Windows 10: How to activate WIn10 Build 10240 CLean Install

Me too, but that KMS server is still alive. I activated another clean install today...
Windows 10 is working smoothly even on my old machines... This time it was a Phenom X3 w/ 2GB DDR2.

*Thumbs

 

Pro VK7JG-NPHTM-C97JM-9MPGT-3V66T

That's the key that was there on upgrade and it's the one I used for a successful clean install yesterday.

 

topgun - your method worked! Thanks a bunch.

 

This worked for me.
Jim

 

The key doesn't work and all keys for prior builds have been blocked.

If you did a download upgrade to 10240 with an activated prior build, you may be able to do an install to a new or cleaned hard drive and have it activated. This has probably been mentioned already in this thread, but there is a chance now you may loose your activation and not be able to get it back. Be careful.

 

Did you read that in my post? For whatever reason you might loose your activation, such as the drive with build 10166 fails, you will not be able to reactivate that build because the license keys are locked out.

If you have done a normal download upgrade to 10240, you should be fine. If you used an .iso to upgrade, you may not be.

 

Can you post a link to validate what you claim.

 

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/i...c-46aa4af8e203

 

That's so people can't do a clean install of 10240. It says nothing about deactivating an instillation that's been activated via upgrade either by WU or ISO.

 

I will ask you the same question, where did you read that??? I did not say it.

 

I upgraded from an ISO over Win8.1 and it remained activated and with no expiration date.

 

To quote the infamous Ralph Cramden: What a revolting development this is!

I understand Microsoft's desire to ensure Win10 gets installed on a legal (to MS) system. But WIn10 refused to take the activation code from my Win7 install DVD, so what's a person to do?

It is not unreasonable to want to do a clean install, and the apparent requirement to do an upgrade to an existing 7 or 8 install and then do another clean install is rather draconian to say the least. In particular, my guess is that people (like me) would not want to risk fouling up an existing, working system just to be able to get to the point of doing yet another install so they can start with a clean installation.

This seems like another example of how SNAFU'd things turn out when you let marketing people make technical decision.

 

I think that Microsoft has shown the horse the carrot then hidden it. Why? Well, deliberately.

There will be feverish attempts to crack the activation from certain quarters, and anything mildly successful will spread through the online community like wildfire. Microsoft will have kms keys and sites, as well as MSAs to blacklist, and any other system or software that can do the trick which surfaces will be targeted. Probably not for a month or two, but when the retail version is in the shops, (I called it Black EyePatch Tuesday earlier), one set of updates will target illicitly activated systems and turn them into notification nag machines. and their updates (except security) will be stopped until they become legitimate again.

Be patient, and the next 13 days will fly by.

 

My original upgrade over 10166 had the same result. But it isn't the first upgrade, it is an attempt to do an install to a new drive after you had done the original install.

I use the term "New Drive" just to make clear you are not wiping the drive during the install but had wiped the drive before the install was started.

My comments are based on my own testing. I lost a system because I could not reactivate a clean install on a system where I had used the .iso upgrade, but was able to activate a clean install on a system that had done the download upgrade.

Edit: I just got my install back on the .iso upgraded system. I do not know exactly what happened, but I checked the computer name to make sure it was accurate, I reinserted some of the registry information, and there was another security update.. Whatever it was, the system is now activated.

**It should be noted, that even though the clean install did activate, the options for preview builds was different from an upgraded install. It may not be able to move to a new build if one is offered.