Windows 10: Windows 10 stuck on choose keyboard layout

Here are a 3 posts I just came across that may prove helpful:




first one Posted on October 12, 2015 by Paul Thurrott in Windows 10 @




Microsoft Will Now Let Windows 10 Upgraders Use Windows 7, 8, or 8.1 Product Key to Activate - Thurrott.com




Microsoft Will Now Let Windows 10 Upgraders Use Windows 7, 8, or 8.1 Product Key to Activate




Today, Microsoft has released a new Windows 10 build for Windows Insiders, and Brad has a full write-up about what’s new. But what I’m particularly excited about is a major change to product activation: With this build, Microsoft will now let customers enter a Windows 7, 8, or 8.1 product key to activate Windows 10.




This is a major change, and one that I think will address an issue that I and many other upgraders have experienced: That is, when you clean install Windows 10 after have already upgraded (from Windows 7 or 8.1), it is supposed to auto-activate. But many times it does not, and when customers contacted Microsoft support, they were told they would have to install the old OS again, and then upgrade again. To be clear, this isnothow this system is supposed to work.




Here’s how Microsoft describes the change.




“We have received a lot of feedback from Insiders on making it easier to activate Windows 10 on devices that take advantage of the free upgrade offer to genuine Windows by using existing Windows 7, Windows 8 or Windows 8.1 product keys. If you install this build of the Windows 10 Insider Preview on a PC and it doesn’t automatically activate, you can enter the product key from Windows 7, Windows 8 or Windows 8.1 used to activate the prior Windows version on the same device to activate Windows 10 by going to Settings > Update & security > Activation and selecting Change Product Key. If you do a clean install of Windows 10 by booting off the media, you can also enter the product key from prior Windows versions on qualifying devices during setup.”




If I’m reading this correctly and not missing anything, it means that you can use any Windows 7, 8, or 8.1 product key to activate an upgrade or clean install of Windows 10. I assume that certain keys—like those provided with a PC—will only work on the same PC for which the PC was created. But this still a big improvement over what was already a very generous system. (Assuming it worked properly, which it did not all the time.)




This also calls into question the point of the free Windows 10 upgrade, however. As I’ve written in the past, the year-long free Windows 10 upgrade promotion was never about giving customers free copies of Windows 10. It was about getting as many PCs already out in the world as possible upgraded to Windows 10. That is, Microsoft is trying to eliminate as many older Windows versions from circulation as possible in order to make it easier to keep the installed base up to date with new features and, more important, security updates.




I get questions about this all the time. For example, just this morning someone on Twitter asked me the following (which I’ve edited for non-Twitter clarity):




“It would be nice if, when installing Windows 10, you could enter the product key from a previous version. I’m building a new PC and have an unused Windows 8 upgrade license. So I have to install Windows 7, Windows 8, then upgrade to Windows 10 before wiping and clean-install Windows 10.”




Yeah, that would be nice. But it completely bypasses the point of the free Windows 10 upgrade, which isn’t to give you a free copy of Windows 10 for a previous Windows license you never used. It’s to upgradeexisting, in-use PCsto Windows 10.




But the thing is, if this new policy is what I believe it is, this guy’s wish has come true: He can use the product key from the Windows 7 license and just clean install Windows 10. There’s no need to upgrade multiple times and then clean install.




This will require lot of testing. And I am very happy to do that.




Second Posted on October 12, 2015 by Brad Sams in Windows 10 @




Microsoft has released a new build of Windows 10, version 10565




Microsoft Has Released A New Build Of Windows 10, Version 10565




Microsoft has announced today that a new build of Windows 10, 10565, is available for testing for those of you who are participating in the Fast ring of the Insider program. The download, which is out now, has several new features including the new Skype messaging apps, tab previews in Edge, syncing of favorites and reading lists in Edge, a few updates to Cortana, updates to title bars and more.




This is a large update for Windows 10 and is representative of many of the improvements that we will see with Threshold Wave 2 which is expected to arrive in November.




Along with the additional improvements listed above, there are new icons, improved context menus on the Start menu, an easier way to manage the default printer, and quite a few bug fixes as well.




Here are some things that been have fixed:



•You should no longer see a warning message in the Settings app > Update & Security > Windows Update regarding changed ring settings for preview builds unless you actually change your ring settings.
•Background audio playback works again when apps like Groove are minimized.
•We fixed the issue where clicking on the system icons in the notification area quickly results in Windows Shell blocking the launch of fly-outs like Audio, Networking, etc.
•After Build 10525, we heard a lot of feedback that some context menus were too big for mouse. We’ve made adjustments to many of the context menus to make them smaller for using them with a mouse.
•You can now pin contacts to the Start menu from the People app.
•Certain apps won’t appear twice anymore when pinned to the taskbar.
•Hiding desktop icons via context menu on the desktop now works.
•Windows Store apps should now be updating automatically.

