Be aware before you upgrade to windows 10

[Nick - A2A]

If true, this silent peer-to-peer sharing of updates via the internet does sound like a real PR own goal. Whilst I guess the aim is to make Microsoft less dependent on their own server infrastructure, WUDO sounds rather unwelcome, especially for those who don't have uncapped bandwidth as part of their ISP package.

As an Windows 7 Pro edition user I'm still considering the upgrade (at least I can 'defer' updates if I choose in Win10 Pro). I do have a question though. Does anyone know if there would be any obstacle to running a clean install of Windows 10 using the ISO image and, if it's not for me, reinstalling Win7 from my OEM disk in the future? In other words, would using my Win7 Product Key for Win10 (which, I gather, is how it works) invalidate the key's future ability to activate my copy of Win7?

Cheers,
Nick

[AnkH]

In other words, would using my Win7 Product Key for Win10 (which, I gather, is how it works) invalidate the key's future ability to activate my copy of Win7?

It stays the same, no matter if you upgrade and then perform a clean install or if you perform a clean install from scratch: your Windows 7 key will be transformed into a Windows 10 key. The moment your Windows 10 is up and running, you have 30 days to switch back. If those 30 days are over, your former Windows 7 key will be permanently transformed to a Windows 10 key and it will no longer be valid as a Windows 7 key.

[CBris]

I updated to 10 on my MS Surface pro 3. Win 10 requires a "Live" account as a must have, so even if you turn off all automatic updates, you are still connected to MS in one way or another. Then Win 10 decided to forget my Live account password. I wasn't born yesterday so I know the right password. My Surface is legal and so was the version of win 8.1.

Changing the password did not help either. Oh it works on PC, iPad (I have 2 iPads), Android phone, even my Smart TV's internet access to hotmail via the Samsung browser functions with the new password. The surface pro reamained unusable, so I did a factory reset (a normal one with "keeping" data failed) - the factory reset to win 8 functions. Now I need to re-upgrade to 8.1.

Win 10 is not going on to my PC until it can be switched off like, say, a virus scanner. One of the biggest sources of FSX crashes is undemanded file access from backround software such as virus scanners. To think that Win 10 is constantly sniffing my behaviour in the background is too much. I have nothing much against analytics, but constant connections as required by win 10 is giving MS way too much control. What was that film recently where an entrepreneur gave away free smartphones and sim cards and ended up "controlling" all the users around the globe? I thought that was rather far fetched, but Micerosoft seems to be going for total coverage here.

MS is taking way too much control, far, far more than even tolerant little old me could agree with - and I can't believe I just wrote that!

Incidentally - I have cancelled my smart phone contract and am going to prepaid cellphones as a first move. I have also started pulling the plug on my Internet connection when use my PC for anything but surfing. I may even disconnect the PC entirely and just stay netted on the iPads or laptop.

Windows 10 is turning me into a paranoid rumourist...

[Nick - A2A]

... If those 30 days are over, your former Windows 7 key will be permanently transformed to a Windows 10 key and it will no longer be valid as a Windows 7 key.

Thanks for the clarification AnkH. In that case I'll definitely be in no mad rush to go down the 'free upgrade' route. Will keep an eye on user reports from the early adopters for a while instead...

Nick

[dvm]

So what exactly will I gain from windows 10 ? I use my computers for shopping, paying bills, getting information and email. I occasionally burn music and video. I have a dedicated FSX PC which is used for nothing else that is not FSX related. Everything else I mentioned is done on a second PC and a laptop. So I think I will stick with windows 7 64 on my three computers. It ain't broke so I don't need to fix it.

[Tutmeister]

You will gain nothing, your 9 year old flight sim will happily work on your 6 year old OS!

Being facetious I know! But for fsx and some light Internet use there is no real benefit. Fsx barely uses any modern hardware so a modern OS will make no difference. There are plenty of other benefits but if that is all you do I wouldn't rush to change anything as you won't see much difference.

I have happily changed over on 3 devices and will change my main sim which is on win 8.1 soon and am enjoying some nice features even before the dx12 games come along but it isn't necessarily for everyone just yet.

