• Feature update to Windows 10, version 1607. Problems

By the way, something important I have not seen mentioned in this thread: Windows product key, license and activation.

I assume you are first testing a clean install on a secondary hard disk, not the one where you have the problem Windows 10 build 10240 installed. If this is the case, you don't have to enter a product key when installing. When the key is asked just select I don't have a product key:

(Screenshot from tutorial Windows 10 - Clean Install)

Testing Windows does not require activation. If you later on decided to do a clean install replacing your current build 10240, be sure you have the product key available before starting.

Kari

DavidY said:

Even from Windows 10240, a clean install should activate. They changed the terminology at version 1511 and started talking about 'digital licences', but even the original version of 10240 had the activation stored on the server and could be clean installed and activated.

The terminology was not changed in version 1511. Digital licensing was first introduced as digital entitlement in 1511, the terminology then changed in version 1607 when digital entitlement became digital license.

I am of course only talking about my own experience and the information I have as I know it, but I have never managed a clean install replacing an activated version 1507 build 10240 to be activated without a product key when reinstalling version 1511 or 1607. Not even once. I can't tell how many times I have tried, at least 10 to 15 times, all of them required a product key entered manually.

Digital licensing, then called digital entitlement was introduced in version 1511 build 10586. Until proven beyond doubt that my experience, digital licensing not working when replacing version 1507 (all builds prior to 10586) with a clean install, I will advice against trusting in it, instead being sure that you have a product key available.

Kari

Kari said:

The terminology was not changed in version 1511. Digital licensing was first introduced as digital entitlement in 1511, the terminology then changed in version 1607 when digital entitlement became digital license.

I am of course only talking about my own experience and the information I have as I know it, but I have never managed a clean install replacing an activated version 1507 build 10240 to be activated without a product key when reinstalling version 1511 or 1607. Not even once. I can't tell how many times I have tried, at least 10 to 15 times, all of them required a product key entered manually.

Digital licensing, then called digital entitlement was introduced in version 1511 build 10586. Until proven beyond doubt that my experience, digital licensing not working when replacing version 1507 (all builds prior to 10586) with a clean install, I will advice against trusting in it, instead being sure that you have a product key available.

Kari

There was certainly some sort of digital entitlement in 10240 - it was always possible to clean install 10240 on top of a machine which had previously been activated with 10240 and have it activate again. You'll have done more testing on the clean/install upgrade route than I have though.

However as David49 won't have a Windows 10 product key (apart from the generic one) as it was an upgrade from 7 to 8.1 to 10, I wonder if the 'GenuineTicket.xml' route would be worth doing? It probably does no harm to grab that file in any case?
Clean Install Windows 10 Directly without having to Upgrade First

Edit: I found I had a Virtual Machine which I don't use often and had been left at version 10240/1507. Last updates received in September 2015 so it's not been switched on (or at least not connected to the internet) for a while. I did the gatherosstate/genuineticket process, then deleted the partitions and clean-installed version 1607 (skipping 1511 altogether) from the ISO. Result- "activated with a digital licence" with no intervention needed. So in my case it worked straight away and I didn't get to try the GenuineTicket route. However it may just be that I was lucky. So it may still be worth generating and saving that file, just in case it's needed/helpful?

[QUOTE=DavidY;942281]

DavidY said:

Edit: I found I had a Virtual Machine which I don't use often and had been left at version 10240/1507. Last updates received in September 2015 so it's not been switched on (or at least not connected to the internet) for a while. I did the gatherosstate/genuineticket process, then deleted the partitions and clean-installed version 1607 (skipping 1511 altogether) from the ISO. Result- "activated with a digital licence" with no intervention needed. So in my case it worked straight away and I didn't get to try the GenuineTicket route. However it may just be that I was lucky. So it may still be worth generating and saving that file, just in case it's needed/helpful?

When you are wrong you have to admit it and in this case I am sure I am wrong, I have to admit it.

As it's already almost a year and a half from my last 10240 upgrade, I had to check my notes, I keep a kind of install log in Onenote, noting not all installs but carefully noting all test scenarios as I did when digital entitlement was introduced and I run various activation test scenarios.

It appears that the only scenario digital license was / is not working is when replacing 1507 with 1507; as soon as new Windows being installed is 1511 or later, regardless of the earlier version, digital license will be applied.

DavidY said:

I'm not sure that would work- it sounds like 'Windows to Go' which is only supported on certain editions of Windows 10, and not Windows 10 Pro/Home.

Windows 10 PRO has Windows To Go, at least it's listed in Control Panel > All Items in PRO. But you are right, without it or other third party tools Windows 10 needs to be installed on internal NTFS formatted partition.