Cheap Upgrade for "Legal" Windows 10

[Thailaw]

I thought about including this query in the poll on upgrading to Windows 10 that is currently running, but thought it was worth a thread of its own. 

 

Ebay has dozens of sellers offering legitimate (it says that it is legitimate) Windows 10 and Office 2016 that were properly installed on a computer and have been removed from those computers which are now dead. Most of the suppliers say that it is eBay's policy that the software can only be sold with the computer, so they send the dead hard drive to your home/office but send the software and the necessary installation key almost instantly by e-mail. The price varies, but many/most are under $20 for Windows 10 and the same for Office; some sellers even offer both programs together for about the same price. This looks to be a cheap way to upgrade to a legitimate version of Windows 10 and office if you missed the window for a free upgrade, which has now closed, or presently have a cloned copy on your computer. Has anyone purchased one of these copies of Windows 10/Office? Was it as "easy" as it appears to be and are you receiving updates/upgrades from Microsoft as is done with original versions of Windows 10/office. Thanks.  

[JSixpack]

I haven't, but I would. Friend of mine did so for Office and it's been fine for the last few years. You can find discussion and plenty of references here among other places:

 

https://www.reddit.com/r/microsoftsoftwareswap/

https://www.ghacks.net/2016/09/03/getting-a-windows-product-key-on-the-cheap/

https://hardforum.com/threads/windows-10-pro-office-2016-pro-oem.1935737/

 

That said, it appears the Windows upgrade is still possible even with a hacked Windows.

 

https://www.techspot.com/article/1300-windows-10-free-upgrade-loopholes/

http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/can-still-upgrade-windows-10-free/

 

Worth a try.

Edited October 16, 2017 by JSixpack

[Pib]

I have purchase two licenses of Win 10 Pro off Ebay for around $15USD each in Sep 15....both activated no problem and are still activated....both on my personal computers here at my home.   One license was used to upgrade from Win 10 to Win 10 Pro...and the other Pro license to initially install on a brand new computer.

 

I have also purchased three licenses of Office 2016 off Ebay for around $12USD in Jan 17...all three activated no problem and are still activated....all three on my personal computers here at my home which are two Win 10 computers and one Win 7 computer.

 

 

Edited October 16, 2017 by Pib

[gandalf12]

The software license is only valid for the computer it was installed on. It checks the license against the motherboard. If the same no problem, if different then it says it is illegal

[amvet]

It's still free isin't it?  The only things you can't do are personalize a lot.  I have one free and one paid.  I think I can do something with my Microsoft account from the paid one on the free one but I forgot what it is.

[wump]

25 minutes ago, gandalf12 said:

The software license is only valid for the computer it was installed on. It checks the license against the motherboard. If the same no problem, if different then it says it is illegal

Illegal terms under EU law, hence the availability on Ebay. Purchased an Office licence for 75 euros. Couldn't validate licence via internet (as obviously it had been previously activated), but activating by phone (automated service) always works.

 

These copies are legit and anyone knowing about them and still paying 3,000 Baht for an exact same "legitimate" copy is stupid IMO.

 

To answer OP's question: The process is very simple. You download Office from the MS website, install it, call the activation hotline, provide the serial that you received via email from the Ebay seller, enter the activation code received from the hotline in the program, finished. Works 100% like any other Office and of course does receive all updates.

Edited October 16, 2017 by wump

[Thailaw]

17 minutes ago, gandalf12 said:

The software license is only valid for the computer it was installed on. It checks the license against the motherboard. If the same no problem, if different then it says it is illegal

Previous post suggest that what you say is not correct, but that was a part of my original inquiry. It is not the case in the business setting, where a business buys a licence for "x" machines and can change the machines so long as the machines on which the software is used do not exceed the licence limit. Not sure about the home setting, but Pib's post suggest that the licence is transferable. At $12 for a installation key, it is probably worth the risk. 

[Thailaw]

5 minutes ago, wump said:

Illegal terms under EU law, hence the availability on Ebay. Purchased an Office licence for 75 euros. Couldn't validate licence via internet (as obviously it has been previously activated), but activating by phone (automated service) always works.

 

These copies are legit and anyone knowing about them and still paying 3,000 Baht for an exact same "legitimate" copy is stupid IMO.

Thanks, your post helps a lot. 

[wump]

Please read the rest of my now updated post. Will work 100% (if you get a genuine key) and is not illegal.

[thailen]

If you have a legal copy of Windows 7 or 8.1, you can upgrade for free. Microsoft continues to offer the free upgrade for people who are physically or mentally handicapped, etc. and they do not verify that you have those problems. I got the upgrade by googling Windows 10 free upgrade.  CNET is another source to get you to the upgrade.Let me emphasize you need a LEGALLY installed copy of Windows to get the upgrade.

