Using Windows 10 without activation

Discussion in 'Windows 10' started by redbug, Jul 28, 2015.

  1. MrAnalysis

    MrAnalysis MDL Senior Member

    Aug 4, 2012
    417
    384
    10
    Makes little sense to use KMS or leave it unlicensed when you can just Daz loader Windows 7 and upgrade then have Windows 10 free for life without ever having to run KMS or anything again. Once you have done this once you can reinstall fresh whenever you want without ever touching Windows 7 or a crack of any-kind.
     
    Stop hovering to collapse... Click to collapse... Hover to expand... Click to expand...
  2. k3lt

    k3lt MDL Member

    Nov 2, 2013
    116
    41
    10
    CBA dealing with some M$ accounts, i will stick to KMS and local account just like with 7 and 8.1, i dont see issue. :)
     
  3. qewlpal

    qewlpal MDL Addicted

    Jun 25, 2010
    575
    2,009
    30
    @redbug,

    Interesting Findings,

    I am curious what happens after 30 days of your installation, and what is the output of
    slmgr /dlv ?

    It is showing remaining grace period right, I am guessing around 15 days left ?
     
    Stop hovering to collapse... Click to collapse... Hover to expand... Click to expand...
  4. and0r

    and0r MDL Novice

    Oct 1, 2014
    19
    2
    0
    i have been running unactivated win 8.1 pro i got from an official MS iso, i think it was from technet or something. anyway, i have been running 8.1 pro with a generic key for a very long time (more than a year), i only get the "activate windows" watermark on my desktop sometimes.
     
  5. redbug

    redbug MDL Junior Member

    Sep 27, 2010
    63
    21
    0
    Screenshot showing results of slmgr /dlv on my system:

    Control Panel > System > Windows activation
    Shows "Windows is not activated."
     

    Attached Files:

    Stop hovering to collapse... Click to collapse... Hover to expand... Click to expand...
  6. redbug

    redbug MDL Junior Member

    Sep 27, 2010
    63
    21
    0
    #26 redbug, Jul 28, 2015
    Last edited: Jul 28, 2015
    (OP)
    Stop hovering to collapse... Click to collapse... Hover to expand... Click to expand...
  7. Mandy

    Mandy MDL Member

    Oct 15, 2010
    128
    40
    10
    @MrAnalysis
    Redbug is aware of activation procedures available from the initial post
    He is conducting an experiment on what happens to the non activated system after a period
    and wants to know if anyone has experience something odd or who can join him to find out his objective Testers if you like:thinking:
     
  8. redbug

    redbug MDL Junior Member

    Sep 27, 2010
    63
    21
    0
    Sometimes when a reboot is called for, simply restarting the Windows Explorer process will accomplish the same goal and be much quicker than rebooting.
    Task Manager > Processes tab > Windows processes > Windows Explorer > Restart

    I was disappointed to find that restarting Windows Explorer did not re-enable Personalization changes on my unactivated system. In a few hours, when the Activate Windows watermark appears on my desktop, I'm going to try restarting Windows Explorer to see it that will remove it as rebooting does. I have high hopes. I read a report that said in Windows 8.1, restarting Windows Explorer got rid of the watermark in that OS. I'm hoping it works the same for Win 10.
     
    Stop hovering to collapse... Click to collapse... Hover to expand... Click to expand...
  9. redbug

    redbug MDL Junior Member

    Sep 27, 2010
    63
    21
    0
    About 3 1/2 hours after booting, the watermark appeared. I had intended to restart Windows Explorer process to see if that would get rid of the watermark, but when I looked in Task Manager > Processes tab, the Windows Explorer process was nowhere to be found. It had disappeared from the list of processes.

    After poking around, I noticed in the Users tab there was a listing for Windows Explorer. I restarted it.
    The watermark did not disappear.
    I noticed now that Windows Explorer re-appeared in the Processes tab. Restarted it.
    The watermark still did not disappear.
    I am disappointed.
     
    Stop hovering to collapse... Click to collapse... Hover to expand... Click to expand...
  10. redbug

    redbug MDL Junior Member

    Sep 27, 2010
    63
    21
    0
    http:// forums .mydigitallife.net/threads/35682-Removal-of-Activation-Overlay-Watermark-in-unactivated-RTM-Need-Help!?p=814141&viewfull=1#post814141
    ""As you know, killing explorer.exe no longer clears the "Activate Windows" watermark. And neither does killing the twinui.dll thread with Process Explorer."

    There is lots of good info here on the forum, but it is scattered and hard to find. I wish it was collated, aggregated, and summarized.
     
