Is it possible to activate a Windows 10 Pro virtual machine on the same keyed host?

Question

I've built a couple computers for my kids, and naturally they want to play MineCraft and whatever other games. So, we purchased full versions of Windows 10 Pro. I don't really have time to "manage" the systems and my experience with Windows tells me that it's only a matter of time before some game mod or accidental click results in malware or a virus or the systems just get bogged down with junk ware.

So, a great strategy in my opinion is to give the kids access to virtual machines for their play and create a snapshot that we can periodically restore. My experience with VMWare Fusion and VMWare Workstation is that this process takes mere seconds and you can rest assured that the system at all levels will be exactly as you want.

We tried this. We got the new builds working. Installed full version of Windows 10 Pro using one of our keys. Activated. Installed VMWare Workstation. Created a Windows 10 Pro Virtual machine, and attempted to activate using that same key. The system refuses to activate because the Host is using the key. This is a first for me.

Does Microsoft not allow a Windows 10 Pro virtual machine to activate on the same keyed host machine? This seems like a backend activation policy; however unreasonable, vs. a technical issue, but I thought I'd ask anyway.

Solution

Just reviewing old posts. Not sure why answers landed in the comments and not here. Anyhow, Tom and Ramhound are correct. Thanks for finding that in the EULAs.

Using VMs seemed like a great way to run Windows "safely"; however, it turns out to be prohibitively expensive. The solution we settled on is actually better. We use TruImage to create a snapshot of their computers. Once Windows starts to choke down or we suspect malware or other infection, we simply restore our snapshots and are quickly back up and running.

Comments

[Michael Prescott]

Frustrated and wanted to add that it's a very irritating dilemma or bug. Surely Microsoft doesn't expect users to buy two copies of the OS to use VMWare Workstation to run an activated virtualization of the same OS on the SAME Host machine. How could VMWare have a business model with that sort of constraint. I've used Microsoft products for many years and then Apple for at least as many. We're returning to MS mostly for gaming. In all those years, I've spent 0 minutes needing to talk with Apple support on OS issues. I've now wasted 45 minutes with MS and they don't even understand.

[Ramhound]

"Does Microsoft not allow a Windows 10 Pro virtual machine to activate on the same keyed host machine?" - It does not. The use of Windows, on a virtual machine, requires its own license. What you have experienced isn't actually a bug. My suggestion is boot to the virtual machine itself, you don't need a host operating system to do that, how you accomplish it specifically is up to you.

[Tom Yan]

This license allows you to install only one instance of the software for use on one device, whether that device is physical or virtual. If you want to use the software on more than one virtual device, you must obtain a separate license for each instance.

[Szigyártó Mihály]

Why not just use the system restore? When I downloaded some virus with a keygen, it worked perfectly. Also, I don't get this Windows is eating virus fear from Linux users, it is just a myth. I use Windows for 20+ years, since win7 it's not like a roadside girl. If you want additional protection, just don't use Admin user by default.