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PaperclipPerfector  7d ago (text post)   1630 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for July 4, 2025

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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Anyone knows the best way of buying Windows 10 LTSC versions ?
I have a relatively powerful PC but for some reason,it's not Windows 11 ready.

Windows Enterprise Long Term Customer Support is windows without all the stupid crap like 'Store' . Unless I want to learn Linux, seems like the only option. Supported until 2032, at least.

Windows 10 LTSC is not on offer to consumers in common shops, EVEN though it's superior because it lacks pointless annoying features such as 'Store' and so on. I've seen it described as quite superior by users. It seems it can be bought for €150-300 and there are people with relatively good ratings selling license keys for €20 around here. Or in some shops, as €30 supposedly a second-hand license. Huh. Seems dubious but those shops don't look totally sketchy.

There's also sites that claim they offer ways of activating it permanently. I'm a bit worried about malware, but I'm not sure that's a problem - all my serious crap is on my phone anyway, and if someone were to use my PC to mine anything I'd probably notice. Also, the entire site smells of honest cracker type people doing it not for profit.

If you just want to keep using a supported operating system without buying a new PC (or motherboard; most of the issues in consumer hardware are due to the TPM2.0 requirement), you can bypass almost all of the relevant hardware checks, either by hand with a registry edit from the install environment, or by using programs like Rufus that will do it (as well as disabling some telemetry and enabling a local user) with a single checkbox when burning to USB drive an ISO you can download from Microsoft.

Most 'legit-ish' vendors for LTSC will be closer to the 300 USD range (a la CWG), and they're still not entirely compliant with Microsoft's rules for resale. I used to recommend the Microsoft Action Pack if you needed a bunch (typically 40 USD per OS license, and a bunch of other shit, at the cost of annoying certification requirements), but that sunsetted at the start of this year and you can't buy into it at any price now.

There's also a 'extended' support license for Win10NormalUser. The enrollment process is stupid, but the price is good even if you don't want to use Microsoft Points... but there's no guarantee about when MS will change the deal again.

Otherwise... MAS people are respectable. I can't condone the cool crime of flipping Microsoft the bird, but if you're not in a corporate environment I wouldn't expect an audit over it either.

While some of them are just (ab)using bulk OEM pricing and international sales, a lot of the cheap second-hand licenses, even from professional-looking merchants, are either messing around well outside of their purchase agreement, or outright money laundering with stolen credit cards, similar to the 'steam key' reseller gray market. This usually won't burn you, but it has significant ethical concerns and can theoretically result in the key being revoked. And, of course, there's concerns when giving your credit card information to people who could be credit card thieves.

you can bypass almost all of the relevant hardware checks, either by hand with a registry edit from the install environment, or by using programs like Rufus that will do it (as well as disabling some telemetry and enabling a local user) with a single checkbox when burning to USB drive an ISO you can download from Microsoft.

Or if you're really lazy like me, @No_one, you can just google "Tiny11" and get that installer that does everything for you. Gets the correct ISO, bypasses the hardware restrictions, rips out all the adds, AI, telemetry and MS account bullshit (it even rips out Edge, so put a Firefox installer on the stick) and it just grabs the Windows licence that's (most likely) stashed in your BIOS anyway.

How would that work, I have a Win 10 home license, that'd not fly with LTSC?

Sorry for the confusion, Tiny11 installs Windows 11 and modifies it before and after the install, to get the benefits in my last post.

Since this (a widows 10 user finally upgrading to windows 11) is what Microsoft wants, the licencing issue is as smooth as possible. If you have any valid windows licence, it will work. And since a windows 10 license can be stored in the bios of most modern boards, it retrieves that license for maximum convenience.

Installing windows 10 ltsc is not what Microsoft wants, so a windows 10 home licence will not do. They actually want to see money.

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