Known issues:



•The search box does not work if you are in a locale where Cortana is not available. We are currently investigating workarounds.
•The Xbox app for Windows 10 will consume gigabytes of memory on your PC if you have any Win32 games (non -Windows Store games) installed on your PC that have been identified as games or added by you in the Xbox app. Closing the Xbox app will release your PC’s memory.
•WebM and VP9 have been temporarily removed from the flight builds. We continue to develop a VP9 implementation that we intend to ship in Windows. Expect VP9 to return soon in a future release.
•Small form-factor devices, like the Dell Venue 8 Pro, that boot with rotation or virtual mode screen size set larger than the physical screen size will experience a bluescreen on upgrade and will roll back to the previous build.

As usual, you should not install this build on your primary machine as it is part of the Fast ring, in fact, my Dell XPS 13 keeps BSODing during the install process, so be extra careful this time around.




Once installed, we will post a gallery and do a deeper dive into the new features.




You can read more about the update, here.




Next post by Microsoft's Gabe Aul October 12, 2015 10:35 am @




Announcing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 10565 | Windows Experience Blog




UPDATE 10/16: We have rolled out Build 10565 to Windows Insiders in the Slow ring.




UPDATE 10/15: We have published the ISOs for Build 10565 for Windows Insiders who would like to move to the latest build through a clean install or like to validate using our new activation experience during setup as noted below in this blog post. Grab the ISOs here.




Hi everyone,




Today we are releasing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 10565 to Windows Insiders in the Fast ring. This build has quite a few new features and improvements so we’re really excited to get this one out to you for you to try out. One thing I want to call out up front is that this build and associated Language Packs won’t be available until later this week for Windows Insiders in Russia and Turkey. UPDATE 10/13: All Language Packs are now available including Language Packs for Windows Insiders in Russia and Turkey.




Here’s what’s new in this build:

Skype messaging, calling and video experience: As we’ve announced previously, Skype messaging, calling and video capabilities will come integrated into Windows 10 through the Messaging, Phone and Skype video universal Windows apps. These Windows applications enable quick and easy, free calling and messaging to other Skype users across phones, over 3G/4G and Wi-Fi tablets and to PCs Wi-Fi. With this build, you can preview the integrated capabilities on your PC while an upcoming Windows 10 Mobile Insider Preview build will have these integrated capabilities for you to preview soon on mobile devices. Try things like Quick Reply from Action Center where incoming notifications will come in with the option to reply inline without opening the application. This is an early preview and you can expect some bugs, and more features to come as we deliver monthly updates.




Tab Preview in Microsoft Edge: In Microsoft Edge, you can now hover over your open tabs and get a preview of what’s on those websites. Check it out and let us know what you think.




tab-preview




Syncing Favorites and Reading list items in Microsoft Edge: In this build, you’ll see a first look at the new syncing feature in Microsoft Edge that lets you sync your Favorites and Reading list items. We are still working on refining it, but definitely check it out and let us know what you think.




Cortana improvements: Cortana is able to intelligently understand your inked notes – setting reminders based on locations, times and numbers that she can understand from your digital annotations.




cortana-ink-reminders2




We are also rolling out new features in Cortana to help you keep track of your leisure time, including movie and event reminders. Cortana will keep track of your bookings for movies and ticketed events through your email confirmations. Two hours prior to the event start time, you’ll get helpful information to be sure you know where to go and get there on time, including an option to book and track an Uber ride directly from Cortana.




cortana-uber-movie




More vibrant title bars: Thanks to feedback from Windows Insiders, with this build you can now enjoy your title bars with a full color intensity that matches the rest of your theme. Title bars will now appear darker. You can adjust the color by going to Settings > Personalization > Colors. Colored title bars will appear only if “Show color on Start, Taskbar, Action Center, and Title bars” is enabled.




dark-titlebar




Improved context menus on Start:You will notice we have made some adjustments and improvements to the context menus on Start including new icons for tile adjustments.




start-context-menus




New icons:We know Windows Insiders love new icons – this build has another batch of new icons for devices (check out Device Manager). Registry Editor finally gets a new icon!




regedit-icon




Device activation improvements: We have received a lot of feedback from Insiders on making it easier to activate Windows 10 on devices that take advantage of the free upgrade offer to genuine Windows by using existing Windows 7, Windows 8 or Windows 8.1 product keys. If you install this build of the Windows 10 Insider Preview on a PC and it doesn’t automatically activate, you can enter the product key from Windows 7, Windows 8 or Windows 8.1 used to activate the prior Windows version on the same device to activate Windows 10 by going to Settings > Update & security > Activation and selecting Change Product Key. If you do a clean install of Windows 10 by booting off the media, you can also enter the product key from prior Windows versions on qualifying devices during setup. Refer to the Insider Hub for more information on these activation improvements including requirements.




