Windows 10: Is the free upgarde transferable? I think not.

I give up.

Everything points to MS being quite generous with Insiders, almost every install and upgrade path seems to work and activate. For me it looks quite clear, and my own tests support this, that when you sign in to Insider page using a pre 29th of July created Insider account, and then from that page being signed in with the said Insider account launch the Media Creation tool to create valid install media, pretty much all installations done with that media using said MS / Insider account will be activated and are 100% valid and legal, regardless if clean or upgrade install.

Please do not tell me that if I use my own, registered MS / Insider account to legally obtain an official and valid Windows 10 install media from an official MS site using their official install media creation tool and that Windows 10 when installed is then automatically and permanently activated, it is not a valid and legal copy of Windows.

 

If you had an Insider preview on that PC already - you can leave insider and keep the Pro edition..

You must upgrade a qualifying OS to get activation..

You should then be able to transfer a Retail Upgrade activation to another PC via Phone Activation

 

I'm just trying nail down all the facts, and get it straight in my mind is all. If it was that simple why did Microsoft even bother with the free upgrade offer? I don't have to sign in to download from the Media Creation Tool? Not on its page, and I go directly there? If you had done a clean install on that second PC, with no sysprep etc. I doubt it would have activated. If it did that would mean free windows 10 for anybody on any PC. All my PC's are already upgraded and registered so I can't test that out. one post above seems to back it up though. A motherboard swap and activation failed.

 

Ah but how do you do that if they all use generic keys? In the past you would install on the new PC with your unique product key. Then do the phone activation. Now if you install with the generic key, how does Microsoft ID the other install your transferring, it could be any PC on the planet with that code?

 

Kari, one more question? Of these 3 or so PC's you reported as activated with windows 10, how many of them were done by conventional installs? A clean install, or an upgrade install, no sysprep or imaging etc? And before that, was the windows 10 insider preview ever installed and activated on them?

 

MS has stated, If you upgrade from a retail version, it carries the rights of a retail version. You can transfer it.

 

More like a short story than a post but here's my tests detailed:

All in all I have described a series of tests with five machines, three of them physical machines (laptops) and two Hyper-V virtual machines. Let's call them PC1, PC2, PC3, VM1 and VM2.

To start with the PC1 had UK English Windows 8.1 Pro Retail, the operating systems in PC2 and PC3 are irrelevant because before starting I wiped both empty.

Using another computer, not included in these tests in any way I signed in to Insider site and created the UK-EN x64 USB install media using the MS tool the Insider site provides. Using this install media I started the in-place upgrade on PC1.

I do most things around Windows by the book. Microsoft has made the OS transfer process quite clear and I do it as they recommend, not using any third party tools (quote from https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/...h825033.aspx):

Hence, when the in-place upgrade was done and my main purpose was to test the transfer process to completely different hardware I generalized the newly upgraded Windows 10 Pro with Sysprep. About generalizing:



Note What does Sysprep generalizing do to my Windows setup?

• All system specific information is removed or uninstalled
• Security ID (SID) of your hardware setup is reseted
• All system restore points are deleted
• All event logs are deleted
• All personalization is removed (taskbar, toolbars, folder options, start orb etc.) if the CopyProfile component is not set TRUE in answer file
• Built-in administrator account will be disabled if it was enabled

Using the SHUTDOWN switch with Sysprep command Windows was automatically shutdown after the generalizing process was done. I now booted the PC1 with Macrium boot disk and captured the image, created a system image.

I booted PC2 now with Macrium boot disk and restored the generalized image from PC1, containing as told earlier a Windows 10 Pro upgraded from 8.1 Pro Retail. When a generalized Windows is booted, on the machine where the generalization was done or as in this case on another machine, this happens:



Note What happens when booting first time after sysprep generalizing?

• First boot configuration is run (OOBE)
• New SID is created
• Re-arm counter is reseted if not already re-armed three times
• Windows is booted using first boot default drivers and settings

Windows on PC2 was automatically activated after the OOBE phase, when finally on desktop. At this point I decided to use the MS Media Creation tool again to make a "universal" install media, containing both 32 and 64 bit versions of UK-EN Windows 10 Pro. When the media was created, I wiped the PC1 hard disks empty and booted it with this new install media, installing Windows 10 using my MS / Insider account. Windows was activated.

Now I decided to test the Media Creation tool to create a third install media, this time an ISO image with both 32 and 64 bit versions of Windows 10 Pro. Created VM1, a new Hyper-V virtual machine and using this ISO installed Windows 10 Pro using my MS / Insider account. Windows was activated. Repeated the above told process, generalizing VM1 and capturing it as an image and restored said image to PC3 with Macrium. Windows on PC3 was activated.

