Getting off the Insider builds? / Reinstalling to 'vanilla' Win10?

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  1. Posts : 1
    Windows 10 Insider FT
       #1

    Getting off the Insider builds? / Reinstalling to 'vanilla' Win10?


    I can't really find the best way to do this and be sure i'll retain a license - it's not very well documented it seems.

    My machine just did to upgrades in a row to 14926 and now I can't use it to do my development work. It sounds stupid but the last two builds disabled the way the context menus and file/edit/ etc menus work in the Unreal Engine editor where i do my development. I'm now stuck unable to regress to the working build and have decided it's probably best to install a fresh build that's not on the insider builds programme.

    What's the simplest way to do this? I understand i'll probably lose all of my app installs which i'll just have to suck up. Do I use the 'clean installation' tool? Will it save my license for me? Will it just reinstall the insider build?

    Please help! I've lost hours of time already on this - i'm really cheesed off with the pushy upgrade.

    Thanks!
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 13,896
    Win10 Version 22H2 Pro and Home, Win11 Pro and Home
       #2

    I also had problems with Insider Previews 14915 and 14926, seems to be a hardware issue with the Intel G33/G31 graphics adapter and CPU/BIOS support for SSE4.1, had to go back to 14901 [I had saved the .iso for it]. Build 14905 worked good but I've not been able to locate the .iso download for it and am not getting Windows Update to find it.
      My Computers


  3. Posts : 15,441
    Windows10
       #3

    Dannington said:
    I can't really find the best way to do this and be sure i'll retain a license - it's not very well documented it seems.

    My machine just did to upgrades in a row to 14926 and now I can't use it to do my development work. It sounds stupid but the last two builds disabled the way the context menus and file/edit/ etc menus work in the Unreal Engine editor where i do my development. I'm now stuck unable to regress to the working build and have decided it's probably best to install a fresh build that's not on the insider builds programme.

    What's the simplest way to do this? I understand i'll probably lose all of my app installs which i'll just have to suck up. Do I use the 'clean installation' tool? Will it save my license for me? Will it just reinstall the insider build?

    Please help! I've lost hours of time already on this - i'm really cheesed off with the pushy upgrade.

    Thanks!
    There is no ambiguity at all. If you clean install to 14393 release version, you need a valid windows 10 key, or you have to have a digital licence as a result of an upgrade from Windows 7/8.

    To go backwards ALWAYS means a clean install.

    Re. Pushy Upgrade - what do you bloody expect if you are on FAST RING! FAST RING should not be used as your primary install UNLESS you truly understand risks.
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 490
    Windows 10 Pro
       #4

    Dannington said:
    I can't really find the best way to do this and be sure i'll retain a license - it's not very well documented it seems.

    My machine just did to upgrades in a row to 14926 and now I can't use it to do my development work. It sounds stupid but the last two builds disabled the way the context menus and file/edit/ etc menus work in the Unreal Engine editor where i do my development. I'm now stuck unable to regress to the working build and have decided it's probably best to install a fresh build that's not on the insider builds programme.

    What's the simplest way to do this? I understand i'll probably lose all of my app installs which i'll just have to suck up. Do I use the 'clean installation' tool? Will it save my license for me? Will it just reinstall the insider build?

    Please help! I've lost hours of time already on this - i'm really cheesed off with the pushy upgrade.

    Thanks!
    Please understand that Windows 10 licensing is radically different than that of previous Windows versions. The license is not in the software anymore. It is on Microsoft's servers. It is the computer that is licensed now. When Windows 10 is installed and activated the first time the computer's unique identifiers are recorded by Microsoft and the computer is registered as a Windows 10 device. Thereafter you can reinstall Windows 10 (same edition only) by whatever means you wish and the software will activate automatically without need of any product key. The licensing software queries Microsoft's servers using the computer's unique identifiers and the servers acknowledge registration. If requested for a product key during installation simply click the link at the bottom of the page which says "I don't have a product key." If you read the text at the top of the page you will see that you are doing a reinstallation. Your license is permanent for the life of the device (i.e., motherboard). Just install to activate it again.
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 15,441
    Windows10
       #5

    Cbarnhorst said:
    Please understand that Windows 10 licensing is radically different than that of previous Windows versions. The license is not in the software anymore. It is on Microsoft's servers. It is the computer that is licensed now. When Windows 10 is installed and activated the first time the computer's unique identifiers are recorded by Microsoft and the computer is registered as a Windows 10 device. Thereafter you can reinstall Windows 10 (same edition only) by whatever means you wish and the software will activate automatically without need of any product key. The licensing software queries Microsoft's servers using the computer's unique identifiers and the servers acknowledge registration. If requested for a product key during installation simply click the link at the bottom of the page which says "I don't have a product key." If you read the text at the top of the page you will see that you are doing a reinstallation. Your license is permanent for the life of the device (i.e., motherboard). Just install to activate it again.
    If you are going to use terms like 'please understand', then please get your facts correct.

