How, do I come back to you.?

tomscharbach

jrsilvey It's really important to figure this stuff out and I promise I will be on top of it as soon as I can.

Thanks for all the work.

If I may, let me be very specifc about the information I'd like you to collect:

(1) I am assuming that (a) the two computers came with Windows pre-installed (an OEM license), and the Windows OEM license was activated when during initial setup (it is automatic); (b) Windows was subsequently replaced by Linux and the computer is now running Linux OS.

(2) I am assuming that the VM Windows install is no different that a clean hardware Windows re-install, in the sense that the setup screens will be identical installing in the VM and installing from Windows Media Creator.

(3) ALTERNATE #1: Relatively early in the installation process, you should see a Windows activation screen. The screen varies a bit from version to version, but the essentials are the same. The screen will ask you to enter your Product Key to activate Windows. Most users won't know the Product Key (since the introduction of Windows 10, the Product Key sticker is no longer attached to the computer) so click the "I don't have a product key" link, usually found in the lower left corner of the screen. That will best replicate the experience of an "ordinary user". Installation will continue and should complete.

(3) ALTERNATE #2 When you get to the Windows activation screen, enter the product key for your computer. This will replicate the experience of a user who has access to the Product Key.

To retrieve your Windows 10 Product Key in Linux, run this command:
sudo cat /sys/firmware/acpi/tables/MSDM.
The command returns the Product Key as a value, as in
"MSDUMHDELL CBX3 AMI XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX".

I have no idea if this will work. I suspect that Microsoft will run an authentication check at this point, and either accept or bounce the license, depending on whether or not Microsoft can match the Product Key to the UUID.

(4) In a hardware installation under an OEM license, Windows retrieves the UUID and Product Key (both stored in the computer's firmware) and activates Windows automatically during the installation process. When the installation is completed, the user can open "Settings" > "Update and Security" > "Activation" and will get one of two messages:

"Windows is activated with a digital license linked to your Microsoft Account" (if installed using the user's MSA), or
"Windows is activated with a digital license" (if installed using a local account).

(5) What we need to find out is whether, in a VM install on a computer with an OEM license, Windows retrieves the UUID and Product Key from the computer's firmware and activates the license. If it does so successfully, you will get one of the two "Windows is activated" messages in "Settings" > "Update and Security" > "Activation" after installation is complete. If it does not do so successfully, you will get an "Activation failed because this device doesn't have a valid digital entitlement or product key" message, or equivalent. You can try entering your Product Key at this point (see "(3) ALTERNATIVE #2" above) and see what happens.

(6) If the license does NOT activate (that is, you get the "Activation failed ..." message), I would appreciate it if you would open Powershell in Windows and run two commands:

(a) wmic cs product get "UUID"
(b) wmic path softwarelicensingservice get OA3xOriginalProductKey

If the Windows installed in the VM can reach the computer's firmware, the (a) command will return the UUID (a long string of letters and numbers in nnnnnnnn-nnnn-nnnn-nnnn-nnnnnnnnnnnn format), and the (b) command will return a product key in. nnnnn-nnnnn-nnnnn-nnnnn-nnnnn format.

If the queries fail, that suggests that Windows running in the VM is not able to reach the computer's firmware, and we'll have to figure out where to go from there.

All the best.

jrsilvey

Good news! I am activated!

Ok, it took a while for me to install Windows on my laptop (again) but I finally got it done. It doesn't run slow but the install is laborious. But on my roommates desktop the installation took 5 minutes but for some odd reason downloads are quite slow.

I actually went to the internet BEFORE reading your post and found the exact same information you gave me on this webpage and found my Product Key by running the command in my Linux host Terminal.

Then I opened Boxes and entered my freshly installed version of Windows 10. I went into Settings and at the bottom of the page it said 'Windows isn't activated' and clicked that link. It took me to a place where I could input the product key. I did.

It activated.

No issues doing it at all.

This is really great news. It means that people won't be forced to use Wine and they won't be forced to use VirtualBox which can cause new users alot of headaches. This vastly increases what Solus (re: Linux) users will have access to as far as Adobe, Creative Cloud, and other proprietary software that is holding many back from migrating away from Windows 10 as their daily driver.

I would like to make a tutorial or walkthrough of some kind tomorrow specifically for installing Windows 10 as a VM on a Solus OS host using Gnome Boxes and successfully activating Windows 10 after installing it.

It actually isn't hard but I would like to create a draft here for you to see and if you run into any issues at all maybe we can figure out any troubleshooting issues you might come across.

This is definitely awesome news. I am so glad I took the time to do this!

20pesos

jrsilvey Yes please this tutorial would be great!

jrsilvey

My roommate doesn't have an OEM product key. How would we find his product license?

tomscharbach

jrsilvey It is good news, and I will be happy to look over anything you write. My own experience is that step-by-step explanations, with screenshots, are easiest to use. We should find a way to do this off-forum, because we are far, far off-topic at this point.

