this,I got my OEM copy for about 30% off the price of a normal one. The license is tied to your machine so I wouldn't reccomend if you are thinking of changing motherboard anytime soon, If you are in the uk try here
EDIT: umm my hyperlinks arent working for some reason www.aria.co.uk
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yh thanks, I did that except the http protocol was missing
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If you're a student, you should ask your IT admin about MSDNAA - chances are you'll get it legally for free ;)
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Yeah. Back in like 2003 I remember we could just login to Microsoft's Student Store, whatever they called it back then. Maybe the same name. I would get full copies of Windows Xp, XP 64-Bit, the Server Operating Systems, some of the office stuff, and a ton of other things. It was really nice. I miss the free days. Now I bargain hunt if I want legal stuff. Free was nicer.
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check your local recycle center, if they have a electronics dump you can usually find machines with old COA license attached. Just remove one of them and use it. You probably aren't going to get Windows 8, but there are loads of Windows 7 licenses that get thrown daily. You probably aren't going to be allowed to take the actual computer away with you, but if you ask nice enough the guys should let you nap one of the stickers. I recommend you take a picture of it before you remove it in case you damage it.
Legality of it.. a bit of a grey area since, theyre not oem licenses but the license hasn't been transferred to you, but the majority of them (more so with branded machines) aren't being used anyway (OEM restores/factory installed).
It's up to you if you want to use one of the unused keys or let them go to the landfill.
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should have bought win 8 from amazon prior to the release for like 25$
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You can download a Windows 7 or 8 iso directly from Microsoft. So no worries about infected downloads.
All you need is a Microsoft account (Anything works, even making one right then)
Go to http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/subscriptions/downloads/hh442898.aspx and search for Windows 7 or 8.
Then you just need to activate it, which is very easy. Just a quick Google search and 2 minutes of your time can get it activated.
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No. Getting the OS is legal, activating it, not so much.
Edit: Just to be clear to the one person who doesn't understand that this is a response to PerfectBeats. You can activate it with a legal key, if you have the right version that your key is licensed for. That has nothing to do with this reply, since the reply was to PerfectBeats, who was asking about activating it off from what you would find on the other end of a Google Search. I know the rest of you understand this.
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You know what I meant. He said to do a Google Search to activate it. Clearly this isn't a legal method, unless their is a magic Windows key fairy that grants you legal keys for searching Google.
Lets not confuse people that don't want to commit crimes or violate anything. Do I care? No. I could activate them with the snap of my fingers. I just don't want anyone thinking the wrong things in this case.
You can put your legal keys in these operating systems, if you grabbed one that matches the license of your key. Sure. I assure you that it wasn't what was being talked about, above.
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That wasn't my claim, though. My reply was directly to PerfectBeats, who was replying directly to d345345. That is the joy of threaded forums, you can actually reply to people and not throw things out there, to confuse people. That is until someone decides to jump into a thread and do just that.
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No it wasn't. It was a reply. If I started my own thread or directly replied to the original poster, then you would have a case. In fact, even d345345 responded that I was correct. A reply is not the same as a general claim.
You don't seem to understand this.
PerfectBeats was asking if it was legal to do it that method. I replied to him. I don't know what you are going on about.
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Here's a summary of how I understand the conversation. It might clarify what I mean, though it's simplified:
d345345 says "You can download an ISO and then activate it."
PerfectBeats says "Is it legal to do that?"
You say "No, it's not."
I say "That's not accurate. You can activate ISOs legally."
If you did what was suggested by d345345, you wouldn't come across pirating methods very quickly, so he's not actually explaining how to pirate. He's explaining how to legally activate a Windows ISO.
I'm not defending him - I agree that he probably intended to advocate piracy. However, to a newbie who actually needs advice on how to do any of this, his directions lead to legal methods, not illegal ones - quite by accident, I'm sure. You have to remember, people who want help on the internet (who may read this thread) are mostly people who don't already understand the context of the situation they want help with, and they take things at face value because they don't know better.
Anyway, not a big deal. Just some opinions about communication.
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Actually d345345 suggested using Google for a two minute activation. This is very clearly not pointing to a legal method. Especially since the original poster asked for where to buy a copy of the OS. Clearly he doesn't have a key. Now before you argue this, please note that d345345 posted before you, agreeing with me. Clearly I was not wrong in my assumption.
PerfectBeats asked if it was legal to do it that way. I replied no.
I don't care that you can activate the copies legally. No one has a legal key that is asking about it in this thread. The OP is looking for one to buy, PerfectBeats was confused by the method. I responded to the method.
Now you say you wouldn't find the information quickly, but I saw at least two sources within the first 10 google results I saw.
No one was looking for advice on how to activate Windows. This is not what the thread is about. No one came with their key, prepared to activate. If they did, I would have taken the time to explain how to activate it. I responded to a question. This is a threaded post. If it wasn't, I could see your argument. I was responding directly to someone that asked a question.
There are flat forums out there, that seem better suited to some people.
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I responded directly to everything you said, which is more than you get most places. Like I said. Threaded. I replied.
I'm bored with this, anyway. I'm not the type to go and look for things to stir up. I just reply when things are asked or someone replies to me.
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I was not pointing to a legal way to activate it, however I was not pointing to an illegal way either. Googling 'Activating windows' can easily bring you to Amazon or something similar to purchase a legal activation key. I simply said it takes only 2 minutes to activate it, and you can find a legal or illegal way on Google to activate it.
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Your post right after that said: "Yep, what AllRoCol said, it's legal to download the ISO. However activating it is not, but it's a very simple process to activate it anyway. (About 1-2 minutes) Just use Google if you choose this method."
Doesn't matter, anyway. No one that was looking had a legal key and they were at best looking for a dirt cheap copy. Too bad they missed out on the $15ish party a few months before. Microsoft should bring that back and get more people to convert, since most aren't complaining about it, anymore.
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He was replying to the guy that asked if using Google to find an activation method is legal. I doubt he would have recommended downloading the disks from Microsoft if he didn't know they could be legally activated. That wouldn't help the original poster because he was looking for a place to buy it. D345345 suggested activating off from Google and got a response. That is where the replies came from.
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You missed the cheap Microsoft Windows 8 Pro offer. I paid $16 for mine, then they gave the free Media Center upgrade.
I would get on Newegg's mailing list, check Amazon, and add some deal alerts for Slickdeals. That might be your best best for obtaining a legal copy, if that is your route. Slickdeals sometimes has mega cheap copies that are linked, like if you fake a developer survey, you can get a copy of Windows 8 Pro for $25. Just be sure to be on the lookout for when one of those hits. Example.
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Or maybe you can just steal it, just like most Communists did!
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Be a college student.
EVERYTHING is free as a college student
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Only Adobe I use is photoshop, and I got that and like 2 billion other programs free with a 60 dollar pen/touch tablet from Costco
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Full Photoshop with a 60 dollar tablet? I kinda doubt that unless it was some really really crazy Black Friday deal and even thats pushing it.
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Yeah, sorry, elements.
There's some nice features that its missing, but it works for what I use it for
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Win 8 they can't even give away... it originally had 3 so-called 'glitches' in it which could activate the beta/trail into a full legal copy for life. It was possible to activate Windows 8 Pro for free, using a legitimate key provided by Microsoft itself - Microsoft sent to you personally. While they say it was a mistake in the quick hasted bug-ridden release - Seems to me like they leaked it on purpose to get more people moving over to it.... I still haven't bothered myself.
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does anyone know where to buy cheap win 7/8 ?
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