Heads Up:
Anyone looking to install a fresh copy of Windows 7SP1, it no longer works 'out of the box' you need to manually download and install KB3102810 (An Update to Windows Update), otherwise it will endlessly check for updates.

There are two newer versions of this update, (Feb2016) KB3135445, and (March2016) KB3138612, but these seem to break image restores of Windows 7SP1, i.e. restores from Paragon HDM 2015 or Acronis. The restored image of Windows 7SP1 works, but Windows Update won't - it will endlessly search for updates/fail to find updates quickly. KB3102810 is still working at this time. Feedback on your experience would be useful on this.

If Windows Update is working properly, it should take 7 minutes maximum to find all 200+ updates after a fresh install of Windows 7SP1 on a SSD (From a clean Digital River or other Microsoft sourced ISO, in an activated or unactivated state, it doesn't matter)

It seems Microsoft don't won't you imaging up your system prior to installing Windows 10 and activating, then restoring Windows 7SP1 (i.e. to take advantage of the free Win10 offer, but carry on using Windows 7 for now). They want it to be a 'one way path'.

If you are thinking of upgrading to Windows 10, its actually better to do this from a fresh install, if you intend to carry on using your current Windows 7/8 installation or potentially go back to it. i.e. using your current install, to update to Windows10, the DNA of your current Win7 install seems to get recorded in the Microsoft Cloud Services, so if you then revert to it (outside of using MS Win10 tools, which reverts by deactivating Win10) by restoring a previous image manually, Windows Update is confused, as the version of Windows 7SP1 'shouldn't exist'.

Restoring Disk Images
If you do get a problem after restoring a disk image (Paragon, Acronis etc) of Windows 7SP1 and it starts endlessly checking for updates again, uninstall KB3102810 (assuming the backup had it installed) and then reinstall it. (but only if you get this, you shouldn't)

Just to add:
The above is only important if you intend to use the 'Reserve your copy' of Windows 10, so need to fully update Windows 7SP1 to 'current' or want to manually install KB Patches to date to avoid the Windows 10 Nagware and Telemetry patches, so you can just run Windows 7SP1, going forward, and not upgrade to Windows 10 (or be nagged about it)

If you intend to go directly to Windows 10, just download the latest build 1511 ISO, do a clean install of Windows 10 over the top of a clean install of Windows 7SP1 without even running Win7's Windows Update. This way you can avoid Win7's Windows Update all together and avoid the above problem.

The minimum requirement for installing Windows 10 from downloaded ISO/USB install is a fresh install of Win7SP1.

Make sure you like this post if it was helpful/saved you time. Thanks.

They have Windows 7 Pro for £13.98, which would equally upgrade to Windows 10 wouldn't it?

Or even better stay on 8.1

These cheap OEM licences are being sold in breach of the OEM licence as they are not meant for re-sale. Microsoft have been known to revoke the licence keys. You are then left to try and get your money back from the seller. You might still feel its worth a punt but just be aware its not 100% lagit

Cheap for OEM Windows, must be clearing the shelves, well the virtual shelves.

Or even better stay on 8.1

can you just forego the upgrade with the previous version license?
when i upgraded the keys were very different between 8 and 10.

They have Windows 7 Pro for £13.98, which would equally upgrade to Windows 10 wouldn't it?

g2a etc have win 10 at circa 20 quid, saves all the messing about with immediate os upgrades etc. I'm my view that's better.

Is there a date on which the free upgrade to 10 ends?

Both upgrade to Windows 10 Home and not 10 pro?

Pro versions of 7 & 8 upgrade to 10 Pro

These cheap OEM licences are being sold in breach of the OEM licence as they are not meant for re-sale. Microsoft have been known to revoke the licence keys. You are then left to try and get your money back from the seller. You might still feel its worth a punt but just be aware its not 100% lagit

Windows 10 sux. 8.1 pro is great. Heat added

I would rather pay £16 to downgrade to Windows 7, away from voluntary complete surveillance scam.
Screw Microsoft and Google.

Heads Up:
Anyone looking to install a fresh copy of Windows 7SP1, it no longer works 'out of the box' you need to manually download and install KB3102810 (An Update to Windows Update), otherwise it will endlessly check for updates.

There are two newer versions of this update, (Feb2016) KB3135445, and (March2016) KB3138612, but these seem to break image restores of Windows 7SP1, i.e. restores from Paragon HDM 2015 or Acronis. The restored image of Windows 7SP1 works, but Windows Update won't - it will endlessly search for updates/fail to find updates quickly. KB3102810 is still working at this time. Feedback on your experience would be useful on this.

If Windows Update is working properly, it should take 7 minutes maximum to find all 200+ updates after a fresh install of Windows 7SP1 on a SSD (From a clean Digital River or other Microsoft sourced ISO, in an activated or unactivated state, it doesn't matter)

It seems Microsoft don't won't you imaging up your system prior to installing Windows 10 and activating, then restoring Windows 7SP1 (i.e. to take advantage of the free Win10 offer, but carry on using Windows 7 for now). They want it to be a 'one way path'.

If you are thinking of upgrading to Windows 10, its actually better to do this from a fresh install, if you intend to carry on using your current Windows 7/8 installation or potentially go back to it. i.e. using your current install, to update to Windows10, the DNA of your current Win7 install seems to get recorded in the Microsoft Cloud Services, so if you then revert to it (outside of using MS Win10 tools, which reverts by deactivating Win10) by restoring a previous image manually, Windows Update is confused, as the version of Windows 7SP1 'shouldn't exist'.

Restoring Disk Images
If you do get a problem after restoring a disk image (Paragon, Acronis etc) of Windows 7SP1 and it starts endlessly checking for updates again, uninstall KB3102810 (assuming the backup had it installed) and then reinstall it. (but only if you get this, you shouldn't)

Just to add:
The above is only important if you intend to use the 'Reserve your copy' of Windows 10, so need to fully update Windows 7SP1 to 'current' or want to manually install KB Patches to date to avoid the Windows 10 Nagware and Telemetry patches, so you can just run Windows 7SP1, going forward, and not upgrade to Windows 10 (or be nagged about it)

If you intend to go directly to Windows 10, just download the latest build 1511 ISO, do a clean install of Windows 10 over the top of a clean install of Windows 7SP1 without even running Win7's Windows Update. This way you can avoid Win7's Windows Update all together and avoid the above problem.

The minimum requirement for installing Windows 10 from downloaded ISO/USB install is a fresh install of Win7SP1.

Make sure you like this post if it was helpful/saved you time. Thanks.

Misinformed? Care to elaborate? :smile:
You obviously don't have much of IT knowledge and are not well informed with VR stuff as well.

If you have a tablet, or touch screen 8.1 was better.

8.1 was also more stable, and it took less clicks to get some things done. Connecting to a VPN in 10 opens excess windows.

Pulling OneDrive placeholders was annoying.

10 has the potential to be decent, but its needs more time.

You'll need to upgrade the software as the licence will be tied to the hardware.

