Windows 10: EULA; UEFI; Product Keys and reverting....

I raised the following question with one of the worlds biggest OEM manufacturers....

".....in the event that the W10 upgrade goes wrong, will the User be able to revert to their previous OS? And how will the W10 upgrade impact on Users with UEFI firmware interface; UEFI or regular Product Keys and the EULA? ....."

I received the following reply....

".....there will be a failsafe within windows 10 that will allow the user to revert back to their previous OS within 30 days. You will be able to do this without losing any data or software. However after the 30 days you will not be able to revert back to the original OS without recovery media......"

As I was not aware of this I wondered if this was a well-known fact (or fiction) known (or unknown) to other Forum Members.

T.

:)

 

Is using a non-activated Windows 10 illegal?

But wouldn't it violate EULA and by so law?

it says in EULA before installing

5. Authorized Software and Activation. You are authorized to use this software only if you are properly licensed and the software has been properly activated with a genuine product key or by other authorized method.

 

Windows 8.1 Reinstallation After Windows 10 Upgrade

Hi Vikram,

I understand the frustration when things don't work as expected.

No, the product key would have not changed as you upgrade to Windows 10. To find the product key, you could have it inscribed on the side of the PC. Its a 25 key alpha-numeric key.

How to find your Windows 10 product key

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-10/product-key-windows-10

UEFI settings can be found in BIOS. In order to check the settings I would request you to take the help of some local technician.

Please revert if you face any issues with windows in future.

 

Sounds like something the OEM plans to do themselves. There is no time limit on the "rollback" feature in Windows 10, although it seems like the longer you wait to do a rollback, the less likely your chances of success are due to changes that occur between install time and the rollback.

Or perhaps what they mean is that they only "support" rollback for 30 days.

 

The upgrade process places your previous system's files in a a folder called "windows.old". As long as this exists you should be able to roll back. However restoring a full backup of your previous operating is your safest bet providing Microsoft doesn't disable your previous activation key.

I purchased a Windows 7 Family Pack for three computers that shares one activation key. If I upgrade one machince to Windows 10 and they disable the key what happens to the other two machines if the key is diabled?

When you install Windows 10 you cede control of your computer to Microsoft (especially if you upgrade from a non-pro version). For better or worse you are now part of Microsoft's world wide LAN.

 

Thank you Mystere and Arnol for your replies.

When I first raised this question the OEM advised that they were awaiting a response from Microsoft.

Subsequently I received the response as I have given in the first Post which was (according to them) the reply that they received from Microsoft.

It was obvious from my initial correspondence with the OEM that they simply did not have an answer to the question and did not have any policy or advice for customers at that stage. They were very open about the fact that they were putting pressure on Microsoft to clarify exactly what the situation would be with a system (especially one with the UEFI firmware) that a customer wanted to revert to the previous OS.

In the view of the OEM the response as provided in my first Post is the "official" answer from MS.

Having said that....... even Gabe Aul seems to have difficulty in determining what is the "official" policy - if he does not know then can one believe any response from anyone at MS......*Confused

T.

 

I have been doing some upgrade testing at least from windows 7 sp1. First, I couldn't roll back. One the recovery screen in windows 10, it does say you have 30 days to roll back but me it didn't work that time. I have image backup that I use to restore what I had on the system before.

 

Best bet, forget rollback. Create a backup image to an external hard drive using Macrium Reflect Free. If you don't have a external HDD then buy one before upgrading to Windows 10.

Good tutorial for this here: Imaging with free Macrium

Then you can go back to your previous OS anytime you want.

 

Thanks.. I need to try that out,
Jeff

 

Hopefully.... there is still no definitive answer from MS about the legality of the Product Key in a system that uses the UEFI firmware interface. And not only from a legal perspective (EULA) but simply - "...will it work..".

The OEM has left the answer to this as an "open question". In practical terms, if a revert to a previous OS was possible then the UEFI Product Key would have to be associated with both the previous OS and the W10 upgrade. How will a developer that is coding the W10 upgrade application actually code for this? Although UEFI is a standard it is certain that different OEM's will have applied that standard in bespoke ways.

I am not convinced that MS have properly addressed this question with a solid solution that will accommodate a range of possibilities.

T.

 

I agree counting on a Rollback option should not be your only recovery plan. Having some type of image is always a good idea. I would even go so far are recommending, if you have the capability, to replace you current hard drive and restore the image you create to that hard drive and use it to upgrade to 10. This would let you start with a new drive and test your re-imaging capability plus you have the original drive protected in case of catastrophic failures.

I do not understand you concern for the License key kept in the UEFI firmware. That key is for your OEM installed OS. Windows 10 does not use a License key, but looks for a valid install to upgrade from. After the upgrade, your system will be marked as being legal to run Windows 10. Every upgrade we have seen involves prior license keys and it is in the EULA that the prior OS will no longer be used. Will Microsoft invalidate your prior License preventing you from using it after 30 days, I don't think so. If you stop using Windows 10 you should be able to go back to the prior OS, but it may take a phone call. There is possibility the online ability to run Windows 10 will be invalidated, but don't know for sure.

The 30 day rollback is because some component necessary for that to happen, will be removed. I am not sure exactly what that is, but it might be an entry in the BCD store which allows booting to that option. I do not believe it is directly related to the status of some License.

Please understand, I do not work for Microsoft. But my comments are based on reading multiple sources and drawing conclusions from those sources. The type of questions you are asking have been asked with each upgrade event. I suppose the best advice I could give is, when you decide to make a change and run into problems, call Microsoft.

 

Let say Microsoft has a way to deactivate a windows 7 install. Would this still work?

I am using only one hard drive.

Windows 7 oem (Not upgraded to windows 10) partition one
Windows 7 full retail which will be upgraded to windows 10 RTM partition two

Would Microsoft somehow block the windows 7 oem from working, even though it was upgrade from windows 7 full retail version?

 

Was Windows 7 retail a full version or a upgrade?

 

I edit my post to add the word full.

 

If you use the full version of Windows 7 to upgrade than your OEM version should be OK.