Laptop with no OS

[GirvanaWantsBinnieBalls]

I will purchase a laptop with no OS , can i download Windows 10 on a usb and download it to the laptop same way i would do with a desktop PC or is it different ? 

[userzero]

Yes, same as a PC. Make the Media, boot to it, sorted.

[ItzRuben]

5 minutes ago, GirvanaWantsBinnieBalls said:

I will purchase a laptop with no OS , can i download Windows 10 on a usb and download it to the laptop same way i would do with a desktop PC or is it different ? 

It's just as straight forward as an desktop, even usb boot works the same...

[TetraSky]

You can certainly install Windows 10 on it if you can access the Boot Menu, either through the BIOS or through a keypress on POST (like F8 or F12)

 

You will need a valid Windows 10 key though. If the laptop previously had Windows 10 on it, you'll be fine as it will automatically activate itself even without it, but if not, you'll need a key.

[Boomwebsearch]

1 minute ago, Adatrem said:

As long as you can access the laptop's BIOS it should be no different to a desktop

In some cases the BIOS might be slightly arranged differently than to a desktop although after booting from the drive there should be similar installation from desktop to laptop considering that the windows installation file remains the same version on the CD or USB drive. Changing the boot device priority would then allow for the machine to boot from the CD or USB and then install windows 10 using their installation wizard/software.

[GirvanaWantsBinnieBalls]

6 minutes ago, TetraSky said:

You can certainly install Windows 10 on it if you can access the Boot Menu, either through the BIOS or through a keypress on POST (like F8 or F12)

 

You will need a valid Windows 10 key though. If the laptop previously had Windows 10 on it, you'll be fine as it will automatically activate itself even without it, but if not, you'll need a key.

at my pc i didnt put a key i clicked to ''do it later'' cant i do the same thing ?

 

[TetraSky]

1 minute ago, GirvanaWantsBinnieBalls said:

at my pc i didnt put a key i clicked to ''do it later'' cant i do the same thing ?

 

You certainly can.

[Tabs]

20 minutes ago, GirvanaWantsBinnieBalls said:

at my pc i didnt put a key i clicked to ''do it later'' cant i do the same thing ?

 

Yes, and it will install. But if the machine didn't have a previous windows 10 activation then it will only be usable for 30 days (or 120 with rearms). 

 

If the machine never had Windows 10 on it then you may need to buy a key. Free upgrades officially ended last year.

[imreloadin]

3 minutes ago, Tabs said:

Yes, and it will install. But if the machine didn't have a previous windows 10 activation then it will only be usable for 30 days (or 120 with rearms). 

 

If the machine never had Windows 10 on it then you may need to buy a key. Free upgrades officially ended last year.

I thought that Windows 10 installs were not locked out after 30 days even if you didn't activate it?

[K4lim]

You won't get locked out as far as I know. You just get the "Activate now" message on the lower right corner all the time and some windows functionalities won't work.

[Tabs]

2 minutes ago, imreloadin said:

I thought that Windows 10 installs were not locked out after 30 days even if you didn't activate it?

No. Windows 10 has the same activation restrictions every previous version of Windows had, its simply that so many devices either shipped with automatic Windows 10 entitlement or have been updated to Windows 10 (and therefore get digital entitlement) that most people don't notice.

 

If the machine you're buying has no operating system on it - and never has - then it means it has never been activated and will need to have a license purchased. The "I don't have a key" option in the installer is there to allow folk who have previously installed or who use alternative forms of activation to get a working system and then activate later. On a machine that has never been activated, you'll still need to later enter a key.

 

 

[Tabs]

2 minutes ago, K4lim said:

You won't get locked out as far as I know. You just get the "Activate now" message on the lower right corner all the time and some windows functionalities won't work.

The machine will still shut down every 2 hours after the 30 day period expires without being rearmed. It's hardly being "locked out", but it's just as bad.

[Guest]

8 minutes ago, Tabs said:

The machine will still shut down every 2 hours after the 30 day period expires without being rearmed. It's hardly being "locked out", but it's just as bad.

Where did you get that? The only thing i have seen is the "windows is not activated" watermark and the fact you can't do any customization.

[Tabs]

10 minutes ago, Some Random Member said:

Where did you get that? The only thing i have seen is the "windows is not activated" watermark and the fact you can't do any customization.

I'm so sorry, you're completely correct. This restriction was removed with an update to Windows 8, 8.1, and from every version of Windows 10. Please ignore my previous statement.

 

https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff793403.aspx

 

Edit: this shows how long it's been since I pirated windows. Christ. I feel like a shill.

[grimreeper132]

yes unless it's a HP laptop, as I have had bad experiences with them not letting you install new operating systems

 

 

(sample size of 4, and using another PC with the same hard drive and install USB worked perfectly first time)

[NelizMastr]

19 minutes ago, Tabs said:

The machine will still shut down every 2 hours after the 30 day period expires without being rearmed. It's hardly being "locked out", but it's just as bad.

It won't do that. That's behaviour I've only ever seen on Windows Server editions. 

 

Edit: saw your reply, nvm  

[GirvanaWantsBinnieBalls]

10 minutes ago, Some Random Member said:

Where did you get that? The only thing i have seen is the "windows is not activated" watermark and the fact you can't do any customization.

yeah , on my desktop i dont have a lisenced windows , i have a watermark (down below) thats not bothering me but other than that the pc works fine and its been 3 months since....

[GirvanaWantsBinnieBalls]

 the laptop i will purchase is this .

No OS as u can see

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, GirvanaWantsBinnieBalls said:

yeah , on my desktop i dont have a lisenced windows , i have a watermark (down below) thats not bothering me but other than that the pc works fine and its been 3 months since....

 

The other guy was thinking of windows server edition, on win 10 home you only have the watermark and nothing happens.

[Tabs]

1 minute ago, GirvanaWantsBinnieBalls said:

yeah , on my desktop i dont have a lisenced windows , i have a watermark (down below) thats not bothering me but other than that the pc works fine and its been 3 months since....

I knew about the watermark, it's just that my information was very out of date my bad, but cheers for the clarification guys.

 

This is actually a good thing, I'd much rather people ran an updated version of un-activated windows, than a pirate version of Win Xp/7/8. I think Microsoft probably prefers that too, since they made this change.

 

Anyway, my bad sorry