windows 10 whats next for microsofts insider testers

D

drakken

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Aug 19, 2004
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Funny to see this through zdnet instead through the hub but it looks like if you have been using the insider preview, and active win 10 when they do the final build you get a fully activated copy of win 10. and if you want an iso if you activate the preview you get a key linked to your ms account. I will mention that some games that use IE like some of the ubisoft uplay games simply refuse to launch. But that means any malicious logic that did the same thing will also refuse to launch. I take it as far trade off no matter how much I wanted to play the ghost recon game. :)


http://www.zdnet.com/article/window...=nl.e589&s_cid=e589&ttag=e589&ftag=TREc64629f
 
Guess I'll probably just clean install one of the final preview ISO's on my machine a few days before the final release. I think at this point the only thing that's holding me back is a solid (gaming-level) Nvidia driver. Their first 2 drivers have been good but not great.
 
Domingo said:
Guess I'll probably just clean install one of the final preview ISO's on my machine a few days before the final release. I think at this point the only thing that's holding me back is a solid (gaming-level) Nvidia driver. Their first 2 drivers have been good but not great.
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I'm doing a clean install on release and have been chomping at the bit for a working Nvidia driver. Today I decided to install Build 10147(leaked) on top of 10130, then installed 352.84, which used to immediately crash on starting Witcher 3, and LO, I gamed for 2 hours, then for another 4 hours.
It turns out that the problem was not Nvidia's W10 driver, but something in Windows 10.
I have not tested any other games, but as far as Witcher 3 on a 680m, 352.84 is solid on build 10147.

EDIT: No key issues, but it lost the Microsoft account association for Insider and I will only re-associate it if/when this build gets released in the Fast Ring.
 
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The last one I tried with the 10130 and it didn't like the Win 8 drivers I tried to put on it. The last batch of official Win 10 drivers were dogs with GTA5. I'm also using the HDMI function for audio and it had issues with surround sound.
We're not far, though. I can imagine they're getting pretty close to the end of the line. Maybe 10150 or 10200? With Windows 8, Nvidia had a really good driver ready to roll before release, so hopefully that will be the case. When Windows 8.1 hit with a different sound driver it took them an extra couple days to accomodate that, though.
 
The official one from the Windows Blog: http://blogs.windows.com/bloggingwi...changes-to-windows-10-insider-preview-builds/

I’ve gotten a lot of questions from Windows Insiders about how this will work if they clean installed from ISO. As long as you are running an Insider Preview build and connected with the MSA you used to register, you will receive the Windows 10 final release build and remain activated. Once you have successfully installed this build and activated, you will also be able to clean install on that PC from final media if you want to start over fresh.
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Definitely more motivation for me to pull the trigger on a clean install earlier, either way. I did think I was going to have to wait for the final. Now I'm just waiting on a better driver. Hell, even just a slightly newer beta would be good enough. Something to keep the Witcher 3 and Batman running close enough to Win 8.1 numbers.
 
What if I've been testing it inside a VM instead of my actual PC?
 
maw said:
What if I've been testing it inside a VM instead of my actual PC?
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I want to know the answer to this myself. I'm guessing it won't transfer, and we'll have to install Win 10 on physical hardware.
 
Microsoft is back-tracking on that post now:

Since Friday, the blog post describing the changes to the Windows Insider preview program has been silently updated. Previously it said that signed up members of the Insider Program running a preview version would "receive the Windows 10 final release build and remain activated." Now it says only that they will "receive the Windows 10 final release build." The activation wording has been removed. The company has also added a "clarifying" sentence: "It's important to note that only people running Genuine Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 can upgrade to Windows 10 as part of the free upgrade offer." This is in contrast to what the company said on Friday, when Microsoft's Gabe Aul confirmed that upgraded preview copies would be Genuine.
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Ars is speculating later in the article that this doesn't mean you can't get a free activated copy of Windows 10 using this method, just that it's no longer officially blessed.
 
I'm curious how it's going to work as I'd like to get rolling sooner than later (since I have more time in July than August) and I still have my install media for Windows 7 and 8.
Once 10147 hits the legit channels I think I'm going to give it a try and will roll back to an 8.1 image if I run into activation issues.
 
Actually, it looks like it's 353.30 - the Batman driver. Great to see them getting the most current drivers ready to rock. If they push 10147 this week, I'm in.
 
So, more and more articles are stating that if you do a clean install (ISO) of the Windows 10 preview, you either have to stay a beta tester for the life of the OS or re-install an OS that is entitled to a free upgrade like 7 or 8. So much for my plan to get a head start on a clean install.
 
Domingo said:
So, more and more articles are stating that if you do a clean install (ISO) of the Windows 10 preview, you either have to stay a beta tester for the life of the OS or re-install an OS that is entitled to a free upgrade like 7 or 8. So much for my plan to get a head start on a clean install.
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That's the pits. I do like the fact that they're keeping beta testers alive as long as they test. That's how it should be done. "Thanks for testing and if you continue testing, this will be free indefinitely." Is a good change to the "thanks for testing, now go buy it or this will expire in two months".

