Installing legacy windows

Because legacy windows are no longer supported by Microsoft can they be obtained free for installation ?

Microsoft doesn't supply "legacy" (everyone else would say "obsolete" or "end-of-lifed") versions of Windows.

Any downloads from sources other than Microsoft are likely to contain malware (though any "legacy" version of Windows will probably have malware on it within ten minutes of connecting to the Internet, anyway).

Your only trustworthy source is an actual Microsoft installation CD-ROM, from e.g. a garage sale, flea market, friend who still has them, etc.

If you manage to install a legacy version of Windows, if it is newer than about Windows 98 you then have the problem of "activating" it.  Windows will operate normally for 30 days without activation, but after that, functionality is severely limited.  Microsoft's "online" activation servers for each version of Windows are taken offline when that version is end-of-lifed, and it seems unlikely that the activation-by-telephone people will support activation of an end-of-lifed version -- though you can certainly try.  (If it works, come back here and let us know, because I'm really curious!)  

There are hacks and workarounds, available online, that claim to -- and actually may -- activate legacy versions of Windows despite the unavailability of the official Microsoft servers, but again, these are likely to be sources of malware.

Your best bet is probably to find a system still running the version of Windows you're interested in, and copy the boot partition to another drive.  You'll end up having to change drivers, etc., when the copy boots up and finds itself suddenly in a completely different hardware environment, and some drivers may be difficult to find if you don't have the actual installation CD-ROM -- but at least you won't have the activation problem.

So, what are you actually looking to accomplish, that requires a legacy version of Windows?  What version?  Perhaps other solutions exist.

No, even though Microsoft no longer supports legacy versions of Windows, the operating systems are not legally available for free. You didn't specify your goal for obtaining these, if any. Were you just asking out of curiosity or did you want to achieve something with this?

Edited by Cyberdemon, 31 May 2024 - 10:04 PM.

I was curious if Microsoft allowed downloads of outdated no longer supported O.S.'s

I was curious if Microsoft allowed downloads of outdated no longer supported O.S.'s

Why would they?

Microsoft has declared some of their old products freeware such as MS-DOS 6.22 (and older) and Windows (for Workgroups) 3.11 (and older). As far as I know, none of their Windows NT family operating system products (Windows NT 3.1, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows 10, etc.) have been declared freeware. And neither have any of the Windows 9X family (Windows 95, 98, etc.).

That is what I was interested in, that the Windows XP would be freeware especially since Win 10 you can get the license from any old machine or upgrade from win 7 tag.

The win7 upgrade no longer works

The free upgrade to Windows 10 requires ownership of a paid-for license for Windows 7 or 8. Windows XP never had any free upgrade promotions -- there were cheaper upgrade versions of Windows XP for owners of Windows 98, Me, or 2000 which were cheaper than the full Windows XP products; but there was never a free upgrade. And there were cheaper upgrade versions of Windows Vista, 7, and 8 for owners of Windows XP but nothing for free. Windows 10 was the first operating system Microsoft ever released as a free upgrade for owners of an older licensed operating system.

I figure Microsoft doesn't want to declare any member of the NT family freeware since these high-octane operating systems are all so closely related, despite how far apart they are in age.

 

The free upgrade to Windows 10 requires ownership of a paid-for license for Windows 7 or 8.

 

FYI That ended several months ago.

 

Just one of many articles about it:

https://www.howtogeek.com/microsoft-ends-free-windows-10-upgrades/

I guess we will have to wait for the free upgrade from win 10 to 11.

That likely won't happen.

Upgrades from 10 to 11 on supported hardware with a valid license have been & are free.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/upgrade-to-windows-11-faq-fb6206a2-1a0f-448a-80f1-8668ee5b2bf9

AFAIK there is no legal way to upgrade to 11 for free from 7 or other obsolete, unsupported Windows OS.