Announcing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 10525 Insider
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It gets more interesting by the minute :)
I have been running Windows 7 Retail since it was in released and upgraded every component in my PC including CPU and Motherboard and never had to phone Microsoft for activation.
To me it seems like upgrading to 10 from 7 retail is more like converting your Windows install to an OEM copy.
Sorry the above comment relates more to RTM copies than Insider.
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It gets more interesting by the minute :)
I have been running Windows 7 Retail since it was in released and upgraded every component in my PC including CPU and Motherboard and never had to phone Microsoft for activation.
To me it seems like upgrading to 10 from 7 retail is more like converting your Windows install to an OEM copy.
Sorry the above comment relates more to RTM copies than Insider.
Windows 10 free upgrade is really free. That is an important fact to remember. As usual with freebies, terms and conditions apply.
Although the license information says it is a retail license, it is de facto an OEM license and as Microsoft has clearly and repeatedly stated the license will remain valid and activated for the life time of the device.
To put this simple, if a user wants to use the free upgrade offer that license is not transferable. Windows 10 remains activated on the device it was first activated after an upgrade from a qualifying Windows 7 and 8.1 (or 10 Insider Preview installed and activated before the July 29th).
If this free gift from Microsoft is not what the user wants, if the user wants a license for Windows 10 which is freely transferable without limitations, the user can and should buy a full retail license.
I have some difficulties to understand how a matter this awfully simple can be so difficult to some users? You want the freebie 10? No problems as long as you keep on your mind that the license is tied to that computer you used to upgrade. On that computer the license is valid and activated as long as the machine works. You can clean install on that machine, you can revert back to old OS and upgrade again, but if you want to install Windows 10 on a new machine without a qualifying 7, 8.1 or 10 Insider Preview, you have to buy it.
Kari
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Windows 10 free upgrade is really free. That is an important fact to remember. As usual with freebies, terms and conditions apply.
Although the license information says it is a retail license, it is de facto an OEM license and as Microsoft has clearly and repeatedly stated the license will remain valid and activated for the life time of the device.
To put this simple, if a user wants to use the free upgrade offer that license is not transferable. Windows 10 remains activated on the device it was first activated after an upgrade from a qualifying Windows 7 and 8.1 (or 10 Insider Preview installed and activated before the July 29th).
If this free gift from Microsoft is not what the user wants, if the user wants a license for Windows 10 which is freely transferable without limitations, the user can and should buy a full retail license.
I have some difficulties to understand how a matter this awfully simple can be so difficult to some users? You want the freebie 10? No problems as long as you keep on your mind that the license is tied to that computer you used to upgrade. On that computer the license is valid and activated as long as the machine works. You can clean install on that machine, you can revert back to old OS and upgrade again, but if you want to install Windows 10 on a new machine without a qualifying 7, 8.1 or 10 Insider Preview, you have to buy it.
Kari
In a nutshell, thanks.
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It doesn't have an expiration date; just that it's activated.
And no, it's not the RTM I upgraded to from Windows 8.1. :) That one has all my programs still installed.; one of these days, I'm gonna do a clean install, but not yet.
Attachment 32988
This is what I am confused about. I never had an upgraded Windows 10 from Win 7 or 8. But on my old HP where I first installed a Tech Preview, it doesn't show any expiration:
But on my new build where I also installed a Preview and obviously not an upgrade, It's showing an expiration.
Then I tried a clean install of the one without expiration on a different SSD and it's fully activated also without expiration.
I don't understand.
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Well, as long as it activates, I figure I'm legal. :) Microsoft's rather picky about activation.
Think they're picky? Try installing the dvd burning software I have here or some other program where you have to first uninstall and afterwards reinstall it onto some newer version or build with only so many activations available like two or three before you end up having to buy the program all over again! MS has been a bit more lax in that area to a degree over the years. You can see Windows reinstalled endlessly on the same machine over and over and over and ....
All my PC's have been activated with 10 Pro 10240, so I can pretty well do what I want now. Insider or non insider. I've opted back in on one, went to 10525, didn't like what I saw and went back to 10240. No activation issues.
