I'm starting to get a little thing on my screen complaining that my
copy of Windows isn't "activated."
As I mentioned earlier "A non-registered OS will simply not draw updates and not nerf the system enough to prevent simple work from being completed." This is not meant to set up a fully functioning system but rather give you a place to make conversions for Linux use or simple tasks - a work around. It will complain but should not stop you from doing what you need. If you need a fully functional system then the investment maybe warranted. The few times I have needed a licensed copy around I bought a refirb system with the WinOS. Installed Linux without turning on so the new system never registered then used the license in the virtual machine of the same machine.