Windows 10: Upgrade from Windows 8.1 After Dec. 31

I think I was told that it's possible to do a Clean Install with Windows 10 from windows 8 without the need to Upgrade through Assistive Technologies First, is this true?

I'm also wondering, can this be done after the deadline of Dec, 31 as I understand it? I assume it will be done for Windows 7 machines, but what about windows 8?

Did that make any sense at all LOL.

Thanks very Much,

:)

 

Will the Download Windows 10 Disc Image (ISO File) still work for Windows 7 or 8.x users to upgrade to Windows 10 for free using a ISO tool in 2018 like it does today?

All types of free upgrades to Windows 10 from 7, 8.1 ends Dec. 31, 2017.

microsoft.com/en-us/accessibility/windows10upgrade

 

win10 upgrade

Hi, while the free update is currently available, there is no guarantee it will be available after Dec 31.

If the free upgrade is not available after Dec 31, you will not be able to avail of it regardless of when you downloaded the Installation Media.

What matters is when you install, not when you downloaded it . . .

There are rumours the free upgrade will be extended to March, but that has not been confirmed . . .

 

Here's the technical bit:
Clean Install Windows 10 Directly without having to Upgrade First Installation Upgrade Tutorials

Free license upgrade after Dec 31 appears not possible:
The last official way to get a free Windows 10 upgrade is ending soon | Ars Technica

 

Here's the technical bit:
Clean Install Windows 10 Directly without having to Upgrade First Installation Upgrade Tutorials

Free license upgrade after Dec 31 appears not possible:
The last official way to get a free Windows 10 upgrade is ending soon | Ars Technica

If for some reason you wish to stay on '7 or '8, then upgrade to '10... here's how you might do that (I assume...!)

1. Create a full disk image of what you have now (eg. Macrium Reflect (free) ).
2. Upgrade to '10
3. Create a full disk image of your new Windows including ALL partitions forming part of Windows.
4. Either restore your previous disk image or use 'Go back to previous'
5. When you again wish to use '10 either
- upgrade your system (here I assume the upgrade will be allowed as you now have a digital license for your PC - this of course is untested)
or
- restore your Win 10 image (but any data and programs may be out of date).

 

As dalchina has explained, the last official upgrade path that gets a digital licence is due to close on 31st December. All qualifying systems, be they 7, 8 or 8.1 would get a digital licence up until then. What would happen from 1st Jan 2018 on is anyone's guess.

 

@dalchina, Thanks for the comprehensive explanation!

That's what I was thinking Bree, thanks also for getting me up to speed with this subject.

I will Upgrade with the instructions as I've done before.

I was also wondering, if I get the "GenuineTicket.xml" created, will I be able to use that later on, or will that not work after Dec, 31. I did this on another computer, and saved the GenuineTicket.xml to a Folder on a USB Flash Drive. I can only assume it should work, but then again, my understanding of this is very limited. I will try to Upgrade all my computers ASAP just incase this won't work later.

Thanks again,

 

I sort of did what Dalchina suggested when I built my X299, I have a W10 Pro image if I ever want to use it.

I did a clean install of W10 Pro, activated it with a W7 Pro key, installed the drivers and my programs, then made an image.

Then I clean installed W7 Pro *Smile

 

A GenuineTicket.xml can be used to show the activation servers that a clean install of Windows 10 is effectively upgraded from a qualifying copy of Win7/8/8.1. It's a way to do a clean install without having to do an upgrade first. The activation servers only grant a digital licence if you can prove that you have an activated qualifying Windows already installed, once that check is passed Windows 10 will get a digital licence linked to the unique hardware ID of the PC. You can then install Windows 10 at any time in the future and it will activate from the existing digital licence.

The worry is that after 31 Dec. the activation servers will no longer issue new digital licences, even for qualifying systems. The bottom line is that to be sure you'll need to get a digital licence for the PC before the end of 2017, even if you intend to keep using 7 or 8 for a while longer.

