Offical release for MSDN and TechNet subscribers

  • August 15: MSDN and TechNet subscribers will be the first to get access to the new software.
  • August 16: Software Assurance customers and Microsoft Partner Network members will get access to the operating system.

Will be nice to hear some reviews of the real thing, anyone around here a subscriber?

TC
 
Yep, I have a MSDN and TechNet subscription. When I get it on the 15th, I'll be sure to post about it. :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
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    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
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Yeah I'll be getting it on wed too. Not being able to activate it will be a PITA though :/ after this I'll probably drop my technet sub, If this is the way it's going, it's just not worth it when you can DL, install and run the ISOs for free anyway (unactivated).

I want to test out using it in a Small server capacity as well as a desktop, but... At exactly what point does one decide to burn their ONE key with it's SINGLE activation? Never? What if you do it today then later need to use it on a different machine? Oh well. 1 key 1 activation might as well be to zero keys and zero activations, there was a reason, a GOOD reason it used to be 10 keys 10 activations. Only 1 or 2 new things (if that) come out a year, you might as well just buy a licensed copy of it for testing now... (Not sure if 6 weeks of early testing is worth the price by itself either)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7/8
I have an MSDN subscription and will download this on the 15th.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self-Built in July 2009
    CPU
    Intel Q9550 2.83Ghz OC'd to 3.40Ghz
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R rev. 1.1, F12 BIOS
    Memory
    8GB G.Skill PI DDR2-800, 4-4-4-12 timings
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA 1280MB Nvidia GeForce GTX570
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC899A 8 channel onboard audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    23" Acer x233H
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Intel X25-M 80GB Gen 2 SSD
    Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black, 32MB cache. WD1001FALS
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    Corsair 620HX modular
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    Antec P182
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    ABS M1 Mechanical
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    Logitech G9 Laser Mouse
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    Windows and Linux enthusiast. Logitech G35 Headset.
Yeah I'll be getting it on wed too. Not being able to activate it will be a PITA though
Why? With 95% of the software that i download from MSDN, almost nothing ever gets activated. I expect that with Windows 8 after install, you will get at least 30 days to activate and can probably do the reactivation trick a few more times to get an additional 30-90 days without ever activating.

I want to test out using it in a Small server capacity as well as a desktop, but... At exactly what point does one decide to burn their ONE key with it's SINGLE activation? Never?
Yes, never is actually the right answer. Technet is and always was, an evaluation platform. It was intended to give you free access to the software so that you could test and evaluate whether using the software was feasible. Once you determined via your eval that you wanted to use the software going forward, it was always expected that you would then purchase a legit key for the software.

My personal opinion, if you were actually activating your Technet software, you were using it longer than you should have been. Everything should be been doable without actually activating it. If you were activating it, it was your everyday machine and wasn't supposed to be licensed with Technet software.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self-Built in July 2009
    CPU
    Intel Q9550 2.83Ghz OC'd to 3.40Ghz
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R rev. 1.1, F12 BIOS
    Memory
    8GB G.Skill PI DDR2-800, 4-4-4-12 timings
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA 1280MB Nvidia GeForce GTX570
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC899A 8 channel onboard audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    23" Acer x233H
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Intel X25-M 80GB Gen 2 SSD
    Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black, 32MB cache. WD1001FALS
    PSU
    Corsair 620HX modular
    Case
    Antec P182
    Cooling
    stock
    Keyboard
    ABS M1 Mechanical
    Mouse
    Logitech G9 Laser Mouse
    Internet Speed
    15/2 cable modem
    Other Info
    Windows and Linux enthusiast. Logitech G35 Headset.
The reason to activate it is so that you don;t have to constantly reinstall it /every/ time you go to use it. (Kind of like how I have to do a HUGE update to every game on the XBOX if it's been a month since I last played it, on top of an xbox update ever time I turn the machine on after a while. :)

I'll sometimes install a copy and use it for one day then 6 weeks later desperately need it again only to be hit with having to reinstall it (AND all the support software) all over again UGH. Being able to activate it was EXTREMELY convenient.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7/8
The reason to activate it is so that you don;t have to constantly reinstall it /every/ time you go to use it. (Kind of like how I have to do a HUGE update to every game on the XBOX if it's been a month since I last played it, on top of an xbox update ever time I turn the machine on after a while. :)

I'll sometimes install a copy and use it for one day then 6 weeks later desperately need it again only to be hit with having to reinstall it (AND all the support software) all over again UGH. Being able to activate it was EXTREMELY convenient.