You shouldn't have any anyways. Once I upgraded the first and then second builds and then a laptop I can toss a fresh clean install on at any time like seeing 3 successive installs first the upgrade and then two clean installs in a row on the laptop with all three seeing instant activation.
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. :)
The activation servers are where the actual record of your one or more machines are kept when keeping track of the hardware profile it reads from each system individually. Once I swap the memory on the second case from the present pair of 2gb dimm for the max there of a pair of 4gb dimms of another brand?
Ut Oh could spell a need to call into MS? Will know once the memory ordered comes in the middle of next week if the clean install that was activated will remain activated with that change? Previously on the old case built for 7's launch I swapped out memory when the dimms were too high and ended up needing to call into MS.
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Windows 10 free upgrade is really free. That is an important fact to remember. As usual with freebies, terms and conditions apply.
Although the license information says it is a retail license, it is de facto an OEM license and as Microsoft has clearly and repeatedly stated the license will remain valid and activated for the life time of the device.
To put this simple, if a user wants to use the free upgrade offer that license is not transferable. Windows 10 remains activated on the device it was first activated after an upgrade from a qualifying Windows 7 and 8.1 (or 10 Insider Preview installed and activated before the July 29th).
If this free gift from Microsoft is not what the user wants, if the user wants a license for Windows 10 which is freely transferable without limitations, the user can and should buy a full retail license.
I have some difficulties to understand how a matter this awfully simple can be so difficult to some users? You want the freebie 10? No problems as long as you keep on your mind that the license is tied to that computer you used to upgrade. On that computer the license is valid and activated as long as the machine works. You can clean install on that machine, you can revert back to old OS and upgrade again, but if you want to install Windows 10 on a new machine without a qualifying 7, 8.1 or 10 Insider Preview, you have to buy it.
Kari
. . .Very will put Kari. . .:)
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It gets more interesting by the minute :)
I have been running Windows 7 Retail since it was in released and upgraded every component in my PC including CPU and Motherboard and never had to phone Microsoft for activation.
To me it seems like upgrading to 10 from 7 retail is more like converting your Windows install to an OEM copy.
Sorry the above comment relates more to RTM copies than Insider.
And also, your computer will do what it wants to do and won't let what you want to do, let me make it clear, the so called "Free upgrade" is not for our benefit but aimed at their benefit.
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Well, as long as it activates, I figure I'm legal. :) Microsoft's rather picky about activation.
All my PC's have been activated with 10 Pro 10240, so I can pretty well do what I want now. Insider or non insider. I've opted back in on one, went to 10525, didn't like what I saw and went back to 10240. No activation issues.
After you do the free upgrade, and Windows 10 activates. A hardware ID is stored on the Microsoft activation server for that PC. Then when you do a clean install latter on, it looks for that hardware ID. If it finds it, your activated, if it doesn't, your not activated. That's how their doing it now. Looks like that's carried over to the Insider preview program. Clean installs of the Insider preview now follow the same rules as installing the Consumer version.
And once you perform a clean install you will lose what? KB8081704 or the new Windows DVD Player update that goes onto the upgrade but you have to $15 separately at the MS store if you want to continue using it! I was wondering why when going to look for it following the clean install it was no longer seen until looking it up.
That seems to actually be how MS is doing things now. Either upgrade free or pay for it if you want things to work right. Funny it was there when the upgrade repair install went on to clean up the initial upgrade's impartial installation and then gone once I got to the clean install after the first full week of the second upgrade running well.
Solution for dvd or video player? That comes cheap and not VLC or WMP downloads but MPlayer you have to create shortcut to the self contained execiutable file since there's no installer and therefore no compatibility issues! Need a media player for the 10525 build anyone? here you go! When WMP was no longer playing video capture files or dvds I had to find another player and VLC didn't quite cut it while this maximises out and is very similar to how WMP works at no cost.
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But on my new build where I also installed a Preview and obviously not an upgrade, It's showing an expiration.
Then I tried a clean install of the one without expiration on a different SSD and it's fully activated also without expiration.
I don't understand.
What I don't understand is how some are getting KMS activation (GVLK)... is this due to unofficial ISO's containing an activator perhaps?
Please post a slmgr /dlv report.
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After a mixture of clean and upgrade installations, last one from 10240.