• dangblingus@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    1
    ·
    1 year ago

    Nope. On all of my machines I installed Windows 10 using an official usb boot disk with a distro straight from Microsoft. It was 100% free, I didn’t need an account, and I’m not being prompted to activate, nor do I have the annoying little watermark in the bottom right of my screen.

    I seriously don’t understand how people are paying to use Windows when Microsoft gives it away for free.

    • Trollception@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      3
      ·
      1 year ago

      Were those OEM machines? Often times OEM computers will come with a Windows OS license during purchase and I think Windows may check the hardware thumbprint of the machine and license it automatically. Windows 10/11 is certainly not free for people who build their own machine from parts.