So, install it within a virtual machine and activate that. Then, you will have 1 full time activated machine that you can easily make backups of in case screw something up.

For my testing, I usually just mount an iso, install in a VM. I don't often worry about getting all of the Windows updates or anything else. I just take the software I am testing, then load it. See how it works, and see if it will make it into my everyday machine. if not, then I just delete the VM when done and spin up a new one down the road when I need to test something else out new. With getting 120 days with Windows 7 (with the rearm trick), that meant only 3 installs required during a year. Not a big deal for my testing.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self-Built in July 2009
    CPU
    Intel Q9550 2.83Ghz OC'd to 3.40Ghz
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R rev. 1.1, F12 BIOS
    Memory
    8GB G.Skill PI DDR2-800, 4-4-4-12 timings
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA 1280MB Nvidia GeForce GTX570
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC899A 8 channel onboard audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    23" Acer x233H
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Intel X25-M 80GB Gen 2 SSD
    Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black, 32MB cache. WD1001FALS
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    Corsair 620HX modular
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    Antec P182
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    stock
    Keyboard
    ABS M1 Mechanical
    Mouse
    Logitech G9 Laser Mouse
    Internet Speed
    15/2 cable modem
    Other Info
    Windows and Linux enthusiast. Logitech G35 Headset.
Well that's good advice for probably the best use of the one activation. Though VMs are great (I expouse their use all the time) They are not necessarily good for everything. It would not work well to test the efficiency of using WIn 8 as a file/print server when run in a VM as opposed to on real hardware for example.

There's no way around it, technet has been nerfed badly. And in the Windows 8 case (if rumors are true) to near unsuitability for the purpose. Sure you can work round the limitations by jumping through hoops but, like I said it would be as cheap or cheaper to just purchase straight out upgrades of any end user software you needed to test with at this point.

In fact I feel a little POed now about the Technet guys that called me up asking, practically begging, me to renew my sub (Which I was going to do) and using WIndows 8 as the excuse and then they nerf it so badly I could have just bought a real copy for less :/ (I use other software in there too, but using the Win 8 release as a reason to keep it, then changing the rules TWICE after re-upping is not cool)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7/8
P.S. as an example (using the VM situation) of why the one key one activation is STILL useless...

The keys last FOREVER (and I assume the activations too). So you may be using VMWare today, activated your * install, then find the hardware acceleration is lacking, so you install Virtual Box and it works WAY better. Ooops! To bad. Activation already used up... :/
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7/8
Well that's good advice for probably the best use of the one activation. Though VMs are great (I expouse their use all the time) They are not necessarily good for everything. It would not work well to test the efficiency of using WIn 8 as a file/print server when run in a VM as opposed to on real hardware for example.
If you wanted to test the efficiency of using Win8 as a file/print server, could you not just use the install without activation for this? I don't see why you would need to activate "that" particular machine if you are just trying to get a feel for home something works.

There's no way around it, technet has been nerfed badly.
Also, abused badly. It was intended for IT professionals to test with, but then because of high licensing costs and the fact that MS never checked to ensure you were an IT person using it, many home users started buying these to license the collection of home machines, laptops, etc. I wouldn't necessarily say they "nerfed" it, but rather closed an exploited loophole.

In fact I feel a little POed now about the Technet guys that called me up asking, practically begging, me to renew my sub (Which I was going to do) and using WIndows 8 as the excuse and then they nerf it so badly I could have just bought a real copy for less :/ (I use other software in there too, but using the Win 8 release as a reason to keep it, then changing the rules TWICE after re-upping is not cool)
Still at $200, you get an incredible amount of software. As an IT professional, you would need to test other OS's, as well as the server products (Windows server, SQL Server, Exchange Server, Home Server). Technet is still an incredible deal for everything you get.

