No grace period in Windows 8 - confirmed.

Discussion in 'Windows 8' started by myhken, Aug 21, 2012.

  1. myhken

    myhken Experienced MDL Tester

    Feb 28, 2010
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  2. Yen

    Yen Admin (retired)
    Staff Member

    May 6, 2007
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    Yes, w8 won't get a grace period on any of my PCs. W8 hasn't deserved it. :D
     
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  3. acyuta

    acyuta MDL Expert

    Mar 8, 2010
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    On Aug 12, 2012, I took out a Technet Std subscription though I feel it was somewhat wasted on Win 8. My old Technet Pro in 2010 is good for huge number of activations of all pre-2012 OS (for me primarily consumer oriented).

    Anyway, the relevant portion for me is 2 keys for Pro and 2 keys for Pro N. So that makes it around 40 activations??

    N version in this case becomes valuable because it is basically regular version without WMP. In my old Technet Pro subscription, N versions were useless because I had 500 activations for win 7 enterprise plus huge numbers for others (got 10 keys then primarily based on mykhen's recommendation and my money).
     
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  4. myhken

    myhken Experienced MDL Tester

    Feb 28, 2010
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    Yes, you have a total of 40 activations on Windows 8 core and Pro (+ N ver). So not much to play with, since you have to activate each time you install.
     
  5. acyuta

    acyuta MDL Expert

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    This is off topic, but previously (2010 generated keys), one key ws good enough for more than 30-40 activations. I have used just 1 key for win ultimate and so far it has been more than 30 times at least.
    10 may be the min, and one will know only after exceeding that.
    This also means that VM for me will be only evaluation editions of enterprise.
     
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  6. MrMagic

    MrMagic MDL Guru

    Feb 13, 2012
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    10 activations per key, or 10 machines per key ?
     
  7. Adam20

    Adam20 MDL Novice

    Sep 6, 2007
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    Does anyone know how many activations the Windows 8 Enterprise MAK key on MSDN gives you?

    I know on older versions of Windows the MAK keys on MSDN gave 500 activations.
     
  8. acyuta

    acyuta MDL Expert

    Mar 8, 2010
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    See the original post. I read somewhere that both MSDN and technet now have the same activation limit per key.
     
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  9. madmoe

    madmoe MDL Novice

    Aug 12, 2009
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    "since you have to activate each time you install." - how is this when I installed weeks ago and still have not activated and all is working fine? I do have the watermark of course but that does not bother me one single bit to be honest.

    Cheers,
    M
     
  10. Josh Cell

    Josh Cell MDL Developer

    Jan 8, 2011
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    I've found it on my first Windows 8 Evaluation install on a real machine.

    I've reinstalled ~3 times and only the 90 days is allowed. Have 1 rearm but doesn't works.
     
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  11. Garbellano

    Garbellano MDL Addicted

    Aug 13, 2012
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    lol. I like how many version of this crap are. Core?!. LOL wasnt that a scene group?. How ironic.
     
  12. Chris123NT

    Chris123NT MDL Expert

    Oct 23, 2010
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    The auto activation thing is what really bugs the hell out of me. It activates right after install and then when you update your drivers the activation dumps and you have to re-activate, so you end up using 2 activations in order to get your machine fully set up. Stupid idea on MS' part.

    The auto activation feature actually forces me to install with the keys from product.ini so it doesn't bone one of my activations right out of the gate.
     
  13. lule

    lule MDL Novice

    May 6, 2012
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    #14 lule, Aug 21, 2012
    Last edited: Aug 21, 2012
    wrong post.
     
  14. myhken

    myhken Experienced MDL Tester

    Feb 28, 2010
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    It's only 20 activation now, with the new Technet/MSDN rules applied 16.July this year. And the MAK key is for both normal version and N version.
     
  15. warlordll

    warlordll MDL Member

    Apr 25, 2011
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    ok im confused about all this talk about no grace period...my question is if i bought windows 8 and coz i do wipe pc alot..are you telling me i only have x amount of activations? then after that windows 8 cant be reactivated? seems a waste of my money if this is gonna be true.

    ps dont ask why i wipe pc alot i just do :) for my own reasons
     
  16. PaulDesmond

    PaulDesmond MDL Magnet

    Aug 6, 2009
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    Let me guess: when wiping your machine, your brother's, sister's, mother's, father's, uncle's .....
    all must be wiped the same day just for a reason :D lol
     
  17. WIKIMACK

    WIKIMACK MDL Expert

    Nov 10, 2011
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    Let's be honest, it makes sense that Microsoft is trying to prevent the activation're confident but unofficial team see MDL DAZ surely find a solution.
     
  18. Drexl

    Drexl MDL Junior Member

    Aug 9, 2007
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    Later in the discussion, he says the activations are unlimited on the same hardware. So, it seems that only activations after a hardware change count toward the limit. I would keep a "journal" of activations just in case, LOL.

    About the auto activation, what if you're not connected to the internet until you finish installing drivers? Would it still use 2 slots?
     
  19. PaulDesmond

    PaulDesmond MDL Magnet

    Aug 6, 2009
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    a count down of activations is recommended anyway, especially of those you don't see.
    In terms of a bad internet line when installing the OS, I believe ( I don't know as I didn't try), there might be a problem in terms of the question about the e-mail address and your other privacy :D