this post was submitted on 02 Feb 2026
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If you paid someone for Windows and still had the activate message then they ripped you off.
While some softwares have free versions, unactivated Windows isn't that. Free versions are typically feature-limited, or serve up ads to cover the cost. More importantly they are intended to be free and offered as such. Unactivated Windows is a paid product that hasn't had the proof of purchase (product key) applied yet. Microsoft has hitherto been lax about enforcement, at least against non-enterprise users, but it is still against their terms of service to continue to use Windows without providing a key.
Like, sure you can get it and install it for free, but that doesn't mean it's a "Free Version" in any official sense. If it was indeed a free version then they wouldn't pester you to activate, they would clearly state it's a Free version, and the activate watermark wouldn't be there.
This is digging deeper into my youth, so take this with a grain of salt, but I'm pretty sure older versions of Windows were different. I remember having to provide the product key during the installation of Vista way back when. Before I ever saw the desktop. This is when Windows came in a box from a physical store. Nowadays with online purchases it makes sense to provide a level of computer functionality so users can access the online store.