In your case, you were hoping to use it to get free copies of Windows 8 that you could use on all of your own personal home machines indefinetly. Unfortunately, they are closing this loophole. But on the flipside, are going to make upgrades available for $39 and still waiting to hear how inexpensive the new non-upgrade version will be.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self-Built in July 2009
    CPU
    Intel Q9550 2.83Ghz OC'd to 3.40Ghz
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R rev. 1.1, F12 BIOS
    Memory
    8GB G.Skill PI DDR2-800, 4-4-4-12 timings
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA 1280MB Nvidia GeForce GTX570
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC899A 8 channel onboard audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    23" Acer x233H
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Intel X25-M 80GB Gen 2 SSD
    Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black, 32MB cache. WD1001FALS
    PSU
    Corsair 620HX modular
    Case
    Antec P182
    Cooling
    stock
    Keyboard
    ABS M1 Mechanical
    Mouse
    Logitech G9 Laser Mouse
    Internet Speed
    15/2 cable modem
    Other Info
    Windows and Linux enthusiast. Logitech G35 Headset.
P.S. as an example (using the VM situation) of why the one key one activation is STILL useless...

The keys last FOREVER (and I assume the activations too). So you may be using VMWare today, activated your * install, then find the hardware acceleration is lacking, so you install Virtual Box and it works WAY better. Ooops! To bad. Activation already used up... :/

Again, technet is for evaluation of software. You could reinstall under any of those VM software packages that you wished. Sure, you cannot activate them, but I don't see why you would need to activate handfuls of machines if you are testing.

To me, it sounds like you were using Technet as a way to spend $200 a year and run all of your MS software for free thereafter. Not trying to sound rude, but welcome to the real world where paying for Microsoft is and can be costly. There is a reason that some of us do use and figure out how to make do with Linux and other free operating systems. For somebody like me, who does not pirate software, my choice is either to pay for it, or use something else. Quite often, I opt for something else. For my main gaming machine where I really need Windows, well, I have a paid for copy of Windows there. (Well, actutally it was free...as I got it for free from attending the Windows 7 launch event "The New Efficiency"). But prior to getting my free copy, I had purchased a copy of Vista 64bit with a free upgrade to Windows 7. My free copy did come in and is simply sitting on my shelf as I don't have any other computer that I want to use it on.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self-Built in July 2009
    CPU
    Intel Q9550 2.83Ghz OC'd to 3.40Ghz
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R rev. 1.1, F12 BIOS
    Memory
    8GB G.Skill PI DDR2-800, 4-4-4-12 timings
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA 1280MB Nvidia GeForce GTX570
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC899A 8 channel onboard audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    23" Acer x233H
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
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    Intel X25-M 80GB Gen 2 SSD
    Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black, 32MB cache. WD1001FALS
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    Corsair 620HX modular
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    Antec P182
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    stock
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    Logitech G9 Laser Mouse
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    15/2 cable modem
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    Windows and Linux enthusiast. Logitech G35 Headset.
Again, it's about convenience and not having to worry and having to reinstall constantly. Simple as that.

Once again the pirates have made legal users of a product completely hamstrung :(
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7/8
We really won't know what TechNet is offering with Windows 8. The rumors have not been confirmed as MS is not saying. Its like a kid at Christmas, wondering what we will get.
Now if the servers don't lockup from heavy traffic we will see on Wed.

Jim :cool:
 

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System One

  • OS
    Windows 7 HP 64bit, Windows 8.1 Pro w/Media Center 64BIT
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    PC/Desktop
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    ASUS - Home Built
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    AMD Phenom II X6 1100T
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    ASUS M5A99X EVO
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    Crucial Balistic DDR-3 1866 CL 9 (8 GB)
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    On Chip
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    1920 x 1080
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    Two WD Cavier Black 2TB Sata 6gbs
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    Seasonic X650 80 Plus GOLD Modular
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    APC UPS ES 750, Netgear WNR3500L Gigabit & Wireless N Router with SamKnows Test Program,
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    Brother HL-2170W Laser Printer,
    Epson V300 Scanner
Once again the pirates have made legal users of a product completely hamstrung :(
Yeah, it wasn't so much pirates, but cases of people who purchased Technet when it came with 10 MAK keys and they simply sold all of the MAC keys and made huge profits. For example, they bought Technet standard for $200, and then sold each of their 10 Windows 7 Ultimate keys for $200 a piece. Thus, netting $2,000 off a $200 investment. Do the same thing but charge $100 for Home Premium and there is another $1,000. And $150 for 10 professional licenses and that's another $1,500.

This was the reason that MS originally cut back the keys substantially. They gave away WAY, WAY, WAY too much at first and as the old saying goes, "give a kid an inch and they will take a mile".

Honestly, I prefer this new approach. Make Windows 8 cheap, thus more people will simply buy it rather than pirating it. And also, they will get the licences in a manner intended for consumers and won't have to take advantage of Technet.

