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Downloading digital version of Windows 8.1 Pro

  • 22-10-2015 9:38pm
    #1
    EILAX
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 35 ✭


    I`m getting a new PC and I`ve decided to buy a license off a seller on ebay. The key/license only costs 15 euro! Can I put this onto a bootable usb once i`ve purchased? Or can I download the windows installer and then use the licence key I purchased to activate windows? Sorry if that sounded confusing but yeah :/

    Thanks.


Comments

  • #2
    roast
    Registered Users Posts: 2,320 ✭✭✭roast


    Download the windows ISO and use Rufus to create a bootable USB. You can input the key after installation.


  • #3
    EILAX
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 35 ✭EILAX


    roast wrote: »
    Download the windows ISO and use Rufus to create a bootable USB. You can input the key after installation.

    Would the ISO come with the key or do I download that for free on the microsoft website?


  • #4
    roast
    Registered Users Posts: 2,320 ✭✭✭roast


    EILAX wrote: »
    Would the ISO come with the key or do I download that for free on the microsoft website?

    You'd have to ask the seller.

    I imagine he's only emailing you the key. Maybe he'll send you a link to the ISO. If not, just download it from M$.


  • #5
    EILAX
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 35 ✭EILAX


    roast wrote: »
    You'd have to ask the seller.

    I imagine he's only emailing you the key. Maybe he'll send you a link to the ISO. If not, just download it from M$.

    Would you mind giving me a link to the Windows 8.1 Pro ISO? Thanks.


  • #6
    roast
    Registered Users Posts: 2,320 ✭✭✭roast


    EILAX wrote: »
    Would you mind giving me a link to the Windows 8.1 Pro ISO? Thanks.

    M$ have their own media creation toolkit here.


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  • #7
    Fysh
    Moderators, Arts Moderators, Regional Abroad Moderators Posts: 11,011 Mod ✭✭✭✭Fysh


    The only caution I'd offer is that at €15 the licence seems unlikely to be legit (the only time I ever saw a Windows licence that cheap legitimately was during the first year of Windows 7's availability, when upgrade licences were available on a one-per-person basis for a while at that sort of pricing). Which means you may end up failing activation tests down the line, especially if you're not getting the physical licence and accompanying CoA that would be your proof of a valid licence...


  • #8
    roast
    Registered Users Posts: 2,320 ✭✭✭roast


    Wouldn't rule it out not being legit, but I've bought rakes of licenses over the years for cheap. All legit from Volume Licensing.


  • #9
    Fysh
    Moderators, Arts Moderators, Regional Abroad Moderators Posts: 11,011 Mod ✭✭✭✭Fysh


    roast wrote: »
    Wouldn't rule it out not being legit, but I've bought rakes of licenses over the years for cheap. All legit from Volume Licensing.

    If you mean you got a VLK that allowed you to complete activation then it wasn't legit. These keys will get periodically revoked and replaced, so you can run into activation issues if this happens for the key you're using.


  • #10
    roast
    Registered Users Posts: 2,320 ✭✭✭roast


    Check out software swap on reddit, it'll explain a lot better than I can. :-)


  • #11
    Fysh
    Moderators, Arts Moderators, Regional Abroad Moderators Posts: 11,011 Mod ✭✭✭✭Fysh


    roast wrote: »
    Check out software swap on reddit, it'll explain a lot better than I can. :-)

    I'm not saying that it doesn't work or that it doesn't happen, just that if you buy a licence key in this way it's not a legitimate licence. In the sense that as a personal user if the key gets revoked and you contact MS about it you'll be SOL, and as a business user if you've got software or servers licenced in this manner and you get audited by the BSA or an equivalent group you'll have pain forthcoming.

    Volume Licence Keys are provided by Microsoft to large organisations who want to be able to bulk-activate their standard system images with a single key and for whom KMS isn't a catch-all solution. These agreements specifically preclude selling on the keys to third parties, which is why they get periodically revoked and replaced (members of the organisation holding the licence can get the new key easily, anyone else wasn't licenced in the first place and thus gets to lump it and buy a new key).

    I'm not here to tell you where to buy your software, just explaining that a key allowing Windows to activate doesn't mean your licence is legitimate. If it looks too good/cheap to be true, etc :)


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  • #12
    jamesd
    Registered Users Posts: 3,416 ✭✭✭jamesd


    Can a server license (2008) that is activated get inactivated by Microsoft ?


  • #13
    EILAX
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 35 ✭EILAX


    Fysh wrote: »
    The only caution I'd offer is that at €15 the licence seems unlikely to be legit (the only time I ever saw a Windows licence that cheap legitimately was during the first year of Windows 7's availability, when upgrade licences were available on a one-per-person basis for a while at that sort of pricing). Which means you may end up failing activation tests down the line, especially if you're not getting the physical licence and accompanying CoA that would be your proof of a valid licence...
    roast wrote: »
    Wouldn't rule it out not being legit, but I've bought rakes of licenses over the years for cheap. All legit from Volume Licensing.

    I`ve heard reddit sell cheap windows licenses. Anyone know if this is true? Saw something on it awhile ago on the PC Building/Upgrading forum.


  • #14
    Fysh
    Moderators, Arts Moderators, Regional Abroad Moderators Posts: 11,011 Mod ✭✭✭✭Fysh


    jamesd wrote: »
    Can a server license (2008) that is activated get inactivated by Microsoft ?

    In theory yes, though in practice I'd say it's less likely to happen, purely because the server OS is less commonly used than the client OS. Having said that if you're running a production server for business purposes I can't think of any good reason not to just pay for the licence.
    EILAX wrote: »
    I`ve heard reddit sell cheap windows licenses. Anyone know if this is true? Saw something on it awhile ago on the PC Building/Upgrading forum.

    It's not reddit so much as posters on reddit in the subreddit mentioned upthread. There's no guarantee of the licences offered for sale being legitimate, though, and the cheaper they are the less likely they are to be above-board, especially if you're not also getting a CoA for the licence.


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