I'm getting the impression that the upgrade to Windows 10 will be to Windows 10 Home and not Pro (according to the Play Asia website) although a couple of other websites say that you get Windows 10 Pro and not Home.

Can anyone confirm this?

I have personally installed and activated Windows 10 Pro directly without having to install Windows 8.1 Pro and upgrade. It's not even a discussion of whether it is possible as I've done it and hence I thought I would share it with others on here.

​Er no you cannot. My understanding was the key must be activated on 8.1 and then converted to 10 via the upgrade wizard as this then creates the hardware hash on me servers to bond the 10 key.

you can upgrade your fake copy of w7(or get 1 for free ) for a genuine w10 for free

Er, yes you can, as I've also done it

I hate these "I know better than you posts". Just saying.

Haha, love it when people type the sound they'd make when giving a sarcastic response... errr... :wink:
These threads always bring out the best from geeky-know-it-alls.

Oh so no arguments or facts then. Just saying :man:

Harvest Sunday for Microsoft... all is safely gathered in... :wink:

Umm if you want Win 10 why not buy the cheaper Win 7 Pro from there lol Same difference

​you can use an authentic windows 7/8 key to activate windows 10 after a clean install. You don't have to go down the upgrade route. You only have the option to use previous OS activation keys to activate windows 10 until June this year though.

This is no longer the case from October Windows 10 update. The new ISO files downloaded with the Media creation tool allows you to do a clean Windows 10 install with an existing previous Windows 7/8.x key. It'll automatically get a digital entitlement license as part of the install.

Vista was ****. 7 was also a **** especially with sound drivers issues and codec issues (mainly on laptops). No problems whatsever with 8.1 since it was released.

Again, yes you can.
http://www.howtogeek.com/224342/how-to-clean-install-windows-10/

IGNORE

Regardless of your preferences regarding windows (i like all of them) be careful with these keys. They might work now but there is a chance that they'll not work in the future or not allow the upgrade.

If it seems to good to be true...

Correct.
http://m.winsupersite.com/windows-10/windows-10-november-update-activate-os-using-your-windows-7-and-8-product-keys#slide-0-field_images-61741

Point

missed


Completely

Cheers.

Anyone know if I can get my upgrade key without installing. What I mean is that I have a copy of Windows 8.1 here. I'll be building another PC later in the year (past July). Can I like 'sign up' for the upgrade now and not use it?

You can do a clean install of Windows 10 with a 7,8,8.1 key now but am pretty sure that you have to have had that key activated on the OS is was issued for it was done because people were deciding to do a clean install and windows 10 wasn't activating as MS cloud had messed up and i know i tried it myself 3 times. I even rang MS and vas advised to give it a few days to see if it became active, which it didnt MS informed me that 100s of people were having the same issue. I ended up having to go 8 8.1 then 10 what a ball ache, if it were the case you could buy a cheap 7 or 8 key and install windows 10 MS would be loosing a fortune as no one would but a legit 10 key.

As for the upgrade Play Asia have made a mistake 7,8,8.1 pro all upgrade to 10 pro not windows 10 home.

Agreed i have 3 systems and none have became inactive.

I installed W7 ultimate from a 'decomissioned' pc licence from https://www.reddit.com/r/microsoftsoftwareswap/comments/3k5rls/h_windows_10_7_8_81_servers_office_visio_project for 20USD I think at the time. Never had a problem

Even if it c0cks up, just use removewat

If you install Windows 10 using the default 'Express settings' it gives Microsoft complete access to your system, simply put - everything. You need to select 'Custom install' and deselect every single option (there are a lot), then you need to go into privacy settings and do the same. Also recommend using a local account rather than creating a MIcrosoft Live account if Privacy is your main concern.

right, while the children squabble, maybe an adult can tell me: have a [email protected] old dell inspiron 1501 running xp. as xp is UTTERLY not supported anymore, would getting the 7 key help me to upgrade to 10 or is it likely to be too underpowered for that and should i go for a linux (mint, i heard, was small and not unfriendly) install? it's for someone who can't afford a new laptop and this is just going spare...

thing is, i'm barely able to feed myself, never mind, start d!cking around with iso's and safe modes'n'stuff. so, anyone care to suggest a direction?

Was just going to post the same a lot of people don't realise how much info they collect with express settings, choose custom and then read exactly what they want you to agree to, opens your eyes.

Disable Windows 10 Spying - Privacy & Security
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1kGMCfb2xw

I have WIndows 8.1 on my machine and a message pops up saying that I can upgrade to Windows 10 for free at the moment. Just wondering, I have Acrobat reader and some other packages downloaded on my machine. If I do an upgrade will I lose all of my files, ie Word ones, photos, scanned items, etc, or will they still be there? I also have Microsoft Office 10 that came with my machine (bought it online already installed and have no disks for it) - will I lose all of that if I upgrade to Windows 10? The only reason I haven't upgraded already is that I'm a bit worried that I will lose all of my files, folders, Windows 10, Acrobat Adobe, AVG Lifetime, etc if I upgrade - is that likely to happen? Thank you.

The funny thing is if there are people with something to hide how would you know they have something to hide? Maybe the people who have gone out of their way to hide their footprint with "specialist" software. What a joke.

The lack of Windows 10 drivers for that nforce chipset would cause Windows 10 compatibility to fail. Its Possible you could try to force install by using downloaded Windows 10 ISO and use older Vista/Win7 nforce drivers to update the unknown hardware. I've updated a HP machine using an Athon 64 X2 Processor, with nforce chipset, but it had better NVidia graphics - the ATI Radeon Xpress 1150 hasn't been supported since Vista.

Linux Mint 17.3 is your best hope, just boot a live USB (which doesn't change anything on your current system) and see if it runs (graphics etc), if it does - install it. (or stick with XP, and use Malware Bytes 'Anti-Malware' Free Edtion). Linux Mint 17.3 will install in under 12 minutes to fully updated on a system with an SSD (for anyone thinking of giving it a go)

Its just getting out of the mindset that you must have Windows to browse the internet. If you use Linux Mint 17.3 for more than 10 minutes you'll forget what OS you are using, because Firefox and Chrome are identical to how they run in Windows. Linux Mint 17.3 is very user friendly in terms of the Graphical UI and stable.

Like many others it seems, I had some problems with a few windows updates and after searching for people who know more than I do (Which is almost anyone, concerning computers), I discovered a site called 'ask woody', and on there, the good people who know heaps more than me, seem to mostly dislike windows 10. Those same people all seem to go to that site for info as to whether or not to install the latest updates, in case the updates are secretly trying to adjust or add to your system without permission (just my limited understanding of all their jargon).
So....... unless any of you have reasons to say the ask woody site is utter rubbish, surely some people are quite correct to not like or trust windows 10 ?

What about Windows 8? I don't like 10 even slightest.

thanks

Surely with the stuff going on around the world these days, we all ought to be taking care to hide any personal information ?
Do you really want a total stranger poking into your business and private life, then be able if they so desire, to publish details of everything you do, bank accounts etc?
I personally don't even want anyone to know what I eat for breakfast unless I tell them myself, so if I knew how to, I would ensure every key stroke I make is private.