I'm on the fence about staying in the preview channel. I do like getting the new features quickly, but I worry about waking up to driver issues or install/upgrade issues. I'm assuming once this goes RTM, it won't be as big of an issue driver wise as many manufacturers will have official Win10 drivers out.

You'd think Microsoft would program into the install a key check for prior versions. Or a webpage to exchange your Win8.1/Win7 keys for official Win10 keys.
 
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Spidey329 said:
You'd think Microsoft would program into the install a key check for prior versions. Or a webpage to exchange your Win8.1/Win7 keys for official Win10 keys.
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That's exactly what I want. Just let me trade-in any or all of my previous keys for Win 10 versions. I think I still have 2 full licenses for Win 7 along with a single Win 8.
For all I know they might eventually allow this, but I'd like to get started sooner than later.
 
Spidey329 said:
That's the pits. I do like the fact that they're keeping beta testers alive as long as they test. That's how it should be done. "Thanks for testing and if you continue testing, this will be free indefinitely." Is a good change to the "thanks for testing, now go buy it or this will expire in two months".

I'm on the fence about staying in the preview channel. I do like getting the new features quickly, but I worry about waking up to driver issues or install/upgrade issues. I'm assuming once this goes RTM, it won't be as big of an issue driver wise as many manufacturers will have official Win10 drivers out.

You'd think Microsoft would program into the install a key check for prior versions. Or a webpage to exchange your Win8.1/Win7 keys for official Win10 keys.
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I imagine that they will continue to have a slow ring option. And since 10 will be feature complete and hopefully mostly bug free at launch, moving forward I wouldn't imagine that they will be adding broken software into the builds.

But yeah, saying you will be a beta tester indefinitely is a great way to get a free OS and as long as your on the slow ring it shouldn't matter too much. Good for the guy who has a bunch of PC's that he doesn't want to buy licenses for. You could use the same Microsoft Account sign in for all of them.
 
"I will mention that some games that use IE like some of the ubisoft uplay games simply refuse to launch."

Battlefield 3 and 4 use your browser to launch the game. That means it won't launch using IE on Win10 if IE is your browser?
 
what if i have a valid win7 key, but choose to do a clean reformat/install of the win10 preview? that is, not over an existing w7 install? could i then later input my win7 key and have that win10 install validated and then turn off the insider preview thing? or would i have to go through the annoying task of re-installing win7, then installing the win10 over that?
 
illli said:
what if i have a valid win7 key, but choose to do a clean reformat/install of the win10 preview? that is, not over an existing w7 install? could i then later input my win7 key and have that win10 install validated and then turn off the insider preview thing? or would i have to go through the annoying task of re-installing win7, then installing the win10 over that?
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If you're already running the preview on July 29, it will become a fully activated version of Windows 10. You don't need to do anything with Windows 7 in this case.
 
I know that, but you missed out the part where I don't want to participate in the 'insider program'. microsoft clarified that the only way the preview becomes free is if you continue to participate in the insider program.

"And it turns out those who came into the Insiders program from anything other than a Genuine Windows 7 or 8.1 build will NOT be able to get a free copy of Windows 10 RTM once it's available. (They will be able to continue as Windows Insiders and get Insider builds after RTM, however.)"
 
illli said:
I know that, but you missed out the part where I don't want to participate in the 'insider program'. microsoft clarified that the only way the preview becomes free is if you continue to participate in the insider program.
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Considering that's the only way to legally get the preview build to install it (unless you are an OEM channel partner), I'm not sure how you could "choose to do a clean install of the win10 preview" without being part of the insider program. If you're using a leaked build or an an OEM channel build, these will not be given a full license. In that case, you should install 7 again legally and wait until July 29 when you can claim your free Win 10 upgrade. Does that answer your question?
 
not really. let me try again.
from my understanding (and i could be wrong) you can opt in/out of the insider program, but it is required to get the preview iso. And it is required that you continue to participate in the insider program to have a valid win10 license.

but once the final build comes out on july 29th, i opt out of the insider program, could i then turn around and use my legit win7/8 key to make it valid, as if i had gone through the win7/8 upgrade path? I have not found any info that says 'yes' that is possible.

it seems that microsoft has not made any provision for people that have a legit key, and who only want to do a fresh win10 install(not an install on top of a previous win7/8 install). That the only path would be install win7/8 THEN download the 10 upgrade.
maybe that seems silly, but for someone like me that does a reformat/clean install very often, that kind of process would be very cumbersome.
 
illli said:
it seems that microsoft has not made any provision for people that have a legit key, and who only want to do a fresh win10 install. That the only path would be install win7/8 THEN download the 10 upgrade.
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That seems correct based on what I've read.

illli said:
maybe that seems silly, but for someone like me that does a reformat/clean install very often, that kind of process would be very cumbersome.
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I'm sure Microsoft is fine with that. Everyone on this board is in the top 1% of Windows power users. The vast majority of users will simply update from 7/8.1 to 10 and then never need to install or reinstall another OS until the computer is retired.

If you want maximum peace of mind and the smoothest possible (re)install process, the best plan might just be picking up a Retail license once they are available.
 
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