Insider on a spare computer

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

  1. Posts : 131
    Windows 10 Pro (22H2)
       #1

    Insider on a spare computer


    I read most of the stuff posted here on News as I'm interested in what's going on Win 10 wise. However I have to be able to rely on both my laptop and 'main' PC and can't afford for either to be disrupted either by Insider builds or by possibly problematic feature updates such as 1809 appears to be, so both are still on 1803 with feature updates deferred. But I do have a spare laptop, same model as my working laptop, and was wondering whether I could safely enrol it in the Insider program without any risk at all to my day to day systems. If that would be ok are there any guidelines or precautions I should take to protect the working systems? I do religiously and routinely image my systems so recovery from unexpected problems is never an issue.
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 30,526
    Windows 10 (Pro and Insider Pro)
       #2

    How could Insider system on a separate laptop interfere with others? Network connections? No worry.

    You have backups and images, take one image from your working laptop (same model), restore it to spare laptop and enroll in Insider's program (so, no need to install stuff).
      My Computers


  3. Posts : 131
    Windows 10 Pro (22H2)
    Thread Starter
       #3

    So if all user system sync settings are off it should be ok? Absolutely no background sync to worry about?
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 30,526
    Windows 10 (Pro and Insider Pro)
       #4

    Fixer said:
    So if all user system sync settings are off it should be ok? Absolutely no background sync to worry about?
    Set a system with different user, if you want to be extra sure. Although, I have sync on all my systems (all but Theme - since I want to distinguish between desktops...) and never had a problem.

    Think you'll be fine with either, sync off, or different account.
      My Computers


  5. Posts : 131
    Windows 10 Pro (22H2)
    Thread Starter
       #5

    Thanks. I'll give it a whirl as there's always the security of having an image.
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 30,526
    Windows 10 (Pro and Insider Pro)
       #6

    Fixer said:
    Thanks. I'll give it a whirl as there's always the security of having an image.
    and you have spare laptop.
      My Computers


  7. Posts : 56,806
    Multi-boot Windows 10/11 - RTM, RP, Beta, and Insider
       #7

    Will add a tidbit. Using a separate account, like Andre suggested, also gives you the protection against cross-pollination with your OneDrive account storage. I do that with a couple of my Insider builds. Never let them talk to each other.
      My Computers


  8. Posts : 131
    Windows 10 Pro (22H2)
    Thread Starter
       #8

    A little help please. No problem restoring an image of working laptop to spare laptop but when it boots up it's obviously signing in to my main Microsoft account, and if I sign up to Insider that would then also apply to working laptop, no?. So how the heck do I change that so it's signing in to a new MS account? I did think about temporarily reverting working laptop to a local account before cloning it but is there a better way?
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 30,526
    Windows 10 (Pro and Insider Pro)
       #9

    Switch to local account, add different MS account and switch to that one.

    tenforums tutorials |switch-local-account-windows-10

    Add Local Account or Microsoft Account in Windows 10
      My Computers


  10. Posts : 13,896
    Win10 Version 22H2 Pro and Home, Win11 Pro and Home
       #10

    To avoid any such issues asked about, both of my Insider Preview Desktops were clean installs when I first joined the Technical Preview, since been renamed to Insider Preview. There's always a possibility of syncing unknown/unnoticed things when copying or moving OS files to other computers.
      My Computers


 

  Related Discussions
Our Sites
Site Links
About Us
Windows 10 Forums is an independent web site and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Microsoft Corporation. "Windows 10" and related materials are trademarks of Microsoft Corp.

© Designer Media Ltd
All times are GMT -5. The time now is 15:15.
Find Us




Windows 10 Forums