The Free Windows 10 Will Support Unlimited Clean Installs

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  1. Posts : 32
    Windows 10 64 bit
       #10

    strollin said:
    Why would you expect it to work any differently?
    I would hope it would work differently if your original copy of Windows was a retail version. However, my wishes do not necessarily correspond with those of Microsoft.:)
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  2. Posts : 3,257
    Windows 10 Pro
       #11

    waltc said:
    Lack of info here is beginning to bother me as well. People have been wondering what the "gotcha" might be behind the free upgrade...if it's true that from now on that every licensed copy of Windows is tied to a specific piece of hardware...then that is exactly like OEM versions work today with Win7/8. You can clean install OEM Windows an infinite number of times right now, but the catch is that that's only true on the original motherboard...! If that what's Microsoft means, then I fear that is not going to make people happy--not at all.
    How exactly did you read that into anything that was said?
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  3. Posts : 13
    Windows 8.1 (Home Edition)
       #12

    Hi guys! Just registered on the forum, and I would like to make a question about this because the information we were given is leaving my n00bish brain confused :P

    I have a laptop in which I want to install Windows 10 (local account, no Microsoft account), and my question is would I be able to perform a clean install of the OS while retaining the retail license? Sorry if the answer was already made obvious, but what I got from this is that you need to upgrade first and only then you can perform a clean install with the retail license of the computer that was upgraded...or did I got that completely backwards?

    My ideia was to download the upgrade and convert it into an ISO using this guide, assuming the upgrade comes in an ESD file of course. But i'm still confused if that's actually possible or not, so a little clarification for the new kid here would be greatly appreciated!

    Thank you for the help :)
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  4. Posts : 29,078
    Windows 10 21H1 Build 19043.1023
       #13

    waltc said:
    Lack of info here is beginning to bother me as well. People have been wondering what the "gotcha" might be behind the free upgrade...
    Yes, there's a lack of information, but also a profusion of questions asking for information that's already there. I don't believe Microsoft is going to change a whole lot about their licensing policy.

    waltc said:
    . . . if it's true that from now on that every licensed copy of Windows is tied to a specific piece of hardware...then that is exactly like OEM versions work today with Win7/8. You can clean install OEM Windows an infinite number of times right now, but the catch is that that's only true on the original motherboard...! If that what's Microsoft means, then I fear that is not going to make people happy--not at all.
    1. Historically, upgrading an OEM license from, say, Windows Vista to Windows 7 would tie Windows 7 to that computer as an OEM product. Otherwise, Microsoft would be giving away the farm.

    2. If you have an OEM license to Windows 7 or 8.1, an upgrade to Windows 10 will essentially be the same as if you upgraded an OEM license from any other product. No matter how you slice it or dice it, it's an OEM upgrade.

    3. Has it been announced that "every licensed copy of Windows is tied to a specific piece of hardware"? If there are Windows 10 Retail licenses available (have we heard yet?), it could be that the license could be moved from one computer to the next for whatever the reason . . . or not . . .

    The following is based on the assumption that there will be a Windows 10 Retail version, nothing more.


    And this one is really a conundrum! OK, I build a new computer. I buy a retail copy of Windows 10 and install it on that computer. Three or four years down the pike, the motherboard fails. Am I allowed to then move Windows 10 Retail to another computer . . . heretofore, the answer would be yes. OK, let's take it a step further . . . the second computer crashes and burns (be it motherboard failure or whatever) and I want to install Windows 10 on a third computer.

    Or, say, as technology improves, I want to upgrade my hardware; same as above, I want to use my retail copy of Windows 10 on the second computer . . . then on to a third computer . . . maybe a fourth . . .

    OK, we've been able to do this with past operating systems, however, we must realize that:

    a. Prior operating systems have generally had Service Pack 1 or 2; Windows 8.0 was upgraded to Windows 8.1 which was updated to Windows 8.1 Update. The most Microsoft has to lose is the loss of paid upgrades if we choose to upgrade our systems and reinstall the same Retail product over and over.

