This blog entry is simply to clear things up regarding virtual machine software (like VMware), the way it can make clones of existing virtual machines, and what if any impact such cloning has when it involves software that requires some form of online activation like Microsoft's operating system and Office software do. The reason I'm writing this is that, going back to my last blog entry regarding VMware Workstation 6 (the latest release of VMware Workstation), the TalkBack's disputed my assertion that moving a virtual machine that has Windows as its operating system from one system could be a jarring enough of a hardware change that it would'invariably awaken the licensing Gods at Microsoft.'
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I probably wasn't clear regarding the scenarios I had in mind and thus some (but not much confusion). First, a quick bit on how virtual machine software works (in case you're new to this). Virtualization products like VMware Workstation and Microsoft's Virtual PC can, with software alone, emulate the hardware of an Intel-based PC (other hardware too, but we'll focus on Intel-based PCs). In other words, you can use VMware Workstation to create a software-based instance of an Intel-based PC (which is why they call it 'virtual') and then you can treat that instance or 'virtual machine' (VM) as though it were a real hardware-based PC or 'real machine'. You can install an Intel-compatible operating system on it (like Windows XP, Windows Vista, Linux, etc.) and then install applications on top of that just as you would if the operating system was installed on actual PC, or, on what the virtual machine folks refer to as 'bare metal.'
There are many benefits of running in VMs vs. on bare metal. I won't go into them here. That's not the purpose of this post. Given the way VMs involve the idea of software pretending to be hardware, it should come as no suprise to you that when you create a virtual machine (for example, one that runs a copy of Windows XP or Windows Vista), the whole enchilada is stored in just a handful of files that live on the hard disk of your computer. The fact that an entire VM is stored in a handful of files means something else: they're easily copied and/or cloned.
In my last post -- the one that may have caused some confusion -- I talked about how the act of copying a Windows virtual machine from one computer to another might awaken the licensing Gods at Microsoft. What did I mean? Under the guise of Microsoft's Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) program, Windows includes an anti-piracy technology that prevents software pirates from installing one copy of Windows on many computers. Each computer must have it's own license and to make sure that each unique copy of Windows is somehow married to a unique computer, WGA tries to establish a unique signature or thumbprint for your computer that's based on its hardware configuration. While Microsoft's will talk in generalities about how its fingerprinting algorithm works, the actual code is a secret. Even the folks at VMware -- a company whose solutions are impacted by Microsoft's anti-piracy policies -- aren't exactly sure how it works (and they've studied it).
Attempts to install or even run an already-activated copy of Windows on a computer other than the one it was originally married to should, if Microsoft's Windows Genuine Advantage software is working properly, be met by a dialog like the one below (generated by Vista).
So, will copying a VM from one physical computer to another wake up the Microsoft licensing Gods? And, why would you do such a thing? One reason I like to have this option at my disposal is that I beat up my notebook computers pretty badly. Over the years, most of my notebook PCs have had to go in for one repair or another. This is bad news if everything you need (your data, applications, bookmarks, etc.) is on a notebook that has to be sent back for repairs. Unless of course all of your software and information is loaded into a VM rather than into the operating system that was installed on the bare metal. In that case, you get to experience one of the chief benefits of VMs: you can just move them (copy the files) to another computer.
In the case of VMware, you don't even need a full-blown copy of VMware on the other PC to open up those files and start the virtual machine. You just need VMware's virtual machine 'player' -- a virtual machine runtime that's freely downloadable from VMware's Web site.
But the question is, in the process of copying a virtual machine from one PC (maybe a busted one) to another, will Microsoft's WGA program detect a change in the underlying hardware and assume that you're a pirate making an illegal copy? In my previous attempts at doing this, when I moved a VM between an Intel-based notebook and an AMD-based notebook, I totally sprung the WGA trap. Hold that thought.
There's another way to copy a VM that's literally called 'cloning.' Using VMware Workstation's menus, you can select an existing virtual machine and clone it. What's the difference between cloning and copying? I asked VMware about this. The differences are subtle, but important in the context of awakening the licensing Gods at Microsoft.
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When you clone a virtual machine, it asks you what to name the new VM and then it makes all of the necessary changes to all of the filenames. When you copy a VM, all of that information (filenames, directories, etc.) stay exactly the same. But something else happens when you clone an VM that doesn't happen when you copy it. Since VMs are completely software-based versions of an Intel-based PC, they also include a virtual networking interface that, like real PCs, has a unique MAC address (the unique address that helps networks tell network attached device apart from another). When you clone a PC, the clone gets a new MAC address. When you copy a virtual machine, nothing changes.
Although no one outside of Microsoft knows Microsoft's formula for fingerprinting hardware to the point that, if the fingerprint changes, the licensing Gods are awakened, the folks at VMware are pretty sure that changes to the MAC address are a red flag. That corresponds directly to the experience I had with a clone of one of my Vista-based VMs. Even though I was running the clone on the very same system (no hardware changes to theoretically awaken the licensing Gods) that the original VM (from which the clone was cloned) was running on, I received an activation warning (pictured, above left) anyway.
