WEBVTT 00:00:00.200 --> 00:00:03.160 So a number of you left comments on our recent video 00:00:03.160 --> 00:00:07.560 introducing AMD's Threadripper 2 2990WX CPU 00:00:07.560 --> 00:00:11.480 about the overlay on the bottom right corner of my screen 00:00:11.480 --> 00:00:16.180 prompting me to activate Windows. 00:00:16.180 --> 00:00:19.020 Now, some of you were amused and some of you were upset, 00:00:19.020 --> 00:00:21.360 but you all had one thing in common. 00:00:21.360 --> 00:00:24.720 You couldn't imagine why an organization 00:00:24.720 --> 00:00:26.640 like Linus Media Group, 00:00:26.640 --> 00:00:29.480 one with sponsors like Cablemod, 00:00:29.480 --> 00:00:31.060 whose configurator now includes 00:00:31.060 --> 00:00:33.260 a customizable RGB backplate option 00:00:33.260 --> 00:00:36.200 that can enhance the look of your GPUs and SSDs, 00:00:36.200 --> 00:00:38.100 it's compatible with RSync, RGB Fusion, 00:00:38.100 --> 00:00:40.860 Mystic Light Sync, and Cablemod's own RGB kits, 00:00:40.860 --> 00:00:43.020 and you can find out at the link below, 00:00:43.020 --> 00:00:44.900 why an organization like Linus Media Group 00:00:44.900 --> 00:00:46.580 with sponsors like that 00:00:46.580 --> 00:00:49.480 would need to save a hundred bucks here and there 00:00:49.480 --> 00:00:52.680 on a legit copy of Windows. 00:00:52.680 --> 00:01:03.370 Well, why don't we talk about that? 00:01:03.370 --> 00:01:06.190 So let's begin by grabbing a Windows license 00:01:06.190 --> 00:01:07.490 out of the pile, 00:01:07.490 --> 00:01:10.810 preferably one that isn't in use by Dennis. 00:01:11.690 --> 00:01:15.070 So, by the way, I got these at NCIX, 00:01:15.070 --> 00:01:17.690 so I clearly didn't just run out and buy them 00:01:17.690 --> 00:01:19.970 for the purpose of making this video. 00:01:19.970 --> 00:01:23.270 So this would be the official procedure 00:01:23.270 --> 00:01:24.950 for installing Windows on a PC. 00:01:24.950 --> 00:01:27.770 In this case, it's my personal test bench, 00:01:27.770 --> 00:01:30.230 the one that I usually have in my office here. 00:01:30.230 --> 00:01:33.550 Now, I'm basically going to be burning this license 00:01:33.550 --> 00:01:35.790 for the purpose of creating this video, 00:01:35.790 --> 00:01:37.210 which kind of sucks, 00:01:37.210 --> 00:01:40.170 because it's actually a Windows 10 Pro license, 00:01:40.170 --> 00:01:43.190 but it's important for me to demonstrate my point here 00:01:43.190 --> 00:01:47.440 to show you guys actually activating Windows 00:01:47.440 --> 00:01:50.320 and how that might work on a test bench. 00:01:50.320 --> 00:01:52.740 And hey, there we go. 00:01:52.740 --> 00:01:54.120 Activation Windows 10 Pro. 00:01:54.120 --> 00:01:56.900 Windows is activated with a digital license. 00:01:56.900 --> 00:01:59.780 Now, let's say that I was working on something 00:01:59.780 --> 00:02:01.080 like a video card review. 00:02:01.080 --> 00:02:03.360 So typically what we do in those cases 00:02:03.360 --> 00:02:06.240 is we get our pile of graphics cards ready here, 00:02:06.360 --> 00:02:09.260 and then after we've run our benchmarks on one card, 00:02:09.260 --> 00:02:12.680 we shut down the system and swap out to a new one. 00:02:12.680 --> 00:02:14.940 There's only one small problem with that. 00:02:14.940 --> 00:02:19.380 Microsoft's activation servers create a unique identifier 00:02:19.380 --> 00:02:24.380 for your PC based on the hardware that's installed in it. 00:02:24.680 --> 00:02:27.500 So you can see we actually survived 00:02:27.500 --> 00:02:29.640 one graphic card swap here, 00:02:29.640 --> 00:02:32.360 but if too many things change, 00:02:32.360 --> 00:02:35.020 let's say you keep swapping graphics cards, 00:02:35.020 --> 00:02:35.860 you wanted to see 00:02:35.860 --> 00:02:38.080 how the system runs with half as much memory. 