Chris

[robert_j]

I had no issues upgrading other than a reboot for my Nvidia driver to work.

I also do not use a Microsoft live account. It isn't required, though some features depend on it.

Interface for windows 10 is nicer (subjective) and audio latency is improved. For Flight Sim the audio improvement is probably not important.

All that said, if flight simulator is your main use of your computer then you will be fine to stay on Win 7. If you're on 8.1, the return to a PC feel interface vs Metro is enough that I think it's a good upgrade.

[Illi73]

In other words, would using my Win7 Product Key for Win10 (which, I gather, is how it works) invalidate the key's future ability to activate my copy of Win7?

It stays the same, no matter if you upgrade and then perform a clean install or if you perform a clean install from scratch: your Windows 7 key will be transformed into a Windows 10 key. The moment your Windows 10 is up and running, you have 30 days to switch back. If those 30 days are over, your former Windows 7 key will be permanently transformed to a Windows 10 key and it will no longer be valid as a Windows 7 key.

old: I have no clue if this is true for me. I did the update from win7 PRO to win10 PRO and used the MediaCreationTool for it. In the instructions (I think on Microsoft's page, where the tool could be downloaded from) I read that you can SKIP code entry if you upgrade an older version of the OS. So I just pressed 'next' when it asked me to input my serial number. That worked and everything went fine... but when I now go look in 'System', (Control panel | System and Security | System) it lists a totally different Product ID number there than what my Windows 7 had. It has some numbers and letters, but also a lot of zeros... like one of the four serial number sections is entirely '00000'. That's odd to me. I noted it down, but I'm wondering now if I should press that "Change product key" just in case... or do I now have two product keys?... above it says that "Windows is activated". It's odd to me. I thought it would have copied the original number from my old windows version...

EDIt: Actually, I now found the answer. Apparently this number I'm talking about is something that's created during the installation and isn't the same as your PRODUCT KEY. Bit confusing... but that id number written there is apparently what they ask for when/if you want support.

Then I DID see something of importance, that I thought was worth mentioning to you all. If you go to Settings | Update & Security and open the 'Recovery' tab... it specifically mentions under (in my case) "Go back to Windows 7": "This option is only available for a month after you've upgraded to Windows 10." So beware, that if you are unsure you want to keep windows 10 or revert back... you'll want to decide before the month is up.

[spadjockey]

I updated to 10 on my MS Surface pro 3. Win 10 requires a "Live" account as a must have, so even if you turn off all automatic updates, you are still connected to MS in one way or another. Then Win 10 decided to forget my Live account password. I wasn't born yesterday so I know the right password. My Surface is legal and so was the version of win 8.1.

Changing the password did not help either. Oh it works on PC, iPad (I have 2 iPads), Android phone, even my Smart TV's internet access to hotmail via the Samsung browser functions with the new password. The surface pro reamained unusable, so I did a factory reset (a normal one with "keeping" data failed) - the factory reset to win 8 functions. Now I need to re-upgrade to 8.1.

Win 10 is not going on to my PC until it can be switched off like, say, a virus scanner. One of the biggest sources of FSX crashes is undemanded file access from backround software such as virus scanners. To think that Win 10 is constantly sniffing my behaviour in the background is too much. I have nothing much against analytics, but constant connections as required by win 10 is giving MS way too much control. What was that film recently where an entrepreneur gave away free smartphones and sim cards and ended up "controlling" all the users around the globe? I thought that was rather far fetched, but Micerosoft seems to be going for total coverage here.

MS is taking way too much control, far, far more than even tolerant little old me could agree with - and I can't believe I just wrote that!

Incidentally - I have cancelled my smart phone contract and am going to prepaid cellphones as a first move. I have also started pulling the plug on my Internet connection when use my PC for anything but surfing. I may even disconnect the PC entirely and just stay netted on the iPads or laptop.

Windows 10 is turning me into a paranoid rumourist...

I may be mistaken but when you first open Win10 when you click on the search bar you will see Cortana. If you accept you agree to their terms, and that is your fault. All you have to do is decline.