[wump]

Op was asking about the validity of the keys on Ebay, nothing to do with upgrading. If he buys a key he might as well get a Windows 10 one. The price difference to the price of a Win 7 key is not that big.

[gandalf12]

12 hours ago, Thailaw said:

Previous post suggest that what you say is not correct, but that was a part of my original inquiry. It is not the case in the business setting, where a business buys a licence for "x" machines and can change the machines so long as the machines on which the software is used do not exceed the licence limit. Not sure about the home setting, but Pib's post suggest that the licence is transferable. At $12 for a installation key, it is probably worth the risk. 

That is what MS  and all the tech sites say so I don't care what one person says. The software must have been hacked and the key changed

[gandalf12]

I have 2 laptops and I read it and tried it by swapping the HDD from one machine to the other. It immediately recognised it was not the same machine as the one it had been originally installed on. Further investigation provided the answer in that it is the motherboard that is identified. Suggest all these people who don't believe look it up at www.tomshardware.com

[wump]

Here in Germany we use these keys all the time and the vast majority of the sellers have over 99.5% positive feedback so the keys must work, right?

 

The only thing that actually was illegal was one large company selling company volume keys to the public and illegally burning seemingly original Windows discs for that.

[mrfill]

8 hours ago, gandalf12 said:

I have 2 laptops and I read it and tried it by swapping the HDD from one machine to the other. It immediately recognised it was not the same machine as the one it had been originally installed on. Further investigation provided the answer in that it is the motherboard that is identified. Suggest all these people who don't believe look it up at www.tomshardware.com

 

Not quite the same thing though. Once installed, the OS uses something called the UUID which identifies which disk is being used. If you swap hard drives, the disk will be assigned a different UUID (which it gets from the motherboard) and the OS will have trouble.

I have used these used keys to install W10 on 3 machines. I paid less than £3 for each and they all installed and activated without problem. All are still functioning perfectly.

As pointed out above, if you have a legal and working W7 or 8, you can look up Assistive Technologies on M$ and their free upgrade is still available. I have used this around a dozen times on friends machines. All work just fine.

If you choose either method to upgrade, it is vital to ensure the existing system is fully updated before upgrading. Windows update often does not deal with this properly and you get left with an upgrade stuck at 99% with nowhere to go. I use an offline updater (look up WSUS update) which takes a while but prepares a machine properly for the upgrade. My upgrade success rate is 100% using offline updating.

[chrisinth]

10 hours ago, thailen said:

If you have a legal copy of Windows 7 or 8.1, you can upgrade for free. Microsoft continues to offer the free upgrade for people who are physically or mentally handicapped, etc. and they do not verify that you have those problems. I got the upgrade by googling Windows 10 free upgrade.  CNET is another source to get you to the upgrade.Let me emphasize you need a LEGALLY installed copy of Windows to get the upgrade.

You need an activated copy of W7/W8.1/W10 before using the media creation tool.

 

There is (or could be) a difference..........................

[jenny2017]

3 hours ago, mrfill said:

 

Not quite the same thing though. Once installed, the OS uses something called the UUID which identifies which disk is being used. If you swap hard drives, the disk will be assigned a different UUID (which it gets from the motherboard) and the OS will have trouble.

I have used these used keys to install W10 on 3 machines. I paid less than £3 for each and they all installed and activated without problem. All are still functioning perfectly.

As pointed out above, if you have a legal and working W7 or 8, you can look up Assistive Technologies on M$ and their free upgrade is still available. I have used this around a dozen times on friends machines. All work just fine.

If you choose either method to upgrade, it is vital to ensure the existing system is fully updated before upgrading. Windows update often does not deal with this properly and you get left with an upgrade stuck at 99% with nowhere to go. I use an offline updater (look up WSUS update) which takes a while but prepares a machine properly for the upgrade. My upgrade success rate is 100% using offline updating.

How many hours does such an offline upgrade take? 

[jenny2017]

2 hours ago, chrisinth said:

You need an activated copy of W7/W8.1/W10 before using the media creation tool.

 

There is (or could be) a difference..........................

 

    What's the difference when technicians here are using a certain tool to activate W 7 and then update a machine?

 

   You'll never know that the W 7 OS wasn't a real one. Otherwise you wouldn't get such an installation done for around 400 baht.

 

  MS can only check at the time of the installation, there's no second check during installation. Genuine and genuine are different. 

[chrisinth]

42 minutes ago, jenny2017 said:

 

    What's the difference when technicians here are using a certain tool to activate W 7 and then update a machine?

 

   You'll never know that the W 7 OS wasn't a real one. Otherwise you wouldn't get such an installation done for around 400 baht.

 

  MS can only check at the time of the installation, there's no second check during installation. Genuine and genuine are different. 

My comment was against @thailen's statement that you "need a LEGALLY installed copy of windows to get the upgrade".

