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Microsoft Will Be Upgrading Pirated Windows to Windows 10

TIMELESS

By TIMELESS
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TIMELESS Grand Master

TIMELESS

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Windows 10 will be free for software pirates | The Verge

 

Windows 10 will be a free upgrade for Windows 7 and Windows 8 users this summer, but Microsoft is also extending its offer to software pirates. "We are upgrading all qualified PCs, genuine and non-genuine, to Windows 10," says Terry Myerson, Microsoft’s Windows chief.

 

"Anyone with a qualified device can upgrade to Windows 10, including those with pirated copies of Windows," says a Microsoft spokesperson in a statement toThe Verge.

 

:eek:

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TIMELESS Grand Master

TIMELESS

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Well windows 10 was always going to be a free upgrade, it's just now they're saying if you didn't buy 7 or 8 you'll be included anyway. But by law you SHOULD have bought 7 or 8 instead of pirating it. It's a good scheme. They'll give you the most used OS platform for free, and make their money through their app store.

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Ryzza5 Grand Master

Ryzza5

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They must be worried that it will be even harder to kick people off Windows 7 than it has been to get them off XP. There's a cost involved in keeping old systems supported and up to date, maybe they've done the maths and worked out which cost is smaller. I know Vista's WGA was fairly easily fooled by a fake BIOS but I thought they largely stamped that out with Windows 7 and more so with 8 (SecureBoot).

 

In theory now, every PC can be upgraded to 10 (if drivers are available), just install any Win7/8 trial disc and go from there.

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Ryzza5 Grand Master

Ryzza5

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The only catch with a pirated version of Win10 is that they have to stay in the Windows Insider (beta testing) group to try all the new builds/features before others. If that means registering with Microsoft, I'm not sure how many pirates will want to do that.

 

 

For the rest of us, even IT Pros, Microsoft is trying to convince us that upgrading is better than a clean install, and that their upgrade tech in Win10 is nothing like previous editions. While I'd still personally prefer a clean install to upgrading a 5yo installation, you may need to complete the upgrade once in order to get your key, and then start over with a clean install.

 

Subject to change when the final build comes out and people experiment, but so far it sounds like this is the procedure:

 

Install all Windows Updates for Windows 7, 8.1

Reserve free copy of Windows 10

Download Windows 10 but don't start installation straight away.

Decrypt and extract an ISO file from the download: clicky

Burn ISO or use Rufus (freeware) to create bootable USB. Keep somewhere safe for future years.

Backup important files just in case.

Launch Windows 10 setup from within your existing Windows OS.

Choose to keep everything and complete the upgrade.

Verify that Windows 10 is activated. Microsoft now knows about your PC (motherboard) and has a record of it being licensed for Windows 10 Standard (Home)/Pro

You should now be able to wipe the PC and clean install if you desire, as MS knows about your PC being licensed. Remember, the license was dependant on UPGRADING from Windows 7 or 8 (or even an earlier 10 build as I've just done). You should be able to Skip entering a product key during clean installation or possibly use a shared public key that tells MS to check your hardware. If you haven't previously activated Windows 10 then you get a message that the key is blocked.

 

 

This information applies to build 10240 which was released to insiders 5 days ago and seems near-final. Microsoft are not distributing an ISO for this build any more although you can find one elsewhere. If you have a spare PC and you want to test ahead of July 29, install an older Win10 build and then upgrade to 10240 after activating the first build.

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Ryzza5 Grand Master

Ryzza5

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Yeah, I'm just testing on an old work PC for now, will install SQL Server and VS 2013 and see if everything works before moving my SSD across and deciding what to install for realsies.

 

Getting the TV tuner to work without Media Center will be the hardest task. There are other solutions out there but none are anywhere near as close as nice to operate with a remote control when I'm half asleep.

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