I doubt you'll be taken too seriously now then as I'm not alone in thinking Windows 7 has been great. Many on here are loving Windows 10 too as it apparently puts right a lot that went wrong in Windows 8.

Just saying :stuck_out_tongue:

All your files and settings are moved over if you upgrade to Windows 10. You may be prompted to upgrade AVG to the most recent version to ensure it works with Windows 10, but everything else should work no problem.
If you're worried about losing your pictures and documents, you should already be thinking about a backup solution.

My advice would be to either purchase a cheap external USB harddisk and have Windows automatically back up your files/copy them over manually, or simply install Microsoft One Drive (since it'll be included as part of Windows 10 anyway) on your computer now, and copy your important files there as a cloud backup.

If you do have any problems, You can roll back to your previous install of Windows in a few minutes.

I don't really mind that much however I disable it because I don't want it impacting my FPS or internet speed while gaming. My main concern would be webcam or mic access but I just don't have any connected.

I never had any problems with 8 after getting used to it. It's more user friendly than 7 to me.
Depends what you like. Works better with Oculus as well.

Windows 10 would be pushing it, but if you want to stick with Windows, Windows 7 or 8 should not be a problem. Might have to use the Vista graphics drivers, otherwise straightforward I'd say

Because you didn't acquire it via legitimate means. Msoft probably aren't getting anything from these sales and they aren't known for being generous. If they find the source of the keys, they'll plug it and revoke them.

I agree; it depends what you like. For me Windows 7 is still ticking the boxes but I'll look at running a dual boot with Windows 10 when I get time - then I've both bases covered :smiley:

Doubt VR is going to win me over. Sony tried it about 20 years ago and it failed. Admittedly we are talking PS1 and a not very capable headset which led to poor graphics but people weren't ready then and I'm not entirely convinced they are now. Headsets need to become less intrusive and a lot lighter - even then I'm not sure it's a product for the masses.

Thanks OP. Ordered a Win7 pro key, paid via paypal... But had to confirm my email address via emailed link AND had to create a play-aisa account AND had to wait for a phonecall from HongKong - in which the person on the end of the phone wanted to verify the email addresses for that I had already provided / verified. Nothing too onerous - just 'what was the email address that you registered with?' followed by an 'ok that's fine'... Seems ok, but made me a little suspicious at first.

What are you even talking about? Didn't acquire it by legitimate means? You download the software from Microsoft and buy the key through a reputable company. You are either talking out of your a** or a troll.

The details on Play-Asia's site state you can upgrade to Windows 10 Home edition from this 8.1 pro license key - are you sure it also allows you to upgrade to 10 Pro?.

Reputable company? There is no way that anyone is able to acquire large quantities of OEM keys from microsoft and make a profit off £16.07.

I'm either talking out my a**, a troll or I know more than you.

Right, you go from accusing Play-asia as flogging fake Windows keys to implying you know more than me even though you know virtually nothing about me. You are a right gem aren't you.

same question but i have a vista laptop that id like to upgrade for my lad if i purchased win 7 for it could i upgrade to win 10 no problem.

All Windows are piles of horse manure, every new version is just a thoughtless rehash of the last. Just like that other garbage Office, it's so intuitive it comes with phone book size user guides. Microsoft have had countless years to craft their programs, instead they've just rolled the same turd over the same glitter. Don't know about most people, but i just want $h1t that works, I'm not interested in having to spend hours understanding some circle of geeks disastrous OS (and get nowhere), i have enough stuff to get on with. So for me, after many wasted years growing up in an abusive relation with Microsoft, I've never been happier with the simplicity of Android and iOS. Boom! #justsayin! :sunglasses:

Still on vista please inform me how to upgrade to either Windows 7 or 8 the chest east way
Many thanks for your help

I don't see Microsoft extending the deadline for the free upgrade after July 2016.

Microsoft are (very likely) to charge after July 2016 (that's my understanding - likely to be confirmed in MS Build 2016 this week), and give free credit for their App store as a form of 'cashback' to create a slush fund for developers to target the App Store, to create a ground swell around the development of Universal Apps (How it should have been done in the first place)

Trouble is Satya Nadella didn't think of that, at the time.

This is the best fully legit deal ive ever seen on a Win8/10 key HEAT, Play Asia are legit been around for years PERIOD.

Beware that the supplied key (for Win7 Pro) cannot be used with Microsoft usual download tool at https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/software-download/windows7, as you'll get the following error message:
"The product key you've entered appears to be for software which was pre-installed by the device manufacturer. Please contact the device manufacturer for software recovery options."

There may be some alternative options, but I'm not sure what they are...

Microsoft has started to secretly install spyware (telemetry) on Windows 7 & 8, if your system is set to "automatic updates". With Windows 7 & 8 you can set updates to manual and take some control of what is installed. With Windows 10 Home or Pro, you do not have any control over updates. There are some third party utilities which allow some control on Windows 10 but they are difficult to use by the average user. I believe the consensus is that Microsoft has decided to control us through our Windows systems, no matter what. If you don't want that, your only choice is Linux/Ubuntu.

And as far as all this bickering over which version of Windows is best, it's like choosing between being bludgeoned with a big stick with nails in it or being run over by a steam roller that smells of post-takeaway farts. Even IF your meaningless opinion was right, no one cares and no one is interested in a night long civil debate of so called facts, if you just want an argument or to insult someone then let's just cut to the chase. That way we might all get some mild entertainment from this post.

Are they really? Clap clap, have a cracker.

I just used a Windows 7 Pro key to activate my Windows 10 Pro Insider Preview build.

If you're worried about Windows 10 spyware (it's not really that much of an issue) this from Spybot is a nice and simple install
https://www.safer-networking.org/spybot-anti-beacon/

(Currently) The only option you can't turn off is Basic Telemetry in Windows 10, the settings are very granular, but unlike Google Privacy settings, aren't designed to confuse you (with pop-ups) or stop you from turning them off. Google Privacy settings also get deleted everytime you clear cookies.

As said, create a local account only. Use a custom install in Windows 10, select every option (about 12 settings-make sure you scroll down too to see any part-hidden settings) to its left setting to switch it off, go into privacy settings/Cortana after everything has installed- to the same. Turn off Camera and Microphone for any App that you don't want to give permission to. One that often gets missed: Go into Windows Defender, and prevent unknown software/potential malware samples been uploaded to MS automatically.

There are a lot of privacy settings in Windows 10, they all default to 'share your info' if you don't explicity set them to 'private' and use default 'express settings' install option.