Managing your default printer: We are introducing a new mode that makes your default printer the last printer you used. This change helps ensure the best printer is preselected in inbox print dialogs. You can manage this behavior in Settings > Devices > Printer & Scanners to change this to the previous way Windows handled default printers. The ability to set a default printer by network location has been removed.




Here are some things we have fixed:
•You should no longer see a warning message in the Settings app > Update & Security > Windows Update regarding changed ring settings for preview builds unless you actually change your ring settings.
•Background audio playback works again when apps like Groove are minimized.
•We fixed the issue where clicking on the system icons in the notification area quickly results in Windows Shell blocking the launch of fly-outs like Audio, Networking, etc.
•After Build 10525, we heard a lot of feedback that some context menus were too big for mouse. We’ve made adjustments to many of the context menus to make them smaller for using them with a mouse.
•You can now pin contacts to the Start menu from the People app.
•Certain apps won’t appear twice anymore when pinned to the taskbar.
•Hiding desktop icons via context menu on the desktop now works.
•Windows Store apps should now be updating automatically.

Known issues:
•The search box does not work if you are in a locale where Cortana is not available. We are currently investigating workarounds.
•The Xbox app for Windows 10 will consume gigabytes of memory on your PC if you have any Win32 games (non -Windows Store games) installed on your PC that have been identified as games or added by you in the Xbox app. Closing the Xbox app will release your PC’s memory.
•WebM and VP9 have been temporarily removed from the flight builds. We continue to develop a VP9 implementation that we intend to ship in Windows. Expect VP9 to return soon in a future release.
•Small form-factor devices, like the Dell Venue 8 Pro, that boot with rotation or virtual mode screen size set larger than the physical screen size will experience a bluescreen on upgrade and will roll back to the previous build.

I hope you enjoy this new build and try out all of the new changes. Please report problems and give us suggestions in the Feedback app.




Thanks,
g




Updated October 16, 2015 10:24 am




Announcing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 10565

 

I tried unsuccessfully a number of times to preform an in-place upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 10. I wanted to do an in-place upgrade so that I could avoid reloading all my software and all the effort involved with rebuilding my HP Desktop. Most importantly I wanted to take advantage of Microsoft's Free Windows 10 Upgrade offer and save $200. The Free Upgrade offer was implemented my Microsoft to only result in an activated Windows 10 install when you do an Upgrade. If you have problems and want to do a Clean Install of Windows 10 you wouldn't have an activated install because you don't have a Windows 10 Key and the Windows 10 install would expire in 30 days at which time you will be required to spend $200 for Windows 10 Pro so you can enter the Windows 10 Key to activate the install. Every time I tried to upgrade my HP Desktop it ended with a Sky Blue Screen asking me to "Choose Your Keyboard Layout". I stripped the computer down to bare bones hoping to get the upgrade to work but got the same results. Then on Oct 18, 2015 I found the posts about Microsoft's Oct 12, 2015 release of Windows 10 Build 10565 that allows the Windows 7 Key to be used for doing a clean Windows 10 install that results in an activated Windows 10 install. So I downloaded the 10565 ISO Build and created a USB Boot Drive with it. I didn't want to do a Clean Install but it appeared that was the only way to install Windows 10 and since I could now use my Windows 7 Key to activate I decided to proceed with the Clean Install. I booted from the USB install Drive and formatted my Drive C: and then proceeded with the Clean Install using my Windows 7 Key. The install went right in very smoothly and the HP Desktop in now running Windows 10. It was quick and smooth and it is activated. I'll have to reload all my software but at least this solved the Windows 10 Upgrade problem I was having. Apparently, some configuration of the Windows 7 Pro was causing the Windows 10 Upgrade to fail.

 

Had this issue happen after Windows 10 updates happening during windy storm that caused several power outages in a row. Tried many things, ISO boot USB, Windows I reset...was able to use F11 during boot up to select USB drive. Created recovery disk from laptop running Windows 10. Took over 2.5 hours as it took a long time to back up system files. Once done, but USB in other computer, F11 reboot, select USB, came to Choose Keyboard screen BUT, was able to select US with mouse and proceed to recovery options. Tried repair and did not work, then chose restore point 2 days before storm. Completed successfully and reboot. Everything fine.