Did anyone get a Windows 10 invite?

[Random_Spock]

Windows 8 should have been what Windows 10 is now. I realize plenty of folks like Windows 8, and that's cool, it just wasn't my cup of tea.

Not mine either. I can't stand it.

 

[BeatleJWOL]

I'm still bothered by the fact that we don't get OSes on discs anymore.

That said, I'm hearing good things about 10. Might have to bite on this.

 

[Random_Spock]

I'm still bothered by the fact that we don't get OSes on discs anymore.

That said, I'm hearing good things about 10. Might have to bite on this.

I am too. Especially if things get messed up and you have to start fresh. I'm not made of money.

 

[Marc]

I'm still bothered by the fact that we don't get OSes on discs anymore.

That said, I'm hearing good things about 10. Might have to bite on this.

I am too. Especially if things get messed up and you have to start fresh. I'm not made of money.

That's why you use the utlity that comes with your system when you buy a branded, pre-built system to create your own recovery media even then that's only if you've had a catastrophic disk failure.

The nice thing then is you also don't need to worry about a product activation.

If not then you can simply use the system recovery to perform a clean install.

you can usually download the ISO images from Microsoft and burn them to a DVD or create a bootable USB drive. Microsoft provides them as trial version but they usually take a retail product key. OEM keys can be a bit trickier.

 

[Amaris]

I always make an ISO of my OS and store it in a safe place, that way if I have to do a fresh, clean install, it's not going to drive me up the wall.

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

I always make an ISO of my OS and store it in a safe place, that way if I have to do a fresh, clean install, it's not going to drive me up the wall.

But this one might drive everyone up the wall. If you change your motherboard you might have to get another copy.

Key is bound to the hardware...

 

[Amaris]

I always make an ISO of my OS and store it in a safe place, that way if I have to do a fresh, clean install, it's not going to drive me up the wall.

But this one might drive everyone up the wall. If you change your motherboard you might have to get another copy.

Key is bound to the hardware...

You don't have to buy another copy. Windows 10's registration will work just like every previous version. You just register the hardware change, and it's done.

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

I always make an ISO of my OS and store it in a safe place, that way if I have to do a fresh, clean install, it's not going to drive me up the wall.

But this one might drive everyone up the wall. If you change your motherboard you might have to get another copy.

Key is bound to the hardware...

You don't have to buy another copy. Windows 10's registration will work just like every previous version. You just register the hardware change, and it's done.

How do you register the hardware change?

I have Win 7 home premium 64bit OEM and when I changed motherboards it would not install till I got an exact replacement of my original board. That is why I think 10 might have similar issues..

 

[Amaris]

But this one might drive everyone up the wall. If you change your motherboard you might have to get another copy.

Key is bound to the hardware...

You don't have to buy another copy. Windows 10's registration will work just like every previous version. You just register the hardware change, and it's done.

How do you register the hardware change?

I have Win 7 home premium 64bit OEM and when I changed motherboards it would not install till I got an exact replacement of my original board. That is why I think 10 might have similar issues..

Well, either Windows will do it itself without your intervention, or it will tell you that a significant hardware change has taken place and you'll have to register the software, which is easy because it takes you through the steps (which are essentially "dial this number," "when prompted punch in these numbers", and then "listen to the numbers it tells you in return").

It's very simple. I've done it so much I could do it in my sleep. Honestly, it's highly unlikely that you'll have any such problem.

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

You don't have to buy another copy. Windows 10's registration will work just like every previous version. You just register the hardware change, and it's done.

How do you register the hardware change?

I have Win 7 home premium 64bit OEM and when I changed motherboards it would not install till I got an exact replacement of my original board. That is why I think 10 might have similar issues..

Well, either Windows will do it itself without your intervention, or it will tell you that a significant hardware change has taken place and you'll have to register the software, which is easy because it takes you through the steps (which are essentially "dial this number," "when prompted punch in these numbers", and then "listen to the numbers it tells you in return").

It's very simple. I've done it so much I could do it in my sleep. Honestly, it's highly unlikely that you'll have any such problem.

Oh OK I can't recall what I did but I never did phone dialing.

