Windows 10: Fresh Install

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Would that mean you couldn't go back to Windows 7 or 8 if you didn't like windows 10? Not sure. They may have a rollback feature implemented for a certain amount of time.
I was hoping there was going to be a stable Consumer Preview to try in April but I don't know if that's going to happen either.

 

I think that the product key from the existing 7, 8, or 8.1 OS will work for 10. I did a clean install of 8.1 and the 8 key worked. And then I added the media center key and that worked also. Probably as long as it's on the same mobo it won't matter. I did a clean install of 10tp and the iso was for the pro version even though the links were either x64 or x86 . I'm just hoping that there will be a way to make a DVD so I can do a clean install of the public release.

 

I'll speculate here a bit,, When Win10 does come out MS will use the existing key(Win7/Win8.1) to validate the PC and then supply a new key for Win10. By doing this the user can keep the old OS and have access to the new one.

I hope.. not sure if it's going to happen this way but this is all speculation by myself at this time.

 

What about pre-activated systems? One pre-activated key is used acrossed several systems. One person could upgrade, another person wouldn't. I suspect those with pre-activated oem keys, will have to use the OEM key on the back or bottom of their computer or it would make some computers still using windows 7 or 8.1 look not genuine.

 

Those pre-activated keys are tied up with a unique hardware identifier registered with MS. Although the key is the same, MS will still detect it as a unique key. You shouldn't worry about it. You can rollback and keep your old OS as long as you want.

 

What about pre-activated systems? One pre-activated key is used acrossed several systems. One person could upgrade, another person wouldn't. I suspect those with pre-activated oem keys, will have to use the OEM key on the back or bottom of their computer or it would make some computers still using windows 7 or 8.1 look not genuine. The issue with multiple keys across is not really an issue that MS has to deal with, do they?? It should be one key per system and if there is a situation were the same key is used for multiple systems the first one to upgrade wins??

I think that will be worked out but it's up to the user to make use of the key they were supplied with and hope it's not been used for more than their system.

 

That should hold true. And in the end I think MS would want to get rid of multiple key usage.. keep in mind some may be pirated.

 

Keep in mind, this is on one machine only.
Along with the 'Unique Identifier' and the 'Lifetime of the Device' rule, you won't be able to take whatever Product Key and the ISO, if available, and install it on any machine.
That's why I'd rather slip em a few bucks and obtain as many Keys as I desire.

 

I agree totally, That's why I plan on purchasing the full instillation DVD when it comes out much later in the year.

 

I agree totally, That's why I plan on purchasing the full instillation DVD when it comes out much later in the year.


When 10 is officially out, I will upgrade a clone of my 7 and use them alternately (is that a word?) on the same machine. That is not illegal right? SAME machine. It's not like I can use them at the same time. It's only one or the other. It's like rolling back every now and then. As far as I know, we can rollback anytime just not sure if it only applies to the tech preview.

 

badrobot,
What you said above has always been a gray area even though some would disagree with that. I can tell you it won't work even with Grubs boot manager 2.0 help. How do I know that, just out of curiosity I tried a similar method to what you wanted to do. During upgrade it keeps the current boot record. Which makes it impossible to use the upgraded operating system on another primary partition, I would also doubt you could do a clean re-install of windows 7 without effecting the Windows 10 partition that was upgraded. So it looks like you have to buy Windows full retail if you want to dual or triple boot. One note, it doesn't effect the logical partitions, my Linux operating system still worked.

 

It's legal on the same machine.

 

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What you said above has always been a gray area even though some would disagree with that. I can tell you it won't work even with Grubs boot manager 2.0 help. How do I know that, just out of curiosity I tried a similar method to what you wanted to do. During upgrade it keeps the current boot record. Which makes it impossible to use the upgraded operating system on another primary partition, I would also doubt you could do a clean re-install of windows 7 without effecting the Windows 10 partition that was upgraded. So it looks like you have to buy Windows full retail if you want to dual or triple boot. One note, it doesn't effect the logical partitions, my Linux operating system still worked. The grub issue is the easiest to fix. Incidentally, when I read about this thread, I went ahead and upgraded a cloned copy of my Windows 7 to Windows 10 build 9926 last night. I recorded everything on video and I am thinking I should post it here for you to see that IT WORKS. When I first popped the Windows 7 clone, I encountered a grub issue. That's because I already tried the upgrade before with build 9860. The grub issue was fixed in about a minute and then proceeded with the 9926 upgrade which took about 45 minutes to complete. Then I just had a quick check if the Windows 7 installed apps are still working and they are fine. Then I rolled it back again to Windows 7 in just under 5 minutes like nothing happened. Total time I spent from fixing the grub, to Win 10 9926 upgrade, to rolling back again to Windows 7 is around 1 hour. I will try to put up the video together and post it on Youtube and show it here. And probably you can pick something up there how to fix a grub problem in less than a minute. *Smile
The most important step in upgrading a clone copy of the OS is to make sure that the other hard drive with the original OS is disconnected from the computer to avoid the bootloader issue.
And NO. I DON'T DO DUAL BOOT. I just select a boot drive (F9 key) on start up. Very easy.

 

That's what I thought, too. If you run it on a different machine, now that is piracy (if you can make it work). *Smile

 

That's what I thought, too. If you run it on a different machine, now that is piracy (if you can make it work). *Smile I ran 8 and 8.1 on the same machine with the same key as a dual boot, the only thing I had to do was activate the 2nd install by phone.
I called MS about it later and the tech said it was completely within my providence, not that many people want to do it!