00:02:38.080 --> 00:02:39.460 You change out the CPU, 00:02:39.460 --> 00:02:42.460 or worst of all, 00:02:42.460 --> 00:02:44.220 you need to change out the motherboard, 00:02:44.220 --> 00:02:46.100 either to try a different platform 00:02:46.100 --> 00:02:48.140 or as a troubleshooting measure. 00:02:48.140 --> 00:02:52.080 What can happen is that identifier can change, 00:02:52.080 --> 00:02:56.240 and I don't fully understand exactly how it determines 00:02:56.240 --> 00:02:58.040 when it changes, 00:02:58.040 --> 00:03:03.040 but if it does, it can prompt Windows to deactivate. 00:03:03.670 --> 00:03:04.510 So, 00:03:04.510 --> 00:03:07.830 we had checked this before we started, 00:03:07.830 --> 00:03:10.010 and it wasn't activated yet. 00:03:10.010 --> 00:03:12.410 So that's pretty funny because on this one, 00:03:12.410 --> 00:03:15.010 I had even gone as far as to swap out the boot drive 00:03:15.010 --> 00:03:15.850 I was using, 00:03:15.850 --> 00:03:19.310 but it still managed to grab something about the hardware ID 00:03:19.310 --> 00:03:21.050 and managed to migrate the license. 00:03:21.050 --> 00:03:26.010 But the point is that at some point, 00:03:26.010 --> 00:03:28.010 you will get that prompt back. 00:03:28.010 --> 00:03:29.850 Now, in the olden days, 00:03:29.850 --> 00:03:32.190 and I guess this was probably about seven, eight years ago, 00:03:32.190 --> 00:03:33.810 the solution to getting an activation prompt, 00:03:33.810 --> 00:03:38.170 was to call up Microsoft's activation hotline, 00:03:38.170 --> 00:03:40.890 try the automated reactivation process, 00:03:40.890 --> 00:03:42.430 have that error out twice, 00:03:42.430 --> 00:03:45.130 so this was like a 10 minute project, 00:03:45.130 --> 00:03:47.810 then press a button to be put through to a representative, 00:03:47.810 --> 00:03:51.790 explain that you had changed out some of your hardware 00:03:51.790 --> 00:03:54.010 and you needed a reset on your license. 00:03:54.010 --> 00:03:56.290 But this was time consuming, 00:03:56.290 --> 00:03:57.890 and it wasn't even a sure thing. 00:03:57.890 --> 00:04:00.890 I actually remember getting into a fairly heated argument 00:04:00.890 --> 00:04:03.770 with a rep who was telling me that I had run 00:04:03.770 --> 00:04:07.050 out of reactivations and for my use case, 00:04:07.050 --> 00:04:09.090 which is swapping hardware out all the time 00:04:09.090 --> 00:04:10.470 in order to test it, 00:04:10.470 --> 00:04:15.310 I had to just buy a new license every time I got prompted 00:04:15.310 --> 00:04:18.050 with that activate Windows watermark. 00:04:18.050 --> 00:04:20.570 And I mean, she said there was nothing she could do, 00:04:20.570 --> 00:04:22.010 and at some point I went, 00:04:22.010 --> 00:04:24.090 I called up Steve Ballmer himself. 