07.01.2019 15:58, Carlos E. R. пишет:
On 07/01/2019 13.29, Liam Proven wrote:
On 22/12/2018 05:07, Basil Chupin wrote:
No, you need the licence number for the copy of Windows when you are installing it.
This is not correct.
On *some* hardware *from participating vendors* Win10 can activate itself automatically.
That's interesting :-)
Is vmware or virtualbox "participating"? ;-)
No. "Participating" in this case means - system vendor bundles Windows license with system it sells. VMware never did it. It is possible to expose original host SMBIOS/ACPI information used by auto-activation to VM with VMware (I suppose same is possible with VB). With older system-lock technologies that relied on vendor signature in BIOS and avoided activation entirely when you used suitable installation medium that would technically allow you to install any number of fully functional Windows instances (I do not imply that it was legal). With modern technique that simply stores product activation key in BIOS you still need to activate your installation and you can do it just once.
Additionally, the free upgrade programme is still available, so long as you turn on an accessibility tool, such as Windows Narrator or Magnifier. Then previous versions can be upgraded to 10 and will still function and will be pre-activated. (If they were activated in the first place, obviously.)
Ah
Upgraded systems use so called "digital license" which is unique identification for your installation which is generated on update and stored on Microsoft sites associated with your Microsoft account. There is no product key involved. This "digital license" is then used for activation and tied to hardware hash as usual. This allows you to reinstall updated system *if* you have Microsoft account - on install digital license is fetched from your account and automatically activates installed Windows.