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Background:
A couple years or so ago, I purchased three (used) Dell Latitude E6410 laptop computers for a song ($25 each). They came with no hard drive, but that was not a problem. I got 1 TB Samsung SSD drives for them and that seems to be fine.
No hard drive also meant no OS was installed. But, they each DID come with their own Microsoft sticker (with a hologram) stating:
Windows(R) 7 Pro for Refurb PCs CIT
for Refurbished PCs
[barcode] XXX-NNNNN
do not tamper with or remove this label
[barcode] XNN-NNNNN
NNNNN-NNN-NNN-NNN
"For use on Refurbished PC - No Commercial Value - For Authentication Only"Where:
X represents a single letter
N represents a single decimal digit(Also says, vertically, on the edges:)
Certificate of Authenticity
Microsoftand
ww.microsoft.com/howtotell
Situation:
I'd previously downloaded an ISO (and verified the SHA1 and SHA256), but got stuck when trying to do an install; the format of the codes I have do not match the format of what Microsoft was expecting.
The location where I bought the laptops no longer offers computers for sale (it's a Goodwill store). Also, there are no tech-savvy workers at the location.
My primary problem is it is time to prepare my state and federal income taxes. I've used TurboTax for the past 5 years. (Yes, I could probably use their free on-line version today. But! I am not at all interested in having like 20-30 other domains active while I provide extremely personal and private information to fill out my taxes.) So, plan B is to get Windows up and running so I can fill out my taxes locally.
What now?
So, I have 3 never-been-used "codes" for installing Win 7 pro. There was a time when one had to fight to keep Microsoft from trying to upgrade to Windows 10, so I'd like to think there's some way for me to get to Win 10 from here.
So, I turn to my fellow Soylentils. How can I enter these codes? Is it still worthwhile to get 7 installed in hopes I can still upgrade to Windows 10?
Maybe some other approach? What can I do?
[2021-03-05 15:11:27 UTC; UPDATE 1: Currently downloading "Win10_20H2_v2_English_x64.iso" from https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10ISO -- looks like I have 2-2.5 hours left for the download to complete. (Currently at 920 MB of 5.8 GB completed)
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 05 2021, @03:47PM (10 children)
Just click the "I don't have a code" when the installer requests a key. It will install and just about everything works without being activated. The only things I've noticed is that there are some limits on changing the appearance of the screen (default background, etc.), and Visual Studio adds a "Not Activated" watermark. But every program I've run on it works just fine.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 05 2021, @03:54PM (9 children)
Addendum: I download the current version of the Win10 .ISO file from Microsoft, use a utility program (either Microsoft's or 3rd-party) to make a bootable USB thumb drive from this, and then boot from the thumb drive. Pick the option to "Install a fresh copy" (or something like that), and follow the directions. This should create a freshly installed Windows 10 system. As mentioned above, select the "I don't have a key" option when it prompts for the key.
I've never had a problem due to the system not being activated.
(Score: 2) by martyb on Friday March 05 2021, @04:14PM (8 children)
That's so helpful!
That's the next challenge. I have no Windows machine atm. Am currently running Linux (Ubuntu Mate, Release: 20.04.2 LTS (Focal Fossa) 64-bit).
I'd made a bootable USB stick from an ISO once before. But it's been so long, I'm not certain how to do it again. Something about listing hardware, mounting the USB stick, making a mount point, and using DD to copy the .ISO file to the USB stick? Anybody have handy a link to a step-by-step guide?
Wit is intellect, dancing.
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Friday March 05 2021, @04:34PM
There's this, but I'm not sure how compatible it would be with a Windows ISO: https://www.balena.io/etcher/ [balena.io]
I used that the last time I needed to create a boot disk, because my previous go-to tools weren't working. I don't know there's any real reason why it shouldn't work with a Windows ISO.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2) by cmdrklarg on Friday March 05 2021, @05:23PM (1 child)
If you know someone with a Windows PC you can use MS's Windows 10 Media Creation Tool to make a bootable setup USB stick.
Answer now is don't give in; aim for a new tomorrow.
(Score: 2) by martyb on Sunday March 07 2021, @03:57AM
If I did, that would have saved a 5+ GB download!
Unfortunately, I don't know anyone who has a Win 10 system I could work from. Annnd, I do have a downloaded ISO, now.
The next step, as I see it, it to get the .ISO onto a USB stick. Then I'd insert the stick on the target PC, boot from the USB stick, and then (I'm guessing) follow the prompts to install Win 10 on the target PC's boot disk (a 1 TB Samsung SSD in this case).
It looks like WoeUSB-ng will do the trick for making a bootable USB stick.
Wit is intellect, dancing.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 05 2021, @09:06PM (1 child)
Another option is to install Windows in a VM (if your CPU supports it). Setup isn't quite one click but it's close as most distributions include virt-manager now. You can then pass the iso file you downloaded as a virtual DVD drive, no special media creation required.
Or just, like, download the tax forms as PDFs and fill them out yourself.
(Score: 2) by martyb on Friday March 05 2021, @10:54PM
Wit is intellect, dancing.
(Score: 1) by sensei_moreh on Friday March 05 2021, @09:55PM (2 children)
Perhaps this? https://www.fossmint.com/woeusb-create-bootable-windows-usb-sticks-from-linux/ [fossmint.com]
Geology - It's not rocket science; it's rock science
(Score: 2) by martyb on Friday March 05 2021, @11:31PM (1 child)
Many thanks to halibut on IRC, this is the command I am using right this very moment:
Wit is intellect, dancing.
(Score: 2) by martyb on Sunday March 07 2021, @04:07AM
Got the copy made using dd, but the USP stick would not boot.
Ended up using https://github.com/WoeUSB/WoeUSB-ng [github.com] which worked wonderfully on the first attempt!
Wit is intellect, dancing.