Windows 10 is Now Available

[Going Bald]

Did you install Win10 Pro this way, Baldy? If so; where did you download the ISO?

I used the download tool from https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10 for 64 bit since my win7 version is 64 bit.

Wish I could do the upgrade on a Toshiba A-105 XP laptop, but the GPU would not handle Win7, so it definitely will not work with Win10. Just have to leave it XP and never connect it to the internet.

 

[Robbish]

Upgraded from Windows 7 Ultimate to Windows 10 Pro - Success

Activation was not straight forward for me (my fault i guess) so i thought that i would write about it here;

On the 29th July, i didn't get an alert from Microsoft to tell me my reserved Win10 upgrade was ready so i jumped the queue by downloading the Windows 10 create install media from Microsoft to my 4GB flash drive.

• Disabled my other drives in the BIOS
• Booted from USB in UEFI mode (with secure boot disabled)
• Performed a fresh Win 10 Pro 64-bit install to my new 240GB ScanDisk SSD Plus
• Selected Custom Install option (because an Express Install disables most of your privacy)
• Skipped the Product key input and ran the install
• When complete, booted from SSD and logged into Windows 10 Pro - all good !
• Enabled my other drives in BIOS and booted from Clover - Success !

Windows 10 Pro however would not accept my Windows 7 Ultimate product key so Window was not Activated. I discovered that the only way to achieve 'Windows is Activated' is to perform a Windows 10 in place upgrade from my existing Windows 7 install HDD.

• I reconnected my Windows 7 HDD and launched Windows 7.
• Inserted my Windows 10 Pro USB into Windows 7 and ran the setup.exe file
• Selected the Upgrade this PC Now option
• Performed the Windows 10 Pro in place upgrade over my existing Windows 7 Ultimate install (preserving only my Data not Apps)
• When complete, rebooted to HDD and logged into Windows 10 Pro. Windows is Activated - Hurraaaay !
• Disconnected HDD and booted back into my Win10 SSD install but Windows 10 Pro still displaying 'Windows is Not Activated' so i quit for the day.
• Logged in the next day and now my Windows 10 Pro SSD displays 'Windows is Activated !'

For those out there that cannot locate your Windows Product key, you should download a program called ProduKey onto your Windows install and run it to list both your Product ID + Product Key.

Note that Windows 10 will generate it's own new Product key so save a copy of both.

I use Windows at work (we're still on XP maan and it sucks D) so i won't use Windows 10 much unless i'm taking work home. Windows comes in handy every now and then + my family members don't use Macs so Windows 10 is like my toolbox if they need my help.

I like this version of Windows but it's still not as intuitive as OSX in my opinion. Even Windows 10 still has this habit of hiding a lot of its functions and features so much that it is a bit of a navigation challenge accessing everything the OS has to offer.
BTW - i've not installed any drivers so network, audio + USB bluetooth worked OOB on my Z77-DS3H

Power management in Windows 10 impressed me, it silences my machine completely while idle and that's without Sleep being activated. I have an all Nocutua PWM cooling solution (CPU cooler + 3 case fans and Corsair RM650 PSU) but despite having a custom SSDT in OSX with working power management, i do not get this feature from OSX.

My favourite resources for Windows 10 are courtesy of Lifehacker and How-To Geek so check those out.

 

[Liamness]

I was finally able to get the upgrade to work. The solution was to set the Windows partition as active, otherwise it wouldn't even begin the process. I also had to ensure that only the USB for the Windows installer was plugged in as the machine rebooted, as the first time it did this caused the upgrade to fail and revert back to Windows 8.

It's incredibly fickle, isn't it? I guess it isn't designed to share its drive with another OS. That would've been no big deal if there was a way to install it from scratch, but the fact that only the upgrade is free kills that possibility off. As an aside, the new interface looks like a vast improvement. Having an app launcher that doesn't take up the entire screen is almost worth it by itself.

 

[Robbish]

To use your Apple Magic Trackpad in Windows 10, i did the following;

• Download Boot Camp Support Software 5.1.5621 from Apple's website here
• Right click on the now compressed BootCamp5.1.5621 file and choose the Extract option to a destination of your choice e.g, desktop)
• Open the Extracted BootCamp5.1.5621 folder and locate the AppleWirelessTrackpad64.exe like this;

BootCamp5.1.5621 > BootCamp > Drivers > Apple > AppleWirelessTrackpad64

• Double click the AppleWirelessTrackpad64.exe to install it in Windows 10 (AppleWirelessTrackpad64 is actually an executable file but the .exe extension is hidden)
• When done go to Bluetooth Devices and select Add a Bluetooth Device
• Press the power switch on your Apple Wireless Trackpad and Windows 10 should eventually show a pop-up to say it sees your Apple Wireless Trackpad
• Click the pop-up and it will ask for your Apple Wireless Trackpad passcode ?
• Enter 0000 in the passcode box and it should accept this

You should now be able to use your Magic Trackpad in Windows 10 albeit with limited gestures and scrolling will be upside down.

