Can someone tell me the difference between all these Win 10 versions ?

Hi

My DreamSpark account shows all these versions of Windows 10 I can download and activate and I am not sure what the difference is between the EDU and the N and the regular versions....let alone the rest. Does someone know what 'Multiple Editions' refers to (Home & Pro 32/64 maybe ??)

I have three vouchers or activation keys I can use, but I have not downloaded any of them as I don't know the differences yet. I will use on on my GamePC (fresh install) for GAMING only. I only care about Direct X 12 :) Other than that, the other two I will use to (1) upgrade a Win 8.1 Box and (2) for a fresh install on a new Homebrew PC just for kix...along with homework I guess) ...otherwise it's Linux baby



Waubonsee Community College - Business and Information Systems - DreamSpark Premium


Windows 10 EDU
Windows 10 (Multiple Editions)
Windows 10 EDU N
Windows 10 N (Multiple Editions)
Windows 10 (Multiple Editions) Debug/Checked
Windows 10 Features on Demand
Windows 10 IoT Core for MinnowBoard MAX
Windows 10 IoT Core for Raspberry Pi 2
Windows 10 Language Interface Pack
Windows 10 Language Pack
Windows 10 N (Multiple Editions) Debug/Checked
Windows 10 Symbols
Windows 10 Symbols Debug/Checked

Thank You

Tim Dickerson
ARS N9NU
ARRL - AEC | OES | VEC De Kalb County, IL


Below is what is shows for the System Requirements/Information...the same for all of the above:

Windows 10 (Multiple Editions)



System requirements:

If you want to upgrade to Windows 10 on your PC or tablet, here’s what it takes.

• Latest OS: Make sure you are running the latest version either Windows 7 SP1 or Windows 8.1 Update.
  
  • Don’t know which version you are running? Check here to find out.
  • Need to download the latest version? Click here for Windows 7 SP1 or Windows 8.1 Update.
  
  
• Processor: 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster processor or SoC
• RAM: 1 gigabyte (GB) for 32-bit or 2 GB for 64-bit
• Hard disk space: 16 GB for 32-bit OS 20 GB for 64-bit OS
• Graphics card: DirectX 9 or later with WDDM 1.0 driver
• Display: 800x600

Important notes

• The upgradeability of a device has factors beyond the system specification. This includes driver and firmware support, application compatibility, and feature support, regardless of whether or not the device meets the minimum system specification for Windows 10.
• If your PC or tablet is currently running Windows 7 SP1 or Windows 8.1 Update, you can check to see if it meets the requirements by using ‘Check my PC’ in the Get Windows 10 app.
• Applications, files and settings will migrate as part of the upgrade, however some applications or settings may not migrate.
  
  • For Anti-virus and Anti-malware applications, during upgrade Windows will check to see if your Anti-virus or Anti-malware subscription is current. Windows will uninstall your application while preserving your settings. After upgrade is complete, Windows will install the latest version available with the settings that were set prior to upgrade. If your subscription is not current, upgrade will enable Windows defender.
  • Some applications that came from your OEM may be removed prior to upgrade.
  • For certain third party applications, the “Get Windows 10” app will scan for application compatibility. If there is a known issue that will prevent the upgrade, you will be notified of the list of applications with known issues. You can choose to accept and the applications will be removed from the system prior to upgrade. Please copy the list before you accept the removal of the application.
  
  

Feature deprecation

• If you have Windows 7 Home Premium, Windows 7 Professional, Windows 7 Ultimate, Windows 8 Pro with Media Center, or Windows 8.1 Pro with Media Center and you install Windows 10, Windows Media Center will be removed.
• Watching DVDs requires separate playback software.
• Windows 7 desktop gadgets will be removed as part of installing Windows 10.
• Windows 10 Home users will have updates from Windows Update automatically available.
• Solitaire, Minesweeper, and Hearts Games that come pre-installed on Windows 7 will be removed as part of installing the Windows 10 upgrade. Microsoft has released our version of Solitaire and Minesweeper called the “Microsoft Solitaire Collection” and “Microsoft Minesweeper.”
• If you have a USB floppy drive, you will need to download the latest driver from Windows Update or from the manufacturer's website.
• If you have Windows Live Essentials installed on your system, the OneDrive application is removed and replaced with the inbox version of OneDrive.
  

Additional requirements to use certain features

• Cortana is only currently available on Windows 10 for the United States, United Kingdom, China, France, Italy, Germany, and Spain.
• Speech recognition will vary by device microphone. For better speech experience you will need a:
  
  • High fidelity microphone array
  • Hardware driver with Microphone array geometry exposed
  