Used Microsoft's (Sysinternal) Disk2VHD tool and created a virtual hard disk of the Windows setup on PC3. Created VM2 selecting "Use an existing VHD" option, used the VHD created from PC3 setup. Windows on VM2 was activated.

The five machines involved in this test, clean installs at the moment on PC1 and VM1. An upgrade install on PC2, a deployed activated image on PC3 and VM2.

 

Why say, "Free for the life of the device" then? Why not just say free forever. Transferring a purchased retail copy would be pretty straight forward, you have a unique key to move to a new PC. Not so easy with the free upgrade though, I'm thinking. I almost regret starting this thread. I hesitated for a long time before posting it.

 

But had PC2 or PC3 had an Insider build activated before on them? If so then the hardware signatures may already be recorded in the Activation Servers, regardless of whether you wiped them.

 

It's "free for the supported life of the device". The supported perhaps means you may need the OEM to help out with a product key when you change the motherboard.

 

Do not regret opening this thread, you have brought up a very good point. MS seems to be stating things that are conflicting. The answer is "clear as mud'.

 

Yes, both had Insider Preview build installed and used on them, at the moment of me wiping them empty one had clean installed 10240, installed two weeks before the launch, and one 10166 upgraded to 10240 also two weeks before the launch.

 

Using the SHUTDOWN switch with Sysprep command Windows was automatically shutdown after the generalizing process was done. I now booted the PC1 with Macrium boot disk and captured the image, created a system image.

I booted PC2 now with Macrium boot disk and restored the generalized image from PC1, containing as told earlier a Windows 10 Pro upgraded from 8.1 Pro Retail. When a generalized Windows is booted, on the machine where the generalization is done or as in this case on another machine, this happens:



Note What happens when booting first time after sysprep generalizing?

• First boot configuration is run
• New SID is created
• Re-arm counter is reseted if not already re-armed three times
• Windows is booted using first boot default drivers and settings

Windows on PC2 was automatically activated after the OOBE phase, when finally on desktop. At this point I decided to use the MS Media Creation tool again to make a "universal" install media, containing both 32 and 64 bit version of UK-EN Windows 10 Pro. When the media was created, I wiped the PC1 hard disks empty and booted it with this new install media, installing Windows 10 using my MS / Insider account. Windows was activated.

Now I decided to test the Media Creation tool to create a third install media, this time an ISO image with both 32 and 64 bit versions of Windows 10 Pro. Created VM1, a new Hyper-V virtual machine and using this ISO installed Windows 10 Pro using my MS / Insider account. Windows was activated. Repeated the above told process, generalizing VM1 and capturing it as an image and restored said image to PC3 with Macrium. Windows on PC3 was activated.

Used Microsoft's (Sysinternal) Disk2VHD tool and created a virtual hard disk of the Windows setup on PC3. Created VM2 selecting "Use an existing VHD" option, used the VHD created from PC3 setup. Windows on VM2 was activated.

The five machines involved in this test, clean installs at the moment on PC1 and VM1. An upgrade install on PC2, a deployed activated image on PC3 and VM2. IMHO, there is a flaw in that process, that Microsoft hasn't picked up on yet. Correct me if I've wrong, you've obviously done this before. But wouldn't you normally be prompted to enter a product code on the first reboot after doing a sysprep? Isn't that the point? If you did that with windows 8.1 and used the same product code over and over on multiple PC's, wouldn't activation fail? Assuming its not a VL key of course? Also is the ISO downloaded via the Insiders page an insider build? Does it install as an insider build is what I mean? If it does that makes a big difference because insider builds can be installed on multiple PC's no problem. That's one of those we're not sure with 10240, no watermark etc. You'd have to look and see if accept insider builds is enabled. They are if you upgrade install with an insider build. The ISO from the other site, http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/softw...load/windows10 my be different and automatically opted out on an upgrade install. I am sorry for the pirating reference, but you have to admit, what your doing isn't something that average joe does very often, if at all.

 

EXACTLY! I think I asked that question but it got lost in all the posts and counter posts.

 

Ah see that throws another wrinkle into things. That hardware is already tied to your Microsoft Account, may be why they activated when they really shouldn't have. Hard to say if they were just running preview builds, may depend on whether it was a clean install or an upgrade from a qualifying OS? This is all clear as mud now. *Confused