6 ms·

No, Windows just straight up doesn't require a key. All you really get locked out of without one is setting the wallpaper.

nicce 4y ago
The most of the other settings are disabled as well. System is quite limited after that grace period.
- zamadatix 4y ago
  In old versions of Windows this used to be true but in current versions system settings are fully functional outside of personalization (as in the "Personalization" section of Settings which covers wallpaper/theme/icons. Not "personalization" of every other section in the Settings app). No auto restarts anymore either.
  - nicce 4y ago
    Something good has happened.
  - userbinator 4y ago
    That's ironic, because it means MS still knows how much people value customising their environment that they're using it as way to encourage activation and thus $$$, but at the same time they're also slowly removing such settings.
    - zamadatix 4y ago
      If you've ever seen Windows 11's default light theme you might understand it's really a ransom system ;). I jest but really I think most home users just care about setting a theme and a wallpaper, nothing more, and Microsoft knows that. As technically superior as the legacy UI customization was where you could set the font, color, padding, size, etc of UI element xyz specifically most people were really only interested in clicking the theme button to turn XP from blue to silver and changing their wallpaper. The ones actually interested in putting in the work to truly customize the UI are likely a vanishingly small overlap with those that don't have a Windows license and won't pirate on top of already being a tiny minority to start with.
alar44 4y ago
If it doesn't say "windows needs activation" on the desktop it's because it was shipped with a hardware license.
- etaioinshrdlu 4y ago
  Hmmm, it was a used motherboard I bought on ebay...
  - alar44 4y ago
    Yup, that'll do it.
  - mrguyorama 4y ago
    I got a free copy of windows accidentally this way. I bought a used thinkpad for linux, and ended up installing Windows "temporarily" to play some games out of desperation, but the seller hadn't deactivated the bios Windows key so it auto-authenticated. Oops
yellowapple 4y ago
And if you do want to set the wallpaper (and get rid of the annoying activation watermark), you could always run vlmcsd somewhere on the network and activate as many Windows and Office installs as your heart desires.

nicce 4y ago

The most of the other settings are disabled as well. System is quite limited after that grace period.

zamadatix 4y ago
In old versions of Windows this used to be true but in current versions system settings are fully functional outside of personalization (as in the "Personalization" section of Settings which covers wallpaper/theme/icons. Not "personalization" of every other section in the Settings app). No auto restarts anymore either.
- nicce 4y ago
  Something good has happened.
- userbinator 4y ago
  That's ironic, because it means MS still knows how much people value customising their environment that they're using it as way to encourage activation and thus $$$, but at the same time they're also slowly removing such settings.
  - zamadatix 4y ago
    If you've ever seen Windows 11's default light theme you might understand it's really a ransom system ;). I jest but really I think most home users just care about setting a theme and a wallpaper, nothing more, and Microsoft knows that. As technically superior as the legacy UI customization was where you could set the font, color, padding, size, etc of UI element xyz specifically most people were really only interested in clicking the theme button to turn XP from blue to silver and changing their wallpaper. The ones actually interested in putting in the work to truly customize the UI are likely a vanishingly small overlap with those that don't have a Windows license and won't pirate on top of already being a tiny minority to start with.

alar44 4y ago

If it doesn't say "windows needs activation" on the desktop it's because it was shipped with a hardware license.

etaioinshrdlu 4y ago
Hmmm, it was a used motherboard I bought on ebay...
- alar44 4y ago
  Yup, that'll do it.
- mrguyorama 4y ago
  I got a free copy of windows accidentally this way. I bought a used thinkpad for linux, and ended up installing Windows "temporarily" to play some games out of desperation, but the seller hadn't deactivated the bios Windows key so it auto-authenticated. Oops

yellowapple 4y ago

And if you do want to set the wallpaper (and get rid of the annoying activation watermark), you could always run vlmcsd somewhere on the network and activate as many Windows and Office installs as your heart desires.