Concerning Free Copy of Windows Available - Sourced from a Kivuto Support email sent to HACC August 31, 2022:
Takeaway: Windows Activation Keys are available for only 31 days after download. Remember to record the product key else you will be charged between $15-20$ to retrieve.
Windows OS upgrade licenses are perpetual (not expiring) and good for a life-time of one computer (not transferrable). As a general rule, once installed, the license should keep working as long as the computer it is installed on is functional. However, some updates might require a user to re-enter the same key to re-activate the software every once in a while. Note! The key will become invalid if any hardware replacements occured on the computer the license was initially installed on.
As per Microsoft EULA, academic users are limited to only 1 copy of Windows OS per account (be it Windows 10 or Windows 11, but not both), and can not re-order the software if anything happens to the first copy/computer the software was installed on.
As far as the fee to retrieve access to the product key is concerned:
The Basic Access Guarantee is included free with most orders. This option provides 31 days of access to an order after the order is placed. As it is stated in the email that is sent out, before the Basic Access expires we recommend to make a personal back-up of the software:
If a user does not want to take advantage of Kivuto's optional back-up service, they will need to provide their own back-up in the event they need to install it again in the future. It is recommended that the user ensures that any downloaded software is backed-up and they write down the product key.
or purchases The Extended Access Guarantee. This option provides two years of access to an order after the order is placed. Note that the Extended Access Guarantee can only be applied to an order within 31 days of the date on which the order was placed.
Access Guarantee Retrieval is a service a user can order if they ever need to regain access to an order after any Access Guarantees that were included with it have expired. For a fee, we will restore your access to the requested order for a period of 60 days, so you can re-download any software or obtain any product keys you need.
Here are a few important things to note about Kivuto's Access Guarantees:
- An Access Guarantee only allows you to re-download software and re-acquire product keys from an order. It does not make it possible to install or activate software more times or on more machines than the software license allows.
- An Access Guarantee does not extend the duration of any software license. Any trial or rental software on your order will still expire in its usual timeframe.
- An Access Guarantee does not affect the software license, once the software is installed and activated it will continue working as per the license agreement.
More information on Kivuto's Access Guarantee Policy can be found in the Help section of HACC OntheHub WebStore under Access Guarantee.