Share your thoughts on the new Windows 10

[HaroldSeattle]

What is the consensus here? Is the upgrade worth it?

I give it a thumbs up. However just take precautions to guard your data, because Microsoft wants to mine it like Google does and sell it to advertisers.

 

[R.J. MacReady]

I give it a thumbs up. However just take precautions to guard your data, because Microsoft wants to mine it like Google does and sell it to advertisers.

Could you expand on that if you could. Guard your data as in there are certain Windows 10 settings that you decline the usage of your data or guard as in take your own precautions outside of Windows 10.

 

[HaroldSeattle]

Like I stated, you can stop all that by changing to a local login, no need to login with a MS account. But hell, Apple and Google and smart phones have been doing this for years, why the big surprise, or disdain, that MS is getting into the game.

How to Keep Windows 10 From 'Spying' on You

Despite what you may have read, Windows 10 is not spying on everything you do. So feel free to remove your tin-foil beanie.

However, Windows 10 could potentially collect a ton of data about you — probably more personal information than any operating system in history. That’s due largely to Cortana, Win10’s built-in personal digital assistant, which collects such information to better serve you. But Windows 10 also collects information to make other aspects of your computing experience more personal.

Related: Inside Windows Cortana: The Most Human AI Ever Built

The good news: If that data collection creeps you out, you can turn off all or any of it with a few clicks. It’s not hard, though some of the settings can be confusing or difficult to find.

Here’s a quick guide to the most important privacy controls in Windows 10 — whether you should worry about them and how to tweak them. (Note: You may need to log in as an administrator to make some of these changes.)

How to go private in Windows 10
It all starts with the Settings. If you’ve got a tablet or touchscreen laptop, tap the right side of the screen and swipe toward the left to call up the Action Center, then choose All Settings.

 

[WizardHawk]

Mine is a generic key - it's all over the web LOL

Gemeric Keys are as follows:

Windows 10 Home - YTMG3-N6DKC-DKB77-7M9GH-8HVX7
Windows 10 Home SL- BT79Q-G7N6G-PGBYW-4YWX6-6F4BT
Windows 10 Pro - VK7JG-NPHTM-C97JM-9MPGT-3V66T
Windows 10 Pro VL-MAK - QJNXR-7D97Q-K7WH4-RYWQ8-6MT6Y

PSA: YOU MUST UPGRADE YOUR EXISTING WINDOWS OS TO GET A VALID WINDOWS 10 KEY BEFORE DOING A CLEAN INSTALL : Windows10

It's tied to my hardware - as I verified.

So now get this....
I haven't tried to do a clean install yet as I haven't had the need.
Doing a new machine that will be a surveillance video recorder. Those need large amounts of drive space. This one is sort of experimental so I'm not getting the OS it's own small drive like I normally do. And I wanted to have 10 installed on a small partition and use the rest for data so naturally I wanted to keep the drive in GPT format. Windows 7 won't install on GPT disks. So I had to have one of my drives left old school to temporarily install 7 just to upgrade it and get the key then start all over clean.

So far so good right?

The key it gave me is not one of the ones above, however it is the same as the one on my desk which was upgraded from 8.1 pro, not 7 pro. It would seem they have a new generic key.

So the kicker? Damn thing wouldn't take the key for the upgraded machine, but did take the one listed above and it's now listed as genuine.

So much for the idea that it is still somehow checking your hardware against it's inventory.

Really doesn't matter much with this machine as it will be isolated off the grid. None of our surveillance rooms have any kind of internet access for obvious reasons. It will never be updated or connected to MS's site again unless it has problems.

Now I will admit the installer I have is probably from the time that this code was valid. I'm sure if I got an updated version of the installer that maybe it would work. Just found this a bit odd and interesting, even if not entirely unpredictable given MS's history.

 

[TP76]

Microsoft quietly rewrites its activation rules for Windows 10 | ZDNet

 

[WizardHawk]

I skipped past both key entries and it allowed me to do that just fine, but I was NOT activated automatically. When I went to system I had to go in and add a key for it to check and that's when I used the key you listed.

So while this author says he's doing it a few times and it works to simply skip/skip and it's auto activated. That wasn't my experience. Still nice to know the generic key was enough to work.

 

[TP76]

I skipped past both key entries and it allowed me to do that just fine, but I was NOT activated automatically. When I went to system I had to go in and add a key for it to check and that's when I used the key you listed.

So while this author says he's doing it a few times and it works to simply skip/skip and it's auto activated. That wasn't my experience. Still nice to know the generic key was enough to work.

You did upgrade from an activated windows 7 install? Correct? Or went through the Windows 10 validity check from Windows 7 for that machine? I think this is where the snapshot of your system is taken for activation.

 

[dp_broncos]

If you have Vista, upgrade.
If you have Windows 7, keep it.
If you have Windows 8, upgrade.

10 is a huge improvement over Vista/Win8. Win7 is still my favorite.

 

[HaroldSeattle]

If you have Vista, upgrade.
If you have Windows 7, keep it.
If you have Windows 8, upgrade.

10 is a huge improvement over Vista/Win8. Win7 is still my favorite.

Feel the same way you do about Vista/win8, I'd upgrade, but I'll be keeping Windows 7.

 

[WizardHawk]

Anyone have experience upgrading a computer with the free upgrade of 10 on it? There are sketchy and often contradictory information out there on it, but basically I'm moving everything to a new MB/CPU/Ram and wonder if anyone here has already done that.

I had a full retail version of 8.1 so legally I'm allowed to 'move' that license to the new upgrade (OEM does not allow you to move it, retail does). So at worst I'm looking at a clean install of 8.1 on it after the upgrade and doing yet another upgrade to 10. I really don't want all that extra headache, but we will see.

