New
#480
I will try leaving the insider program on the 29th or 30th unless something comes up that delays me, like storms.
I will try leaving the insider program on the 29th or 30th unless something comes up that delays me, like storms.
Product Key
We are changing the product keys that are used in the Insider Preview, beginning with Build 10158. If you are prompted for a product key on Build 10158 or a later build, the new key for the Windows 10 Enterprise Insider Preview is CKFK9-QNGF2-D34FM-99QX2-8XC4K. From here, https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/eval...nsider-preview
are you certain of this? i only ask, because sometimes they have codes on those markers that only they understand. i'm not saying there is one, but only that it is a possibility. in any case, my mind is at ease, that if you came from a genuine copy of Windows 7 or Windows 8.1, then you will find your way to a free copy of windows 10. at this point, it doesn't matter to me what the method will be, only that it will happen, because i can stay in the insiders program until it does.
If you installed the Preview as an upgrade from Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 you'll be good to go when you upgrade to the final on the 29th. If you didn't, and did a clean install, you have to go back to a qualifying OS to do the free upgrade. If you upgrade to the final from a clean install of the Preview, activation will time out when you reach the end of the trial period. Assuming you leave the Insiders program on that date.
Yes I an certain of this, Windows 7 uses OA 2.1, (OEM Activation version 2.1). Windows 8/8.1 uses OA 3.0. Any version of Windows 7 can be installed to an OEM PC with a Windows 7 SLIC table in it. The certificate file in the install media determines what version is installed along with a coded in product code. The two have to match. The only way to get the factory OEM-SLP activation on a clean install of Windows 7 is with custom branded OEM install media and its that install media that determines what version is installed. The SLIC table will allow any version to be installed. The SLIC table alone won't tell you what version of Windows 7 was installed at the factory. Factory OEM installs use a generic OEM key too. All Dells with Windows 7 Home premium will have the same dell product code. They activate against the SLIC table in the BIOS. They don't activate online at all. If you clean install with the key on the COA sticker though, they do activate online and it won't be an OEM-SLP activation anymore.
I thought that the entire point of 'reserving' a copy on a 7 or 8.1 system was that your machine would download the RTM, perhaps slowly and in increments, before the 29th, thereby avoiding a big crush. Then, on the 29th, you'd be notified that you could go ahead and upgrade at your convenience. Is that not the plan any more?