  
• Windows Hello requires specialized illuminated infrared camera for facial recognition or iris detection or a finger print reader which supports the Window Biometric Framework.
• Continuum is available on all Windows 10 editions by manually turning “tablet mode” on and off through the Action Center. Tablets and 2-in-1’s with GPIO indicators or those that have a laptop and slate indicator will be able to be configured to enter “tablet mode” automatically.
• Music and Video stream through the Xbox Music or Xbox video app available in certain regions. For the most up to date list of regions, please go to Xbox on Windows website.
• Two factor authentication requires the use of a PIN, Biometric (finger print reader or illuminated infrared camera), or a phone with Wi-Fi or Bluetooth capabilities.
• The number of applications that can be snapped will depend upon the minimum resolution for the application.
• To use touch, you need a tablet or a monitor that supports multi-touch. (more info)
• Microsoft account required for some features.
• Internet access (ISP) fees might apply.
• Secure boot requires firmware that supports UEFI v2.3.1 Errata B and has the Microsoft Windows Certification Authority in the UEFI signature database.
• Some IT administrators may enable Secure Logon (Ctrl + Alt + Del) before bringing you to the log in screen. On tablets without a keyboard, a tablet with the Windows button maybe required as the key combination on a tablet is Windows button + Power button.
• Some games and programs might require a graphics card compatible with DirectX 10 or higher for optimal performance.
• BitLocker To Go requires a USB flash drive (Windows 10 Pro only).
• BitLocker requires either Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 1.2, TPM 2.0 or a USB flash drive (Windows 10 Pro and Windows 10 Enterprise only).
• Client Hyper-V requires a 64-bit system with second level address translation (SLAT) capabilities and additional 2 GB of RAM (Windows 10 Pro and Windows 10 Enterprise only).
• Miracast requires a display adapter which supports Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM) 1.3, and a Wi-Fi adapter that supports Wi-Fi Direct.
• Wi-Fi Direct Printing requires a Wi-Fi adapter that supports Wi-Fi Direct and a device that supports Wi-Fi Direct Printing.
• To install a 64-bit OS on a 64-bit PC, your processor needs to support CMPXCHG16b, PrefetchW, and LAHF/SAHF.
• InstantGo works only with computers designed for Connected Standby.
• Device encryption requires a PC with InstantGo and TPM 2.0.

Tim

I could be wrong, but from all my research (I work w/ developers so we have to figure out what each version does), basically anything with N is a version that DOES NOT have Windows Media Player, Camera, Music, TV & Movies and the Skype app.

Multiple editions ONLY have Home and Professional in it.

The education version is ONLY for educational purposes, but its enterprise and in a volume license form, meaning retail keys will not work with it. I've yet to confirm if KMS works with it as we don't get our KMS key until Aug. 1st.

Everything else is more or less for developers/enterprises and/or other countries. If you are just gaming, use the multiple version and install either home or professional. I haven't had a chance to compare both versions so I am unsure of the differences.

Hi

Okay. Thank you for the advice. I will start out with the GamePC fresh Install first and then dive into the others when I learn more.

So the EDU packages are a variation of the Enterprise SKU and utilize the VLK activation method. Got it.

Will continue to research as well


Tnx

Tim

As mentioned, the N versions are missing the media applications. This was a requirement of the European Union for sale in these countries. The applications can be downloaded free if desired. This dates back to Vista.

Hi

Okay on the N versions. I thought that's what it was way back when...you didn't get Media Player. No biggie for me here. Since I have three vouchers I will start by downloading the Multi Edition version 64 Bit for my GamePC.

Here is a question. If you have a legit activation key for any of the OS's that are eligible for the upgrade (say Windows 8.1), does that OS have to be installed on a machine physically in order to get the free upgrade OR can you just download the Win 10 ISO from MS via the ISO media creator page and use the Win 8.1 key while trying to activate Win 10.....as if it would check with MS servers and recognize it being a legit key for 8.1 and thus recognize it's validity and then allow you to continue with Win 10. Hope that makes sense...lol.

N9NU said:

Hi

Okay on the N versions. I thought that's what it was way back when...you didn't get Media Player. No biggie for me here. Since I have three vouchers I will start by downloading the Multi Edition version 64 Bit for my GamePC.

Here is a question. If you have a legit activation key for any of the OS's that are eligible for the upgrade (say Windows 8.1), does that OS have to be installed on a machine physically in order to get the free upgrade OR can you just download the Win 10 ISO from MS via the ISO media creator page and use the Win 8.1 key while trying to activate Win 10.....as if it would check with MS servers and recognize it being a legit key for 8.1 and thus recognize it's validity and then allow you to continue with Win 10. Hope that makes sense...lol.

Here is my experience
I had several systems running all legit RETAIL and activated installations both 64 bit Win 8.1 Pro and Win 7 home premium
Because my broadband speed was very low (rural area) I decided to download the two ISO's with the appropriate correct version using the Media Creation Tool then produce two installation DVD's.
I decided to upgrade the Win 8.1 systems first so from the running win 8.1 system I ran the setup.exe file and installation of WIN 10 went through its procedures with 100% results and ended up with a fully activated Win 10 system with the ability to revert back to Win 8.1 if I wanted to.
Having had success with that I then went on to upgrade my Win 7 HP systems. This is where trouble started for ME. Running the setup.exe file again but his time asked me for a product key but rejected the legit Win 7 product key ( with no option to skip) when entered, as of course being an upgrade, I had no Win 10 key. Tried again on my other Win 7 systems with the same result. I asked around many forums etc. (including this one) without a meaningful answer so I decided to do the upgrade directly from the Media Creation Tool but this time telling it to "upgrade this PC" which it then proceeded to do again 100% without asking for any product keys. I ended up with once again full activated Win 10 Home installation.
I have no idea why upgrading from a legit activated Win 7 installation insists on a product key which no one has for an upgrade.