regarding MS digital activation (the OP mis-spelled the word "activation" in the thread title btw)
it seems MS recently closed a "loophole" on that
https://devicepartner.microsoft.com/...ws-7-8-upgrade
Last edited by Brink; 29 Sep 2023 at 17:55. Reason: removed piracy discussion
Windows 7 product keys still work. I just now install Windows 10 Home in a brand new VM, updated it completely with Windows Update. It was not activated. I installed the generic retail product key for Windows 10 Home just to verify it had a product key installed. Still was not activated. I changed the product key to an old Windows 7 OEM Home Premium product key from a COA label from a retired computer. Windows 10 Home activated with it.
I did not install Windows 7 first and try the gatherosstate.exe method. It might be patched by MS, I don't know. Since gatherosstate.exe is the method Windows uses to activate an upgrade from 7 to 10/11, I suspect it won't work any longer.
The 'loophole' that MS have turned off is the one that automatically gave your PC a digital licence for windows 10 if you upgraded to 10 from Windows 7 or 8. I tested that on a Windows 7 laptop that had never before been upgraded to 10. I confirmed that you can still upgrade 7 to 10, but it will no longer be activated with a digital licence. Test results here.....
Free Activation from Windows 7/8 key or upgrade to Windows 10/11 Ends - post #1
However, if you read my postscript at the bottom of that post, I then changed the installed key to the laptop's own OEM Win7 CoA key and successfully activated its Windows 10.
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