I wouldn't recommend installing any unknown third party software to 'lazily' set the privacy settings for you. Privacy settings are very granular in Windows 10, they may not all in the same place, but they are all there if you look for them and in fairness, its generally switchiing each option left to 'off', to set privacy to its strongest.

windows 10 pro you can control updates, windows 10 home you can only delay them by saying your on a metered connection

Just got a key and will stick to 8.1. Thanks. Heat

Unless you want to be ready for DX12 games in the future, I don't see much reason to upgrade to Windows 10 from 8.1
Both are very similar but with 10 they've gone a step further to remove the win32 interface but still not entirely. That and the new unified settings menu makes it less polished as you still need the control panel for most things.

Microsoft has always been very two-faced about piracy, because it knows that a pirate install is better for it than an install of a competing operating system.

nice

Agreed. For that reason, Im definetly not purchasing, how dodgy.

Just has the same thing happen to me, it took about 10-15 minutes for the call to come through but it was fairly pain free and my key is available now. I opted for the windows 7 pro option due to lower cost. Only asked for the email address, no other details.

That applies to all OEM versions of Windows 7 doesn't it? The MS downloads are for retail versions rather than OEM supplied ones.

I could understand them sending you an email to the address you supplied and waiting for you to acknowledge before they send the code- but not a phone call!

You could do worse than give free Linux MInt 17.3 Cinnamon Live ISO a go if you don't need specific Windows software like accounting-Quickbooks etc. (The hardest part is copying the downloaded ISO to an 2GB+ USB stick), then just boot from the USB, and see if the system runs on your PC/laptop, it allows you to test how it would turn out, without changing anything on your current system - why they call it the 'live' version.

It actually helps trying this live version of Linux Mint, as it gives you an instant idea of what Hardware is likely to fail under Windows 10, anything not working under Linux Mint 17.3 , is also unlikely to work on Windows 10, like older fingerprint readers and obscure HP 3D Disk Protection drivers.

Linux Mint has LibreOffice 5.0 (MS Office alternative) and Firefox 45 for its default browser, plus VLC player for Video, all pre-configured and working 'out the box'. You can use it just from USB 'live version', but its a bit slow that way, rather than fully install it - but its a good way to try it to familiarise yourself with Linux Mint, without committing to it.

Nothing wrong with Windows 7, Linux Mint, OSX10.11.3. All are good. Biggest problem with Windows 8.1 is the process of getting to Windows 8.1 from Windows 8.0, but once its running its just getting used the changes, like anything new. Windows 8.1 is much better at file management / stuff under the hood - than Windows 7, but the Modern / Metro style desktop is not to everyone's liking, hence - Windows 10. Windows 10 User Interface / Linux Mint 17.3 (Cinnamon) are similar in some ways, with a smaller quarter screen menu.

The biggest problem with sticking with Windows 7 / Windows 8.1 is that Microsoft are making it all but impossible (going forward) to stay on these platforms without a lot of nitty-gritty work-manually preventing the install of 12 to 15 Windows-KB Update Patches (which constantly get re-issued even when you explicitly hide them). Microsoft are literally performing 'self harm', they seem out to destroy the Windows 7 install base, by whatever means they can (equivalent to tripping up users), to be replaced by Windows 10. And it doesn't seem to matter whether your machine can run Windows 10 or not, just kill off Windows 7 seems the current ploy.

Thanks for posting this deal op... very timely deal as I've just got all the parts for a new PC build and this is the icing on the cake :smiley:

Completely the opposite. A sensible fraud prevention measure used just on the first order.

very good shout on the win 7 install. I cam a cropper a few months ago on that. It's not commonly found on google either.

That's not entirely correct. These Customer Experience Improvement Program updates are optional. This means you're the one installing them - or not. In fact there's no proof that they even feed data back to Microsoft if installed and your settings have CEIP involvement disabled.

This article says it better :

http://www.infoworld.com/article/2981947/microsoft-windows/the-truth-about-windows-7-and-81-spy-patches-kb-3068708-3022345-3075249-and-3080149.html

Don't be - impeccable English, clarity, attitude and customer service.

I got into a pickle as, after setting up an account on Play Asia, I used PayPal express checkout (which sets you up with your verified PayPal details.) So accidentally ended up with two accounts associated with two different e-mail addresses. When the woman rang me up to verify that I was the account holder and made the purchase, after I quoted both e-mail addresses I gave to the system to her and explained what happened - she kind of helped/led me to give her the right e-mail address to her using careful emphasis ("A purchase made with PAYPAL express checkout would be registered to your PAYPAL e-mail address.")

Got the code. Will know if its okay in a couple of days.

I am glad your experience has been good so far.

Thinking about purchasing a licence, I know MS only allows you to download ISO's if you have a retail key but does anyone know where you can get an ISO legally or from a reliable source.

Windows 7 is old hat, it doesn't even have the Windows Store. I liked a lot of the enhancements they introduced in Windows 8, and especially 8.1. The telemetry stuff is a bit of a shame but I much MUCH prefer it as an OS over old Windows 7. I would also say those with no knowledge of Windows Phone have a harder time with it too as they see Live Tiles as "ads" (LOL).

Got my code 10 minutes after the purchase. I've paid by Paypal, didn't create an account, just confirmed my email. Looking good so far, although I haven't tested the code yet, obviously. Will do a format and clean install of 8.1 this weekend, and upgrade to 10 straight after.

I prefer my torrented OS's thanks.

£13.55 for Windows 7 pro here link

Thanks for that, I assumed the retail rule would have been the same for all versions.

Or you could download the ISO here

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/techbench

I've just bought one. They sent me a 4 digit code by text to verify my mobile number and I verified my email using link in email message so no phone call for me. Paid with paypal and got my key instantly. I will try a clean install of Windows 10 pro and hopefully the key works without any issues.

I'll be quite happy to get the pro version of Windows 10 for this price. I like to have group policy access and having more control over updates could be handy (found some info about that here).

Windows 10 upgrade - just how stupid do you have to be?

You think you want Windows 10? Not even Microsoft thinks you should want Windows 10. If they thought you did they would be charging you for it not giving it away and even ramming it down your throat with automatic windows updates that won't take no for an answer.

Windows 10 is already the most privacy violating version of Windows and will be the most expensive, you will be renting it by the month or paying to not have advertising spewed across your desktop or probably both.

Windows 10 is bait and Microsoft are getting really desperate to hook as many fools as they think they are going to so they can get on with the switch and start taking money.

What's so bad about Windows 10 apart from the telemetry scaremongering?

MS keep that page quiet. Does that give you the latest updated Retail 1511 Versions though? Or its a constant Win10 July 2015 'Builders' Build? I just used the other way, it worked for me.

Because it might be better for some .., like me. Ie mining rigs. Win 10 is less performing. Win 7 is unstable as hell and only sees 5 Gpus .., win 8 is gonna be great for that work and I also do SW development and there are bits wich usually jjust wotk better on 8.1. Microsoft edge is just a pain for development...
Anyway out of them all Linix is the best :-)) just don't have time to reconfigure all and put into production all my rigs.
Another one.
If you're upset about downgrading why don't you image your machines before upgrading with some free tools: Macrium.
It worked quite well after upgrade from 7 to 10 proved to be the wrong choice.
No problems so far ...

1511 unsure of the exact version.