    There are two ways that windows is licenced ie digital licences ie mostly those created by upgrades, or traditional product key activation if you bought a windows 10 key.

    In cases of product key activation, you are still require to enter key as always on a clean install depending on which version of Windows 10 you use.

    It seems that with AU version, you may get a digital licence if you product key activate but it is not clear if that applies to all activations eg an oem key.

    So in some case you do need a key, and it is important to know that key before you wipe OS.
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 490
    Windows 10 Pro
       #6

    cereberus said:
    If you are going to use terms like 'please understand', then please get your facts correct.

    There are two ways that windows is licenced ie digital licences ie mostly those created by upgrades, or traditional product key activation if you bought a windows 10 key.

    In cases of product key activation, you are still require to enter key as always on a clean install depending on which version of Windows 10 you use.

    It seems that with AU version, you may get a digital licence if you product key activate but it is not clear if that applies to all activations eg an oem key.

    So in some case you do need a key, and it is important to know that key before you wipe OS.
    OEM (the vast majority of new machines) is product key activated, but the product key is generic. Those product keys cannot be used to install Windows. They are the old style self-activating keys. Retail keys from the Microsoft Store and Amazon download, etc. are all digital entitlement activation even though they can be used to activate a new installation. See the Microsoft paper on activation.

    https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/...-10-activation
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 15,441
    Windows10
       #7

    Cbarnhorst said:
    OEM (the vast majority of new machines) is product key activated, but the product key is generic. Those product keys cannot be used to install Windows. They are the old style self-activating keys. Retail keys from the Microsoft Store and Amazon download, etc. are all digital entitlement activation even though they can be used to activate a new installation. See the Microsoft paper on activation.

    https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/...-10-activation

    I am referring to activations using windows 10 keys not upgrades for 7/8. If you buy a pc with 10 preinstalled, the key is bios embedded and IS NOT a generic key like oem-slp keys of windows 7. If you install using a product key, then that is what needs to be used on older versions of Windows 10 but it seem you now get a digital licence as well with AU versions.

    If you read the older version of that link for 10586, it specifically said you have to use a W10 product key to reactivate if you used a W10 product key to activate it. This clause has been removed in version relating to 14393 AU. So as I said, it depends on what version of W10 you are running.
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 490
    Windows 10 Pro
       #8

    cereberus said:
    I am referring to activations using windows 10 keys not upgrades for 7/8. If you buy a pc with 10 preinstalled, the key is bios embedded and IS NOT a generic key like oem-slp keys of windows 7. If you install using a product key, then that is what needs to be used on older versions of Windows 10 but it seem you now get a digital licence as well with AU versions.

    If you read the older version of that link for 10586, it specifically said you have to use a W10 product key to reactivate if you used a W10 product key to activate it. This clause has been removed in version relating to 14393 AU. So as I said, it depends on what version of W10 you are running.
    New computers do not have a BIOS. They have UEFI firmware with emulated BIOS. New OEM computers are self-activating as before. They use an OEM marker in the firmware.
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 13,896
    Win10 Version 22H2 Pro and Home, Win11 Pro and Home
       #9

    Referring back to my Getting off the Insider builds? / Reinstalling to 'vanilla' Win10? - Windows 10 Forums post, I've installed 14931 on 2 Desktops and had issues with the video on both. I've come to the conclusion the Intel G33/G31 Express [Dell Inspiron 530S] and Intel Q35 Express [Dell Optiplex 755] onboard video adapters are the problem on those. I found a reclaimed ATI Radeon 2400 HD PCIe card for the Optiplex and everything is fine now after the Windows Update found drivers for it.
      My Computers


  10. Posts : 490
    Windows 10 Pro
       #10

    Interesting. Thanks for the feedback on the chipsets.
      My Computer


 

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