The main advantage of this operating system is support until 2019. For anyone with legacy pcs like me this will work well. I have a dell latitude c600 with 384 megs of ram and a pentium 3 1000mhz. It runs posready 2009 like it ran windows xp sp0 rtm when i first got it and upgraded it to those specs. It is based on windows xp pro sp3 with a few changes. Most easily noticed is the interface. That is the electric theme. I have office 2000 installed on it. Mar 12, 2016 Where do I get the Product Key for POSReady 2009 Evaluation. You've installed your OS or entered your product key, but now you want to change it. How do you do it? You can use the Windows Activation Wizard graphical user interface GUI or a Windows Management Instrumentation WMI script. This is mainly good if you have old computers that cant run anything past windows xp or can barely run sp3 as windows xp is in end of life. Quote from Actually, the inability of running Office on POSReady 2009 is a license restriction not a technical one. You might think its a nice idea to tell people about this OS, but the installation media besides trials is not available to the public. If you are not a Windows Embedded Partner, you do not have access to this OS other than using warez which is illegal. EDIT: I realise some people come into possession of a computer from the secondary market that has the OS already installed. I didnt use warez. The trial cd can be used as a full version if you get a key. Keys arent hard to find. Quote from With how small it is I can only assume it will not work for the majority of people who would even want to use it. Upgrade your computer if it is really too much for you grab a light weight Linux distro Xubuntu or Lubuntu should do just fine if you really want to keep using an outdated computer. That or just run WinXP I doubt most of you are doing anything on your computers that would be a big deal if lost due to malware. It is pretty small but you can choose what you want to use. It can come with everything a regular user will need. When i put it on my latitude c600 drivers worked out of the box. Quote from The main advantage of this operating system is support until 2019. Yes, the system will be supported until 2019. However, It does not receive security updates on the same level as XP did. It receives security updates evaluated based on the use-case that POSReady is designed for, which typically involves a Local only connection, with Updates being served from a configured update server. Allowing all POS terminals to be updated by changing the software available on said server, rather than having all those terminals using a WAN connection to download from Microsoft. As a result it doesn't get Security patches as frequently In fact, the only security updates it received were from XP's updates, and those have stopped. So the feasibility of using the system as a replacement is dubious at best. That isn't even to consider the fact that running it on a desktop system is a complete violation of the license. For anyone with legacy pcs like me this will work well. I have a dell latitude c600 with 384 megs of ram and a pentium 3 1000mhz. It runs posready 2009 like it ran windows xp sp0 rtm when i first got it and upgraded it to those specs. It is based on windows xp pro sp3 with a few changes. Most easily noticed is the interface. The default interface as I recall is the classic theme, and I don't think it even includes the Luna theme engine. The themes you show are probably added by whatever scener created the torrent you downloaded from. For comparison, I'm downloading the actual POSReady 2009 from MSDN; it is 3395 MB, and fills a DVD. I actually wasn't expecting it to be on MSDN. I think the topic of POSReady 2009 being used in lieu of Windows XP now that XP is end of Life'd may be worthy of covering in more detail. I've seen it brought up a lot. This is mainly good if you have old computers that cant run anything past windows xp or can barely run sp3 as windows xp is in end of life. This ignores the critical fact that since you'll be pirating you won't be eligible for any sort of support anyways, and it receives few, if any, security updates since it's designed for use on LAN networks with no internet exposure. I'll be installing POS Ready 2009 in a Virtual Machine and evaluating some of the claims I've seen regarding it's usage to replace XP. Quote from Yes, the system will be supported until 2019. However, It does not receive security updates on the same level as XP did. It receives security updates evaluated based on the use-case that POSReady is designed for, which typically involves a Local only connection, with Updates being served from a configured update server. Allowing all POS terminals to be updated by changing the software available on said server, rather than having all those terminals using a WAN connection to download from Microsoft. As a result it doesn't get Security patches as frequently In fact, the only security updates it received were from XP's updates, and those have stopped. So the feasibility of using the