Consider including instructions about interacting with hardware (USB ports and device/driver management through Device Manager, for example). That sort of thing is usually an issue with VM's.

jrsilvey My roommate doesn't have an OEM product key. How would we find his product license?

I'm assuming that this command doesn't retrieve it: sudo cat /sys/firmware/acpi/tables/MSDM.

That's interesting, because it suggests that Retail licenses aren't persistent in the computer's firmware. I can see why that is because of the portable nature of the Retail version, but I hadn't thought about it.

If your roommate bought a boxed version, the Product Key may have been included in the packaging. If your roommate bought a "download and install" version (more typical) from the Microsoft Store or a retailer, your roommate actually bought a Retail digital license Product Key, and the Product Key was almost certainly sent in an email from Microsoft or the retailer at the time the purchase was made.

If you can't dig that out for some reason, Microsoft suggests (1) running the activation troubleshooter ("Settings" > "Update and Security" > "Activation" ) and/or (2) contacting Microsoft Support for assistance. If the Retail version was purchased from the Microsoft Store, then the record will be in his purchase history and Microsoft Support will verify the purchase and issue a Product Key. I don't know what happens when the license was purchased from a retailer. If your roommate linked his Retail license to his Microsoft Account at some point, then Microsoft Support might be able to find it through that channel.

Not a lot of help, I know.

tomscharbach

I installed a Gnome Boxes Windows 10 VM on two computers today -- a Dell Optiplex 7050, i5 6600T, Intel 530 onboard graphics, 8gb RAM, 128gb SSD and a Dell Optiplex 7070, i7 9700T, Intel 620 onboard graphics, 16gb RAM, 256 gb SSD -- using the 20H2 iso from Microsoft's download center for non-Windows operating systems.

In each case, Gnome Boxes Express Setup (which purports to set up everything automatically) failed, but Custom Setup worked smoothly.

I did not attempt to license either install because I do not intend to use either VM and will remove the two VM's tomorrow.

Several observations about Gnome Boxes Windows 10 VM:

(1) Gnome Boxes default settings for Windows 10 installation is 2gb RAM, 40 gb disk space. While this meets minimum Microsoft requirements for running Windows 10, it is clearly not adequate. Windows 10 realistically requires at least 4gb RAM to run, and a bare-bones install, without applications or data, uses about 32gb of disk space, so 64 gb of disk space is more in line with reality for most users. The defaults can be changed during Custom setup.

(2) I set up the Optiplex 7050 VM to use 4gb of RAM and 50gb of disk space. Windows 10 ran okay with that setup, but somewhat sluggishly when performing tasks that required significant RAM. Performance was equal to or exceeded performance on a bare metal install on my Dell Inspiron 3180, AMD A9 processor, R5 onboard graphics, 4gb RAM, 128gb SSD, so that configuration is workable.

(3) I setup the Optiplex 7070 VM to use 8gb of RAM and 64gb of disk space. Windows 10 ran very well in that configuration, similar in performance to bare metal Windows 10 on my Dell Latitude 7280, i5 7300U, Intel 620 onboard graphics, 8gb RAM, 128gb SSD.

(4) Based on that configuration comparison, I would suggest that anyone intending to use a Gnome Boxes Windows 10 VM for serious work (more than e-mail, browsing, undemanding tasks like word processing and spreadsheet work) install a VM with 8gb of RAM devoted to the VM, if possible.

(5) I did not install any serious graphics programs (e.g. Photoshop) to see how that worked in the Gnome Boxes VM.

(6) The version of Gnome Boxes included in the repository is 3.36.6-stable, which appears to have basic Spice functionality included. I was able to change Windows 10 display resolution and could access USB flash drives without difficulty, following Gnome Boxes Help instructions. USB mounting is single-device, single-use, but it is workable. I've read that installing the Windows Guest Tools for Spice in the Windows VM may enhance the VM in this regard, but I didn't test it.

(7) As expected, I was not able to access Solus 4.1 files from the Windows 10 VM. In this respect, the VM is similar to a dual-drive dual-boot setup. I've read that installing Windows Guest Tools for Spice (see (6) above) and the Spice wavdev daemon from the same source can enable access, but I didn't test it.

(8) I was able to install/uninstall Windows programs like LibreOffice without difficulty. I did not attempt to install any apps from the Microsoft Store because I was running an unlicensed version, but I see no reason why that would not work.

(9) I did several Windows 10 updates in the VM, and that process seems to work fine.

Overall, my testing suggests that Gnome Boxes is likely to provide a workable solution for Solus users who need to run Windows for specific tasks, and is probably a much better solution for someone like @oekorem than keeping Windows as the bare metal OS and running Solus in a VM. Thanks to @jrsilvey for pushing this alternative to the forefront.

downhill

I wouldn't do anything until your current semester is finished. You don't want an inoperable computer if you need to get school work done.

oekorem

Update to all,

I've decided during the winter break to grunt through the experience of windows. Unless I get drunk one night and just decide to install solus in the heap of the night.

« Previous Page