Windows 10?

John T Carroll wrote: »

Finished installation around 1300 hrs with no problems, seems to be working away fine so far... doesnt seem hugely different to 8.1.

On the front end it really isnt. W10 can really be considered an optimized 8.1.

OK I have 2 failed product key activations from a fresh install of Windows 10. 1 is a dell Windows 8, other a new Lenovo windows 8.1. Both failed the upgrade method so I had no choice but to embark on the boot via USB and clean install method.

Firstly I saved the key embedded in the BIOS using produkey to notepad for both devices. Both would not accept the key initially (anyway why is the install not reading the key from the BIOS and not bothering with that prompt) when booting during the 1st screens, and performing a fresh install so I skipped. The help in Microsoft says this is simple and should work, this is plain wrong.

Anyway both systems at a not activated stage tried changing key no joy as for MS activation support a waste of time. One agent hung up on me the other said wait 48 hours!

I believe there are serious issues with activation on fresh install upgrades that are not being addressed plus MS does not specify how to extract the key from the BIOS on devices, just BS find the label and write it down (advice that only applies on Windows 7 devices). At the very least Microsoft should have an official tool to provide the key from the BIOS.

When you get it installed Wndows 10 is fine.

maki wrote: »

What you're trying to do isn't going to work. Windows 10 can't be activated with a 7 or 8 product key, and Microsoft support seem to be a bit confused about the whole matter too.

You need to perform the upgrade from your previous OS to 10. When you do Microsoft will create an identifier from your hardware configuration and store it on their servers saying "yes this person has upgraded within the first year", and assign you a generic Windows 10 key (TX9XD-98N7V-6WMQ6-BX7FG-H8Q99 for Home, VK7JG-NPHTM-C97JM-9MPGT-3V66T for Pro.
Then when you clean install Windows 10 later and skip the product key prompts (forcing the generic key to be used), Microsoft will check on their servers to see if your hardware has a licence, and activate it if so. This also means hardware changes will likely break Windows 10 activations for people who took the free upgrade.

So until you actually perform the upgrade, you won't be able to grab a Windows 10 licence.

This is very interesting - I read in some review that once activated, it would be possible to create a DVD or USB copy of Windows 10 for future use?

Maidhci wrote: »

This is very interesting - I read in some review that once activated, it would be possible to create a DVD or USB copy of Windows 10 for future use?

You can, once activated from an upgrade. After that you clean install and it will detect that you've previously upgraded and activate.

andrewdeerpark wrote: »

What key are the asking for on a clean install so?

That's all well and good however in cases where the upgrade just will not work and the only option is a clean boot, format and reinstall (what is the point of the ISO/USB creations tool) what are the options? Microsoft need to address these situations as its obvious when you buy a device from an OEM with the BIOS embedded key you are entitled to the upgrade provided you match the versions correctly.

I am going to give the current device 48 hours then pester the activation lines, hopefully a few more will do the same and it will force Microsoft into a better system for cleans installs where the upgrade has failed.

On a clean install they're asking for a key from customers who purchased Windows 10 from retail (or got a key through MSDN/DreamSpark). The Media Creation Tool is also primarily directed towards the same group of customers.

If Windows Update isn't working you can try to upgrade using the Media Creation Tool, and selecting "upgrade this pc". If that doesn't work you likely have a problem in your own OS, and will have to try to fix that. Worst case scenario you can do a clean install of your current OS, and upgrade from that.

maki wrote: »

If Windows Update isn't working you can try to upgrade using the Media Creation Tool, and selecting "upgrade this pc". If that doesn't work you likely have a problem in your own OS, and will have to try to fix that. Worst case scenario you can do a clean install of your current OS, and upgrade from that.

