Hello, whenever I try to download the Windows.iso from Microsoft, it blocks me because I’m using a VPN. I don’t really want to buy proxies or anything for this. I tried to download it off public WiFi but it was way too slow. I only need Windows for updating the EC firmware on one of my older laptops.
The Windows.iso is going to be used offline, I don’t want to link my IP to it. I mean, I guess since I’m using it offline anyways, I can just download the .iso with my actual IP, install it offline, and then use a USB drive that has the EC firmware/BIOS update on it and use that to flash the firmware offline? (This laptop can only perform firmware updates through a Windows environment)
I feel like in a way, wouldn’t I still somehow be linking myself? What if I flash the firmware and later when I connect the laptop to the internet, it somehow has like metadata/signature of where I updated my EC from? I’m planning on using Libreboot with Linux after I update it.
A place to discuss privacy and freedom in the digital world.
Privacy has become a very important issue in modern society, with companies and governments constantly abusing their power, more and more people are waking up to the importance of digital privacy.
In this community everyone is welcome to post links and discuss topics related to privacy.
Some Rules
- Posting a link to a website containing tracking isn’t great, if contents of the website are behind a paywall maybe copy them into the post
- Don’t promote proprietary software
- Try to keep things on topic
- If you have a question, please try searching for previous discussions, maybe it has already been answered
- Reposts are fine, but should have at least a couple of weeks in between so that the post can reach a new audience
- Be nice :)
Related communities
Chat rooms
-
[Matrix/Element]Dead
much thanks to @gary_host_laptop for the logo design :)
- 0 users online
- 57 users / day
- 383 users / week
- 1.5K users / month
- 5.7K users / 6 months
- 1 subscriber
- 2.43K Posts
- 57.3K Comments
- Modlog
What value does jumping through hoops to download an iso add, exactly?
Some devices (Dell - possibly HP) will let you flash the firmware if you load said BIOS update on a USB stick.
https://xyproblem.info/
That’s what I ended up doing and it worked. I think I used like FreeDOS or something like that.
Someone else’s computer. Like a library
deleted by creator
I just get mine from the massgrave guy
https://massgrave.dev/genuine-installation-media
deleted by creator
Download iso from internet archive, but sometimes slow.
Just download it from a third party and compare the checksum with the official information. Granted, the official checksums on their website are behind a few steps, but you already tried on public Wi-Fi - once you generate the link a “Verify your Download” section should appear.
This seems like the way to do it. I went to https://www.microsoft.com/en-ca/software-download/windows11 and found the current SHA256 hash for the English version.
36DE5ECB7A0DAA58DCE68C03B9465A543ED0F5498AA8AE60AB45FB7C8C4AE402. IDK if this URL is blocked for some VPNs.Then I tried a few torrents based on the file name
Win11_23H2_English_x64v2.iso.Example search: https://btdig.com/search?q=Win11_23H2_English_x64v2.iso
I ended up using this torrent which game me the correct file: magnet:?xt=urn:btih:4f5f5cd398d947260876c231f93e2d40b61bac48&dn=Win11_23H2_English_x64v2.iso&tr=udp%3A%2F%2Ftracker.openbittorrent.com%3A80&tr=udp%3A%2F%2Ftracker.opentrackr.org%3A1337%2Fannounce
To be honest it wouldn’t even let me download it off a vpn, on a different OS that hadn’t connected to a vpn, or in a different browser.
Had to find somewhere other than the Microsoft site to get one.
Not sure if it is still possible. But I believe you can on Tor if you spoof your user agent to be a black berry or some other device. Then you can grab the direct download link to the iso and download it over Tor. Been some time since I have done this though. Keep in mind this is from memory so it might be slightly different.
Why would spoofing the user-agent help if it is an IP-based block?
No idea. but I remember the direct download link for the iso to became available due to it.