You never know when you might get flagged, and even if it’s pretty soon after you purchase the key, wherever you bought it from might not be very willing to help you get your money back (given the circumstances). Windows will think you’re trying to use the key on a different machine, and it will frown on that (as will the Microsoft customer service representative you call to try and fix this problem).įinally, it’s possible that your key might work for a little bit of time, but Microsoft could cancel it at any moment ” especially if the not-so-legit place you from tries to resell that key to someone else. You’ll still be able to get away with some reasonable upgrades ” a new graphics card, perhaps a different hard drive, or more memory ” but if you do some drastic PC surgery like replacing your motherboard, you might find your key no longer works. Second, your OEM key will lock to a single machine.

You’ll be nagged to activate your copy of Windows 10, and you won’t be able to personalise your desktop ” nor its colours ” but that’s the biggest hurdle Microsoft puts in your way for running an unactivated copy of the operating system. Your system won’t shut down after 30 days, nor will Microsoft lock you out of your apps or anything else crazy like that. Yes, you can install and run Windows 10 without activating it. Free: Run Windows 10 without activating it To ease your financial burden, here’s a roundup of all the best methods you can use to get a free or discounted version of Windows 10. Build your own PC, and you’ll have to pay for a copy of Windows 10 yourself.Īnd if you’re upgrading from an older operating system, the issue of whether you have to pay for a newer version of Windows gets confusing. While your new desktop or laptop computer is almost guaranteed to come with a copy of Windows 10, the price for the OS is probably factored into whatever you paid for your system. Of course, you need to buy your computer from Apple to use macOS (pretty much), but at least the operating system is free. Apple hasn’t charged for macOS, nor macOS updates, for years. Even Zune-clutching Windows loyalists have to admit that Mac owners have it pretty great ” at least, they do now.

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