any options for win7/8 upgrade to win10?

[ccl0]

edit:  it appears that microsoft decided to change how activations work with old keys.  this is a much welcomed change, and this topic isn't really relevant anymore since this change

 

“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,”

Edited October 15, 2015 by ccl0

[clarkg888]

It is not clear at this point, but I think that after upgrading from 7/8 to 10, you get some kind of product key that allows doing a clean install after that on the same hardware using Win10 install media.

 

clark.

[ccl0]

wondering if anyone has any new info now that the upgrades are rolling out?

[clarkg888]

Well, Fred Langa wrote about trying to burn the Windows 10 .iso in the most recent edition of Windows Secrets (and getting the most hilarious error message ever ).

[ccl0]

interesting article, but I am specifically wondering about wintoolkit and what options (if any) there are for those doing windows 7 upgrade to win10 etc.

[ChiefZeke]

Upgraded Win8.1 to Win10 yesterday - key code not asked for - free upgrade from 7 to 8 uses previous key code to validate. - when update is downloaded there is a message saying have the key code available, especially if you want to download the ISO or have a flash drive involved.

[ccl0]

Upgraded Win8.1 to Win10 yesterday - key code not asked for - free upgrade from 7 to 8 uses previous key code to validate. - when update is downloaded there is a message saying have the key code available, especially if you want to download the ISO or have a flash drive involved.

 

I'm guessing that since there is a limited time frame as to when a person can get the free w7/8 upgrade that afterward, the upgrade system can detect if the key has been used previously for the upgrade.  Because what if someone were to try to make a new w10 iso with updates etc with wintoolkit, and use their old win7/8 key say 2+ years down the road.  Would it work?  Or would there be a prerequisite that the w7/8 key attempting to be used in that scenario had to be associated with a prior w7/8 to w10 upgrade path?   That is my main concern.

unless maybe the authentication system somehow knew that the w7/8 key was used previously to do a w10 upgrade.... or perhaps after you do an upgrade that w10 provides you with a new/different authentication key?  

Edited August 5, 2015 by ccl0

[bphlpt]

I haven't seen anyone quote a definitive MS document that fully explains all the details of the Windows 10 "upgrade" license or key info, but this thread seems to give the current "best guess" as to what happens and the impact on the existing Windows 7/8.x key used to "upgrade".  [The "upgrade" opportunity is supposed to be available for a year from July 29th.]  If I understand it correctly, we think that the Windows 10 key that is used on the "upgraded" machine is probably a generic one, and some kind of code based on the actual hardware, (probably the motherboard? ), of the machine that is "upgraded" is stored on the MS activation server and that is what is used to actually validate the Windows 10 installation, and this code can only be generated during an actual "upgrade" of an existing Windows 7/8.x/10 installation.  Once the "upgrade" has been validated, the disc can be formatted and a clean install of Windows 10 can be done and it will automatically be validated again with the existing stored code.   So if a Windows 10 re-installation is performed at a later date, as long as the key hardware components of the machine haven't changed since the original Windows 10 installation, the machine should self validate again with the existing stored code.  What happens if you have to change the motherboard of the machine and want to keep using Windows 10 is unclear.  As to what happens to the original Windows 7/8.x key of the machine that was used for the "upgrade", the guess is that after a "month" that key will be invalidated on the MS activation server so that it can not be used again.  But what if the original key was an OEM or other generic type of key?  No one seems to know for sure.
 
As I say, this is just the current best guess based on bits and pieces of various MS and other documentation along with some quick tests done and reported by users.
 
There are many threads by our good friends over at MSFN about Windows 10 "upgrades" and regular installations, such as:

How can I clean install Windows 10 and activate it using W7 license? -- (the above mentioned thread)
Post your Windows 10 Upgrade experience
Windows 10 Upgrade Rip Off
Free upgrade to Windows 10 and downgrade to Windows 8.1
How to avoid being "upgraded to Win 10" against your will:
[ Guide ] Disable Data Collection in Windows 10

and many others that can be found in the MSFN Windows 10 sub-forum.

As to how any of this will play with Win Toolkit is anybody's guess until someone is willing to try it and report their experiences. Any volunteers?

Cheers and Regards
 
NOTE: I used quotes around "upgrade" since even though MS uses the term "upgrade" to compare Windows 10 to previous Windows versions, there is some debate on many forums whether it might actually be a "downgrade".  

[ChiefZeke]

After I updated to Win10 successfully I ran Belarc Advisor 8.5 and determined that a NEW key code had been generated during the upgrade process - this key code was identified as being for Win10 Professional. So, I would guess here that I could use this same key code if sometime in the future I opted to do a clean install using the ISO file I had previously downloaded or the flash drive I created that held both the 32 bit and 64 bit versions. That conclusion is my own and one that I have not seen verified by anyone from Microsoft or elsewhere on line.

[ccl0]

thanks for the info.  I came across this article today http://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-quietly-rewrites-its-activation-rules-for-windows-10/#ftag=YHFb1d24ec seems like oem/vlc have not changed, but for others the activations are tied to hardware and are stored online.  Makes it easy to re-install in the future, and seems like you might not even need a key for future activations in certain situations

Edited August 13, 2015 by bphlpt