system as a replacement is dubious at best. That isn't even to consider the fact that running it on a desktop system is a complete violation of the license. The default interface as I recall is the classic theme, and I don't think it even includes the Luna theme engine. The themes you show are probably added by whatever scener created the torrent you downloaded from. For comparison, I'm downloading the actual POSReady 2009 from MSDN; it is 3395 MB, and fills a DVD. I actually wasn't expecting it to be on MSDN. I think the topic of POSReady 2009 being used in lieu of Windows XP now that XP is end of Life'd may be worthy of covering in more detail. I've seen it brought up a lot. As the other poster mentioned, it's a case of it not being licensed to run it, not a case of it not installing. This ignores the critical fact that since you'll be pirating you won't be eligible for any sort of support anyways, and it receives few, if any, security updates since it's designed for use on LAN networks with no internet exposure. I'll be installing POS Ready 2009 in a Virtual Machine and evaluating some of the claims I've seen regarding it's usage to replace XP. I read that if you put a key like the one i put on you will have the full version and it seems to be that way on the other things, i got windows update working anyway even though its technically pirated. First thing I notice: It's not based on XP, it's based on Server 2003 Standard Edition. I base this on the fact that VMWare detects it as such. Further notes during Install: -'Typical' Install lists as consuming 1510MB. Minimum is listed as 510. I think this is in Server 2003 as well. And it restarts and blue-screens. Changed Virtual Machine to use IDE Hard disk, rather than SCSI. Now, I break to mention that my Windows 2000 VM works fine with SCSI, as does XP; this appears to be a change to the base featureset of POSReady. Switching back it's at the Splash screen with the scrolling progress bar. It's now moved to 640x480, with a 'First Boot Agent' now running a progressbar doing something or other. The progressbar has moved. These appear to coincide with the steps of the XP install Installing components, detecting Devices, etc. Also, according to the EULA, the software, even with a valid key, will only function for a year. After a year that key will no longer work for activation and you will need another key. I was incorrect on the default theme, it would appear. Default theme is 'POSReady' It doesn't have the standard XP themes. Only Luna themes are three POSReady themes, which all look the same and just change the background logo. Installing the Virtual Machine drivers- POSReady doesn't appear to have found the Network driver. Restarting, if it has no network I guess I won't be able to check the update list. No network ability still. It prompted for the XP CD. During install- notable that XP itself did not do this. I'll try that again, using the POSReady disc in the virtualized drive and running the driver install from a local folder. It prompted for i8042prt but I was able to find it manually on the Disc. Now for reboot number 5 to see if network is working. Aaaaand I cannot login because now the keyboard doesn't work. So what do we have so far? Well, arguably, this is in a virtual Machine- however, considering Windows NT 3. First it fails to find any network device, then when installing the software for the system devices it fails to find the keyboard properly. Even in safe mode. Yes all glory be to the OS that manages to not work. You could almost blame the use of virtualized hardware devices if NT 3. Conclusion: POSReady is simply not usable on desktop systems. Aside from the year-long license restriction, Once you start installing software you find out that it simply doesn't work as well as those claiming it as a XP replacement would lead us to believe. Quote from OK download finished. First thing I notice: It's not based on XP, it's based on Server 2003 Standard Edition. I base this on the fact that VMWare detects it as such. Further notes during Install: -'Typical' Install lists as consuming 1510MB. Minimum is listed as 510. I think this is in Server 2003 as well. And it restarts and blue-screens. Changed Virtual Machine to use IDE Hard disk, rather than SCSI. Now, I break to mention that my Windows 2000 VM works fine with SCSI, as does XP; this appears to be a change to the base featureset of POSReady. Switching back it's at the Splash screen with the scrolling progress bar. It's now moved to 640x480, with a 'First Boot Agent' now running a progressbar doing something or other. The progressbar has moved. These appear to coincide with the steps of the XP install Installing components, detecting Devices, etc. Also, according to the EULA, the software, even with a valid key, will only function for a year. After a year that key will no longer work for activation and you will need another key. I was incorrect on the default theme, it would appear. Default theme is 'POSReady' It doesn't have the standard XP themes. Only Luna themes are three POSReady