    Stop hovering to collapse... Click to collapse... Hover to expand... Click to expand...
  11. Puremin0rez

    Puremin0rez MDL Senior Member

    Nov 24, 2010
    267
    161
    10
    Stop hovering to collapse... Click to collapse... Hover to expand... Click to expand...
  12. redbug

    redbug MDL Junior Member

    Sep 27, 2010
    63
    21
    0
    August 6
    Have been running about 23 days unactivated. Noticed several days ago the Universal app called Calculator started working again. The first few days after install, running without activation, I noticed some of the Universal apps would not work. When I clicked to start them, their window would appear briefly and then disappear. Calculator was one of the apps that behaved this way. I don't know exactly when it resumed working. Just a few days ago.
    Apps currently not working:
    3D Builder
    Calendar -- window appears, but shows no details of the app. No text, no links. Just a blue background with an icon in the center.
    Camera
    Groove Music
    Mail -- same as Calendar
    Phone Companion
    Weather
     
    Stop hovering to collapse... Click to collapse... Hover to expand... Click to expand...
  13. redbug

    redbug MDL Junior Member

    Sep 27, 2010
    63
    21
    0
    #33 redbug, Aug 6, 2015
    Last edited: Aug 7, 2015
    (OP)
    Stop hovering to collapse... Click to collapse... Hover to expand... Click to expand...
  14. Bosh

    Bosh MDL Developer

    May 30, 2010
    614
    297
    30
    Has anyone tried this with a virtual machine? I could try it but if anyone already spent the time downloading/installing it would be good to know.
     
  15. Daz

    Daz MDL Developer / Admin
    Staff Member

    Jul 31, 2009
    9,534
    67,251
    300
    It works with virtual machines too.
     
    Stop hovering to collapse... Click to collapse... Hover to expand... Click to expand...
  16. redbug

    redbug MDL Junior Member

    Sep 27, 2010
    63
    21
    0
    The VM in which I installed Win 10 unactivated on 7/15/2015 somehow got corrupted and I had to delete it. Bummer! I was looking forward to seeing if there was any change after the machine had been running for 30 days unactivated.
    I do have another VM in which I installed Win 10 unactivated on 7/31/2015, so I am continuing with the experiment.

    One odd difference I noticed between the 7/15 machine and the 7/31 machine is that with the
    7/15 machine, there was a brief period after booting when Personalization changes were enabled, but with the 7/31 machine, Personalization changes are disabled immediately after booting.
    The source for the 7/15 machine was an ISO I created from an ESD file. The source for the 7/31 machine is an ISO file I created using the MS Media Creation tool. I don't know if that made the difference in the Personalization behavior or not.
    Because updates are forced, MS can change the way the unactivated OS behaves anytime they want to.
    I wish MS would publish a statement explaining how the OS behaves when unactivated.
     
    Stop hovering to collapse... Click to collapse... Hover to expand... Click to expand...
  17. GOD666

    GOD666 MDL Expert

    Aug 1, 2015
    1,958
    2,059
    60
    Windows Enterprise Edition will automatically reboot/shutdown after an hour or so if not activated. This seems to only happen in the Enterprise Edition.
     
  18. redbug

    redbug MDL Junior Member

    Sep 27, 2010
    63
    21
    0
    #38 redbug, Aug 11, 2015
    Last edited: Aug 11, 2015
    (OP)
    I installed Win 10 Enterprise 64bit last night. My source was an ESD file named
    10240.16384.150709-1700.th1_cliententerprise_vol_x64fre_en-us_54d610e4e51a30e8f3e2e404cb3694e2af376756.esd
    I used ESD Decrypter (esd-decrypter-wimlib-6.7z) to create an ISO from the ESD.
    The SHA1 hash of my ISO file is: 2718D0044DA698FBC4BE087810D964BB172F9AD6
    If I recall correctly, the hash of my ISO file is unique and would be different from yours even if you used the same ESD file as I did, and used ESD Decrypter to create an ISO file.
    May I ask what was the source of the Enterprise edition that you installed?

    Not sure, but seems like I recall running Enterprise for more than an hour last night without it rebooting. I'm going to test again. I booted about half an hour ago.
    Found out you can find the uptime (time since booting) by looking on the Performance tab of Task Manager.

    Noticed that immediately after booting, Settings > Personalization shows "You need to activate Windows before you can personalize your PC."

    But, also noticed that in Control Panel > Personalization, I am able to change Themes. That seems odd.