I'm still using the same install I was talking about.

 

[Amaris]

How do you register the hardware change?

I have Win 7 home premium 64bit OEM and when I changed motherboards it would not install till I got an exact replacement of my original board. That is why I think 10 might have similar issues..

Well, either Windows will do it itself without your intervention, or it will tell you that a significant hardware change has taken place and you'll have to register the software, which is easy because it takes you through the steps (which are essentially "dial this number," "when prompted punch in these numbers", and then "listen to the numbers it tells you in return").

It's very simple. I've done it so much I could do it in my sleep. Honestly, it's highly unlikely that you'll have any such problem.

Oh OK I can't recall what I did but I never did phone dialing.

I'm still using the same install I was talking about.

Yeah, don't worry, things have become far, far easier to manage. If you do have trouble, though, I'd gladly help you get out from under the problem, as I'm sure many other service professionals here would do as well.

 

[SPCTRE]

Looking forward to streaming my Xbox One games to my gaming PC - just plug one of the Xbox One controllers into a Windows 10 machine and go.

Really neat.

 

[CorporalClegg]

One thing I'm confused about is, what do I do with multiple machines?

The app just asks for an email. Do I need to log in with each computer and register my email for each one? Or can I just register once and run the upgrade on all of them when the time comes?

 

[Amaris]

One thing I'm confused about is, what do I do with multiple machines?

The app just asks for an email. Do I need to log in with each computer and register my email for each one? Or can I just register once and run the upgrade on all of them when the time comes?

You need to register each one of them.

 

[CorporalClegg]

Ok thanks.

 

[RevdKathy]

As a touch screen user, I'd have to say that windows 10 is a lot less touch friendly than 8.1. For a tablet, 8.1 in the metro/modern interface was as near perfect as I've seen, beating out android and ios by a country mile. Windows 10 is a bad step back for tablet users. I'm still tweaking and customising (and it looks as if some of the tablet basics are being restored as options in the next build, now it's leaked) and it's better. But still far from good.

For desktop/laptop users I'd recommend it though.

I'm hoping that by the time it's final, some of the things I need will be available as options - hiding the task bar in tablet mode, a live tile (or bigger button) for the power, for all apps etc. And a decent touch screen interface for Edge. It's a good browser but far from touch friendly.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

According to the latest news you need to buy a new licence if you replace a motherboard, they consider that to be end of life.

 

[Amaris]

According to the latest news you need to buy a new licence if you replace a motherboard, they consider that to be end of life.

Don't believe it. Here's a blog post from 2006 saying that very thing: http://www.aviransplace.com/2006/02/15/microsoft-upgraded-motherboard-new-licence/

Microsoft recently made a change to the licence agreement saying that a new motherboard is equal to a new computer, hence you need to purchase a new Windows licence.
Here is what Microsoft has to say:

“An upgrade of the motherboard is considered to result in a “new personal computer” to which Microsoft® OEM operating system software cannot be transferred from another computer. If the motherboard is upgraded or replaced for reasons other than a defect, then a new computer has been created and the license of new operating system software is required.”

The reason Microsoft gave for this term is that “Microsoft needed to have one base component “left standing” that would still define that original PC. Since the motherboard contains the CPU and is the “heart and soul” of the PC, when the motherboard is replaced (for reasons other than defect) a new PC is essentially created.”


Microsoft sent a memo to its OEM partners asking them to enforce this new policy, every time they upgrade a computer for a client.

Since then, I've replaced motherboards and used the same version of Windows with the same license without a hitch.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

Probably if you have a retail licence on windows 10 but if you have an upgrade from 7 or 8 I wouldn't be surprised to lose it like that.

 

[Amaris]

Probably if you have a retail licence on windows 10 but if you have an upgrade from 7 or 8 I wouldn't be surprised to lose it like that.

As long as you have a legitimate copy of a Windows OS, there shouldn't be an issue. I, for example, upgraded from Windows Vista to Windows 7, which happened well after this "announcement". I have replaced several motherboards, and on the rare occasion Windows said "something is wrong here", I called Microsoft's automated line and had it resolved in minutes, with no money required.