When Microsoft first launched the Windows operating system, installing it was only a matter of copying the program onto a disk. You didn't have to verify your copy of Windows. Starting with Windows XP ...

Windows Activation helps verify that your copy of Windows is genuine and hasn’t been used on more devices than the Microsoft Software License Terms allow. 1] Are you using the right product key? Make ...

Without much fanfare, Microsoft announced that users will no longer be able to install and activate Windows 10 or Windows 11 with older Windows 7 and Windows 8 product keys. Neowin performed a number ...

Users are learning that they can ask Microsoft Copilot how to activate Windows 11 without paying. The AI will reply with third-party scripts you can use to pirate the OS. You can even ask it to ...

In December 2022, we published a short PSA, reminding users they could still activate Windows 11 and 10 with valid Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 keys. This practice dates back to 2015 when Microsoft launched ...

Ugh this kinda sucks but I guess it doesn't really matter. I had a bunch of Windows 7 keys from 2009 that have been great with 10 and 11. I get that this free ride is over but it still sucks. It ...

At least for now, though, it seems like this change will only apply to future Windows versions. We were able to activate a fresh Windows 11 Pro 22H2 install with a Windows 8 Pro product key as of this ...