Posted on 10/29/2015 6:27:50 PM PDT by dayglored
If you own a pirated copy of Windows 7 or Windows 8.1, you'll have the chance to come clean.
If you pirated Windows 7 or Windows 8.1, Microsoft wants to welcome you back—all is forgiven.
Microsoft said Thursday that it will run an “experiment†to offer a path for those users who have either pirated or purchased an unlicensed copy of Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 to download a licensed copy from Microsoft itself, or to use a code from a third-party reseller. Either way, the licensed Windows 10 software will be used to update the PC with a valid license.
“We’d like to welcome as many of these customers as possible to the legitimate Windows ecosystem,†Microsoft’s Terry Myerson said in a blog post Thursday afternoon.
Why this matters: Microsoft originally said in March that users with a pirated copy of Windows 7 or 8.1 would be able to upgrade to Windows 10. The company later clarified that any user who did so would still be running an unlicensed copy...
Myerson said that one unexpected aspect of the Windows 10 upgrade process was discovering how many pirates were upgrading to Windows 10—and then turning around and purchasing a valid license from Microsoft. That gave the company an idea.
“We’ll offer a one-click opportunity to get Genuine via the Windows Store or by entering an activation code purchased elsewhere,†Myerson wrote. “If this turns into a path for most customers to get Genuine, we will expand the experiment.â€
(Excerpt) Read more at pcworld.com ...
A great deal of software will only run on Windows 8 and above
Haha, yeah, and to South America.
Like what? I am curious.... All software I need runs on windows 7. But I am not a sophisticated computer user
No, it’s not amnesty, it’s them wanting people to upgrade to 10. Someone is very, very desperate for us to use 10. The question is why such a push? It’s FREEEE!!! We’ll forgive you!!! We’ve even stuck an icon on your desktop to remind you 24/7!!! Google and Yahoo’s headlines blast it at you every day!!! You can’t escape 10!!! You vil obey!!!
No, that’s nothing I can support.
That was my thinking, too. Desperate. Something smells. Their desperation is too Big Brotherish for me to even think about upgrading.
My computer supposedly came with a legit Windows but a while back there was some sort of warning it wasn’t the real deal. I ignored them for months and they finally went away.
Mainly engineering and CAD software.
But I just found out that only applies to Windows 7 HOME or anything 32-bit.
Windows 7 PRO 64-bit will still run anything I use
I want XP back so my old games will load correctly.
No, that’s nothing I can support.
It's almost like the don't want to keep supporting an obsolete code base as long as people feel like installing it on new hardware.
Assholes.
Thanks for checking....I was genuinely curious. I use 64-bit version of Windows 7
What you could do is to download the latest WTP (preview) ISO from a MAC or Linux (so you can get the actual iso), place it on a USB using the Win 7 download tool, and maybe install it on a separate drive, and activate it using the product key on the PC.
Then use the media tool to upgrade it to Win 10. If the WTP is activated them the upgrade should not ask for the product key.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.