How to activate Windows 10 guest in VirtualBox

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  1. Posts : 33
    Windows 7 Ultimate, Windows 10 Pro AU 1607, Linux Mint 17.4, Ubuntu 15.04 LTS
       #1

    How to activate Windows 10 guest in VirtualBox


    I have updated my OS to Windows 10 which has been activated during the upgrade from Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 64bit.

    I have added Windows 10 as a guest in Virtualbox, how do I validate the Windows 10 guest?
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 17,661
    Windows 10 Pro
       #2

    Installing Windows 10 to a virtual machine, same activation rules apply as in installing to any new computer. Your options are:
    • Install and activate a qualifying OS (Windows 7 SP1 or Windows 8.1) on virtual machine, then upgrade it to Windows 10
    • Buy a Windows 10 license for clean install

    You cannot just clean install Windows on a computer, be it a real physical one or a virtual machine, and expect it to be activated without a valid product key.

    Kari
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 27,162
    Win11 Pro, Win10 Pro N, Win10 Home, Windows 8.1 Pro, Ubuntu
       #3

    I have tied everything legal and morally correct, forget it. I just needed to test some software(beta versions of MBAE & MBAM and some theme patching software) and how it interacts with Windows, I copied the machine a few times to do this, and after each test deleted it. I didn't USE it for an alternate OS or anything like that, just a throw away, so I wouldn't have to image & re-image my whole SSD constantly(save writes).

    So depending on what you want to do, for a legal OS to use you will need a retail license, but to test and throw away after, it'll work long enough(just create a local account and don't use the apps to be on the safe side).
    THIS IS ONLY FOR A TEST MACHINE- I just wanted to make that clear for anyone else that reads the thread, sorry for the caps.:)
      My Computers


  4. Posts : 33
    Windows 7 Ultimate, Windows 10 Pro AU 1607, Linux Mint 17.4, Ubuntu 15.04 LTS
    Thread Starter
       #4

    Windows 10 guest in Virtualbox


    Thank you both, too much trouble for a permanent installation, I will use the test method.

    Linux looks much more inviting each day, jumping through Microsoft hoops is becoming a bit tiresome.
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 27,162
    Win11 Pro, Win10 Pro N, Win10 Home, Windows 8.1 Pro, Ubuntu
       #5

    toolman59 said:
    Thank you both, too much trouble for a permanent installation, I will use the test method.

    Linux looks much more inviting each day, jumping through Microsoft hoops is becoming a bit tiresome.
    I have also an Ubuntu VM that I keep permanently on my Win10 host:).
      My Computers


  6. Posts : 5,478
    2004
       #6

    toolman59 said:
    The Linux looks much more inviting each day, jumping through Microsoft hoops is becoming a bit tiresome.
    I'm confused why you say that. I bought a license for Windows and I am running (and using that same license I paid for) in a VM in VirtualBox.

    Are you saying that Microsoft should give away their OS for free? Windows 10 is not free. It is a free upgrade if (and only if) you have a legit legacy (7 or 8) version. Otherwise you have to buy it as normal.

    I use CentOS (for free), OSX (for free), walking down the road (for free), getting on a plane (not for free, generally), going to a restaurant (not for free).

    If suddenly you thought you could steal (and it was OK) then I could travel the world and eat every day for nothing.

    Life doesn't work like that though.

    EDIT: It would be nice though... Perhaps.
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 33
    Windows 7 Ultimate, Windows 10 Pro AU 1607, Linux Mint 17.4, Ubuntu 15.04 LTS
    Thread Starter
       #7

    halasz said:
    I'm confused why you say that. I bought a license for Windows and I am running (and using that same license I paid for) in a VM in VirtualBox.

    Are you saying that Microsoft should give away their OS for free? Windows 10 is not free. It is a free upgrade if (and only if) you have a legit legacy (7 or 8) version. Otherwise you have to buy it as normal.

    I use CentOS (for free), OSX (for free), walking down the road (for free), getting on a plane (not for free, generally), going to a restaurant (not for free).

    If suddenly you thought you could steal (and it was OK) then I could travel the world and eat every day for nothing.

    Life doesn't work like that though.

    EDIT: It would be nice though... Perhaps.
    Damn cheek!! I have always bought retail versions for 98SE, XP and Win 7 Ultimate and was able to Dual boot or run a copy in Virtualbox on the same hardware as the original installation, which I thought might be possible for Windows 10.

    In future keep your self righteous comments to yourself, they add nothing to the Windows 10 knowledge base.
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 17,661
    Windows 10 Pro
       #8

    toolman59 said:
    Damn cheek!! I have always bought retail versions for 98SE, XP and Win 7 Ultimate and was able to Dual boot or run a copy in Virtualbox on the same hardware as the original installation, which I thought might be possible for Windows 10.

    In future keep your self righteous comments to yourself, they add nothing to the Windows 10 knowledge base.
    My esteemed fellow member gave you a factual and correct answer. It is not his fault that this is how the Windows 10 activation works: with one product key you get one valid and activated installation, be it a real physical machine or a virtual machine.

    Users seem to think a virtual machine running on an activated host is something special, granting special rights. Sorry but that is not the case. A virtual machine is for the activation system exactly as any real, physical machine; it is its own entity, it has its own machine ID, it is an individual computer, same activation rules applying to it as if it was a normal physical computer.

    It is for Windows and the system totally irrelevant if you install Windows 10 on a physical machine and on a virtual machine; both of them need to be validated. A Windows 10 installation can be validated either by upgrading from a qualifying OS, or by using a bought product key. The third option is the Windows Insider option, only valid if you joined the Windows Insider program before the launch and are upgrading the same machine, real or virtual, in which you already had a Windows Insider build installed and activated before the July 29th.
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 33
    Windows 7 Ultimate, Windows 10 Pro AU 1607, Linux Mint 17.4, Ubuntu 15.04 LTS
    Thread Starter
       #9

    Kari said:
    My esteemed fellow member gave you a factual and correct answer. It is not his fault that this is how the Windows 10 activation works: with one product key you get one valid and activated installation, be it a real physical machine or a virtual machine.
    Your esteemed fellow member was very short on facts and very liberal with uncalled for insulting remarks.
      My Computer


  10. Posts : 3,505
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit 21H1 (May 2021 build 19043.1083)
       #10

    If it is for testing purposes, then why you have to activate it in the first place? Windows allow you to use the computer for 30 days (I think) before they ask for activation again. You said that you install some application and then format the virtual machine. I don't see where is the need to activate Windows, unless your application depends on that. It is not illegal to use Windows inactivated for testing purposes. In fact when I was working at a computer store, we had a PC with the new then Vista installed for customers to experiment with. We kept it inactivated to avoid paying for a license. Each 30 days we had to format the disk and reinstall Windows to keep it working. For the use we had it, for testing purposes, this wasn't illegal and we took that inconvenience.

    Then you said that you could activate older Windows versions such as Windows 7 and 8 in virtual any time. IF you could, why don't you do that again? Install Windows 7 or 8 in the virtual machine, activate it and then upgrade to 10. Now you should be able to automatically activate. If done once and you don't change the hardware of your virtual machine, next time you can go straight to 10 and activate again.

    I hope you don't ask us to tell you how to illegally activate Windows 10 permanently. You should know that we would never do it in this forum even if we knew how. "When you were going (to school to learn tricks), I was graduating", we say in Greece. You cannot trick us!
      My Computer


 

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