How can I get an "economical" Windows 10 Key for a budget (aka: Free) computer?

[JohnnyRedLight]

Hello!

I've cobbled together a bunch of my spare parts into a perfectly good, functioning PC for a relative and the only remaining component is a Windows 10 key. $140 CAD seems like a rediculous amount to spend considering that is more than all the parts are even worth.

A) Will Windows 10S be offered for sale "cheaper" than 10 Home?
B) Without using one of the nefarious key sites ($25 seems too good to be true) is there any legit way to get Windows at a discount?
C) Do you have any Windows keys lying around the office? :wink:

Thanks!

 

[davidhk129]

If your "put together" PC does not have a genuine Windows operating system ( i.e. Win 7 or Win8/8.1 ) already installed, then the answer is...... you will have to buy a genuine Win 10 key.

I understand your concern about the budget, but there is no shortcut to get a genuine Windows 10 license.
Sorry.

If your PC does have a genuine Windows OS running, then you are in luck.
Free upgrade from Win 7 and Win 8/8.1 to Windows 10 is still available.

 

[JohnnyRedLight]

If your "put together" PC does not have a genuine Windows operating system ( i.e. Win 7 or Win8/8.1 ) already installed, then the answer is...... you will have to buy a genuine Win 10 key.

I understand your concern about the budget, but there is no shortcut to get a genuine Windows 10 license.
Sorry.

If your PC does have a genuine Windows OS running, then you are in luck.
Free upgrade from Win 7 and Win 8/8.1 to Windows 10 is still available.

I assumed that would be the answer. Thanks. Unfortunately it doesn't have any license. It's literally loose parts that were lying around and a blank hard drive.

 

[xandros9]

Re: How can I get an "economical" Windows 10 Key for a budget (aka: Free) computer?

A) I'm not sure it will even be for sale standalone. I would prefer Linux to 10 S personally.

B) If you are a student, it's possible to get a copy of Windows 10 Education (or another version of Windows) for free or at a discount depending on the minutia. (10 Ed is basically a slight variant of 10 Enterprise)

C) No.

Worst case, I'd get started on a Linux distribution like Ubuntu. I'd go with Linux (Xubuntu or Lubuntu personally) on really cheap/weak/old PC's anyway.
Especially if you're looking at something like a Pentium 4 and a GB of RAM.

 

[JohnnyRedLight]

Re: How can I get an "economical" Windows 10 Key for a budget (aka: Free) computer?

A) I'm not sure it will even be for sale standalone. I would prefer Linux to 10 S personally.

B) If you are a student, it's possible to get a copy of Windows 10 Education (or another version of Windows) for free or at a discount depending on the minutia. (10 Ed is basically a slight variant of 10 Enterprise)

C) No.

Worst case, I'd get started on a Linux distribution like Ubuntu. I'd go with Linux (Xubuntu or Lubuntu personally) on really cheap/weak/old PC's anyway.
Especially if you're looking at something like a Pentium 4 and a GB of RAM.

Cool. Thanks. Might be my first forray into Linux.

It's actually pretty decent. A Q6600 with 8gb of ram.

 

[L0n3N1nja]

Know any students? They can often get windows at a heavy discount or for free. I got windows Xp, Vista, and 7 completely free when in college, downloaded ISO files and got legit CD keys.

 

[Lazgeor]

You can simply run Windows 10 unactivated. From what I saw online, you can use Windows 10 without a key for as long as you want. I guess that since there is an app store in Windows 10, they get their money from there and they don't actually force you to run it activated. The only limitation is that you won't be able to change the taskbar color and stuff, generally you won't be able to customize it (but you can change the wallpaper freely!). You can search for more information online, and if you're not comfortable with this solution then you can try any of the options mentioned before (Linux for example). As for how to do it, when installing Windows 10 and it asks for a key, there is an option to click which says "I don't have a key" and the installation continues normally. If it asks again during installation, that option is still going to be there and you have press it once again. After that, when the installation finishes, I don't know how long you can go until you get a notification or something, so that why I suggest you search online before doing it. I hope I helped!

 

[Zachary Boddy]

You might try finding an old Windows 7 or Windows 8 key and then use the numerous loopholes to attain a free upgrade to Windows 10, but this might be near impossible at this point so I'm not sure how useful that is to you.