Idiots make assumptions.

Also windows 10 isn't free. It's free to upgrade :L You think the 10,000's of new computers get free windows OS's, think again. The bias also shows when you take something good and twist it into a bad thing. Getting free windows upgrades is a positive for every Microsoft consumer, you seem to neglect that fact.

Installed windows 10 as a test on an old core2duo with 2gb ram. After spending 10 hours sorting out graphics driver problems (no shortage of them when googled), I am actually pleasantly surprised at how fast the system is. I was previously using xp.

It actually runs better & plays 1080 videos. More faster than the the lightweight xfce version of Linux mint 17.2 I normally used in a dual boot setup.

Only thing that scares me is why Microsoft is shoving it down our throats complete with mandatory updates.

Silly me Microsoft are giving us a major upgrade of one their main products for nothing because, errm, after 30 years of doing the opposite they have now decided they don't want to make money?

Thanks for the example of how stupid you have to be.

When did MS start giving W10 away for free, last time i checked you required a legit copy of either Windows 7 or 8 to get it, so i don't get were this free is coming from, scratching my head on that one. :neutral_face:

Anyway hot.......very good deal considering the price i paid for both W7 and 8 alone. :disappointed:

There are only about 5 posts on this thread relevant to the deal. Please can people stop posting their OPINIONS of Windows. If anyone wants to know they will look it up on a more reliable source than a deals forum. This should just be useful posts about the deal and seller.

I haven't been able to receive the verification sms despite re-requesting it and haven't received a code yet. Anyone else in the same situation? What did you do? Thanks.

I think it's to consolidate win 7 & 8 users into one OS - by making them all go to windows 10 & their planned unified apps. It also brings Xbox, Phones, Tablets to the same Windows 10 system. It will help them to sell tablets & phones as they should work more seamlessly.
Anyway, Apple have been giving away thier OS for years. Guess what their computers, phones & tablets do?
Work seamlessly.
Makes perfect sense for MS to make win 10 free.

My windows 7 pc decided to automatically update to windows 10 in the last "auto update". It is now foo barred. Wont even let me revert to windows 7 - rebooting to safe mode wont work and neither does the shut down / restart button. Cant load malwarebytes on it or kaspersky. Seems to not like my PC much at all - and its not that old!

Was hoping to Acronis back soon - hopefully not an issue based on some post on here...

Shame as I liked the bits that worked :/

Smart a**e. Just saying

This is painful, when is back to school.

sorry bud you can absolutely dont know where you got that information from where ever you got it from its misinformed .

I still have xp will this work?

Many thanks for that. I installed Windows 7 onto an ageing laptop for my sister and used a license code I had laying around from a disc I bought years ago. The install went fine but it sticks on checking for update so I will try your advice above.

I bought a key two days ago from ebay for £9.99 from a oem machine and installed windows 10 pro.
I do have 4 boxed versions of windows 7 pro on my 4 of my machines but just did not want to upgrade them just in case I had problems downgrading or what ever as I just wanted to try windows 10 and the 30 day limit to go back is a joke it should be a 1 year option if you ask me, so this is why I bought a new or used key even if the key only lasts 3 months at least it gave me a chance to try it out.

I have three monitors and took about 20 min to get them to display the desktop with just the task bar in the middle screen and the side twos as extensions which worked but I found two bugs straight of the bat which is a pain in the ass and I am surprised there still there after all this time.

1. when you resize and position a window or Edge it does not remember the window position it keeps moving it which is a right pain.

2. I have the task bar at the top of the screen so when you enlarge the window of edge because of the problem above it over laps the taskbar, whats with that ? has know one at ms noticed that.

I have not had much time with it as I am just learning it but the windows location and sizes need to be sorted and because of how long its been out and there still there is a joke really

cheers

Interesting. I installed W7 Pro 64 (N edition) at the weekend. Clean install from an ISO I DL'd direct from MSDN ages ago. Did the initial massive post-install first update OK. It did have to install an update to windows update before doing the biggie, but it got it all done OK.

Maybe the ISO I'm using? Dunno.

It's always taken me something like half a day for Windows 7 sp1 to find and then install updates. It seems to spend hours and hours looking before actually finding the updates for the first time. Annoying, because there are often driver updates which aren't shown until these are downloaded.
Regarding these 'keys'. Ok, they may be ok, but personally I would prefer a 'second hand' actual physical bit of paper from for instance Ebay. These keys may be unique, but they sound a little like corporate keys that MS used to issue to large organizations which 'escaped' and were eventually banned by MS

Bought, got key instantly (no phone call).
Installed last night / this morning (bootcamp on Mac)
Privacy settings manually added.
£16.
Happy days.
Many thanks.

Can I upgrade my Windows 10 Home Edition with this key? I don't want to complete a clean install, I just want to upgrade to pro (maintain existing settings) Anyone done this with this purchase yet? Ta

Agreed i purchased some win 7 ultimate keys for about £16 each about 18 months ago it lasted only about 6-8 months turns out they were legit keys but either MSDN or OEM i was told they were not for reselling so (in fact the msdn keys had been sold many times i was told as 40+ plus activations on record) an illegal sale , microsoft were generous enough to issue me a single key for all troubles they got all the info off of me ,the site in question has since been shut down so there is a risk involved but its worth a punt ! voted hot for the price

ordered windows 7 but no key sent...

I'd recommend installing Elementary OS, a light, fast and very beautiful Ubuntu-based OS that looks a bit like OSX, but works well on older computers. It's free, but you'll need to download the app from the Elementary site to make a bootable USB stick (takes about a minute to make this)

Ordered one but no key. I had an old phone number on file so I assume they send a validation text to it and now I'm stuck... waiting for a reply from CS.

Microsoft are dropping security updates for Windows 7 and 8, 8.1 soon, watch out if you don't take free upgrade to 10!

I have a Window 7 retail, can I do clean install Windows 10 from usb key on SSD and activate w7 retail key?

Is this legit? Can anyone confirm these arent MSDN licences which will deactivate after too many people activate the same key??

How can a retailer sell the licence for £100 and these people sell for £16???

Silly Question Alert.

I have an old laptop full of junk. If I download this key and the download pack and install it... will it wipe everything back to empty?

Like sticking a boot disc in?

Are these similar to the keys on eBay that are meant to only be used on original hardware so they put "original hardware for collection only - we will email the key"? If so, Win7Pro is less than £9 on eBay, but it's a clear breach of the MS licence terms

I pay £7.49 for Windows 7 Pro key and use that on a fresh instal of 10 pro. Works everytime

I've read about it a few times on Tomshardware forum where people have had licences revoked and asking what they can do about it. I won't use these type of sites for software licences, I always buy proper licences so never had a problem.

Is this valid for a single PC, or multiple?

