've seen people, time and time again, get screwed over by those "too go to be true" prices. Just FYI.

Most reports speculate that major PC builders (Dell, HP, etc) get charged at a minimum $40-50 for their home keys (obviously huge bulk purchases directly through Microsoft). And that is for severely strict licenses.

Consumer purchasable system builder/oem keys are at a minimum $80, usually $90. These are limited to one PC only.

Retail licenses are more of course, but can be freely moved around between PCs as you upgrade.

All I can say is the key I purchased was accepted by Microsoft in Nov and I've not heard a peep about it from them.

 

[Paulk]

Doom, of course!

Seriously? If that is all you are interested in its hardly worth getting Windows and installing it on Boot Camp!

 

[Garrod]

In the past, I've been leery of Boot Camping Windows because of the price of a Windows 10 license.

Now, this past week I have seen two yt videos showing how you can download it from MS for free and check a tick box saying "I don't have a product key", and get a barebones installation.

Does anyone here know what the deal is about this?

Here's the link to the download: https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/accessibility/windows10upgrade

...it will give you a fully licensed copy of Windows 10 for free but only as an update to an activated copy of Windows 7 or Windows 8 / 8.1 - it doesn't let you download an ISO image for instance. I know for a fact that it works as I tested it out only this morning on my laptop that was still running Windows 7.

 

[imacken]

Strange how Elite Dangerous came out on Mac exactly 3 months after release, but then I'm only a beta tester and bow down to your false news.

If you weren't so quick at being sarcastic, you would realise that I was talking about Frontier's announcement regarding further development of the Mac product, and Horizons in particular.
Tried a beta version of that, have you?
Hmmm......
All development stopped like several others because of Apple's lack of OpenGL support for a number of years now.
Sad, but true.

 

[iMac-Do-You?]

.

 

[jeremysteele]

I've bought Windows license keys from this place for years, always excellent value, they are a genuine Microsoft reseller, and are currently selling Windows 10 Pro keys for £11.49 GBP:
http://www.mrhightech.net/operating-systems/3554-windows-10-professional-0885370903911.html

Never had a single issue with any of their keys, all have worked, and continued to work flawlessly over the years.

OK, guys, can we stop it with this?

Those cheap keys are not legit at all. Again, no Windows key for that cheap will be legit. So your's works? Well, good for you - that place is still selling illegitimate MSDN keys, and raises a TON of red flags. Here you go:

1) None of the links on the bottom link to anything. Why? Because they are images they simply grabbed off of other sites/image searches to make themselves look more legit. This is a common practice among less-legit sites. For instance, they say they are a sandisk partner but they aren't. Look for yourself.

2) Their "business address" is a mailbox service in the UK. A lot of other companies (including other shady ones I found via google) use that service also. Probably because the service gives you a rather "legit looking" address for business purposes. Again - a very common practice among less-legit places (in the US a lot of scammers use UPS boxes, as they give you a full address).

3) None of their "hacker safe" logos are linked to any sort of verification mechanism. Nearly every single reputable scanning service will offer a publicly-accessible url for site admins to link to as proof of verification. When you pay for a scanning service - you will ALWAYS link to their validation links. Those scans cost money, and they obviously didn't pay for one.

4) As proof that they sell MSDN keys - check this link on the Microsoft forums. Someone bought a Windows 7 key from that site, and it ended up being a MSDN key. Big surprise. Also this forum and a user with a similar issue

5) Search around. In about 2 minutes I found dozens of complaints about that site. For instance, this page on makeusof references them. Also their trust score is incredibly low.

Mods, can we please put a fork in this thread? Its done.

 

[kaioshade]

OK, guys, can we stop it with this?

Those cheap keys are not legit at all. Again, no Windows key for that cheap will be legit. So your's works? Well, good for you - that place is still selling illegitimate MSDN keys, and raises a TON of red flags. Here you go:

1) None of the links on the bottom link to anything. Why? Because they are images they simply grabbed off of other sites/image searches to make themselves look more legit. This is a common practice among less-legit sites. For instance, they say they are a sandisk partner but they aren't. Look for yourself.

2) Their "business address" is a mailbox service in the UK. A lot of other companies (including other shady ones I found via google) use that service also. Probably because the service gives you a rather "legit looking" address for business purposes. Again - a very common practice among less-legit places (in the US a lot of scammers use UPS boxes, as they give you a full address).

3) None of their "hacker safe" logos are linked to any sort of verification mechanism. Nearly every single reputable scanning service will offer a publicly-accessible url for site admins to link to as proof of verification. When you pay for a scanning service - you will ALWAYS link to their validation links. Those scans cost money, and they obviously didn't pay for one.

4) As proof that they sell MSDN keys - check this link on the Microsoft forums. Someone bought a Windows 7 key from that site, and it ended up being a MSDN key. Big surprise. Also this forum and a user with a similar issue

5) Search around. In about 2 minutes I found dozens of complaints about that site. For instance, this page on makeusof references them. Also their trust score is incredibly low.

Mods, can we please put a fork in this thread? Its done.

THANK YOU.