    Then there're Windows XP users; I'd guess they haven't changed their hardware because for most of them, their license is OEM. If their hardware changes, they lose their XP. I'd say this is the best way to judge durability of computers today.

    b. Windows 10 will be a perpetually updated and upgraded operating system. So, most systems are durable and should last way longer than we have any reason to expect. If we put Windows 10 on an old clunker, chances are that, yes, it's going to crash and burn sometime in the near future. Microsoft can't control that, nor should they. But, they shouldn't be responsible for our errors in judgment either.

    Bottom line, Microsoft cannot be expected to support us into infinity because we want to save a buck or two. For me, it's perfectly within reason that since Microsoft is perpetually updating and upgrading Windows 10 (which costs a lot of money), they should have the right to limit installation of even Retail versions of Windows 10 to one computer; at the most, two if a catastrophe happens.
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  5. Posts : 3,257
    Windows 10 Pro
       #14

    Xehanort said:
    Hi guys! Just registered on the forum, and I would like to make a question about this because the information we were given is leaving my n00bish brain confused :P

    I have a laptop in which I want to install Windows 10 (local account, no Microsoft account), and my question is would I be able to perform a clean install of the OS while retaining the retail license? Sorry if the answer was already made obvious, but what I got from this is that you need to upgrade first and only then you can perform a clean install with the retail license of the computer that was upgraded...or did I got that completely backwards?

    My ideia was to download the upgrade and convert it into an ISO using this guide, assuming the upgrade comes in an ESD file of course. But i'm still confused if that's actually possible or not, so a little clarification for the new kid here would be greatly appreciated!

    Thank you for the help :)
    Please see https://www.tenforums.com/general-dis...een-lines.html
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 3,257
    Windows 10 Pro
       #15

    Note that there is a misunderstanding of what Gabe said there. It's not that you have to upgrade first, then you can do a clean install. What he meant was that Windows 10 automatically re-activates once installed using the previously installed key when doing an upgrade. The article is confusing two different tweets.
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  7. Posts : 13
    Windows 8.1 (Home Edition)
       #16

    Thank you for the link, Mystere.

    The closest I got to an answer was this:

    Mystere said:
    More than likely, Microsoft will have an online form that you can enter your Windows 7 or 8.x key and get a download link to an ISO file, or call up customer support and have them send you a DVD (for a shipping fee i'm sure).
    This really helps clear things for me, if Microsoft gives an option to download an ISO, using your key, then probably all I needed to do was format my drive and clean install Windows 10 using that same ISO (which will probably use the key I used to download it in the first place) and it'll end up activated with said key.

    If this turns out to be true, of course.
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  8. Posts : 1,463
    Windows 10 Pro 22H2 64 bit
       #17

    MS has stated a while back that Windows 10 License was not a software license like in the past but a per device license.

    Jim
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  9. Posts : 481
    Windows 10 Pro
       #18

    Phone Man said:
    MS has stated a while back that Windows 10 License was not a software license like in the past but a per device license.

    Jim
    Yes, but that gives the question "what is a device?".

    If I change the HDD (or swap it to a SSD), is it then the same device?
    If I upgrate my mobo and CPU, keeping anything else, is it then the same device?
    If onboard netcard burns, and I add a PCIe netcard, is it then the same device?

    For laptops it is pretty simple, as you are limited in what you can upgrade, but for stationary PC's it still is not clear, I think.
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  10. Posts : 15,024
    Windows 10 IoT
       #19

    Burgurne said:
    Yes, but that gives the question "what is a device?".

    If I change the HDD (or swap it to a SSD), is it then the same device?
    If I upgrate my mobo and CPU, keeping anything else, is it then the same device?
    If onboard netcard burns, and I add a PCIe netcard, is it then the same device?

    For laptops it is pretty simple, as you are limited in what you can upgrade, but for stationary PC's it still is not clear, I think.
    A device is a Laptop, Desktop PC, Tablet, or Phone. Common sense tells me I'll likely be able to swap everything I want except the motherboard without getting any activation issues. I've been able to do it in the past, even on an OEM version. If you swap a bunch of components all at the same time it will likely fail activation. One every once in a while should be no issue though.
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