Windows 8 Upgrade Program May Now Require Windows 7 Key

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marcus-san

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Just what Microsoft needs - to make it more difficult to purchase/activate an OS no one wants . . . If you have a Windows 7 key, KEEP IT, Don't upgrade.
 

bustapr

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I really dont think this would be of much benefit to microsoft. if a win7 pirate were to get some sort of conscience and by the upgrade to win8, then thats an extra $15 to microsoft. But if they prevent the easy upgrade to these users this way, then they would say "F-OFF" and go look for a pirated copy. which is $15-$100 less to microsoft. it would also inconvenience the users who retardedly ripped off the product key stamp on the (OEM) pc, or lost their own copy of it, making them either, stick with win7 or look for a pirated copy of win8 (this shouldnt be too hard). thats how I see the common consumer nowadays. if they have lots of money or somehow cant find a pirated copy they buy it. overall I dont see microsoft profiting from this decision at all.
 

A Bad Day

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I would suggest those who haven't tried Win8, go to Best Buy or some other brick-and-mortar store and test out the Win8 computers.

I don't like Win8 myself and plan on waiting until Win 8 SP1 or Win9, but I feel that some people here hates Win8 simply because other hate it as well.
 

ben850

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[citation][nom]A Bad Day[/nom]I would suggest those who haven't tried Win8, go to Best Buy or some other brick-and-mortar store and test out the Win8 computers.I don't like Win8 myself and plan on waiting until Win 8 SP1 or Win9, but I feel that some people here hates Win8 simply because other hate it as well.[/citation]

It's dumb of Microsoft to only show the Metro UI in it's Win8 advertisements. It's obviously turning away many people. This feature has been nonexistent to me though, and I continue my Windows 8 usage just like if it was XP, Vista, or 7.
 

Avus

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Just to be clear, for now, any Win XP/Vista/Win7 users can buy Windows 8 PRO upgrade for only around $40USD!! (OEM Win8 Pro is around $150) This $15 deal is suppose for those who bought a new computer that comes with Win7 "recently". But as far as I know, the $15 Win8 offer site doesn't actually check for proof of purchase, so it is fair for MS to do something about it. Honestly, even if you are not qualify for the $15 deal, $40 for Win8 Pro is still a hell of a deal. I highly recommend to take this deal if you are currently running WinXP or SPECIALLY Vista. (of course the system should at least has a dual core CPU and 4GB RAM) It is actually a very fast/smooth OS. (upgrade from Vista, it kind of give u a hardware upgrade feel. It is that good) Of course everyone hate Metro and the disappearance of the Start button, but there is mod for that. I would NOT keep using WinXP/Vista just because of these 2 reason.
 

emperornicon

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MicroSuck software Corp. the good windows product line died after August 22, 2005 with release of a global disaster called vista. after the fact the medical field has not embraced vista, se7en and even eight. their reason: Mission crital : resource hungy: Power hungry. with vista, 7, or 8 their is still many patches that need to be released, the Operating systems are in thier infancy.
 

simmons33

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[citation][nom]A Bad Day[/nom]I would suggest those who haven't tried Win8, go to Best Buy or some other brick-and-mortar store and test out the Win8 computers.I don't like Win8 myself and plan on waiting until Win 8 SP1 or Win9, but I feel that some people here hates Win8 simply because other hate it as well.[/citation]

So true. I own a spare laptop with W8. Its it no way amazing, but It could have been vista all over again. In the end, as long as the system is really stable, I deal with it. Will be nice if compatibility is fixed in SP1.
 

kyuuketsuki

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God, the hysterics people are having are a bit over-the-top. If you don't like the Metro/Modern UI, fine. But it is in no way comparable to Windows Me/Vista. Win8 is *less* resource-hungry than 7 (which was a big improvement over XP itself), is perfectly stable, and I'm not aware of any crippling driver incompatibility issues.

There are some nice under-the-hood improvements and features in Win8 that, to me, are worth the paltry $40 upgrade. It helps that I don't mind the new Start screen (just nicer, full-screen Start menu as far as I'm concerned), and Metro/Modern UI is fantastic on touch devices (much better than iOS or Android UIs, IMO).

Win8 isn't the second coming, nor is it the antichrist. Not liking it is fine, but throwing these giant hissy fits is a bit ridiculous, I'd say.
 

danielravennest

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Once you learn a few setup tricks, the Start Screen is not a bother. Put the desktop icon in the top left. Then "Enter" goes immediately to the desktop. Unpin crap you don't want by right click and choose "Unpin" from popup toolbar. Pin stuff you do want and use often by right click anywhere in desktop explorer on the programs or items you want. Then rearrange the tiles to your liking.

