Cracked Windows

OK, I'm going to word this very carefully as I got banned from another site for asking this. I want to make it clear that I am not advocating piracy, nor am I asking how to pirate any kind of software.

That being said I was wondering if perhaps any of you had a friend who had used a pirated copy of Windows? Did he/she have a smooth experience when using it? I only ask because I have a friend who is considering using one as he is building a new system and isn't keen on forking over more money for something he has already paid for.

Any feedback would be much appreciated.

I agree with Paw on this.

However, I have used several "Cracked" copies of windows long term in a virtual environment for testing purposes. I do not know what the effects are long term in a real world scenario, as it never connected to the internet except for a few security updates one time.

I always used pirated installations before I got dreamspark and I still make pirated installations for other people.

There's no difference in usage whatsoever between a licensed copy and a pirated one, if we are talking about Windows 7. Just google "loader by daz" and open the first link.

This thing works absolutely flawlessly, you can install any updates or service packs on your system and the activation will still hold. I didn't have any problems with it over the years and haven't received a single complaint from people who I installed it for.

*crackling sounds in the ice*

In one of the threads administration explicitly stated that talking about piracy is not a violation of the rules as long as no links are posted.

I read the rules carefully and stated pretty strongly that I am not asking for a 'how to'. Is it really so bad to talk about it? As long as no one's telling people how to do it than surely it's ok to have a discussion isn't it?

Thank you for giving me a real answer and for not treating me like a troll.

Yeah I know it's quite hard to talk about even hypothetically I guess. On another note I don't I don't understand that last paragraph. Kinda cryptic.

Thank you good sir, *doffs hat*

A man needs windows from an ambiguous source. A man is informed that it runs perfectly fine just like the legit version and the experience is the same.