00:04:24.090 --> 00:04:25.390 It was a pretty awkward conversation, 00:04:25.390 --> 00:04:28.510 but my point is, even if she was right, 00:04:28.510 --> 00:04:31.630 according to Microsoft's terms for the license, 00:04:31.630 --> 00:04:32.890 I'm also right too. 00:04:32.890 --> 00:04:33.730 I can't be expected to do that. 00:04:33.730 --> 00:04:34.650 I can't be expected to run out 00:04:34.650 --> 00:04:36.890 and buy a new license for Windows 00:04:36.890 --> 00:04:38.750 every time there's some new hardware launch 00:04:38.750 --> 00:04:41.230 and I've got to do something with my test bench. 00:04:41.230 --> 00:04:43.150 Fortunately, around that time, 00:04:43.150 --> 00:04:45.350 I got a subscription to TechNet, 00:04:45.350 --> 00:04:48.470 a software subscription service that allowed you 00:04:48.470 --> 00:04:51.730 to use pretty much any Microsoft software 00:04:51.730 --> 00:04:56.730 in a non-commercial environment with unlimited activations. 00:04:57.030 --> 00:04:59.470 Now that actually worked great for me, 00:04:59.470 --> 00:05:02.660 even though technically my use was commercial 00:05:02.660 --> 00:05:02.980 since it was a form of software, 00:05:02.980 --> 00:05:07.380 it was a for-profit endeavor that I was doing this testing. 00:05:07.380 --> 00:05:10.800 At least it was great until they shut down TechNet in 2013. 00:05:10.800 --> 00:05:15.100 Now, the new legit way to transfer your license 00:05:15.100 --> 00:05:17.580 is the activation troubleshooter. 00:05:17.580 --> 00:05:19.360 So you can see what I've done now 00:05:19.360 --> 00:05:23.460 is I just linked my digital license to a Microsoft account. 00:05:23.460 --> 00:05:25.830 So I've never done this before, 00:05:25.830 --> 00:05:28.070 but theoretically what happens here 00:05:28.070 --> 00:05:31.010 is we should be able to even swap the drive 00:05:31.010 --> 00:05:32.930 and go into that settings menu, 00:05:32.930 --> 00:05:36.290 and migrate the license to another computer on our own, 00:05:36.290 --> 00:05:40.710 which is pretty cool and a lot better than the old system. 00:05:40.710 --> 00:05:43.790 So let's give that a shot, shall we? 00:05:43.790 --> 00:05:47.830 So we're not gonna get to show you guys exactly how it works 00:05:47.830 --> 00:05:50.270 because the Microsoft activation servers 00:05:50.270 --> 00:05:51.810 work in mysterious ways, 00:05:51.810 --> 00:05:54.810 but overall it sounds pretty painless. 00:05:54.810 --> 00:05:58.730 There's supposed to be a prompt transferring your license, 00:05:58.730 --> 00:06:01.910 blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, et cetera, something along. 00:06:01.910 --> 00:06:03.730 Yep, they don't have any screenshots either. 00:06:03.730 --> 00:06:07.280 What are those? 00:06:07.280 --> 00:06:09.280 Anyway, eventually, 00:06:09.280 --> 00:06:12.460 no matter how you're moving your license around, 00:06:12.460 --> 00:06:16.680 their terms do state that you will run out of activations 00:06:16.680 --> 00:06:18.640 at some point. 00:06:18.640 --> 00:06:21.580 But with that said, through this method, 00:06:21.580 --> 00:06:25.360 and then maybe some of those cheap $20 Windows keys 00:06:25.360 --> 00:06:28.180 that you can get from gray market sources online, 00:06:28.180 --> 00:06:30.200 there should be no justification then 00:06:30.200 --> 00:06:33.140 for having that activate Windows watermark, right? 00:06:33.140 --> 00:06:34.260 Like we should just, 00:06:34.260 --> 00:06:35.040 we should just bite the bullet 00:06:35.040 --> 00:06:37.440 and go through this process. 00:06:37.440 --> 00:06:39.340 Except for one problem. 