[neucoas]

Hi guys, i just wanted to share and explain my experience with the W10 key system. Sorry for my bad english, i will try to do my best.

When you upgrade from a fully legal W7/W8/W8.1 you get W10 fully activated, but NO KEY. Whats happens is that Microsoft register your hardware ID (what HW do you have in your PC) and saves that in their servers. YOU DONT GET ANY W10 KEY. You can download Aida64 for free which shows your windows key, and you will see that you get a generic one. Just google it.

Whenever you want to do a clean install (via Microsoft option or USB-ISO/DVD), Windows will ask you for a key. As you dont have a legit one, you just skip. As far as you get internet connection, your SO will ckeck the Microsoft servers, check your hardware ID and activate your W10.

But what happens if you change a your hardware that completely invalidates your Hardware ID? Well, we suppose that when you do the upgrade, your W7/W8/W8.1 key is recognized as a valid Windows 10 upgrade by the activation servers, even if it's beyond the 1 year free upgrade period.

So you will have to install your W7/W8/W8.1 and do the upgrade again, so you get a new HW ID. Its very tedious and now the only way to skip this process is to buy a W10 Key. I hope Microsoft changes this policy and give us a W10 key.

Minor changes like swapping GPU, PSU, RAM or even HD won't change your HW ID. I think this is attached to CPU and Motherboard.

Source: http://www.tenforums.com/windows-update ... later.html

[mountainhighair]

I'm happy with Windows 7. I am VERY leery of "upgrades" these days. Most upgrades are simply the product of some employee who wishes to keep his/her job by changing last year's software. From top to bottom of society, this is one major reason why modern life is so insane and things don't seem to work as well as they used to.

John

[awash2002]

I'm sticking with Windows 7 I will not upgrade to W10 not at all

[ebo]

I have done the upgrade am not sorry I did.

NO issues with FSX at all.

It performs much smoother.

The loss of controller that plagued many 8.1 users has been addressed.

Latest Nvidia driver has no issues at all.

Steves Dx10Fixer has also been adapted with new features.

Steam games work with no issues.

The only issue is the GUI of Win10 that seems to be a marriage of 7 and 8. It takes some time to get used too.

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[mountainhighair]

Ebo, thanks for the input. MS always seems to come out with particular OS software that works really well, separated by one or two that don't. I'll keep my eye on 10. Win8 was just a bad business decision, allowing it to be put on desktop and laptop computers, when it was meant for iPhones and touch-screen. My brother's laptop came with Win8 and he eventually got 7 to replace it. Win8 might be great for touch-screen computers, and a great system; but someone, in their infinite wisdom, allowed it to be sold on non-iPhone systems. That kind of thing can give a good OS a bad rap when it is actually a good product in the right application. Oops.

John

[Illi73]

But what happens if you change a your hardware that completely invalidates your Hardware ID? Well, we suppose that when you do the upgrade, your W7/W8/W8.1 key is recognized as a valid Windows 10 upgrade by the activation servers, even if it's beyond the 1 year free upgrade period.

So you will have to install your W7/W8/W8.1 and do the upgrade again, so you get a new HW ID. Its very tedious and now the only way to skip this process is to buy a W10 Key. I hope Microsoft changes this policy and give us a W10 key.

If I want to do a clean re-install (past the 1 year upgrade period mark) - I don't know if I really should need to install windows 7 again first. I still do have the Windows 7 box, and it has the key listed on it. Instead of 'skipping the key' (which I initially did), can't I use the windows 7 key there when doing a re-install from scratch?

Edit: checked the key in my win10 registry from the information found in the link in neucoas' comment above. It is indeed a different key than what I received with my win7 box (which, incidentally is a 'system builder OEM' package - retail versions weren't available when I purchased windows 7). So past the first year... if I don't need to replace my motherboard I should be fine. If I have to replace my motherboard or computer altogether... I don't yet know. I guess we'll find out in time. I just hope that IF at some point later I need to re-purchase - that windows 10 is still available and that I don't need to fall back on some "not so good version" that they have then.