Windows 10 Availability: An Explainer

[IInuyasha74]

The migration to Windows 10 has begun, and plenty of Windows users are confused as to when they can get the new OS. We explain when and how the latest Windows OS will be available, and to whom.

Windows 10 Availability: An Explainer : Read more

 

[firefyte]

It's 8AM here (UTC+3), and it looks like I'm already downloading Windows 10 via the reserved copy. I suspect there may be staggered release, but only in regions with high amounts of users. I'm not an insider, just reserved a copy 'normally'. Update size seems to only be 2706.1MB on Windows 8.1.

 

[ohim]

I have a legit Win 8.1 copy and i have been a Windows 10 insider user.. i never got to reserve a copy from Win 8.1 since i was already using 10 .... I`m confused on how will i get Win 10 final version though ...

 

[Chipi]

Windows has already released the download tool: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

You can use it to create a USB flash drive installer or just download the ISO.
The whole "who get's it first" deal is only for upgrades via Microsoft Update.

 

[Kareema]

It took a bit of searching but you can download the final Windows 10 .ISO directly from the Microsoft website.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

The requirements are stated there, and the download was very fast for me.
Hope this helps.

 

[Nine-Tails]

where do we get the windows 10 key? kareema

 

[Nine-Tails]

chipi windows 10 key for your link?

 

[Kareema]

where do we get the windows 10 key? kareema

I did an upgrade and not a clean install, and it did not ask me to enter any cd key as it seems to have used my existing windows 8 key.

 

[teddiebear]

I wonder if this will be available in the 'full retail version' and not oem. I was lucky enough to purchase win7ultimate in full retail with disks that wont be locked to my mobo when i upgrade or change tower.
i still use dvd/bluray discs as internet is slow where i am. The full retail gives me the peace of mind that i wont have to buy a new oem version every upgrade of mobo or build. Having kids and family means a few upgrades are done each year

 

[ohim]

where do we get the windows 10 key? kareema

I did an upgrade and not a clean install, and it did not ask me to enter any cd key as it seems to have used my existing windows 8 key.

Tried to do a fresh install with the USB made by MS`s Windows 10 tool... my Win 8.1 key doesn`t work with the installer. Not sure how to do a clean Win 10 install and keep my license.

 

[bochica]

I wonder if this will be available in the 'full retail version' and not oem. I was lucky enough to purchase win7ultimate in full retail with disks that wont be locked to my mobo when i upgrade or change tower.
i still use dvd/bluray discs as internet is slow where i am. The full retail gives me the peace of mind that i wont have to buy a new oem version every upgrade of mobo or build. Having kids and family means a few upgrades are done each year

I don't get what you mean when you say the OEM version is locked to one motherboard. I obtained an OEM version through my college, and I have used it on 3 different machines with no issues. You may only be able to use it on 1 active machine at a time, but the installation isn't limited to 1 machine.

 

[Jalapenoman]

if you have a legit copy of 8 or 8.1, and you used the insider version of 10, then you might have to reinstall 8 and upgrade from there. then you can do a fresh install if you want.

 

[teddiebear]

I wonder if this will be available in the 'full retail version' and not oem. I was lucky enough to purchase win7ultimate in full retail with disks that wont be locked to my mobo when i upgrade or change tower.
i still use dvd/bluray discs as internet is slow where i am. The full retail gives me the peace of mind that i wont have to buy a new oem version every upgrade of mobo or build. Having kids and family means a few upgrades are done each year

I don't get what you mean when you say the OEM version is locked to one motherboard. I obtained an OEM version through my college, and I have used it on 3 different machines with no issues. You may only be able to use it on 1 active machine at a time, but the installation isn't limited to 1 machine.

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_7-windows_install/how-exactly-does-windows-7-retail-vs-oem/fae7b2ab-c530-45e6-aeb3-cc55cf7b9231?auth=1

 

[ubercake]

I got the upgrade on my $300 3-year old gateway laptop this morning. I'm not an insider and didn't use any pre-release version of the software. The upgrade is still not available for my gaming machine as of yet (I haven't check my HTPC/mid-level gamer yet).

The upgrade process was pretty painless and took approximately 1.5 hours (processor is a B960 2.2 GHz). I was connected wirelessly for the whole thing. I was impressed that the upgrade process was able to identify necessary drivers for the laptop and that everything functions as expected after the install (no question marks in device manager).

