this post was submitted on 02 Feb 2026
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doesnt microsoft offer the OS for free?
I don't know all the details, but you can buy Windows 11 from them still. An "upgrade" from 10 to 11 may be free, at least that's what the world's most annoying pop-up was telling me before I switched to Linux.
microsoft offers the ISO for free on the website
you will get transparent text telling you to activate windows in a corner, but that is easy to get rid of
That's not exactly the same as them offering the whole OS for free. That's basically a trial version. The "Activate Windows" message is stuck there and it will bug you with reminders to activate all the time. Their intent is for you to purchase a key from them. Any other method to remove the message and activate Windows that does not involve paying them money is against their terms of service.
Saying that's Windows offering the OS for free is like saying you can get free books from a library if you just don't return them. It goes against the intent of the service.
from my experience, someone offering windows for a cheaper price meant installing it with the message
also, isnt it common for software to offer a free version with a watermark and a paid version without a watermark?
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.