What will happen on Jan 20, 2016?

But I do not want to upgrade my Win7.1 system to Win10. My WIn7.1 system (the OS part of it) is more than 5 years old and badly bloated. I needed to do a clean install of Win 10, which is what I did.

At the time I did it MS had published an Insider activation code that worked OK. My Win10 has always said it was activated. Subesequent to my installation MS disallowed the Insider activation code to work. Apparently now, in order to do a clean install, you have to first upgrade your current system, download the Win 10 ISO file, do a clean install of that (presumably on top of what you just upgraded), and then re-enter your old Win7 activation code.

This seems like a laborious and risky procedure to me.

For some reason I just noticed the Jan 20, 2016 date - maybe it wasn't there before.

At any rate, is there a way to determine what my status really is? Does anyone know what is supposed to happen on Jan 20, 2016? Am I the only person seeing this message?

Edit:

Aha! slmgr /xpr says "Volume activation will expire 1/20/2016 7:19:02 AM

So I have a timebomb waiting to explode.

Wonderful.

bbinnard said:

But I do not want to upgrade my Win7.1 system to Win10. My WIn7.1 system (the OS part of it) is more than 5 years old and badly bloated. I needed to do a clean install of Win 10, which is what I did.

You can do a clean install of Windows 10. You just have to do the upgrade first.

1. Go back to Windows 7: either just use the old drive, clone the Windows 7 to the new disk, or install Windows 7 clean.
2. Make sure Windows 7 is activated.
3. Upgrade the Windows 7 to Windows 10. Make sure the upgrade is activated.
4. Do a clean install of Windows 10 and skip entering product keys - do not enter one. The clean install will permanently activate.

or

Buy a retail product key and on the activation screen change your product key to it.

bbinnard said:

Apparently now, in order to do a clean install, you have to first upgrade your current system, download the Win 10 ISO file, do a clean install of that (presumably on top of what you just upgraded), and then re-enter your old Win7 activation.

You will not re-enter your old Windows 7 product key. You will get a new, permanent activation stored on Microsoft Activation Servers based upon the hardware configuration - not a product key. As long as you re-install Windows 10 on the same major hardware configuration (same motherboard, same CPU), it will retrieve the activation from the activation servers without a product key.

LCDR:

What a nightmare. I tried doing this:

slmgr /ipk VK7JG-NPHTM-C97JM-9MPGT-3V66T

That put my system into Notification Mode. I'm not sure what this is, but it must be bad.

So I'll go back and find the Insider key I used before and try to put that back.

Strollin: I understand your suggestion, but that means I'll have to re-install all my sofftware etc. again. This is not an enticing thought at all.

LCDR: I tried the old activation code I used before - it is the same on you posted.

I tried the steps listed at the WinAero site. Last one failed because it said the server could not be located. But I did get the Jan 20, 2016 date back. So that's something.

Superfly said:

Sorry if I did not make it clear - that is an illegal activation method - that xspace server must have been taken down by MS.

Hi there

I think there's been plenty of info on this (and other) Forums on Windows activation. Those "Unofficial" (e.g KMS servers etc ) activation methods WILL NOT work (at the moment). Just install your OLD OS, update it, activate it and then upgrade to W10. You can THEN optionally install all your applications when re-installing your old OS - but my preferred method would be to install those AFTER you've done the initial upgrade from the old ACTIVATED --LEGALLY OS.

The chances are that you won't have any problems with stuff running on W10 so you don't have to do a "Double" install of your old programs. Also as others have pointed out "AD NAUSEAM" DO NOT ENTER ANY PRODUCT CODE WHEN UPGRADING FROM THE OLD OS.

There are all sorts of "Unofficial" activation methods on the Net -- it's NOT WORTH IT --if you have a legal OLD OS just get a FREE LEGAL new W10. Most of the "Unofficoal" activation methods put a hook into your system that keeps "Pseudo activating" after a usually unknown (apart by the writer of the Hack) period of time - and you will have absolutely NO IDEA of what data that "Server" is collecting either.

Cheers
jimbo

jimbo45 said:

There are all sorts of "Unofficial" activation methods on the Net -- it's NOT WORTH IT --if you have a legal OLD OS just get a FREE LEGAL new W10.

Plus 1,000! Isn't human nature something.....let's try to figure out a workaround to something that is offered to us for free!

bbinnard said:

Strollin: I understand your suggestion, but that means I'll have to re-install all my sofftware etc. again. This is not an enticing thought at all.

Maybe not. Do slmgr /upk to remove the illegal product key. Make an image of the Windows 10 you have now and store it somewhere. After you do the legal upgrade from Windows 7 and have a Windows 10 upgrade that is activated, take the previous image of the Windows 10 with your programs and restore that. Without a product key it might just activate itself legally from Microsoft.

Although, question for Superfly - is that windows with the illegal product key activating from a rogue site and would that site's address have to be cleared out for it to activate properly from Microsoft?

Do slmgr /upk to remove the illegal product key.

But I did not use an illegal key. The key was published by MS and is listed on this site. No one ever said anything about it expiring in 6 months.


Without a product key it might just activate itself legally from Microsoft.

"Might" is the key word there. My guess is it would not activate. So I am reluctant to over-write my good/old Win7 boot SSD (even though I have a full backup) and then find out I am no better off. What would I do then anyway? Another clean install of Win10, followed by re-installing all the Win10 updates, followed by re-installing all my software. This is not reasonable.