 

You don't, you need an activated copy. The difference between legal and activated in this instance depends on how it was activated and what 3rd party software was used.

 

If a 'technician' is lazy and upgrades using the 'keep programs' or even 'keep personal data' options, and the previous version of windows was activated using a 3rd party software option, then there will be traces of that software left on your computer.

 

And if you do use a 'technician' the usual course for them will be to run an image they consider stock which will comprise of pirated software anyway. They will not format, install a clean OS and then install individual programs as a rule. Especially for 400 baht!

 

IMO, going to the trouble of installing an activated OS registered on the MS servers, and then using that as a platform to install pirated software is defeating the purpose. 

 

Fines from companies like Abode (read Photoshop or Acrobat) are huge if you get caught and if you have been silly enough to install any Thai written software (translators, etc) that has been cracked, get your second mortgage out now. Of course if it is a personal computer or device, the chances of getting audited are remote unless you have been a naughty person and are being investigated.

[manarak]

the old win 7 keys work.

 

first step is to make your current win 7 or win 8 legal.

 

so purchase a win 7 or win 8 key of the desired version (home, premium, pro or ultimate) and do a "repair install" on your current windows, this should clean up any doctored files and fraudulous activations.

if you puchased a pro key but have ultimate installed, you will need to downgrade your windows version. in this case use something called "windows downgrader", it works.

 

then enter the purchased key. windows will activate.

 

then upgrade to win 10.

 

I recommend using win 7 pro as it upgrades to win 10 pro.

 

licenses are sold for between 5 and 10 USD on ebay. I have upgraded 6 computers that way. from 6 serials, 1 didn't work. I emailed the seller and got a new serial which worked.

 

regarding hardware changes:

My son's computer had a motherboard failure.

I first made an emergency motherboard replacement and used the same HDD (no reinstallation) and same CPU, same GPU. Windows 10 re-activated with no problems.

Then I changed motherboard + CPU, kept the same HDD (again no reinstallation) and GPU. Again, Windows 10 re-activated with no problems.

 

[jenny2017]

The activation of a PC, using an image created by Macrium seems to work on any other machine.

 

   I've got two PC's and a notebook backed up, and accidentally used my 32-bit backup for an installation on a 64-bit machine. I didn't know that I was using the wrong image until I had my system up running.

 

All was running well, even with a completely different motherboard, CPU, etc... and .digitaly signed!

 

     I did it again to have the original image and I was more than surprised that it even worked.

 

   I can only assume that MS checked all the hardware during the setup process, otherwise it wouldn't have worked out, right?

 

   I've still got an image of a fresh installed and fully activated W 10 Pro of a 64 bit Toshiba, with MS Office 2016 that I might use for another laptop.  I'll find out if it works in a week. 

 

     

 

    

[mrfill]

19 hours ago, jenny2017 said:

How many hours does such an offline upgrade take? 

Not easy to say exactly but at least an hour in my experience. But then some windows auto updates can take an age.

 

Incidentally, as with all Micro$oft upgrades, it is ALWAYS preferable to back up your data and do a clean install. Far quicker, far more certain to work first time, far less frustrating.

[SooKee]

I'm guessing that to install Windows 10 fresh on a Mac under bootcamp would merely require you to install the Windows 10 Home 64 bit ISO then buy one of these keys to activate?  I want Windows bootcamp for a specific programme (a game actually) and if it works, I'm happy, if I need to to buy the USB version from Invade or wherever for 4,000 or so.  Just don't want to do so if either these keys work OK or if I install the game, don't like it, then decide to uninstall Windows from the laptop.  No problem binning $10 or whatever, more concerned about wasting $100.

[Jai Dee]

A post from a spammer in India as well as a reply have been removed from this thread.

[worgeordie]

On 10/17/2017 at 8:22 AM, gandalf12 said:

I have 2 laptops and I read it and tried it by swapping the HDD from one machine to the other. It immediately recognised it was not the same machine as the one it had been originally installed on. Further investigation provided the answer in that it is the motherboard that is identified. Suggest all these people who don't believe look it up at www.tomshardware.com

I swapped 2 HDD yesterday ,the only problem was I had to change

details in Emsisoft Antivirus,the Windows part no problem,I too thought

you could not do that,but tried it and it worked fine.

regards worgeordie

[manarak]

13 hours ago, worgeordie said:

I swapped 2 HDD yesterday ,the only problem was I had to change

details in Emsisoft Antivirus,the Windows part no problem,I too thought

you could not do that,but tried it and it worked fine.

regards worgeordie

 

I think they backpedaled from their original decision to not allow hardware changes because the backslash was too great.

 

Personally, if I lost the Windows license every time I upgrade a CPU or swap a HDD, then a large part of my computers would start running on linux.

I guess that's what Microsoft is afraid of. And rightly so.