Windows 10 USB Installer

[Stumpy122]

Hi guys!

I'm going to be building a brand-new gaming pc, so, obviously, it needs Windows 10. Now, i'm know my fair share about hardware, but I don't know much about software. So I was watching this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbpqkiaO7q4&index=139&list=PL7XeOx-sPQIk4NSYmeU9xPelLYchdfuQR&t=812s

In which Paul from Paul's hardware creates a Windows 10 USB Installer (information about windows starts at 13:09, bookmarks are also in the description). I assumed that for this part you need to buy Windows 10. However, at 16:02, he claims that you don't need to punch in your product key, but that you can press "I don't have a product key", after which Windows just installs.

Now it's not that I don't trust Paul or anything, but I think it was unclear whether or not it was free.

For further information, I already have a laptop with windows 10 installed, and the motherboard and CPU I will be using are the MSI B350 Tomahawk paired with an AMD Ryzen 5 1600.

If you have an answer, please let me know. Thanks in advance!

 

[USAFRet]

Yes, you can skip entering a license key. It will complete the install.

However, it will be Unactivated. There will be a randomly appearing overlay text at the bottom right.
No personalization for the desktop and Taskbar.

Windows 10 is not "free".
But it does complete the install, just with the limitations I posted above.

 

[Stumpy122]

Yes, you can skip entering a license key. It will complete the install.

However, it will be Unactivated. There will be a randomly appearing overlay text at the bottom right.
No personalization for the desktop and Taskbar.

Windows 10 is not "free".
But it does complete the install, just with the limitations I posted above.

When you say "No personalization for the desktop and Taskbar.", does that mean I won't be able to set a custom background? If so I might use it this way for a while, and then buy it. If I would do that, would that mean I'd have to install it again?

 

[USAFRet]

Yes, you can skip entering a license key. It will complete the install.

However, it will be Unactivated. There will be a randomly appearing overlay text at the bottom right.
No personalization for the desktop and Taskbar.

Windows 10 is not "free".
But it does complete the install, just with the limitations I posted above.

When you say "No personalization for the desktop and Taskbar.", does that mean I won't be able to set a custom background? If so I might use it this way for a while, and then buy it. If I would do that, would that mean I'd have to install it again?

That's exactly what it means...you're stuck with the default.
And no, you will NOT have to reinstall. There are multiple places in Settings that will prompt you for where to enter the valid license key you buy.

 

[Stumpy122]

Yes, you can skip entering a license key. It will complete the install.

However, it will be Unactivated. There will be a randomly appearing overlay text at the bottom right.
No personalization for the desktop and Taskbar.

Windows 10 is not "free".
But it does complete the install, just with the limitations I posted above.

When you say "No personalization for the desktop and Taskbar.", does that mean I won't be able to set a custom background? If so I might use it this way for a while, and then buy it. If I would do that, would that mean I'd have to install it again?

That's exactly what it means...you're stuck with the default.
And no, you will NOT have to reinstall. There are multiple places in Settings that will prompt you for where to enter the valid license key you buy.

Thank you very much for the incredibly quick reply!

 

[USAFRet]

Thank you very much for the incredibly quick reply!

Oh, and don't listen to 'Paul' about some of the shadier sites he recommends buying a Windows license from. They are not valid, he just gets paid to say that.

 

[Stumpy122]

Thank you very much for the incredibly quick reply!

Oh, and don't listen to 'Paul' about some of the shadier sites he recommends buying a Windows license from. They are not valid, he just gets paid to say that.

Yeah, I've already seen that stuff about "Kingguin" or whatever it's called. I always thought it was shady. Turns out I wasn't wrong.

 

[Stumpy122]

By the way, I asked my father about this, he's an IT consultant and has an MSCE degree, so I figured he would know some of it. He says that, If you use Windows like this, you'll only be able to use it for 130 days. Is this true?

 

[USAFRet]

By the way, I asked my father about this, he's an IT consultant and has an MSCE degree, so I figured he would know some of it. He says that, If you use Windows like this, you'll only be able to use it for 130 days. Is this true?

Actually, that is incorrect.
Previous to Win 10, there was a 30 day limit on an 'unavtivated' install.
Now...there does not seem to be a time limit.

I have a long running Win 10 Pro install in a VirtualBox VM, to test this specific 'unactivated' concept. "How long will it run?"
Installed Dec 8 2016. Just checked it today...still running exactly the same.
Dec 8 2016 to July 25 2017= 229 days

 

[Stumpy122]

By the way, I asked my father about this, he's an IT consultant and has an MSCE degree, so I figured he would know some of it. He says that, If you use Windows like this, you'll only be able to use it for 130 days. Is this true?

Actually, that is incorrect.
Previous to Win 10, there was a 30 day limit on an 'unavtivated' install.
Now...there does not seem to be a time limit.

I have a long running Win 10 Pro install in a VirtualBox VM, to test this specific 'unactivated' concept. "How long will it run?"
Installed Dec 8 2016. Just checked it today...still running exactly the same.
Dec 8 2016 to July 25 2017= 229 days

Alright. My dad is retired, so as you said, it used to be. Thanks one again!