I still think a ton of people will take advantage of Technet simply for a copy of Office. And if they have an interest in being an IT guy for a living, they will have all of the server software at their disposal.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self-Built in July 2009
    CPU
    Intel Q9550 2.83Ghz OC'd to 3.40Ghz
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R rev. 1.1, F12 BIOS
    Memory
    8GB G.Skill PI DDR2-800, 4-4-4-12 timings
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA 1280MB Nvidia GeForce GTX570
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC899A 8 channel onboard audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    23" Acer x233H
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Intel X25-M 80GB Gen 2 SSD
    Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black, 32MB cache. WD1001FALS
    PSU
    Corsair 620HX modular
    Case
    Antec P182
    Cooling
    stock
    Keyboard
    ABS M1 Mechanical
    Mouse
    Logitech G9 Laser Mouse
    Internet Speed
    15/2 cable modem
    Other Info
    Windows and Linux enthusiast. Logitech G35 Headset.
Hi there
the whole point of this is surely TechNet needs to be of some use -- and remember some updates and official Ms downloads only work if the software is actually activated.

If you are limited to a single machine (I often try out stuff on 5 or 6 different computers) you can then surely download a normal TRIAL version from Ms anyway -- so why bother with a TechNet subscription anyway.

Also an ENTERPRISE version of the software in any case is going to be used on widely different machines so limiting it to 1 makes NO sense whatsoever.


As for Office -- the whole Internet has links all over the place to the KMS activator tool and its built in and well known ZWT keygen - the people who develop this type of "Software" don't need or use TechNet anyway. I'm actually amazed how Ms makes any money at all on its non Business versions of Office.

Ms would probably make more money to increase the price of Windows by a few dollars and build Office into it in the first place.

Cheers
jimbo.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Linux Centos 7, W8.1, W7, W2K3 Server W10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1 X LG 40 inch TV
    Hard Drives
    SSD's * 3 (Samsung 840 series) 250 GB
    2 X 3 TB sata
    5 X 1 TB sata
    Internet Speed
    0.12 GB/s (120Mb/s)
Hi there
the whole point of this is surely TechNet needs to be of some use -- and remember some updates and official Ms downloads only work if the software is actually activated.
I almost never have activated an MSDN copy of any software that I have tested on. In fact, with most servers that I roll out to our company, I install without activation and turn over to developers and such and ensure that all is well before I burn an activation key. Then I set a reminder for about 2 weeks out to ensure that the server is going to continue to be used and then I activate it.

If you are limited to a single machine (I often try out stuff on 5 or 6 different computers) you can then surely download a normal TRIAL version from Ms anyway -- so why bother with a TechNet subscription anyway.
Well, that's a good point. If the only thing you need is the OS, you could just use the trial versions of the software. With technet, you get a ton more software, so it all depends upon what you are testing.

Also an ENTERPRISE version of the software in any case is going to be used on widely different machines so limiting it to 1 makes NO sense whatsoever.
Many companies standardize on a limited number of desktops. Also, the majority of OS testing is to ensure that the software works with internal company software and processes. These don't typically change or aren't impacted in any way whether it's an HP, Dell or Model 1 or Model 2.

Most business enterprises do not have Technet subscripts to test with anyway. We either use our Volume License software or our MSDN copies. And during all testing, they simply aren't activated.

My company doesn't own a single subscription to Technet. But we have over 30 copies of MSDN with Visual Studio Ultimate. I think those are like $12,000 each. So, nearly $350,000 for that with renewals of nearly $4,000 a year for a yearly cost of $120,000 a year.

I still don't see the reason that eval software would have to be activated. I think it's more the nature that a home consumer simply wants to use their Technet subscription as a cheap mechanism to license all of their own personal computers. And as I've said, that's not the purpose of Technet. Never was.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self-Built in July 2009
    CPU
    Intel Q9550 2.83Ghz OC'd to 3.40Ghz
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R rev. 1.1, F12 BIOS
    Memory
    8GB G.Skill PI DDR2-800, 4-4-4-12 timings
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA 1280MB Nvidia GeForce GTX570
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC899A 8 channel onboard audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    23" Acer x233H
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Intel X25-M 80GB Gen 2 SSD
    Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black, 32MB cache. WD1001FALS
    PSU
    Corsair 620HX modular
    Case
    Antec P182
    Cooling
    stock
    Keyboard
    ABS M1 Mechanical
    Mouse
    Logitech G9 Laser Mouse
    Internet Speed
    15/2 cable modem
    Other Info
    Windows and Linux enthusiast. Logitech G35 Headset.
Hi there

you STILL need to activate Windows in order to download and install some stuff from Ms -- such as on W7 you need "Genuine Windows" validation before you can install MSE (Ms Security Essentials). Genuine Windows validation often requires the product to be activated to pass the test.

