this post was submitted on 08 Jun 2023
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Asklemmy

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[โ€“] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I have never once paid for Windows, yet at some point a digital license showed up on my Microsoft account and I've never gotten an Activate Windows prompt on any of my subsequent Windows installations.

[โ€“] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Perhaps it was included with your motherboard?

[โ€“] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I don't think so, I've swapped motherboards several times since and the license has remained.

I used to borrow Windows keys off the old PCs in my office's e-waste pile, my best guess is it's one of those keys that's somehow still activating each time I reinstall.

[โ€“] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

There are utilities like MAS (open-source project on Github ironically) that activate Windows fully without anyone ever needing to pay for it, just in case anyone looking at this thread was wondering