Cost of Upgrade from XP to Win10Pro

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  1. oao
    Posts : 117
    Windows 10
    Thread Starter
       #71

    No, most of the used machines either have no activated Win10 or have been activated by their owners. In fact, the current machine which I am trying to duplicate was upgraded in place to 1511 pro from either 7 or 8 which resulted in problems with user profiles. I cannot repair it because any such will kill all the customization and bring back the bloat, including Cortana, Edge and all the ridiculous apps.

    I usually work with 2 computers and when an old w7 died, I wanted to replace it with an identical machine with the exact same config as the 1511 one. I would do a clean install of 1511 and duplicate all the customization on the new computer (I can't restore from its backup because of the corruption). Then I would back it up and restore it to the corrupted computer and voila: 2 identical systems running customized 1511.

    Because of MS's atrocious campaign of forced upgrades to the latest version, It was reasonable to be concerned that they may not allow an install of an earlier version on a machine with a later version. So I asked what people knew about this. This was my main issue.
      My Computer


  2. oao
    Posts : 117
    Windows 10
    Thread Starter
       #72

    Josey Wales said:
    No you can repair a 1511 10240 the owner of this forum wrote the Tutorial if you do not think it works take it up with him. As for me. C-Ya
    1st, I am not keen on a repair in place -- see prev msg. 2nd, 10240 is a very early version. My ISO copies are all 10586.
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 18,424
    Windows 11 Pro
       #73

    oao said:
    No, most of the used machines either have no activated Win10 or have been activated by their owners.
    If Windows 10 Pro was activated on a computer by the previous owner, then a digital license for it should have been stored on Microsoft Activation servers and any Windows 10 Pro is supposed to activate on the same computer by retrieving that digital license when it is connected to the internet.
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 9
    Win10Pro
       #74

    oao said:
    No, most of the used machines either have no activated Win10 or have been activated by their owners.
    Or that, sure...depending on the age of the machine. But again, since we are presumably talking about a digital entitlement here, I would be shocked if all versions of 10 (past and present) didn't activate on that hardware. (If you buy a machine that hasn't ever had Win10 installed and has 7 or 8 on it at present, MS activation servers are still handing out free activation tokens for these...I just did a 7 > 10 upgrade a couple weeks ago, and a fresh install of 10 using a product key from 8 on Monday. Who knows how much longer this will last though.)

    -- Nathan
      My Computer


  5. oao
    Posts : 117
    Windows 10
    Thread Starter
       #75

    NavyLCDR said:
    If Windows 10 Pro was activated on a computer by the previous owner, then a digital license for it should have been stored on Microsoft Activation servers and any Windows 10 Pro is supposed to activate on the same computer by retrieving that digital license when it is connected to the internet.
    I was responding to the supposition that they were activated by OEM, which is not the case. Chances are that an OEM's is safer than an owner, as per my explanation of the corruption of my current machine.
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 848
    Windows 10 LTSC
       #76

    There shouldn't even be a problem re-activating a key that is not yet linked to a Microsoft account considering it is not linked with an email, this goes to Retail versions.

    Retail version will ask you to activate Windows eventually. It will not ask you again if the Microsoft account that is linked to the user account has a key that is compatible with the installed OS.

    OEM Keys are stuck with the hardware it came on so re-installing Windows 10 on an OEM machine is easier because it won't nag you to activate windows.
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 31,471
    10 Home x64 (22H2) (10 Pro on 2nd pc)
       #77

    RoasterMen said:
    ...if the Microsoft account that is linked to the user account has a key that is compatible with the installed OS...
    Linking to a Microsoft account is not available to the OP who wishes to stay on 1511. That's a feature for 1607 or later...

    Starting with Windows 10 Anniversary Update and Windows 10 build 14371, you can link your Microsoft account (MSA) to the Windows 10 digital license (formerly called digital entitlement) on your device.
    Link Microsoft Account to Windows 10 Digital License
      My Computers


  8. oao
    Posts : 117
    Windows 10
    Thread Starter
       #78

    NathanA said:
    Or that, sure...depending on the age of the machine. But again, since we are presumably talking about a digital entitlement here, I would be shocked if all versions of 10 (past and present) didn't activate on that hardware. (If you buy a machine that hasn't ever had Win10 installed and has 7 or 8 on it at present, MS activation servers are still handing out free activation tokens for these...I just did a 7 > 10 upgrade a couple weeks ago, and a fresh install of 10 using a product key from 8 on Monday. Who knows how much longer this will last though.)

    -- Nathan
    I am aware of that, ALL Pro licenses -- 7, 8, 10 -- are OK, ecept XP, that requires to buy one.
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 18,424
    Windows 11 Pro
       #79

    RoasterMen said:
    There shouldn't even be a problem re-activating a key that is not yet linked to a Microsoft account considering it is not linked with an email, this goes to Retail versions.

    Retail version will ask you to activate Windows eventually. It will not ask you again if the Microsoft account that is linked to the user account has a key that is compatible with the installed OS.
    There is no problem re-activating a computer that had Windows 10 that was been linked to a Microsoft account, either. Linking a digital license to a Microsoft account does not affect the digital license that is stored on Microsoft activation servers for that computer. All of my computers have digital entitlements that are linked to my Microsoft account. When I reinstall Windows 10 on those computers, I always use a local account first. There is no Microsoft account on the computer at first. They always activate themselves by retrieving the digital license from Microsoft activation servers based upon the hardware ID of that computer - not a Microsoft account, because there is no Microsoft account created on it at first.

    Windows 10 activation is always based upon finding a license for that computer - not for a user account or email. The only purpose of linking the digital license for Windows 10 to a Microsoft account is so that the user can transfer the digital license from one computer to another computer without a digital license. In reality, the digital license is not moved, it is copied, because the old "source" computer will still remain activated.
      My Computer


  10. oao
    Posts : 117
    Windows 10
    Thread Starter
       #80

    Bree said:
    Linking to a Microsoft account is not available to the OP who wishes to stay on 1511. That's a feature for 1607 or later...

    Link Microsoft Account to Windows 10 Digital License
    What does linking to a MS account buy me? Incidentally, my current system runs 1511Pro and IS linked to a MS acct as far as I know. There are, in fact, those who recommend against a MS acct for privacy reasons.

    In fact, had I not been using OneDrive I would have probably avoided a MS acct.
      My Computer


 

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