I'm moving from an i5-2500k/sandy bridge to a new skylake/i5-6600k and an asus maximus hero viii MB with 16g of DDR4 ram. Should be doing this within the next week. Already have the hardware, but I think I'm going to upgrade my water cooler while I'm at it so I have a few more things to gather.

Just trying to figure out how much of a headache this 10 thing is going to be.

 

[TP76]

The 2500k is the best processor Intel ever produced - keeping mine until it croaks. With its soldered IHS and Coolabs Ultra Pro for a TIM, no need to reseat the HSF (lapped the IHS and Noctua cooler years ago) - runs cool even overclocked. Bulletproof and still fast enough for what I throw at it.

 

[WizardHawk]

I'm actually going to re-purpose the 2500k. It's not going anywhere, just won't be in my main box anymore. Leaving the water cooler that's on it with it as well.

 

[dp_broncos]

Anyone have experience upgrading a computer with the free upgrade of 10 on it? There are sketchy and often contradictory information out there on it, but basically I'm moving everything to a new MB/CPU/Ram and wonder if anyone here has already done that.

I had a full retail version of 8.1 so legally I'm allowed to 'move' that license to the new upgrade (OEM does not allow you to move it, retail does). So at worst I'm looking at a clean install of 8.1 on it after the upgrade and doing yet another upgrade to 10. I really don't want all that extra headache, but we will see.

I'm moving from an i5-2500k/sandy bridge to a new skylake/i5-6600k and an asus maximus hero viii MB with 16g of DDR4 ram. Should be doing this within the next week. Already have the hardware, but I think I'm going to upgrade my water cooler while I'm at it so I have a few more things to gather.

Just trying to figure out how much of a headache this 10 thing is going to be.

At this point i've done the upgrade about 30 times. In all the upgrades, I've run into a single issue (one needed a sound driver updated). They did a great job on the upgrade.

 

[WizardHawk]

At this point i've done the upgrade about 30 times. In all the upgrades, I've run into a single issue (one needed a sound driver updated). They did a great job on the upgrade.

Ah, took me a second to figure this out. I mean I already have windows 10 on a machine and AFTERWARD need to upgrade the MB/CPU/Ram and just wondered if anyone else ran into issues with their 10 license after doing so. They aren't discussing much of how their database is storing the authentication for all of the free upgrade folks, but it is related to your hardware. Changing the MB out technically is changing your whole computer to them. I did upgrade from a retail version of 8.1 which means I'm not violating the license agreement of the OS I upgraded from, but 10's license is different.

I've read online that you can go through their contact app within 10 and speak to them about it and they will unlock 10 again for you, but just wanted to know if anyone else already had to go through this.

 

[dp_broncos]

Ah, took me a second to figure this out. I mean I already have windows 10 on a machine and AFTERWARD need to upgrade the MB/CPU/Ram and just wondered if anyone else ran into issues with their 10 license after doing so. They aren't discussing much of how their database is storing the authentication for all of the free upgrade folks, but it is related to your hardware. Changing the MB out technically is changing your whole computer to them. I did upgrade from a retail version of 8.1 which means I'm not violating the license agreement of the OS I upgraded from, but 10's license is different.

I've read online that you can go through their contact app within 10 and speak to them about it and they will unlock 10 again for you, but just wanted to know if anyone else already had to go through this.

Ah! Your license from 7/8/8.1 is the same as your 10 Upgrade license. They just reused it. If you were to blow away everything and reinstall, download Win10, install and use your cd key from your previous OS that was used for the free upgrade.

 

[WizardHawk]

Ah! Your license from 7/8/8.1 is the same as your 10 Upgrade license. They just reused it. If you were to blow away everything and reinstall, download Win10, install and use your cd key from your previous OS that was used for the free upgrade.

Right, just wanted to avoid having to reinstall clean.

I too have installed and/or upgraded dozens of machines to 10. That's not really an issue. I just don't want to spend a good part of my weekend having to redo the OS as well as my hardware when simply moving the license over would save me several hours. Just not so sure MS is as open to it as some online have made it seem.

As for the license itself, MS isn't using license keys with this free upgrade, at least not the same way their older OS keys worked. Those looking up their keys are finding one of a handful of actual keys that shows up for masses of users, however it is reported that MS isn't storing our licenses that way. It isn't by key. Exactly how they are doing it is a carefully guarded set of criteria.

 

[dp_broncos]

Right, just wanted to avoid having to reinstall clean.

I too have installed and/or upgraded dozens of machines to 10. That's not really an issue. I just don't want to spend a good part of my weekend having to redo the OS as well as my hardware when simply moving the license over would save me several hours. Just not so sure MS is as open to it as some online have made it seem.

As for the license itself, MS isn't using license keys with this free upgrade, at least not the same way their older OS keys worked. Those looking up their keys are finding one of a handful of actual keys that shows up for masses of users, however it is reported that MS isn't storing our licenses that way. It isn't by key. Exactly how they are doing it is a carefully guarded set of criteria.

Unless I'm misunderstanding, if you're replacing the MB/CPU/Ram, you'll want a clean install.

 

[WizardHawk]

I've moved drives from machine to machine without clean installing many, many times. It's just a few driver changes as far as the OS is concerned and a quick fix to the boot loader sets it up for that machine in a few seconds. If I was going from an AMD based machine to an Intel, maybe that's different. Even going from a nVidia MB chipset to an intel might be of concern, but from a sandy bridge to skylake chipset? Naw.

 

[4down20]

I'm taking the plunge this weekend. Doing a fresh install from a flash drive onto a brand new HD.

 

[WizardHawk]

I'm taking the plunge this weekend. Doing a fresh install from a flash drive onto a brand new HD.

As a free upgrade? Or did you pay for a key?

There are some quirks about doing a clean install directly to 10 as a free upgrade.