Windows 10 Upgrade was bad ! Clean install was great!

tfwul · 01 Aug 2015

If I am not mistaken the upgrades are full products. After all, one may download the .iso file and, burn a DVD. Perform an upgrade with the DVD and -from what I read- do a clean install using the same DVD. I can install any version 7/8 version on my pc using the original media and license key.
Anyone having an official license key is entitled to a free upgrade.

My point is that bottom line all users are running a full Windows 10 version using a 7/8 license key.

Microsoft introduced this upgrade detour. Unnecessary from my point of view.
Their activation servers would have set to accept the 7/8 keys as both upgrade and retail keys.

Ah well, maybe one time in the near future they will take out this 'handicap' :)

=

pal · 01 Aug 2015

John Pombrio said:

Here is the rub. The product key needed for a clean install is stored on the motherboard.

I don't think that is the case with the upgrade. When you do a clean install, it asks you to manually enter a windows 10 key. To continue, you click "skip".

John Pombrio · 01 Aug 2015

pal said:

I don't think that is the case with the upgrade. When you do a clean install, it asks you to manually enter a windows 10 key. To continue, you click "skip".

Heh, it is the stored key on the mobo that let's do the skip.

pal · 01 Aug 2015

No, my board doesn't have a key on it.

pal · 01 Aug 2015

No, my board doesn't have a key on it. You can skip, because you can enter it later. But you don't have to, when you have done this upgrade. "Skip" also works when you install it in a virtual machine - and that doesn't contain a valid license.

bromanbro · 01 Aug 2015

Upgrades worked fine for me on all systems. Didn't even bother clean installing.

Windows 10 pulled updated drivers, so replaced my depreciated Win7 wifi drivers and such. Meant that there were no driver conflicts.

John Pombrio · 01 Aug 2015

pal said:

No, my board doesn't have a key on it. You can skip, because you can enter it later. But you don't have to, when you have done this upgrade. "Skip" also works when you install it in a virtual machine - and that doesn't contain a valid license.

It turns out that there another way that MS has to validate a computer, your MS store account. When you log into your MS account, MS recognizes the stored code for your hardware and uses that to validate the OS. this was new to me, I just learned about it today from user bobkn:

Windows 10 Tip: Associate Your PC with Your Free Windows 10 License - Thurrott.com

Tabvla · 01 Aug 2015

John Pombrio said:

Once again, everyone assumes that MS is giving away free copies of Retail Windows 10. That is simply mot the case. MS is letting Win8.1 users patch their Win8.1 computer to make it run a a copy of Win10 with very limited rights. If you want all that you are asking for, you need to BUY a copy of the full retail Win10 Pro product. Don't confuse the two, they are completely different in what you can do with them.

Where do people get this nonsense from...? Well you can't just make this stuff up now can you...

T.

Mumbai · 01 Aug 2015

just update and then reset the PC, it should do the trick :)

John Pombrio · 01 Aug 2015

Tabvla said:

Where do people get this nonsense from...? Well you can't just make this stuff up now can you...

T.

I thought that we would get a free Win10 license number for every one of our Win7/8.1 license numbers for a long, long time. I blame the media for the initial headline like "FREE Windows 10". MS was really no help as they did not explain this whole upgrade thing very well until just before the launch. I can completely understand that it still is a controversial issue with a lot of people believing that as long as they have a retail version of Win7/8.1, they can do what they want with Win10.