Cheapest LEGAL way to get Windows 7-10?

[gerardvanschip]

Yes yes, I know, yech, Windows. I only want it for 1 thing. Running Obduction from Cyan (the Myst guys). The game refuses to start and when I talked to support and they found i had a hackintosh they told me my computer is unsupported.

I'm asking for LEGAL as I don't want activation hassle, I also like being as legit as possible, funny as a hackintosh owner but my excuse is that I have a dormant iMac on a shelf, unused, that supplied my macOS

So far I have seen prices range from 130 to 200 dollars which seems insane for something I need to run 1 game.

 

[trs96]

You can install Win10 from the ISO file downloaded from MS. It's perfectly legal and everything works. There is just a permanent watermark on the lower right corner of the desktop. Every update current and future can be installed. Their new approach is Windows as a service instead of a product to sell. You "pay" for Windows 10 by giving them your personal info and web browsing information.

 

[gerardvanschip]

You can install Win10 from the ISO file downloaded from MS. It's perfectly legal and everything works. There is just a permanent watermark on the lower right corner of the desktop. Every update current and future can be installed. Their new approach is Windows as a service instead of a product to sell. You "pay" for Windows 10 by giving them your personal info and web browsing information.

Thanks, yeah just found an article talking about that. Seems Microsoft no longer disables an unactivated OS. I also found that ebay sellers sell what is known as refurb license codes. Intended for a refurb dealer who swaps a mother board on a PC. Going to give that a try as well, they art dirt cheap.

 

[rwillett]

I've brought a couple of licenses off eBay for Windows 7 and 8. These tend to be dirt cheap and for $10, £8 I got a legitimate CoA license.

You can also then legitimately upgrade to Windows 10 from these by following the links to the Windows 10 accessibility section. Microsoft seems happy for you to upgrade using that path.