I use Win-10 in a VirtualBox VM for testing purposes. Specifically for testing the Windows version of my e-mail client. I have a valid product key obtained from Amazon, but from time to time my virtual machine gets wedged, so I have to delete it and build a new one. This seems to get me into trouble with MS, who notice that the MAC address of the new build is different from the last one.
So this ghostly lettering appears on the screen telling me I have to "Activate Windows". The virtual machine also appears to start behaving oddly once in this state. One can start the activation process, and there's even a link to tell them that "I have changed hardware on this machine", but after that it wants me to log on (not sure what to) and I either don't have an account or have forgotten about it, can't remember which now.
And advice as to how to get this sequence to STFU?
All downloads of Windows for some years have been linked to an MS email account. I have an old Hotmail account that still works, but you may have had one on live.com or some variation of Outlook.
If you activate an install of windows, then you can save that activation into a MS account, so that should you change the hardware, you can reassociate that activation with the new hardware. (this is true for retail keys but not OEM ones)
However you don't need an account to download windows - the installer is generic.
I've never had any flavour of MS email account. Actually I wonder - perhaps I should get it to set one up. I seem to recall this "activation" procedure offers that.
I wondered about this, too, but I've no note of the MAC I was using when the original VM was set up.
For applications like that just build your (virtual) machine out to a starter state, and then snapshot it. If it gets borked, roll back to the snapshot.
If you want to make copies of the VM, then build it out to a starting state, and then run sysprep on it. That will make the windows install generic and remove hardware id related info. Next time you booth the machine it will be like the first turn on and it will run the windows "Out of the Box" experience (OOBE), which walks the user through first setup including asking for the key etc.
(that is how a system builder will manage to have all the right drivers installed for when you turn on the PC the "first time" - a kind of "make me a virgin again" process)
The only "odd" stuff that will happen without activation is that you will not be able to save any personalisation, like custom screen colours or wall papers etc. With Win 10 or 11, everything else should work as normal including getting proper updates.
This assumes that you have added the machine to a MS account - it then lets you reactivate on new hardware. (it will activate automatically on the old hardware).
In cases were you have not got the activation state saved to and account, and have been forced to change the hardware (say on motherboard failure), you can activate by phone. Normally you have to go as far as talking to them, and tell them you had to replace the mobo. At which point they will ask to see the receipt for the motherboard, and they will reactivate. (they will usually do this for OEM licenses as well).
Or just cheat. Open a command prompt and type:
PS irm
formatting link
| iex
(gets the open source MS activation script and runs it - obviously only "legal" if you own a valid license :-) )
Sorry, I was thinking of downloading something more exotic than domestic Windows, which was the last time I did it. That involved paying.
But MS tries hard to get new domestic users to set up an MS email account and use it to login on their own machines. I suppose it makes their spying easier. The last installation I did, which must have been
10, still had a way of avoiding it and using a 'legacy' account. I don't know if the latest versions still have that.
Oh indeed - in fact on a windows home machine you have to try quite hard to avoid using a MS account to set it up. (Pro and Enterprise still allow a path through to the local account option fairly easily)
With the pro versions, you select "options", then "domain join instead", then it lets you do a local account - just remember to got for the second option on all the questions about "find my PC" etc, otherwise some will loop you back to needing a MS account.
With home versions it is harder - but there are still workarounds.
Latest version of 11 home will not install without internet...
One of the tricks that worked (and might still do) was to connect to a network, then force open a command prompt and do a dhcp release to drop the IP address. So it satisfied the OOBE that it was connected to a network while still preventing it from actually using it!
Rufus will also let you install 11 on non compliant hardware that lacks any form of TPM (the registry bypass still needs a TPM of some kind - it just skips the requirement for a V2.0 one)
In powershell you won't need the PS bit (that just invokes powershell from the command prompt).
You may not have the "irm" alias defined (it is usually there by default in 10) - it expands out to "Invoke-RestMethod" - it basically goes and grabs the script from a REST web api. It then pipes it to iex (which expands to "Invoke-Expression"
so you could type:
Invoke-RestMethod
formatting link
| Invoke-Expression
However, if you prefer you can just download the set of scripts directly from the link at:
formatting link
That will get a zip file of all the activators and instructions in a readme.
Prolly should have made it clearer that the massgrave scripts will activate windows regardless of how you have arrived at a booting install of it. The sysprep method is the way to produce a generic install image that can be preconfigured with whatever apps etc you want, and then rolled out onto new hardware. It is not a way to force activation.