I have win 7 pro on my pc and have the upgrade ootion, so far I havent taken it as im worried about things working properly and.if I dont like it being stuck with it, however since I havent taken them up my pc is not coming out of sleep mode and regularly freezing to the point I have to force shutdown, coukd this be microsofts way if edging me towards the upgrade as all checks for virus come back clear

Buy yourself a cheap SSD and an external USB caddy, do a clean install of windows 10 and use the old drive to import your apps and documents, then format it to use as an external drive.

Double check if you have Nvidia graphic card. Microsoft haven't fixed the compatible issue properly since Win 10 first released - it's ok now but sometimes the screen will be distorted.

I have seen legit Windos 10 Pro upgrades on Amazon for about £40 - think I would pay the extra for peace of mind.

I miss Windows 7. My laptop came with 8 and I despise it. I couldn't find my photos that I'd saved to desktop mode because they were moved to that stupid Tiles mode for no reason.

I've heard worse horror stories about 10 so I won't be "upgrading"!

I'm struggling to see why this is a deal as Windows 10 upgrade is free anyway. Is it the (fairly) cheap licence code? Surely it can't be as there are many providers of Windows 7/8/8.1 codes (from decommissioned PCs I suppose) at about the same price.

Windows 7 support has come to an end and w8 support has been extended to Jan 2023

Not quite correct, MAINSTREAM support for Windows 7 has ended but EXTENDED support runs until Jan 2020, so you will get security patches until then. Windows normally gets 5 years of mainstream and then another 5 years of extended support, that's why 8.1 gets security patches until 2023.

Read this:
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows/lifecycle

Security updates for Windows 7 continue until at least 2020. Even Vista has updates for another year.

You're not making the distinction between Windows 7 and Windows 7SP1, Windows 7 support has ended, Windows 7SP1 (the version everyone actually uses) is supported until 2020, Microsoft just no longer support the initial RTM release of Windows 7.

Bought and Heat added.

Agree there are still some tablet elements that were better in 8.1, but the November update improved things quite a bit and so it's generally pretty good now.

For VPN, the extra steps are tedious. You can create a shortcut to rasdial to make this only a click away (rasdial VPNConnectionName Username * - it will then prompt for the password, or if you wish you can put the password instead of the asterisk in the shortcut).

None of those buttons do anything on my PC. Think the upgrade obviously went wrong :disappointed:

do yourself a favour. get yourself ubuntu. its free and its much better. but i guess anything is better than windows

Anyone who thinks 8 is better than 10 is living in a fantasy world.

Just download the latest Generation2 ISO of Windows 7 which gives you the option to install as a standard installation instead of pre activated - meaning you can use your original licence key. The latest last time I checked was March 2016, it also includes .Net Framework.

Assuming its an older bios based PC-Windows 10 creates a hidden recovery partition during the install, to allow those recovery buttons to work, if that no longer exists (or it was unable to create it, during the upgrade), they won't work. Your old Windows install should be in a directory called Windows.old on the C: drive.

Make sure you have lots of free disk space before performing an upgrade.
A Clean install of Windows 7SP1 needs a partition size of 44GB (absolute minimum) to perform a clean Windows 10 Upgrade, keeping nothing (using the 1511 ISO), more if you are upgrading via 'reserve my copy'. After upgrading, Windows 10 will only occupy 15-22GB of that 44GB, depending on the size of the hybernation file.

I have a 32 bit version of XP Pro on my PC and am wondering whether I can use this to upgrade to either Windows 7 Professional or to Windows 10 Professional?

If I am reading this right this is a clean install which means it wipes all the data on your hard drive?

But I must agree 50 percent, that Windows10 is not stable enough for business but very good for Home users :smiley:

To me Windows 10 > 8.1 with my experience and opinions

Great price and guide :smiley:

Windows 8 is the worse programme ever. Windows 10 is a lot better but still needs improvement with updates from Microsoft. Yet again they realised a programme to early v

You're recommending downloading a pre-packaged updated torrent version of Windows 7 from an unknown source to solve the problem? There is little point installing any of the security updates at all if you are going base the install of Windows 7 itself a pre-packaged torrent version of Windows from an unknown source downloaded from the net. These are highly targeted to inject malware onto your machine. The same goes for paying £20 for an ISO of Windows 7/8.1/10 off ebay.

Stick to a legitimate source: Microsoft
https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/software-download/windows7

The link you provide doesn't work for OEM licenses of Windows 7, which probably 95%+ of the worlds Windows 7 installs are.

Read post #190, you can download Windows 7 disk images direct from Microsoft using the article I link to.

I personally think Windows 10 is superb , But one thing i would say is to definitely disable it from updating other devices .
It attempted to update my Graphics drivers and failed miserably .

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/faq/id-2763685/stop-windows-automatically-updating-device-drivers.html

You also shouldn't need to install Windows 7 at all. You just need to get an up to date version of Windows 10 (1511) and do a clean install with that. It'll accept Windows 7/8 keys for activation.

Just grab the latest ISO from here. For some reason it doesn't always show up on a desktop browser, so in Chrome press F12, then press ctrl+shift+m to view the page in device mode, then press F5 to refresh and it should allow you to download the full ISO.
Then just burn to disc or use Windows 7 USB DVD download tool to make a bootable USB stick.

Good luck running Oculus on either of those ....

OEM licenses do not allow you change major components - mobo/CPU/hard disk - so upgrade first before you install it...

They are most likely MSDN keys which is why they are so cheap with no retail packaging.

This is in breach of Microsofts terms and really shouldn't be advertise on HUKD.

Grey licence keys always seem like a bargain, because it usually takes Microsoft several months to catch up and eventually revoke the key, by which time your seller has long since vanished.

I predict a lot of annoyed and embarrassed people over the next 6 months. Annoyed because they've been had and embarrassed because they should've known better.

Windows 7 works fine for me, what's the supposed advantages of 10 or even 8?

will this product key work on windows 10 home edition?

What an interesting post.

That dispenses with 0.1% of users; the other 99.9% of us are happy.

I don't really understand why this is a deal and a hot deal at that? if you search on ebay for "scrap windows 7" you will find keys for under £8, completed ones you see under £6 even, just buy from one that has sold in the 100s and maybe investigate that it really comes from scraped machines and the keys weren't generated or stolen.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_sacat=0&_nkw=scrap+windows+7&_sop=15

They're OEM keys - the clue is in the description on the website.

Tried this and ended up with an unactived pro install that cites error 0xC004E016 (On a computer running Microsoft Windows non-core edition)

I have just bought Parallels for my Macbook to put windows in it.

Can any suggest how to do that? I mean I buy the windows 8.1 key here and then how to install it my macbook?

I will stick with Windows 7. I prefer it over 8.1 and prefer that over 10. Actually prefer Vista over 8.1.

If they were MSDN keys they wouldn't tell you anyway, so just saying they are OEM keys wouldn't really give me full confidence unless I knew the seller was trustworthy. I know nothing about this seller so can't say for sure, others might know them better.

Where did you download it from please? And does it have the windows10 kb-updates nagware installed in it?

You're not buying the SLIC license, you're buying the license on the sticker that came stuck to the computer if it was purchased from a manufacturer. As you probably know, the sticker license never gets used unless you reinstall Windows yourself and enter the sticker key. It's a virgin key if never used.

