Is it okay to sell a bootable windows10 usb loaded with drivers and free apps

[doublehunter]

As the title says, will it be okay to sell a bootable usb with windows10 loaded with bunch of drivers like driver pack solution, freeware apps like chrome, vlc, libre office, etc. much like an OEM but unlicensed.

The ISO came directly from MS website and does not contain any crack or hack on license, buyers will be encouraged to buy license key from MS.

Reason for this is mostly these days, laptops and desktops are no longer using Optical Disk Drives so its recommended to use a bootable usb. I know the ISO is free from MS website but not everyone has internet connection and not everyone has access to fast and uncapped internet. Hope someone can shed a light thanks!

 

[Kashimi]

Under the table you probably could do it just fine, but officially I'm gonna go out on a limb and say no. You aren't licensed by Microsoft to distribute any of their products, so you could be issued a Cease and Desist at any given time.

 

[Lutfij]

I doubt you're going to find any ISO with installers for popular app's. It's not so much the question about unlicensed or licensed but the issue of having malware or stowaways on the installer to end up being a zombie(unbeknownst to you). Mind sharing the link or source of the ISO in question?

Edit: Just saw your edited title. No! It's not alright to sell someone else's property and is grounds for piracy which is also in violation of our forums ToS/RoC.

 

[Kashimi]

I doubt you're going to find any ISO with installers for popular app's. It's not so much the question about unlicensed or licensed but the issue of having malware or stowaways on the installer to end up being a zombie(unbeknownst to you). Mind sharing the link or source of the ISO in question?

The ISO he's talking about is the Windows 10 Creation tool which can be downloaded directly from Windows.

He's talking about making a bootable USB drive, then also adding in driver packs and common programs with it.

 

[Lutfij]

Yeah I noticed the title after his edit.

 

[doublehunter]

Thanks for all your input Kashimi and Lutfij. So even selling just a bootable USB without any modifcation will still be frowned upon as I am not a certified distributor or their product, did I understand it correctly?

 

[Lutfij]

Correct! In that respect you should contact Microsoft for licencing permissions if you intend to set up shop with regards to computers and need to install the OS on said computers. In today's world, you don't even need to buy a licence since the free version will yet allow you to operate off the OS albeit with particular limitations. It's also easily accessible via the www to create your own bootable installer which makes the point about selling the installer, moot.

 

[doublehunter]

Correct! In that respect you should contact Microsoft for licencing permissions if you intend to set up shop with regards to computers and need to install the OS on said computers. In today's world, you don't even need to buy a licence since the free version will yet allow you to operate off the OS albeit with particular limitations. It's also easily accessible via the www to create your own bootable installer which makes the point about selling the installer, moot.

I understand that its accessible via www and anyone can create their own bootable installer but as I stated, not everyone knows how to set it up or even has an uncapped/fast internet connection to do this. I have some friends who approached me for help to install OS onto their machines and its a pain as they have to download it via internet and their internet sucks. After it was installed we ran into a driver problem that got fixed after using driver pack solution which is also quite hard to download on a slow internet. Hope this clarifies why I thought this could be used as a solution.

 

[Lutfij]

Driver pack solution?

 

[Kashimi]

Driver pack solution?

Putting the drivers on the same USB since a lot of cases these days don't even have space for a disc drive.

@Lutfij while selling these pre-setup USB drives would be frowned upon, it doesn't mean that there isn't a solution that would work for you. It's all about the marketing and wording.

For one thing, you could offer a service which is where you put all the software on their PC for them, and then allow them to simply keep the USB once you're done with it. Just gotta be smart about how you word things.

 

[doublehunter]

Hi Kashimi thanks for your comment. That is exactly what I was trying to accomplish here.

I knew that the wording should be smart enough if I plan to advertise this especially online, but just want to consult the legalities with someone smarter than me on these things thats why i jumped in the question. I also thought about being careful on how the wordings of my service will be when I advertise them. But I was also thinking to automate the process by putting answer file which completely automates the process without tech intervention. A boot to USB and couple of enter key and you have a working OS loaded with complete drivers and daily productivity tools. Like offering a product and a service at the same time.