Licensing involves passing the presented license key, plus a "hardware hash", to the Microsoft server. If you reinstall the OS for some reason, then the idea is, you want the hardware hash to be the same. As that is how it would have worked on a physical computer. The MAC address receives a lot of weight, because the NIC is assumed to be soldered to the motherboard. My machine has two MACs, the unused NIC that doesn't work properly, and a new one with its own MAC. Firewire can have a MAC. Bluetooth could have a MAC. As a sampling of the "load of MACs available". The Virtualbox control file, likely does not have that many MAC values stored in it.
formatting link
"write down the MAC address of your ethernet device as it might change when you change the network configuration -- you can manually enter the MAC address in the VM settings"
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I used Copilot to get the following answer. I do not like the answer and feel it is incorrect. Caveat Emptor.
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You
What kind of license is required to run Windows 10 Pro in a Virtualbox machine ?
What aspect of the virtualbox container does the license use for verification of the information kept on the Microsoft server ?
Copilot
To run Windows 10 Pro in a VirtualBox virtual machine, you’ll need a valid Windows 10 Pro license. Here are some important points regarding licensing and virtual machines:
License Requirements:
If you purchase a full retail version of Windows 10 Pro, not an OEM license, you can install it on VirtualBox.
With a retail license, you have transfer rights, meaning you can move the license to another PC or re-install it in VirtualBox without activation difficulties [1].
Activation and Verification:
When you install Windows 10 Pro in a VirtualBox VM, it will prompt you to activate it using a product key.
The activation process involves communication with Microsoft’s activation servers to verify the validity of the license.
The VM’s hardware configuration (such as CPU, RAM, and network adapter) <=== hardware hash, UNIQUE identifiers is used for verification during activation.
Microsoft’s servers keep track of the activation status associated with the provided product key.
Important Considerations:
Ensure that you use a genuine product key obtained legally. If you’re using the VM for development or testing purposes, you can use the license without any restrictions.
For production use, make sure you comply with licensing terms and activate each VM with a valid key.
Remember that licensing rules can be complex, <=== Yes, this is why we ask Copilot, for ruleset... so always refer to official Microsoft documentation or consult legal experts if you have specific licensing questions.
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That answer didn't tell us anything in an authoritative way.
VirtualBox has a control file, kept in your home directory. Presumably in the same rough area as the 20GB container file. That is an XML file, and it has various numeric tidbits in it. These are some of the tidbits needed for future purposes.
Maybe that control file, or, what it knows about a container, change later.
I know that at least one emulator "QEMU KVM", I believe the CPU selection process there is opaque. If you wanted your machine to believe it was a Pentium II, the CPUID instruction would say Pentium II. However, if a clever OS executes assembler code for an SSE4 instruction or an AVX instruction or the like, a Pentium II is not supposed to have those. But Windows only asks questions of that sort "Show Me Your VT-X bit", when it comes time to switch off certain subsystems in the OS, so it does not crash. This is one reason you can install Windows 11 on a "capable" machine, then move the disk drive to a "crap machine", and... it boots. It would not have installed there, if you asked it to, but if the OS already exists, it tries to boot, it checks for AVX512 or it checks your shoe size, it disables the sandbox, it disables any possibility of running WSL or WSLg and so on. Windows 11 comes pretty close to turning into Windows 10, if you switch off enough subsystems. (The GUI will never be the same.)
Summary: You can see that the life of a "licensed" VirtualBox user is perilous. You need to keep copies of your control file (.vbox ?), and perhaps keep a copy of the empty container before installation. And *be careful* of any command which "starts over" as far as the content of Virtualbox files or materials are concerned. Burning the OS down is a different matter.
With an OEM key, you could run it forever... if you were "careful".
With a Retail key, you have transfer rights, which allows reinstalling on a muddled hash. But be aware, that in the past, there were some upper limits on "how many times you can insert the DVD and install". This rule might not be written down anywhere.
One other USENET poster, he bought a license, lost control of his VM, and as far as I know, considers his license to be "burned". Can't seem to get it to activate. May not have made copies of the folder with the VirtualBox goods in it. Most users would use an OEM or System Builder license, rather than a Retail one, then you need to be very precise in your handling of the VirtualBox files.
We are late in the Windows 10 product cycle, and I cannot offer any advice on what SKUs of license are available today. All I know is, various kinds of "boxed" products, the availability wasn't very uniform between stores.
I just hope you haven't burned the license, it was an OEM, and you've lost control. I hate seeing money go down the drain this way.
If you had "kept the container" and just clean installed your Windows SKU into the VM, that should have worked. The .vbox identifiers should have no reason to change, if you kept the original 20GB container.xxxx or whatever.
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