The install gives us the return of the desktop interface as king which after using Windows 8.1 for a while seems a little old-school, but I spent most of my time in the desktop anyhow.

The Cortana functionality is pretty cool but needs some polishing. You can set it to respond to "Hey Cortana...".

If you can't find things like device manager, you just type the name of what you're looking for in the box next to the Windows/Start button. You can also go to the "All apps" selection under the start menu that lists all apps including "Windows Administrative Tools" which includes computer management and the like. The upgrade even kept the apps pinned to my task bar. I was able to import my IE favorites into the Edge browser no problem.

After trying the multi-desktop functionality, I am able to see multiple uses for this as a way to further organize the workspace.

So far, I like it. No strange errors either.

I will definitely have my hardware drivers ready on a thumb drive when it comes to upgrading my gaming machine, but my cheap 3-year old laptop upgraded with no effort.

 

[Nergo Pthycc]

When I found out Windows Media Center is gone and never coming back, I will not change to 10 from 7 or 8.1. Now besides cancelling my reservation, how do I get rid of the 3GB accumulating on my small SSD boot drive?

 

[LExSLAYER1]

It's 8AM here (UTC+3), and it looks like I'm already downloading Windows 10 via the reserved copy. I suspect there may be staggered release, but only in regions with high amounts of users. I'm not an insider, just reserved a copy 'normally'. Update size seems to only be 2706.1MB on Windows 8.1.

It's 8AM here (UTC+3), and it looks like I'm already downloading Windows 10 via the reserved copy. I suspect there may be staggered release, but only in regions with high amounts of users. I'm not an insider, just reserved a copy 'normally'. Update size seems to only be 2706.1MB on Windows 8.1.

It's 8AM here (UTC+3), and it looks like I'm already downloading Windows 10 via the reserved copy. I suspect there may be staggered release, but only in regions with high amounts of users. I'm not an insider, just reserved a copy 'normally'. Update size seems to only be 2706.1MB on Windows 8.1.

Out of curiosity, about how long ago did you reserve your copy?

 

[WFang]

I download the the Windows 'Media creation tool' ( https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10 ) but running into a problem I can't seem to solve:
Whenever I try to choose which media to use as "USB Flash Drive", I get the message that "We can't find a USB Flash Drive", despite having a Sandisk USB 3.0 16GB stick plugged in and showing up in explorer. After some googling, people have had similar issues in the past (with the Windows 8 media creator) and fixed it by moving the stick to a different port on the PC, but for me none of my ports work.. I tried to format the stick for NTSF just to be sure that wasn't it... Wondering if anyone else have this problem??

 

[bochica]

I wonder if this will be available in the 'full retail version' and not oem. I was lucky enough to purchase win7ultimate in full retail with disks that wont be locked to my mobo when i upgrade or change tower.
i still use dvd/bluray discs as internet is slow where i am. The full retail gives me the peace of mind that i wont have to buy a new oem version every upgrade of mobo or build. Having kids and family means a few upgrades are done each year

I don't get what you mean when you say the OEM version is locked to one motherboard. I obtained an OEM version through my college, and I have used it on 3 different machines with no issues. You may only be able to use it on 1 active machine at a time, but the installation isn't limited to 1 machine.

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_7-windows_install/how-exactly-does-windows-7-retail-vs-oem/fae7b2ab-c530-45e6-aeb3-cc55cf7b9231?auth=1

Well I'm curious as to what "OEM" version I was given. As I said, I've used it on 3 different systems, each have 3 different models of motherboards.

 

[Rhinofart]

I got the upgrade on my $300 3-year old gateway laptop this morning. I'm not an insider and didn't use any pre-release version of the software. The upgrade is still not available for my gaming machine as of yet (I haven't check my HTPC/mid-level gamer yet).

The upgrade process was pretty painless and took approximately 1.5 hours (processor is a B960 2.2 GHz). I was connected wirelessly for the whole thing. I was impressed that the upgrade process was able to identify necessary drivers for the laptop and that everything functions as expected after the install (no question marks in device manager).

The install gives us the return of the desktop interface as king which after using Windows 8.1 for a while seems a little old-school, but I spent most of my time in the desktop anyhow.

The Cortana functionality is pretty cool but needs some polishing. You can set it to respond to "Hey Cortana...".

