New
#250
The rules changed after RTM.
https://blogs.windows.com/bloggingwi...w-build-10525/
Windows 10 Insider Preview is intended to be installed on genuine Windows 10 devices – before upgrading to Windows 10 Insider Preview Builds or reinstalling Windows 10 please ensure your device is activated. To confirm go to Settings > Update & security > Activation. With the launch of Windows 10 we introduced device based activation. If you’ve previously activated a genuine copy of Windows 10 on your device, you’ll be able to activate Windows 10 Insider Preview builds of the same edition without the need to enter a product key. This will also enable you to re-install the latest public release of Windows 10 without entering a product key if you no longer want Windows Insider Preview on your device.
I have all my machines set up as dual boot. On each machine, one partition is the original Windows 8.1 Pro partition (upgraded to RTM) and the other has never had anything but the Windows 10 Insider builds on it. Not Windows XP, nor Vista, nor Win 7, nor Windows 8/8.1. IOW, the partitions started out completely clean/empty and have been formatted with each new build that was clean installed.
After Build 10525 was released, using my pen (author) name and credentials, I set up a second Insider account. I then installed Windows 10 Build 10525 on that computer's "Insider Partition", which, to reiterate, has never had anything but the Windows 10 Insider builds on it. That machine activated almost immediately.
All of my machines have activated as they should.
That's a big change! No free ride on new hardware. If Windows 10 was never activated on that hardware a clean install will not activate Insider Preview version or not. I can see why they did it. Not saying I agree with it, just that I see why. If they didn't anybody could theoretically run windows for free for ever, as long as they run insider builds. Now you have to do the free upgrade, then switch to receive insider builds. I've opted in, and then back out again on one PC. No activation iisues. It was already running 10240 Consumer.
How does Microsoft know if it's been activated if I have formatted the hard drive?
Never mind . . . dummy moment; of course, Microsoft knows everything about my computers now. I'm not really sure I'm liking this!
And I don't have any other computers to check this out on without dragging one out of the cobwebs at the back of the closet. :)