So to test this scenario on different machines you DO need to activate several times -- even if on a VM you will need an activation and for some testing you do need a physical machine. Much as I like using VM's it's not always possible to do 100% testing on a VM - particularly if you are checking out Video cards etc.

Cheers
jimbo
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Linux Centos 7, W8.1, W7, W2K3 Server W10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1 X LG 40 inch TV
    Hard Drives
    SSD's * 3 (Samsung 840 series) 250 GB
    2 X 3 TB sata
    5 X 1 TB sata
    Internet Speed
    0.12 GB/s (120Mb/s)
Hi there

you STILL need to activate Windows in order to download and install some stuff from Ms -- such as on W7 you need "Genuine Windows" validation before you can install MSE (Ms Security Essentials). Genuine Windows validation often requires the product to be activated to pass the test.

I'm going to test this right now, I have Windows 7 installing into a VM under VMWare Workstaiton right now. I'm almost positive that without entering a key, not activating Windows 7 that I will be able to install an run MSE without any trouble. I'll post back shortly if I can confirm or prove myself wrong.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self-Built in July 2009
    CPU
    Intel Q9550 2.83Ghz OC'd to 3.40Ghz
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R rev. 1.1, F12 BIOS
    Memory
    8GB G.Skill PI DDR2-800, 4-4-4-12 timings
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA 1280MB Nvidia GeForce GTX570
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC899A 8 channel onboard audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    23" Acer x233H
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Intel X25-M 80GB Gen 2 SSD
    Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black, 32MB cache. WD1001FALS
    PSU
    Corsair 620HX modular
    Case
    Antec P182
    Cooling
    stock
    Keyboard
    ABS M1 Mechanical
    Mouse
    Logitech G9 Laser Mouse
    Internet Speed
    15/2 cable modem
    Other Info
    Windows and Linux enthusiast. Logitech G35 Headset.
Installed Windows 7, didn't input a key. Right click my computer, properties says I have 30 days to activate. I went to Google and searched for MSE.

Hit the MS website and downloaded mseinstall.exe and ran the installer. It installed just fine, it's version 4.x, it's updating to the latest definition files right now, and that just finished and it's now scanning my computer for malicious items. I'd say this is working 100%, no activation required.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self-Built in July 2009
    CPU
    Intel Q9550 2.83Ghz OC'd to 3.40Ghz
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R rev. 1.1, F12 BIOS
    Memory
    8GB G.Skill PI DDR2-800, 4-4-4-12 timings
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA 1280MB Nvidia GeForce GTX570
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC899A 8 channel onboard audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    23" Acer x233H
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Intel X25-M 80GB Gen 2 SSD
    Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black, 32MB cache. WD1001FALS
    PSU
    Corsair 620HX modular
    Case
    Antec P182
    Cooling
    stock
    Keyboard
    ABS M1 Mechanical
    Mouse
    Logitech G9 Laser Mouse
    Internet Speed
    15/2 cable modem
    Other Info
    Windows and Linux enthusiast. Logitech G35 Headset.
That's my experience exactly with MSE and Win7. I teach IT courses at the college level and we use VMs for the labs all the time. I can stand up a Win7 or Win2008 R2 VM and run it for the duration of the class without ever activating it, and I have never had an issue installing MSE or keeping it up to date. Yeah, after 30 days I may have to "rearm" activation but I also have the 180-day trial ISO of Win7 Enterprise if I don't want to deal with the short 30-day grace period from the standard Win7 install.

Most versions of Windows server will run 60 days (with two extensions of 60 days each) without acvtivation - plenty of time for evaluation before you need to use an activation key. I was just on the Windows Server 2008 R2 site today and they have a free 180-day evaluation available.

I'm sure after the official Win8 / WinSrv 2012 release we'll see free trial downloads for those as well (beyond the default grace period for activation). I have never seen any software (M$ or other) fail installation simply because the product wasn't yet activated (and still within the grace period).
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7 x64
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