If you want to see all programs, just right click on a blank area of the start screen, and choose the popup toolbar item for "All". The only real difference is instead of the start button bringing up a small window showing pinned programs/all programs, they have grown to full screen versions. The little Start icon even shows up if you hover in the bottom left corner of the desktop, it's just not visible all the time.

I got used to it in a couple of days, it's nowhere near as bad as people made it out to be. Since I'm upgrading from XP on my older machine, I think it's worth the $40 upgrade just so I can install more than 4GB on that machine.
 

SteelCity1981

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You can activate an oem windows 8 product key on multiple desktops at once you just skip the online activation and do it by telephone instead, in retuend the automated system gives you a telephone activatation number set then varify it's on one pc and you have your windows 8 oem activated on another pc. This method also works With Windows 7/Vista as well. i've done it many times before.
 

tomfreak

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[citation][nom]Avus[/nom]Just to be clear, for now, any Win XP/Vista/Win7 users can buy Windows 8 PRO upgrade for only around $40USD!! (OEM Win8 Pro is around $150) This $15 deal is suppose for those who bought a new computer that comes with Win7 "recently". But as far as I know, the $15 Win8 offer site doesn't actually check for proof of purchase, so it is fair for MS to do something about it. Honestly, even if you are not qualify for the $15 deal, $40 for Win8 Pro is still a hell of a deal. I highly recommend to take this deal if you are currently running WinXP or SPECIALLY Vista. (of course the system should at least has a dual core CPU and 4GB RAM) It is actually a very fast/smooth OS. (upgrade from Vista, it kind of give u a hardware upgrade feel. It is that good) Of course everyone hate Metro and the disappearance of the Start button, but there is mod for that. I would NOT keep using WinXP/Vista just because of these 2 reason.[/citation]exactly, Vista performance problem can not be fix while Start menu in win8 can be fix. Win8 is not for win7 user, It is for XP/Vista people

$40 may sound like a deal to someone. But I wouldn't buy it @ $40. If it is $15, then it is a no brainer for someone from winXP/Vista. Microsoft should have keep that price. Because $15 is the only price that make win8 sell well. The 4millions sales figure on the first few days is the result of the $15 bypass trick.

I got 2 copies of win8 for $15 each & another 2 for the accidentally given free by Microsoft thing.
 

darkavenger123

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btw, i've discovered something important for me in Windows 8....Hyper-V. Windows 7 can't run Hyper-V...i run lots of VM in the office and sometimes takes the VM back home for testing on my machine....Oracle VM Box have problems with the Hyper-V VHD eventhough it can read the file, but the OS can't start and probably needs a lot more work. The 15 bucks is worth it for Hyper-V alone.


 
G

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It seams to be a limit on the email address you use. It is a limit of 3 uses (upgrades) per email address.
 

wdmfiber

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Quote :place to ensure sales of Windows 7 machines wouldn't nose dive in the six months before Windows 8 was launched

@Marco925
I laughed at that too. Just ordered another copy of Windows 7 this afternoon (Professional, $140 from newegg). I did tutorials on 8 and can navigate it fine; I even help friend who are lost in the Metro UI. But personally I'm through with it, I won't ever downgrade to 8.
 

universal remonster

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I did the Win 8 Pro upgrade on my mothers laptop. I installed an SSD and reloaded her restore discs, then followed the Win 8 Upgrade Assistant, and chose to keep all files and settings. It only asked for the Win 8 key and not a Win 7 key. After the upgrade, there were a few quirks and oddities, but once I went into disc cleanup and selected to delete all files from the previous install, it has ran great since.

A different scenario I just encountered was a tower i built over the weekend for a friend that had the Win 8 Upgrade license. It was going on a brand new SSD that didn't have any OS previously. I figured I would try the trick like with Win 7 where you just do the install and then reset when you get to the point of entering your key, and then format and reinstall (the second time it will accept the upgrade license). This has always worked for me for Win7 upgrade licenses. Well, on Win 8, it asks for your license right at the beginning of the install and it accepts it even being an upgrade license. However, once you are completely done and at the desktop, it is THEN that it tells you 'sorry, this is an upgrade license only and cannot be used for clean installs' (clean just meaning that there was never an os on the hard drive, not clean as in you have an os, format, then clean install). So I found a nifty change you can do in your registry to let it activate. He had a Win 7 Ultimate retail key just incase, but this was far quicker and easier.

 
[citation][nom]drzinc[/nom]It seams to be a limit on the email address you use. It is a limit of 3 uses (upgrades) per email address.[/citation]
Well I have upgraded all of my PC's and Desktops to Windows 8 and that would be 5 of them all on the same e-mail address. But then again only 3 of them were $15 dollar upgrades the last 2 were $39.99 upgrades so that may be why.
 

Pherule

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[citation][nom]universal remonster[/nom]So I found a nifty change you can do in your registry to let it activate.[/citation]You forgot to tell us more about this nifty change.
 
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