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I just purchased a new laptop, which comes with Windows 8 Home Pro preinstalled. But I'm a Ubuntu user. However, I find it handy to have a virtual machine with Windows in it.

I have yet to receive the laptop and Windows hasn't been activated. I wonder what would be the best steps, if I can activate this copy on Virtualbox somehow. I presume it won't come with W8 disk, so I also need to consider how to actually install Windows on virtualbox if I wipe everything and start fresh with Ubuntu without activating it.

Since I purchased Windows and I'm going to install it on a single machine, albeit Virtual, I believe this would be legal? I'm not sure of the best procedure. I'm sure this was asked before, but I couldn't find a best practice for newly purchased laptops.

unfulvio
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  • Take a look at this answer, seems to be basically the same: http://superuser.com/questions/821251/can-i-transfer-my-windows-7-license-to-a-virtual-machine-running-on-the-same-c – Leo Chapiro Oct 20 '15 at 15:08
  • I can't hunt it down right now but I thought I saw somewhere that you could use a W8 key to activate a W10 install since the upgrade is free anyway. If that is the case then you could just download the W10 ISO to create the VM. – EBGreen Oct 20 '15 at 15:09
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    Your license is an OEM license it cannot be transferred to a new machine. – Ramhound Oct 20 '15 at 15:10
  • Ahh...there's the rub... – EBGreen Oct 20 '15 at 15:10
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    @EBGreen - That capability will only exist in the future. It currently is not possible to activate Windows 10 with a previous eligible license of Windows. Even when that is possible, it won't be possible with the OEM license, except on the machine the OEM license belongs to. Strictly speaking the author could make a virtual machine of their physical laptop itself, run the license in that capacity on the laptop, and be within the guidelines of the license. – Ramhound Oct 20 '15 at 15:11
  • well that sucks, but just as expected with Microsoft – unfulvio Oct 20 '15 at 15:12
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    @unfulvio - So don't purchase Microsoft software if you disagree with the terms for the license. – Ramhound Oct 20 '15 at 15:13
  • I don't, it came prepackaged and there's no way to ask the manufacturer to remove it. Yes. they're right. But being right doesn't exempt people or companies to be... eh-ehm... something else :) – unfulvio Oct 20 '15 at 15:15
  • You might read my entire comment. I had not finished writing it when you made the opinionated based comment about Microsoft. – Ramhound Oct 20 '15 at 15:58
  • I did and upvoted it because it's a valid, well informed, answer. It didn't seem truncated, neither I think that submitting comments breaks other people comments. I don't mind me, or others, having opinions over things, including sarcasm/criticism over a licensing model that makes hard things that shouldn't be, from a technical standpoint. What you suggest seems sound, but not without pitfalls: https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Migrate_Windows – unfulvio Oct 20 '15 at 16:11

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As someone pointed in the comments to my original question, there's no way to let Windows 8/10 accept an OEM license key when you install from a VM.

I tried with different methods, extracting my product ID and license key from the OEM installed Windows 8 (there was no key supplied with a sticker on the bottom of the laptop or on the battery or along the attached docs (Lenovo Thinkpad). I also updated Windows 8 to Windows 10, the key changed but this didn't work either. If you happen to be in this situation you can still try though.

However, I found out that you can download Windows 10 Home/Pro from Microsoft itself. You are prompted for activation but Windows lets you skip that and from what I understood apart from some nagging and the inability to customize the desktop, it seems a fully working copy of Windows, which also updates. Since I really needed this for occasional testing, it wouldn't bother me. Of course I don't know if this will go on forever or not. Ideally I would like to have it activated. Perhaps will contact MS, who knows maybe they will be friendly enough to give me a key...

unfulvio
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