The initial posting was more about sticking with and running Windows 7, doing a fresh install of Win7 and getting Windows Update to work, when manually selecting updates, rather than Automatic Updates. The reason being, to avoid install the Windows KBs related to Telemetry/Win10 Nagware.

True, you can avoid installing (activating) Win7SP1, if you use Windows 10 1511 ISO, but initialy there were a lot of reports its wasn't full proof (thurrott.com , for one) with Win7 OEM Keys (i.e activation failing after installing Windows 10, Win7 Retail keys should be fine). Also quite a few to go the 'reserve my copy of Windows 10' route through Win7.
The (activated) fresh install of Win7SP1 to Win10 is full proof in my experience (and remains activated if you 'image' backup and restore the (activated) Win10 system).

Each to their own, but its difficult to recommend things and keep it simple. I try to recommend things that always work, as the backlash on here can be fierce

As of, I don't know when. The 1151 version of 10 downloaded from MS works with oem Windows 7 keys. Pro or Home.

I got caught out recently (only for a tenner, to be fair) by buying Win7 from Software Geeks. I ended up buying the real thing and at an oldish age, learnt another lesson.... which is equally old, and that is 'If it looks to good to be true... etc'! Just prepare yourself for disappointment and hopefully you just might get lucky.

​ive had a windows 7 key revoked about a year after I bought it. it is rare but it can happen

I am a little worried about this OEM key not working down the line but someone said play-asia have been going for years and have a fairly good reputation? Seemed a safer option than an ebay seller to me but that may be misguided lol.

Also, I'm hoping MS wouldn't boot loads of people off Windows 10 after trying so hard to get them on to it but we'll see.....

Plenty of Windows 10 activation keys that are just as legal as this are available on EBay for £10 to £12. Just have to downland the latest ISO, burn to disk and install Win 10.

By that argument, They could have just kept updating Vista, as all windows versions since use the Vista Kernel, even Windows 10

You do not need a key at the moment till end of July 2016, just download the latest ISO from Microsoft put in on a USB stick with the media tool, install windows 10 and when you go online it will activate via a digital key :smiley: done this method on 2 machines that where running XP. Also done a fresh install on a laptop with no problems :smiley:

Am I missing something here? Why has this gained so much heat?

You can get a [Windows 10 Pro OEM Key] from MMOGA for £15.96, or for that matter a [Windows 7 Pro 32/64 bit OEM key] for £12.77 and upgrade from that if you are so inclined.

Anyone used MMOGA? Not voting here as yet, doesn't seem like a good deal at Play Asia when summing up the competition even buying a Win 10 Pro key directly works out cheaper.

He is correct, they are either OEM or most like MSDN keys, not for resale and it is against MS terms.

It depends how you interpret it, but EU law seems to suggest it is perfectly legitimate to buy and sell OEM license keys as long as they are currently not in use, it doesn't matter what the terms say if they appear to contravene local laws. MSDN keys and what the law is where they are being sold from, is another matter.

People either loved or hated the Start Screen. I think those of use who used it along with something like Start8 were the ones who saw the benefits of it. It was good for a HTPC-like experience and if one uses their PC for everything it was nice for apps like FilmOn and Plex for example. Those are two examples of where metro apps worked really well.

I don't think so. If it's possible it probably means a lot of messing about.

Like to know the same If anyone knows...

I just cannot see how this is a legit software...

Hi All I thought windows 10 wasn't free for ever and would become a subscription service at some point ??
http://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonkelly/2015/05/12/free-windows-10-has-high-cost/#40f5d6275f3b

That's why I haven't upgraded yet.

I need to upgrade windows 7 32 bit to 64 bit for my son would this be a way to do it if i were to buy this? I have no tech know how so sorry if this seems to be a silly question!!

Thanks -Ive checked the pc specs and it says its compatible so may be worth a punt.

I am building my first ever PC, I ordered all the parts on the weekend. As a Mac user I had to spend a little time researching all the Windows options and how they work. I went with a USB drive from Amazon for £85.

Some people might call me an idiot I could've saved over £50 and put that towards the build, but these keys are super shady to me. And I don't want to deal with 3-6 months done the line a license thats be revoked. It's just not worth the headache.

the settings can change or new ones can be added after a update

The OEM side hasn't been tested in court, the ruling was specifically about second hand software. You might be right, you might be wrong. A lot of armchair lawyers have been writing articles with their own opinion.

The fact this ruling was years ago and nothing much has changed shows it wasn't particularly important in the scheme of things.

Best way buy activation key from eBay around £10

You called Microsoft and they told you to jump in a lake?? ......... sounds legit

He probably heard it wrong, as they might have said river aka 'Digital River'.

why is this cheap when I have upgraded from 7 to 10 for free

actually program can be spelt either way with the same meaning in computing...'(Computer Science) computing a variant spelling of program'.

so not wrong but simply different.

Vista did suck.

If these are OEM licenses taken unused from other PCs, they are 2nd hand as well so would fit into the scope of this ruling. The ruling specifically stated that Ts&Cs cannot prohibit anyone from selling on a license if it is not currently in use. Plenty of people far more qualified than me (and possibly you) have looked and this and most come to the same conclusion. Whether it's the right conclusion, nobody knows 100%.

This so hot it's steaming up my windows.

One thing people need to be very aware of is that perfectly functioning hardware might not work with newer versions of windows because certain manufacturers will not write drivers past one upgrade.
HP have been particularly bad for this kind of thing, other manufacturers such as Canon have supported what might be regarded as legacy product for a number of years.
I got caught with a high end HP scanner costing hundreds and supported only for XP - they never went with the later updates, but it works perfectly with VueScan.

Tried Win10, but think I'll be sticking with Win7. It is perfect for me, so why change?

Unfortunately Microsoft doesn't see it that way and wants everyone off 7 and 8 and onto 10, by hook or by crook. :confused:

There's always workarounds for things like this. The same with the automatic updates for Windows 10. A quick fix in the group policy sorts that out. You can "ignore" updates in Windows Updates. I know it's a pain but I guess it's worth doing. Or you can give in to Windows 10 and faff around on that too :smile:

There are workarounds but most average users are not savvy enough to know they exist and seek them out. Obviously you can only use Group Policy in Win 10 Pro, not Home. :smirk:

Figuratively speaking. Most people are smart enough to not interpret everything literally. Most people...

Windows is an Operating System and not "a program". There are many programs all cobbled together somehow to make Windows.

haven't had time to read all the posts, but will do sometime.

I HATE **** WINDOWS 10 WITH A VENGEANCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
7 and 8 were a doddle in comparison.
I upgraded to 10 on my PC, like a dick. If only I'd known. Whoever designed 10 needs to be taken to a confined space and shot! It was easier on an Amstrad or Spectrum or Amiga.

If you were wondering why 10 upgrades were free now you know!

What's wrong with it?

is 10 better than 8.1?

