Windows 10

[steve58]

Yup, Window 10 started itself Friday morning on my wife's laptop, but we were able to stop it before any damage done.

Question, has anyone tried to install Win 10 on a virtual PC?  I'm starting to think I might try that route (if its possible), just to grab a Win 10 key before the July deadline.

[Staggerwing]

Yup, Window 10 started itself Friday morning on my wife's laptop, but we were able to stop it before any damage done.

Question, has anyone tried to install Win 10 on a virtual PC?  I'm starting to think I might try that route (if its possible), just to grab a Win 10 key before the July deadline.

The key would probably be tied to the particular computer you ran the VM on, no? Or could you move it to a newer pc if you deauthorized it somehow on the old one?

[mirth]

The key would probably be tied to the particular computer you ran the VM on, no?

That is my understanding. The key is tied to the machine.

[Rekim]

The Windows 10 key is tied to the OS key that you perform the upgrade with. It is possible to install Win10 without a key, in which case it can not be registered with MS and will have some features disabled/bonus nag-ware enabled. Licenses for unregistered installations of Win10 can be purchased for US$120 for home edition, $200 to go pro.

Hardware does not factor into this AFAIK

[Staggerwing]

The Windows 10 key is tied to the OS key that you perform the upgrade with. It is possible to install Win10 without a key, in which case it can not be registered with MS and will have some features disabled/bonus nag-ware enabled. Licenses for unregistered installations of Win10 can be purchased for US$120 for home edition, $200 to go pro.

Hardware does not factor into this AFAIK

If the original was OEM, not retail (the case for any folks who didn't home-build), can you still use that key on a different machine? I alway thought the OEM keys were hardware specific.

[bbmike]

Yes, OEM keys are tied to hardware.

[mirth]

Everything I've read about the upgrade key has indicated it is tied to machine (most likely to the Motherboard ID).

http://www.howtogeek.com/226510/how-to-use-your-free-windows-10-license-after-changing-your-pc%E2%80%99s-hardware/

http://www.thewindowsclub.com/windows-10-license-hardware-configuration

[Rekim]

Windows 10 licenses carry the rights of the original key that it is upgraded from. OEM licenses are tied to hardware. Retail licenses are not.

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10-win_upgrade/will-upgrading-motherboard-after-upgrading-to/a26e93c4-6886-4b44-99cf-7bf49ccba6ee?auth=1

[Staggerwing]

Windows 10 licenses carry the rights of the original key that it is upgraded from. OEM licenses are tied to hardware. Retail licenses are not.

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10-win_upgrade/will-upgrading-motherboard-after-upgrading-to/a26e93c4-6886-4b44-99cf-7bf49ccba6ee?auth=1

If I understand correctly, those who previously upgraded their OEM versions of Windows with a retail upgrade will have 'liberated' their license from being tied to a motherboard and would be able to take Win10 on to other rigs if they upgrade to it in time.

[steve58]

Drat, then sounds like if I want to grab a Windows 10 key, I'm going to have to do the upgrade, and then revert. :(

[DoctorQuest]

Drat, then sounds like if I want to grab a Windows 10 key, I'm going to have to do the upgrade, and then revert. :(

I tried the revert and it seems to work just fine. Since I have OEM copies of Win 7 I am taking the approach of building a new partition with my Win 7 install and then upgrading that partition to Win 10. I can boot back and forth as I like. It worked fine on my Win 7 laptop and I am in the process of doing this on my gaming desktop.

Granted this is a LOT easier if you have OEM media rather than a pre-install.

My issue appears to be that with an OEM copy I can't do a clean install of Win 10. I can't get it to activate. (I haven't tried the "call MS for a automated activate" option). What DOES seem to work is a clean install of my OEM Win 7 followed by a Win 10 upgrade. I can live with that.

Still doing a lot of testing. I did manage to use VirtualBox to do a Win7 install and Win 10 upgrade. No issues with Win 10 activation.

[bbmike]

Drat, then sounds like if I want to grab a Windows 10 key, I'm going to have to do the upgrade, and then revert. :(

If you have a spare drive just clone your existing one to it and upgrade the spare.

[steve58]

...and the Microsoft SOBs are still pushing W10.  Just looked up KB 3035583 which suddenly showed up.

http://www.infoworld.com/article/3075480/microsoft-windows/microsofts-get-windows-10-app-kb-3035583-re-appears-for-no-reason.html

[Huw the Poo]

Look on the bright side...this will only happen until Windows 10 is no longer "free".  Then you won't get any more of this!  ;D

[mirth]