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I want to have a free and legal Windows OS on a virtual machine such as VMware, virtual box etc. It seems that Windows “Starter Edition” fits the needs. Can someone confirm this? If it is not, then what are the free options I have?

It can be downloaded from here.

I have to install multiple versions of Ruby for just learning purposes. Some tutorials use 1.9, some use 2.0 etc. I could use multiple Ruby version managers like RVM, Pik (Obsolete and not supported anymore), Uru etc. But, I don’t want to go through all the pain because the setup is complicated in Windows as shown here.

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  • 1. There is no free Windows. 2) Check the licensing; I'm not sure Windows Starter Edition can be run in a VM. 3) How does Ruby relate to the question?
    – fixer1234
    Commented Nov 30, 2014 at 7:52
  • @fixer1234 - I am doing all this VM stuff so that I can put one version of ruby on my computer and another version in a vm.
    – stack1
    Commented Nov 30, 2014 at 7:53
  • You can't just run multiple instances?
    – fixer1234
    Commented Nov 30, 2014 at 7:56
  • @fixer1234 - what do you mean by that ? Multiple instances of windows on VM ?
    – stack1
    Commented Nov 30, 2014 at 7:57
  • No, multiple instances of Ruby in Windows.
    – fixer1234
    Commented Nov 30, 2014 at 7:58

1 Answer 1

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According to this FAQ from Microsoft (here):

Windows 7 Starter only comes preinstalled—mostly on netbooks—so you can't buy and install it on your own. It's designed for doing the basics, such as using the Internet, sending e‑mail, and creating documents.

This suggests that even if you do get installation media and edit the config file as discussed in your link, you still wouldn't have an installation that complies with the license terms since you'd still need a Windows 7 Starter product key.

Even if you were to obtain one, using it in a VM would not be license compliant, since per the quoted document, keys for Starter are only sold with hardware, and are likely OEM keys, meaning their use is only permitted with the hardware with which they were sold.

If your budget isn't absolute zero, you could potentially use Windows legally within an Azure virtual machine. These aren't free but are not too expensive, and the cost of the Windows license is included in the price you pay.

An alternative option would be to setup a Linux VM with a web server and a particular version of Ruby. You could quite easily set up an FTP or SSH server on these VMs for file transfer, and do your coding on the host machine's Windows install (I presume you have one Windows box already)

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  • Thanks for the detailed answer ! Appreciate it. Here is my failure to install RVM using cygwin - stackoverflow.com/questions/8845432/…
    – stack1
    Commented Nov 30, 2014 at 8:09
  • No problem. Happy to help. I'll have a look at the question you linked, but I don't use Ruby myself, so I may not be able to help you there
    – Crippledsmurf
    Commented Nov 30, 2014 at 8:12
  • Pricing info - azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/details/virtual-machines I chose a crappy VM with low specs - "General purpose compute: Standard tier", A1 plan, 1core,1.75 GB,70 GB,$0.09/hr(~$67/mo). I'll probably use it for 30hr which is $2.7. Not bad. For more power, I can take A2 plan for $5.4. OR take free linux. Not sure about the ease of development on linux.
    – stack1
    Commented Nov 30, 2014 at 8:17
  • So there actually is a free version of Windows? Does that mean pigs fly?
    – fixer1234
    Commented Nov 30, 2014 at 8:19
  • @fixer1234 - haha ! No. I am now using linux. I don't feel like paying for Windows for just this, even at $5-10 per month.
    – stack1
    Commented Dec 17, 2014 at 0:09

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