There is hours of work in all that (do people value their time!) instead of a simple format reinstall and reactivate from the OEM key in the BIOS proving license and entitlement. I know your not microsoft but that route is just daft. I should note one of the failed upgrades was on a brand new lenovo PC that had nothing installed except the windows updates and the mcafee software removed pre upgrade attempt. OEM Windows 8.1 OS could not be the issue...

maki wrote: »

Yes, when you skip the product key entry screen during install, Windows will use a generic key. When it tries to activate it will see the generic key, which causes it to query some server to see if that computer has previously upgraded from Windows 7 or 8 within the one year time limit.

Thanks maki for that information. It appears therefore that the Windows 10 upgrade licence, if that is the correct term, will be computer specific?

I would have thought that having created a backup DVD copy, post upgrade, that it should be possible to use that media to do a complete reinstall, say in the event that a new HD was installed or some similar eventuality?

maki wrote: »

It's computer specific in the sense that the licence is associated with a specific hardware configuration. It's not clear how exactly the pairing is done and what components are used to generate the hardware ID. I would doubt hard drives are considered, so I assume a hard drive change won't invalidate your licence, but something like a motherboard change certainly will.

In the case of the latter, you'd have to reinstall and activate Windows 7 or 8, then upgrade to 10 again to refresh your hardware ID as valid. Of course, once the one year free upgrade window has passed, this won't be possible.

At the end of the day, people who availed of the free upgrade don't exactly have the same freedom as people who bought a proper Windows 10 licence from retail.

Thanks again for your clarification in these matters.

I think the factors discussed here will be a major deterrent for W7 / W8 users in opting to upgrade to Windows 10. It appears to me, at any rate, that effectively, by upgrading, users are essentially converting a purchased Windows software licence, if relevant, to the equivalent of OEM installed software, which is not as flexible or adaptable by any standard.

I had understood, obviously incorrectly, that Miscrosoft were "pushing" W10 upgrade to existing W7 and W8 users. I think I am now convinced that it is better to hold onto W7 Pro and let it run its course - I am of course presuming that upgrading to W10 is not mandatory and that W7 will still be supported. All very interesting. Thanks again for your help here.

Starting to really piss me off now!!

Ive had display issues with three different Nvidia cards now nothing ive tried seems to fix it.

I only just bought a new card in last few days thinking it would fix the issue as well. It actually did at first but it seems its back again now!!

What is happening is certain sections of windows are been shaded in color or been made darker. The first thing i notice is the login screen when i boot up is a lot darker to the point i cant see my name or what im typing on the screen or any of the white font with time and date etc.

Then theres shading issues when i right click on certain sections of windows everything just looks blank inside the box.

Updating drivers fixs it but it just reverts back each and every time.

Ive tried disabling updates ive tried running only windows updates for the drivers and not nvidias i dunno what else i can do.

It sounds like a small issue but its driving me crazy that a lot of what im using is shaded out or darkened for no bloody reason. It affects the quality of picture as well.

Since I have upgraded to windows10 the laptop wont close down when I click on the power icon in the menu. Has anyone else got the same issue and how do I solve it ?

Windows 10 is a free upgrade for the first year , If you do not take the upgrade during this first year you will have to pay for the OS when the first year expires .

http://www.howtogeek.com/220957/no-windows-10-won%E2%80%99t-require-a-subscription-heres-how-microsoft-plans-on-making-money-instead/

THERE ARE NO SUBSCRIPTIONS FEE's

its Free to anyone for life with windows 7 or windows 8 until July 29 2016 , IF you have not taken the upgrade by then you have to pay for the Upgrade

tomhenryford wrote: »

There seems to be some confusion over this,

Just in case you didn't get it - THERE IS NO CONFUSION ON THIS POINT.

Microsoft made it very clear from the very first day that they announced that there would be no charge to upgrade from Win7/8 to Win10 for the first 12 months after the release of Windows 10, and that upgrade would be free for the supported lifetime of the upgraded device.

Do yourself a favour, and write off any website or commentator that made you confused on this issue as a completely unreliable source for anything tech related, and never pay any attention to them ever again.