00:06:39.340 --> 00:06:42.280 Those $20 keys that you buy online 00:06:42.280 --> 00:06:44.860 are not intended for the North American 00:06:44.860 --> 00:06:46.080 or the European market. 00:06:46.080 --> 00:06:49.860 And they are therefore not actually legit. 00:06:49.860 --> 00:06:53.960 So if having the watermark removed from your system 00:06:53.960 --> 00:06:55.380 is where you draw the line 00:06:55.380 --> 00:06:57.400 and that's what helps you sleep at night, 00:06:57.400 --> 00:06:59.160 then that's great. 00:06:59.160 --> 00:07:00.920 But the thing about software 00:07:00.920 --> 00:07:04.260 is that the license terms are defined by the EULA. 00:07:04.260 --> 00:07:07.780 The read this first stuff. 00:07:07.780 --> 00:07:12.320 Not by whether a key activates or doesn't activate 00:07:12.320 --> 00:07:14.500 with Microsoft's servers. 00:07:14.500 --> 00:07:17.500 For example, the Windows 10 VM that I have set up 00:07:17.500 --> 00:07:20.640 for remote access for one of our offsite workers 00:07:20.640 --> 00:07:25.640 is technically against Microsoft's license terms. 00:07:25.740 --> 00:07:28.160 Yeah, I actually found that out just yesterday 00:07:28.160 --> 00:07:29.840 while I was prepping this video. 00:07:29.840 --> 00:07:34.260 Regular Windows 10 is technically not allowed to be used, 00:07:34.260 --> 00:07:36.560 exclusively for remote access. 00:07:36.560 --> 00:07:37.700 The more you know, right? 00:07:37.700 --> 00:07:38.780 In much the same way, 00:07:38.780 --> 00:07:42.500 if you've got a buddy who's got a volume license agreement 00:07:42.500 --> 00:07:45.210 or a site key, 00:07:45.210 --> 00:07:47.490 that's not legit either. 00:07:47.490 --> 00:07:48.870 It'll activate for you 00:07:48.870 --> 00:07:50.390 and it'll get rid of the watermark, 00:07:50.390 --> 00:07:53.650 but that is still software piracy. 00:07:53.650 --> 00:07:55.550 So at the end of the day, 00:07:55.550 --> 00:07:59.510 there are inexpensive and even free ways 00:07:59.510 --> 00:08:01.570 for us to make sure that that watermark 00:08:01.570 --> 00:08:04.070 never shows up in one of our videos again. 00:08:04.550 --> 00:08:08.430 But they involve either gray market software 00:08:08.430 --> 00:08:10.990 or violation of the license terms anyway. 00:08:10.990 --> 00:08:15.050 So for a use case that's unsupported anyhow, 00:08:15.050 --> 00:08:17.310 our whole thing where we're using test benches 00:08:17.310 --> 00:08:18.810 to validate hardware, 00:08:18.810 --> 00:08:21.490 the best solution that we've actually found 00:08:21.490 --> 00:08:26.170 is just to leave the software unactivated forever. 00:08:26.170 --> 00:08:28.670 So here's the regular installer. 00:08:28.670 --> 00:08:30.550 And you might not have ever noticed this before, 00:08:30.550 --> 00:08:33.050 but Microsoft actually has a built-in way 00:08:33.050 --> 00:08:34.130 to run Windows for testing purposes. 00:08:34.130 --> 00:08:34.750 So here's the regular installer. And you might not have ever noticed this before, but Microsoft actually has a built-in way to run Windows for testing purposes. 00:08:34.770 --> 00:08:36.130 So here's the regular installer. And you might not have ever noticed this before, but Microsoft actually has a built-in way to run Windows for testing purposes. 00:08:36.130 --> 00:08:37.990 So check out this button here. 00:08:37.990 --> 00:08:39.890 Depending on the version of Windows, 00:08:39.890 --> 00:08:42.250 the amount of time that you're allowed differs. 