themes, which all look the same and just change the background logo. Installing the Virtual Machine drivers- POSReady doesn't appear to have found the Network driver. Restarting, if it has no network I guess I won't be able to check the update list. No network ability still. It prompted for the XP CD. During install- notable that XP itself did not do this. I'll try that again, using the POSReady disc in the virtualized drive and running the driver install from a local folder. It prompted for i8042prt but I was able to find it manually on the Disc. Now for reboot number 5 to see if network is working. Aaaaand I cannot login because now the keyboard doesn't work. So what do we have so far? Well, arguably, this is in a virtual Machine- however, considering Windows NT 3. First it fails to find any network device, then when installing the software for the system devices it fails to find the keyboard properly. Even in safe mode. Yes all glory be to the OS that manages to not work. You could almost blame the use of virtualized hardware devices if NT 3. Conclusion: POSReady is simply not usable on desktop systems. Aside from the year-long license restriction, Once you start installing software you find out that it simply doesn't work as well as those claiming it as a XP replacement would lead us to believe. I think you are thinking of the evaluation cd, mine doesnt show that its evaluation even if this is true then why cant i just find another key? Edit:nvm what you describe is just for msdn subscribers. POSReady 2009 is not licensed to run in a VM, although you are allowed to use it in a VHD boot scenario. There is no 1 year activation limit if you are using a runtime license, which requires your company to have a valid Embbeded License Agreement. These are not available to individuals. Licensing restricts installation of this OS to an Embedded Partner. If you have not purchased a computer that had an Embedded OS pre-installed on it from the manufacturer, you are using it illegally. This includes using a leaked product key in order to bypass the activation time-bomb on the trial version. Quote from POSReady 2009 is not licensed to run in a VM, although you are allowed to use it in a VHD boot scenario. It would appear- if some of this post is directed at me, you may be under the impression that I torrented POSReady. I didn't download the Microsoft Evaluation, either. There is the POSReady Evaluation on the Microsoft Download Center, of course. I used the 'Windows Embedded POSReady 2009 x86 - DVD English ' via my MSDN subscription, including the capability to generate a 'Static Activation Key'. All components I can download via MSDN are licensed for my use in any evaluation or even development scenario; I cannot deploy it for anything other than demonstration purposes, however. I can't install it on customer systems except to demonstrate our software temporarily. I'm actually now a bit tempted to try out the Actual Evaluation to see what is different. Both in terms of it's install as well as the EULAs. An MSDN Subscription builds on traditional MSDN benefits by providing developers of embedded devices with a single subscription for access to the Visual Studio suite of software development tools and the following Windows Embedded platforms and technologies; Windows Embedded CE, Windows Embedded Standard-, Windows Embedded NavReady 2009 and a 12 month trial version of Windows Embedded POSReady 2009. Looks like MSDN provides a 12 month trial rather than the 120 Day evaluation. Not sure why the DVD is so much larger than the Evaluation disc, though. I found this Runtime license information on the. A runtime operating system license is required to sell devices containing the customized Windows Embedded POSReady image and must be purchased and affixed to each unit that you ship. It looks like the copy available on MSDN is from the 'acquire POSReady' step; whereas the evaluation version is, not surprisingly, the evaluation step. However Deployment is for applying to other people's machines, so not sure if that would be strictly necessary for personal use. For my copy, I am perfectly in the clear to use my MSDN-acquired copy of POSReady 2009 in a Virtual Machine. As per the EULA the only restriction appears to be that I cannot use it in a 'live operating environment' which I assume means a deployed system, which is consistent with the acquisition information. If you have not purchased a computer that had an Embedded OS pre-installed on it from the manufacturer, you are using it illegally. This includes using a leaked product key in order to bypass the activation time-bomb on the trial version. I think you might be mostly referring to the other guy, but I'll repeat my particular scenario. I downloaded the ISO of POSReady 2009 from MSDN, who's particular license coverage for available products includes pretty much any evaluation purpose or usage for development or evaluation. I of course did not use a 'leaked' product key; I used MSDN itself to generate one it lists it as a 'Static activation Key' and I can generate up to three.