But, since copying the original VM to another computer and running it on that computer with VMware's free player, I have yet to see any signs of the activation Gods at Microsoft. That said, there is something interesting that happens when you move an existing VMware-based VM from one computer to another. The first time you try to run that VM, it detects that the VM was moved and asks if you want to keep it associated with VMware's unique identifier (known as the UUID) for that virtual machine, or if you want to create one. According to VMware, if you create a new UUID, that will trigger a change to the MAC address which in turn could awaken the licensing Gods at Microsoft.
It's complicated stuff. But it's important to know if you're working with virtual machines and you want to walk delicately around Microsoft's anti-piracy technology.
Related Topics:Enterprise Software Virtualization Internet of Things Cloud
Over the years the installation of Windows has gotten easier and more reliable, and Windows 10 is not an exception. In the new version of the operating system Microsoft has made it a lot easier for users to upgrade, but to make it all happen the company had to modify the different ways in which customers install Windows 10, and up until now there was not much documentation explaining the new changes.
Recently, the company made available documentation resources that explain how the Windows 10 activation and upgrade process work.
In the “Activation in Windows 10” web page, the software giant begins explaining that it uses the activation technology to verify a computer is running a genuine copy and the same license hasn’t been used on more devices than it was permitted under the terms.
Windows 10 also includes a new kind of activation, something the company calls “digital license” (formerly known as “digital entitlement”), which is in addition to the 25-character product key method. The activation the operating system will use depends on how you have obtained your copy of windows 10.
According to Microsoft, “digital license” (digital entitlement) is the new activation method in Windows 10 that doesn’t require the user to enter a product key. In this case activation will happen automatically.
Windows 10 will use the “digital license” (digital entitlement) activation method, if one of the following is true:
Windows 10 will use the product key activation method, if one of the following is true:
How to activate Windows 10 after the upgrade
If you have upgraded to Windows 10 from a genuine copy of Windows 7 or Windows 8.1, the activation will happen automatically through an internet connection and an online “digital license” (digital entitlement) will be created for your device.
According to the Microsoft documentation, if your version of Windows is not activated before upgrading to Windows 10, you won’t be able to activate, as such you have to make sure your copy is fully activated before upgrading.
Checking your Windows activation is very easy:
If you’re copy of Windows 10 isn’t activated, you can get more information in the “Windows 10 activation errors” web page.
How to activate Windows 10 after reinstall
If you have activated a free copy or bought and activated a copy of Windows 10 from the Store, you have a “digital license” (digital entitlement) for that device.
This means that you can reinstall Windows 10, even a clean installation, and you don’t need to enter a product key. If during the installation you’re prompted to enter a product key, select Skip. Then the operating system will activate automatically after the installation.
If you previously installed and activated Windows 10 using a product key, then you’ll need to enter a product key during the installation.
How to activate a new Windows 10 installation
A product key will be needed to activate Windows 10, when you install the operating system for the first time, and your device never had an activated copy of Windows 10 on it.
Of course, you’ll also need a product key if you are installing Windows 10 Pro on a device that has Windows 10 Home running on it.
How to activate a Windows 10 Insider Preview buildContact Management Software
If you upgraded your genuine copy of Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 to the latest Windows 10 Insider Preview build, then you’ll get new and activated builds.
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After July 29, 2015, if you want to install the latest Windows 10 Insider Preview build, but you’re running Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows 8.1, you first need to upgrade to Windows 10 using the free upgrade offer.
After the upgrade go to Settings > Update & security > Advanced options and then click the Get Insider Builds to join the Insider Preview Program to receive the new builds.
How to activate Windows 10 after hardware change
If you have taken advantage of the free upgrade offer of Windows 10, and then you made some significant hardware changes, such as replacing the motherboard, Windows 10 won’t re-activate.
However, starting with the Windows 10 Anniversary Update, you can link your Microsoft Account with your Windows 10 digital licence, and use the new Activation Troubleshooter tool to re-activate the operating system.
Linking your digital license with your account is very straightforward, if you’re already have a Microsoft Account connected to your Windows 10 Anniversary Update or later, you’re good to go.
If you only have a local account, you need to add a Microsoft Account to Windows 10. Go to Settings > Update & security > Activation, click Add an account and complete the process.
Then you can use the Activation Troubleshooter. Go to Settings > Update & security > Activation, click Troubleshoot, sign-in with your Microsoft Account. Then select your computer your the list of digital licenses associated with your account, check This is the device I’m using right now, and click Activate. If the activation fail, then you’ll need to contact customer support for assistants.
Update, October 14, 2015: Microsoft will make easier to activate Windows 10 with Threshold 2. Starting Windows 10 build 10565, users will be able to use their Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1 product key to do a clean install of Windows 10 without having to do the upgrade first — full details on the changes here.
Update, June 23, 2016: Starting with Windows 10 build 14371 and moving forward, Microsoft is renaming “digital entitlement” to “digital licence”.
Update, July 9, 2016: On July 29th, Microsoft is ending the free offer to upgrade free to Windows 10. Everyone who has upgraded will retain the digital license for the life of the device. This means that if you reinstall Windows 10 with the Anniversary Update your computer will remain activated.
Source Microsoft
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