00:08:42.250 --> 00:08:44.830 But if all we do is click skip, 00:08:44.830 --> 00:08:47.170 instead of entering a product key, 00:08:47.170 --> 00:08:49.390 the Windows installation will proceed 00:08:49.390 --> 00:08:52.030 exactly the way that it normally would. 00:08:52.030 --> 00:08:53.770 We still get Windows updates. 00:08:53.770 --> 00:08:57.170 Performance of our hardware isn't impacted whatsoever. 00:08:57.170 --> 00:08:58.970 We don't have to waste time tooling around 00:08:58.970 --> 00:09:01.330 with any activation nonsense. 00:09:01.330 --> 00:09:02.770 And for my part, 00:09:02.770 --> 00:09:04.130 honestly, I sleep just fine at night. 00:09:04.130 --> 00:09:07.950 Knowing that my pile of Windows keys downstairs 00:09:07.950 --> 00:09:12.590 more than covers the test benches that we have deployed. 00:09:12.590 --> 00:09:16.330 So if you ever see our activation watermark 00:09:16.330 --> 00:09:17.850 in one of our videos again, 00:09:17.850 --> 00:09:19.470 you will understand why. 00:09:19.470 --> 00:09:21.510 I'm just avoiding some paperwork. 00:09:21.510 --> 00:09:26.550 It has nothing to do with saving a buck on Windows 10. 00:09:26.550 --> 00:09:28.050 Speaking of saving a buck, 00:09:28.050 --> 00:09:31.230 Anchor's upcoming Soundcore Flare Plus 00:09:31.230 --> 00:09:33.950 is not gonna help you save a buck, 00:09:33.950 --> 00:09:35.170 because you might want to buy it. 00:09:35.170 --> 00:09:36.270 It's a wireless speaker 00:09:36.270 --> 00:09:39.410 that allows you to amplify the atmosphere 00:09:39.410 --> 00:09:41.710 with their 360 degree sound. 00:09:41.710 --> 00:09:43.950 So there should be no concerns about positioning. 00:09:43.950 --> 00:09:46.150 You've got the ability to pair two of these speakers 00:09:46.150 --> 00:09:47.230 for stereo sound, 00:09:47.230 --> 00:09:49.110 and their beat-driven light show 00:09:49.110 --> 00:09:50.970 will sync up to your music. 00:09:50.970 --> 00:09:52.710 It's got IPX7 protection 00:09:52.710 --> 00:09:54.690 that keeps it pool party approved, 00:09:54.690 --> 00:09:57.410 and it can effortlessly withstand spills, rain, 00:09:57.410 --> 00:10:00.050 and even complete submersion in water. 00:10:00.050 --> 00:10:02.130 The large capacity battery will keep your music playing 00:10:02.130 --> 00:10:03.910 for up to 20 hours, 00:10:05.170 --> 00:10:07.870 and help charge your device at the same time. 00:10:07.870 --> 00:10:09.230 So check out the link below 00:10:09.230 --> 00:10:10.790 to learn more about this speaker 00:10:10.790 --> 00:10:13.250 and get a chance to win one. 00:10:13.250 --> 00:10:14.090 So thanks for watching, guys. 00:10:14.090 --> 00:10:15.150 If you disliked this video, 00:10:15.150 --> 00:10:16.010 you can hit that button. 00:10:16.010 --> 00:10:16.850 But if you liked it, 00:10:16.850 --> 00:10:17.690 hit like, get subscribed, 00:10:17.690 --> 00:10:18.570 or maybe consider checking out 00:10:18.570 --> 00:10:19.950 where to buy the stuff we featured 00:10:19.950 --> 00:10:21.430 at the link in the video description. 00:10:21.430 --> 00:10:22.830 Sure, go buy Windows 10. 00:10:22.830 --> 00:10:24.030 While you're down there, 00:10:24.030 --> 00:10:24.990 you can check out our merch store, 00:10:24.990 --> 00:10:26.290 which has cool shirts like this one, 00:10:26.290 --> 00:10:27.870 and our community forum. 00:10:27.870 --> 00:10:29.430 You should definitely join that.