Also every time i launch Windows 10, i have to press the power switch on the Trackpad for Windows 10 to see the Apple Wireless Trackpad.

You can also do this process for other Apple input devices as there are other wireless devices listed in the Drivers > Apple folder.

 

[trs96]

Just to summarize some of the main points for upgrading:

Do not clean install 10 over your current 7 or 8/8.1 it will cause you to lose
your MS 7, 8/8.1 product key. You must do an in place upgrade on your system
then Windows 10 will generate a new product key. You won't have to reenter it though
when you clean install Win 10. MS servers take the info from your PC and store it.

Wait to do the clean install though, until you're certain you want Windows 10 for good.

See the downgrade method below that let's you keep your data and most programs. ⬇

You can also upgrade via Windows update which is the preferred method.

Finally, you'll want to read this series of articles on the new service agreement
that comes with Win 10.

http://bgr.com/2015/07/31/windows-10-upgrade-spying-how-to-opt-out/

Also make sure to read the "First 5 things You Should Do article" that is linked
from the above page. Most important is to go to the Privacy tab in Settings and
uncheck all of the ones that are enabled by default. Then use a browser other
than Edge and search other than the Bing Search engine; such as Chrome and
Duck Duck Go.

You'll also want to make this change to your Windows update settings:
http://youtu.be/rczgCmoNSSE?t=4m30s

No need to add your network's bandwidth to the MS Updates Botnet as it's called.

MS gives you 30 days after the initial upgrade to revert back to Win 7 or 8.1 whichever you have
upgraded from. This will work if you still have the Windows.old folder on your C drive. I've read that
it will mysteriously disappear after 30 days. So at least back it up to another drive if you can. Then
if you decide 10 is not for you, it's simple to downgrade. Thanks Microsoft ! Here's what you do.

Go to Start → Settings → Update & Security → Recovery and then follow the directions to down-grade from the not ready for prime time Windows 10 that is giving you headaches.

If you had a master password on your account you'll need that to get back in. Any programs you have
installed after the Win 10 upgrade will need to be reinstalled. Congrats, you've now purged your PC of
Windows 10 completely and can stay with what you have now for 4 + years until you're forced to do
a Win 10 upgrade. Upgrades and Downgrades. At least it's relatively easy this time around.

 

[VioletDragon]

I've done an upgrade in Parallels over windows 8.1 does this mean i can use the Product key from that to do a clean install?

 

[Gutz_Otoole]

I've done an upgrade in Parallels over windows 8.1 does this mean i can use the Product key from that to do a clean install?

Perhaps not. I'm running Win8.1 as a guest under VirtualBox. I applied for the upgrade several weeks ago. Just yesterday MS sent a message to my virtual Win8.1 machine saying that the upgrade was cancelled since the "video adapter" was unsupported, so when you apply for the upgrade information about that computer was compiled and forwarded to MS.

The upgrade is free for one machine with a genuine product key for Win7 or Win8.1. When you installed it on your virtual Win8.1 machine a "hardware" profile was created which was paired up with the Win10 product key and forwarded to Microsoft. If you try to install it on another machine, i.e. a real one, it will probably not activate.

 

[trs96]

Perhaps not. I'm running Win8.1 as a guest under VirtualBox. I applied for the upgrade several weeks ago. Just yesterday MS sent a message to my virtual Win8.1 machine saying that the upgrade was cancelled since the "video adapter" was unsupported, so when you apply for the upgrade information about that computer was compiled and forwarded to MS.

I know that when I get messages like you've stated above I can always use the phone activation
and it usually works. See the "Activate using a Telephone" tutorial on the lower part of this page.
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/activate-windows#1TC=windows-7

If you're able to run Win 8.1 your graphics adapter is good enough for Windows 10.
Minimum requirement is DirectX 9.0 capable graphics card which was standard for
computers about 8-9 years ago. I'm running Win 10 on a 2007 desktop built for Vista.

Not sure if it will work the same for a VM install but it's worth a try.

 

[Gutz_Otoole]

If you're able to run Win 8.1 your graphics adapter is good enough for Windows 10.

Nevertheless...

 

[cacamaca]

Installed Windows 10 Pro on a separate HDD (upgraded from Windows 7 Ultimate). Using Clover. Perhaps it's just me however there are at least 3 things I don't like:

- The lack of integration between Settings and Control Panel I find it quite confusing
- The search feature in most cases I find it completely useless, especially when you compare it to Spotlight - perhaps it's my computer but if I go into the main page of the Settings page and type "privacy" it says results not found despite that Privacy is an option right there
- Multiple desktops - when you switch from one desktop to another, the taskbar does not reflect truly what applications are already open/running

Besides that, I do find Windows 10 somewhat faster than Windows 7 and the UI cleaner. Still have to figure out the logic of those tiles