Activation of a clean install of Windows 10 from an existing digital licence should continue in the new year, whether linked to an MS account or not. It's the issuing of new digital licences for machines that have never been upgraded to 10 that I strongly suspect will cease on 31 December.

I have one Win7 PC that has never been upgraded and does not have a digital licence. In the new year I intend to test if it is still possible to upgrade and get a licence - I suspect not.

 

Personally, I would upgrade that now to get a digital license, and then test the Windows 7 to Windows 10 upgrade by using a virtual machine.

 

I tested that it didn't already have a digital licence by swapping in a spare HDD and doing a clean install - it wouldn't activate.

It's too old to be supported for 10 and the only video driver that works is the Microsoft Basic Display driver. Windows update does try to install a 'new' ATI driver but that one crashes the system....

https://www.tenforums.com/windows-10...ml#post1222822

No, I'll be happy to treasure it as an 'antique'. *Smile

 

We won't know for sure until we try...

Activation Mechanism 1. Upgrade Installs using the Media Creation Tool or launching the setup from the .iso worked since Build 10240 (Version 1507). There was about 2 weeks where the Upgrade Install of Build 14393 (Version 1607) searched for an update that prompted for a Windows 10 only key. This could be circumvented by not searching for updates during the Upgrade Install. In any case it was complained about and Microsoft removed this update. Tested Last Week (Dell Forums).


Activation Mechanism 2. Clean Installations with Windows 7 OEM Keys or Windows 8.x OEM Keys worked since Build 10586 (Version 1511). Tested Yesterday (Dell Forums).

Activation Mechanism 3. (A subset of Activation Mechanism 1 useful for faded COAs) Since Build 10240 one could copy GatherOSState.exe from the sources folder of the installation .iso/Bootable USB to the Desktop. Then could then generate a genuineticket.xml. They could then clean install Windows 10 without a product key. After clean install the genuineticket.xml could be copied to C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\ClipSVC\GenuineTicket and Windows would be activated after a restart. Tested Last Week (Dell Forums).



The Assistive Technologies upgrade may officially end however as I've said all along for Microsoft to break Windows 10 activation mechanisms will likely lead to far more hassle for them than it solves. I suspect Activation Mechanism 1,2 and 3 will continue to work:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/acce...-11-0000000)()



I would suspect however that they merely want to remove the Assistive Technologies installer because its Build 14393 (Version 1607) and it reaches End of Life soon.

 

My suspicion is that your mechanisms 1, 2 & 3 had to be allowed to continue in secret because it was impossible to turn them off while they were still needed to support the Assistive Technologies route. As you say, we won't know for sure until we try. That's why I've set aside some real hardware (not just a VM) to test it in the new year. About a month in seems an appropriate time to try.

 

Hi folks
and Gleðilegt nýtt ár (Happy New year to every one).

There might be a loop hole here -- I've still got a bootable USB install stick which I made via Rufus from a version of Windows 10 around middle of 2017. I added the ei.cfg text file to get a prompt over which version of Windows to install -- I use W10 Pro. So it's also possible when you make the creation tool from the ms site newer versions might have a different activation mechanism built in. !!

Tested with an old TechNet key for W8.1 pro on a VM on a piece of hardware I've never had Windows on --tested with a spare HP ProLiant Micro server Gen 8 that I'm possibly going to upgrade to the Gen 10 model (both those are micro cube format servers --very good as desktops too !!!! and minimal space required).

Activated fine (Jan 1 2018). So at least for TODAY it's still working. Note I was running the W10 system as a VM on a host running on a Linux Centos box with VMware work station rel 14.1

You can upgrade that older version of W10 to latest version via normal Windows update.

Now off for some decent "Liquid Lobotomy" today !!!!

Cheers
jimbo

 

That's keen, but a bit early in the day (Redmond time, that is) to be testing. 12:00 EST seems the 'traditional' time for MS to change things (like releasing updates). I'm resisting the temptation to test just yet, if I can hold out that long I'm aiming for 30 days. *Smile