If you can't find things like device manager, you just type the name of what you're looking for in the box next to the Windows/Start button. You can also go to the "All apps" selection under the start menu that lists all apps including "Windows Administrative Tools" which includes computer management and the like. The upgrade even kept the apps pinned to my task bar. I was able to import my IE favorites into the Edge browser no problem.

After trying the multi-desktop functionality, I am able to see multiple uses for this as a way to further organize the workspace.

So far, I like it. No strange errors either.

I will definitely have my hardware drivers ready on a thumb drive when it comes to upgrading my gaming machine, but my cheap 3-year old laptop upgraded with no effort.

Doesn't the WinKey + Pause/Break still go directly there? I'm running Windows 10 as a VM on my Macbook Pro so my keys don't work as they normally do.

 

[Math Geek]

i have always been completely perplexed by all this talk of oem vs retail copies of windows and it being tied to one machine and all that. i have never had this issue and though i have read the links provided that tate there is some difference i can't say i have run across a key that did not migrate to a new machine.

i spend a lot of time fixing and upgrading donated pc's to give away through my church and when we ditched a pc i always add whatever windows key came with the machine. a quick photo and written list of keys is nice so we can use them as needed for other machines. keys from xp, vista, 7 and 8 have been migrated this way and not a one has been rejected on a new machine. these keys come from prebuilt pc's from all brands and are simply the one from the sticker on the case.

wish i knew what the deal is but despite the links provided i guess i have never run across a truly "oem" windows key. i buy the oem versions of windows from newegg and such with new builds and have seen them migrate to other pc's as well.

i'm still confused but i guess i'll just keep on doing what i am doing and let others worry about what version's key may or may not be reusable. what i do not see said though to folk who are asking is this line "give it a shot, if it don't work then buy a new key. but try your old one first just in case"

 

[dextermat]

If you upgrade you should do this :
1- backup your data and windows 7/8/8.1 key (use produid or other program)
2- do the windows 10 upgrade
3- do a iso of windows 10 ==> if you want clean install
4- reinstall from the iso just created

if you upgrade, you don't need a windows 10 key, it bound to mobo

source http://lifehacker.com/how-to-do-a-clean-install-of-windows-10-1720775893

you can get all iso (upgrade or clean install here https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10ISO)

source http://www.tomshardware.com/news/download-windows-10,29702.html

 

[scolaner]

Thanks for all the good investigating, guys--

 

[Math Geek]

so after today it seems like this article is right if you chose to let automatic updates handle things. there will be a timed release for these folks.

you can use the new download link provided in another article here to get it today whether you reserved it or not. this will upgrade now and give you a new win 10 key to use for any fresh installs that need to happen for you.

i have now done both of these today and can say it worked fine. got my win 10 key now, i used jelly bean to get the key so i did not have to search for it. upgrade and fresh install from the iso available today without having reserved anything or any of that stuff.

 

[nocturnal2048]

I am an "Insider" as such I have been getting a lot of updates from MS over the last couple of days...today is 7/29. I'm assuming the a fore mentioned updates transformed my "win10 build" into a full retail version of Windows 10. I also went to MS website and simply downloaded an ISO version of Win10 just in case I ever need to do a fresh install of the OS...the ISO I downloaded was not a "build" but a full retail version of Windows 10 Home 64 bit. So I pretty sure the Win10 roll-out is going full force and I see no glitches in the way they are getting it out to users. Unless you actually buy a retail DVD or flash drive version of the OS I would highly recommend you visit the MS site and download a copy of the OS for when you need to do a fresh install and let's face it, at some time or another everyone will need to re-install their OS. Once you download the Media Creation Tool from MS it will ask you if you want to create an ISO or a flash drive version of the OS. Just select which one you prefer and your good to go!

 

[Math Geek]

not sure yet but it seems like the insider "edition" though full retail version will still be identified as insider by the key that seems to be universal as well as your MS account which will identify you as a participant. have not tried that yet but i am guessing that a fresh install for an insider will use that universal key and account log in to validate it's install. this is only a guess as i have not had a chance to try it but it sounds about right to me (so far anyway).

i will give this a shot as well in the next day or so just to see what happens. unless someone gets to it first, i'll post back when/if i get it working to share my experience with this as well. i intend to try a fresh install using the rtm version released today in iso format to install an insider copy of win 10 to see how it works.