I have been using an activated Windows 8.1 VM under Parallels without any problems when I got a notice telling me that I should upgrade to Windows 10 for free. Well, I assume free is good, so I did that and got a second Parallels VM. Both work properly, but the Windows 10 VM is not "activated" as I have not bought a key for it and the Windows 8.1 key I have does not work on Windows 10 (of course). My question is whether or not Windows 10 needs to be activated, and by that I mean do I need to activate it to run it legally? I have zero interest in running illegal or unlicensed software, but I do not know if Windows 10 needs to be activated to run it legally. The software does not say that it is a trial, it tells me I will be better off activating it, but it does not tell me that it is not legal to run it without activation, so I do not know if running it without activation is legally OK or not. I do not particularly want to spend more than $100 for a key for software I do not really need, and if I am required to buy the key to use the software legally I will just remove the VM, but I do not know if I am required to activate it to run it legally. Does anyone know?
That is strange because I have successfully upgraded my Windows 8.1 to Windows 10 recently using the 8.1 key. You need to contact Microsoft then. https://www.cnet.com/how-to/microsoft-windows-10-free-upgrade-offer-assistive-features/
@alexg: I wonder why I am having trouble. I just tried again, thinking that perhaps I had not copied-and-pasted properly, but I got the same error message telling me that the SN I used successfully to activate Windows 8 is not valid. I will try to contact Microsoft but am not sure how much luck I will have this close to the holidays. Thanks for the post.
