Windows 10: MS not ready to say "What Supported Lifetime of the Device means"

Microsoft Not Yet Ready to Describe What "Supported Lifetime of the Device" Means for Windows 10

 

I think supported is the key word here. Generally a computer is warranted for one year, so would that be the supported lifetime?

We all know that computers last much, much longer than a year; I'm working on a 5-year-plus old computer. It's a good one, but a little long in the tooth. Display leaves something to be desired, and I can't wait to get a new one in mid-February and give this one back to my son-in-law. But I digress.

So, if this laptop lasts a few more years, and I don't see why not, will Windows 10 just stop working when Microsoft figures out what its supported lifetime is?

:)

 

THEN I can upgrade for free to w10 again anytime even in 2017 (after the 1 yr) for free

Well MS say "supported lifetime of the device" whatever that means.

 

Fee based support after upgrading to Windows 10 is not free.

Yes. It means you cannot transfer the licence to another PC. You get to use it on the PC it's on until that PC no longer works, or you choose not to use it.

 

My computer is out of warranty. I didn't buy an extend warranty. I hope Microsoft decides the definition before they release the consumer preview. I read several posting here and other places, no one can seem to agree what the supported lifetime of the device is. Everyone has opinions though. Some think it is a really big deal and others think it is not a big deal. They are also concerned with windows as a service.

 

I'm going to take a stab at this. The way I interpret this is that MS will provide support as long as you keep Win10 on the same PC/Device. Now the trick will be what if you change some of the hardware on the PC/Device. I think that you should be able to change/repair your PC/Device and still retain the support but MS needs to clarify the meaning of the support.

Just my 2c, YMMV
Jeff

 

Hi there

I wouldn't get into these sorts of issues at this stage of the game -- The current build doesn't expire UNTIL OCTOBER which gives people a nice long time to test it. There will be a few more builds I suspect on the way so it could be possible that these builds won't expire until say April 2016 even.

These issues will have become a lot clearer by then. If as a lot ARE doing now -using W10 as their everyday OS then I hope they've taken a backup of the previous OS otherwise they *could be* caught out.

If you aren't sure then another problem can arise if you decide to upgrade or buy new software. You really need to do it on both the OLD release and the new one.

If activation / licensing conditions only allow use on 1 computer it gets slightly more problematical but what I'd do is install on W8 / W8.1, Backup the computer and then re-upgrade to W10 again. That way you get the best of both worlds.

Cheers
jimbo

 

When the hardware is not supported anymore or it dies,
I often wondered why Vista was excluded in the free upgrade offer many have the same spec's as 7 machines many Vista machines have been upgraded to 7 and 8 for that matter,
I'm sure Microsoft will elaborate in it's usual circular logic fashion eventually and raise more questions than it attempted to clear up or answered *Biggrin

 

Very true, Jimbo. But it never hurts to discuss contingencies. *Smile

IIRC, past previews/betas have always expired well past the time of RTM, so it's conceivable that Windows 10 could see a final release before October 15. Then again, maybe we'll get a longer testing time unlike in the past. Who knows!?

I will not "spend" any of my Windows 8.1 on a free upgrade; I'm pretty sure that once you upgrade it, you lose it. Hopefully MS will give us the opportunity of an early purchase at a much discounted price. This ferret likes to have her cake and eat it too. *Dinesh

 

Very true, Jimbo. But it never hurts to discuss contingencies. *Smile

IIRC, past previews/betas have always expired well past the time of RTM, so it's conceivable that Windows 10 could see a final release before October 15. Then again, maybe we'll get a longer testing time unlike in the past. Who knows!?

I will not "spend" any of my Windows 8.1 on a free upgrade; I'm pretty sure that once you upgrade it, you lose it. Hopefully MS will give us the opportunity of an early purchase at a much discounted price. This ferret likes to have her cake and eat it too. *Dinesh Wynona,
of course when you upgraded you can't use the old license whether it is retail or oem. Doesn't mean you can't go back by abandoning windows 10. Microsoft may not allow uninstall the same way you can in the windows 10 preview. You may need to either restore from an image or reinstall the old operating system,

Let say if they did block they old key. It wouldn't work for pre-activated oem computers like mine. If it deactivated mine, it would deactivate everyone elses pre-activated provided they have the same computer. Those other computers will pop up with a message saying not genuine.

Also, don't they reset/remove the OEM/Retail key after 180 days from the activation server. This is so you can do more upgrades without you having to call Microsoft.

 

They used to do that, Groze, but I don't think it happens any more. Can't remember for sure, but I think they stopped removing the keys with Windows 7. Too many people were taking advantage of the loophole. *Sad

For me, the simplest course of action is a clean install. And yep, I'm sure Brink will come up with instructions for that for those of us who want to upgrade with a clean install.

Regardless of opinions, for me a clean install works. YMMV