    [Edit]
    Noticed when I installed Enterprise, I was not asked to enter a Product Key as I was when I installed the Pro version. I suppose this has something to do with the "vol" (volume) type of license. I need to do some more reading on the various types of licenses.
    [Edit 2]
    Up time shows a little over an hour. No reboot yet.
    [Edit 3, 4, 5]
    At a little over 3 hours up time and still no reboot, a watermark appeared on the lower-right part of the Desktop. It says "Activate Windows". I'm not going to do what it says. All the Universal apps seem to be working OK.
    Found another way to see the up time and the date and time the OS was installed:
    Command Prompt (run as admin) > systeminfo
    Perhaps the involuntary rebooting after an hour only starts after Enterprise has been running several days unactivated?
    https:// www. youtube.com/watch?v=-4YrCFz0Kfc
     
    Stop hovering to collapse... Click to collapse... Hover to expand... Click to expand...
  19. bromanbro

    bromanbro MDL Member

    Sep 30, 2012
    237
    39
    10
    You're doing god's work redbug :D


    Interesting stuff.
     
  20. redbug

    redbug MDL Junior Member

    Sep 27, 2010
    63
    21
    0
    #40 redbug, Aug 12, 2015
    Last edited: Aug 12, 2015
    (OP)
    =====6:51 PM 8/11/2015

    Installed Windows 10 Enterprise 90-day Evaluation, 64bit
    Downloaded ISO from:
    https:// www. microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/evaluate-windows-10-enterprise

    10240.16384.150709-1700.TH1_CLIENTENTERPRISEEVAL_OEMRET_X64FRE_EN-US.ISO
    VirtualBox 5.0

    Internet offline

    Language, Time, Keyboard
    Next
    Install now or Repair your computer.
    Chose Install now.
    License. Accept.
    Next
    Which type of install...Upgrade or Custom
    Chose Custom
    Where do you want to install...
    Chose unallocated space.
    Next
    Installing...
    Auto reboot. Getting devices ready...Auto reboot.
    Get going fast. Custom or Express settings.
    Chose Custom
    Turned all options off.
    Create an account for this PC.
    user name: John
    Next
    Setting up your apps...
    Desktop appeared.
    Networks. Do you want to allow your PC to be discoverable by other PCs and devices on this network?
    Chose yes.

    Devices > Guest Additions

    Watermark appears on lower-right of Desktop.
    "Windows 10 Enterprise Evaluation, Windows License is expired, Build 10240"

    Control Panel > System > Windows activation
    shows "Connect to the Internet to activate Windows"

    Settings > Update and Security > Activation
    shows "Activation. Connect to the Internet to activate Windows"

    slmgr -dlv shows:
    License Status: Notification
    Notification Reason: grace time expired
    Remaining Windows rearm count: 2
    Remaining SKU rearm count: 2

    Why doesn't it show I have 90 days to evaluate?

    Made Custom Changes

    Installed AVG

    Went online and ran Windows Update.

    On the MS page from which I downloaded Enterprise Evaluation, it says:
    https:// www. microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/evaluate-windows-10-enterprise
    "In order to use Windows 10 Enterprise, you must sign in to your PC with a Microsoft account. The option to create a local account will be made available at the time of the final release."
    "If you fail to activate this evaluation after installation, or if your evaluation period expires, the desktop background will turn black, you will see a persistent desktop notification indicating that the system is not genuine, and the PC will shut down every hour."

    I installed the OS while offline. There was no mention of signing in with a MS account.

    [Edit]
    My current Desktop color is not black. It is dark gray, as I chose when I made some Personalization changes.
    Will the Desktop turn black some time later? I suspect it will.
    Will the OS shut down after 1 hour uptime? I suspect it will. Current uptime is 20 minutes. So, I'll find out afterwhile whether or not it shuts down.
    If I ran the infamous rearm command, would the watermark disappear, and would the system report that I have 90 days to evaluate? I suspect it might. I hope it will. Plan to try that later.

    [Edit]
    Uptime is a little more than 1 hour. So far, no involuntary reboot. No black screen.
    Just now noticed watermark now says "Windows License valid for 90 days".
    slmgr -dlv shows:
    Licence Status: Licensed
    Timebased activation expiration: 129523 minutes, 90 days

    Dang!
    I don't know when the license status went from being expired to being valid for 90 days. I wasn't paying close enough attention. Maybe it happened when I went online and ran Windows Updates?

    The watermark that appears on this Evaluation version is quite different from the mark on the non-evaluation version that I installed previously.
    The Evaluation watermark says "Windows 10 Enterprise Evaluation, Windows License valid for 90 days, Build 10240". It appears immediately after the OS boots. If a window covers the watermark, it does not show through the window.
    The non-evaluation watermark says "Activate Windows". It appears about 3 hours after booting. If a window covers the mark, it shows through the window.
     
    Stop hovering to collapse... Click to collapse... Hover to expand... Click to expand...