It's just product key, probably from old broken computers

An application is still a program. An OS is fundamentally a program. It's all the same to the CPU.

I haven't done it on a Macbook since Snow Leopard, but the process is basically:
Download Windows 10> make bootable USB from ISO (google this)>open Applications>Utilities>Boot Camp (download this from Apple site if you don't have it, but make sure it's for your exact version of OSX)>partition drive with enough space for Windows 8.1 or 10 and applications (say, 40-50 Gbs minimum)>install Windows> restart holding alt key to select Windows OS> register Windows and install drivers. The only hard part is finding compatible audio drivers, and that depends on your Macbook and version of Windows. Hope this helps :smiley:

​Just need to get friendly with someone with MS volume licences if they're using KMS keys they'll have a good few hundred activations MAK keys too

Ohhhhh.... ok, i was gonna say! that's poor customer service!

..........................which lake btw?

Ok been asked this is a Windows 8.1 key, they send you a link to the 8.1 pro download,

Is there a link for Windows 10 pro and can I just install it right away ? With this key? I can't see a Offical 10 pro link?

Thank you

Illegal!

Windows 95 is about 11.7 times better than 8.1

Adjust the privacy settings on Netscape navigator and disconnect your dial-up modem and no one will know your secrets

I love windows 10. Windows 7 in work feels ancient in comparison. The task bar search is brilliant for going straight to any setting without faffing about the control panel. Some people would still have us using Windows 2000 ffs.

Bought a windows 10 code off kinguin few months ago for £13 worked fine and not had any problems since.

Can you still upgrade to 10 free of charge?

Yep until July, I am still on windows 7 but will probably update before then....

i bought my copy from here https://www.reddit.com/r/microsoftsoftwareswap/ used all the turn off options and changed a few things following YT for privacy issues. I jumped from Win7 and never purchased a copy of Windows previously all the way back to XP.

oh and un-installed the Groove music player using the CMD option, fecking hate that player http://www.intowindows.com/how-to-uninstall-groove-music-from-windows-10/

Been using Win10 since release and have upgraded all my machines and wouldn't look back, apart from the spying its the best thing MS have done imo. Came across Win8.1 on a friends pc recently and it looked horrible in comparison, I don't like the metro screen which feels completely detached from the main OS.

Brought one of these a few weeks ago, my cd key got de-activated gotta be careful with these keys

OEM means Original Equipment Manufacturers, it's meant for System Builders, not end users. Of course everyone might become an one-time only system builder for that action, but something with no printed serial number (or hidden in BIOS) is not what I'm looking for. I'll wait for some retail bargains.

"Microsoft clearly stipulates that "the OEM software is licensed with the computer system on which it was originally installed and is tied to that original machine. OEM licenses are single-use licenses that cannot be installed on more than one computer system, even if the original machine is no longer in use."

So such key restoring is simply not legit, but some of you will ignore it ;-) There's even cheapest way for you then - torrens and free key, lol.

I am trying to be helpful as well. By telling people to avoid windows

That's not being helpful, that's being silly.

This just says 10 not pro? What's kn and N on the drop down I can't see a pro option ?

Looks like the keys are OEM and now getting blocked. Your best bet is to contact the vendor and ask for a replacement or refund.

HTH :smiley:

That's not being helpful. It's being an inflammatory pain in the ****.

You may not like the most popular workstation OS on the planet but most people do.

Yea that's what I figured, bit of a scam!?:confused:

to get win10pro installed from the usb creation software

http://www.tenforums.com/installation-setup/30260-windows-10-professional-1511-update-iso-not-available.html


you should be able to alter the pid file so that you can choose which version to install

anyone have actually purchased this? I bought the 'win7' and now never receive the license. It stucks on the 'security check'?

Just download Windows 10, ignore the Home Single Language and N version. When you enter your product key during installation that will determine which version is installed.

I got the free upgrade from 7 Pro to 10 Pro using the media creation tool before October 2015

Can we cut the nonsense please. 10 is king

I've installed a pirated copy of Windows 10 (unfortunately had no choice, the genuine ISO wasn't working), which is now saying "Not activated". I don't want to install Windows 10 all over from scratch, can I still use this key to activate?
Thanks.

Err, hasn't anyone bothered reading the product info:


In summary:

1. You are buying an OEM System Builder License
2. This license is ONLY intended for manufacturers or system builders to use with "newly built" machines (which, funnily enough, is why it's a System Builder License, lol)
3. This license will LOCK your Windows to your motherboard using the motherboard's unique serial number. This means you CAN'T transfer the license to a different machine, and if you ever need to replace the motherboard your Windows software license will become VOID and will STOP working (the "Will not allow for a change to a different motherboard model once installed" bit above)

This is the reason why System Builder Licenses are so cheap.

HTH :smiley:

I think you will find that most people hate windows. I have hated windows from version 1.

It is the most popular PC operating system (thanks largely to Microsoft's monopolistic and anticompetitive practices). Being the most popular it gets the best support from application producers and that is why I have to use it. Win 8 is the second biggest turd Microsoft have produced and since then all they have done is polish it.

Yup from Play-Asia, took a few days to get a refund too, So next time I buy a copy Im going to fork out for an official retail so I got abit more security

I bought a PC specifically without Windows but the supplier pcspecialist pre-installed a version of Win7 (build 7601) anyway, this version keeps asking me to verify it and that it is not genuine. I want to get a proper version so is this version at play-asia good or not?:confused:

You're fine to replace components in the PC even the motherboard without losing your Windows license entitlement. Windows may come up as not activated initially and tell you that a new key is needed but all you need to do is use the contact support app and explain you've replaced the motherboard and they will activate it for you.

The thing that concerns me is that in the description it says " Requires a clean installation, and all prior data must be backed up" - my installation isn't clean. Think it'd still work, and if it didn't could I get a refund?

When ive download/upgraded to windows 10 it gave me the option to do clean or keep existing.

Or you can just download Windows 10 for free

(firstly do back up your data whatever you do!)

I suggest you reinstall with a clean Windows 10 ISO from https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/techbench .

Unless you think these won't work (again)?

If you don't or can't do that then it would be logical for you to purchase your key via a marketplace that will allow you a generic "I've changed my mind give me a refund" distance selling regulations type ability that you can use if the key doesn't work for you (to get a prompt refund and try somewhere else). This would include someplace like eBay but would probably sensibly preclude a site like this deal. (their returns policy is here: http://www.play-asia.com/info/helprefund)

Just bought windows 10 download/key £24 and change
Not working key invalid I've sent them an email and will give them till tomorrow to replace or refund
Be carefull

Managed to get it working by phoning Microsoft https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/contactus and using remote assistance It was a pain though and took a while so be aware before you buy.

Well, I made the mistake of paying play.asia £14.50 for the OEM Windows 7 Professional licence key but when I went to the Microsoft site to download the ISO file for Windows 7 when I typed in the licence key for verification Microsoft's verification said that the key was for an OEM product and would not allow me to download it.

What did you do to get a refund - email them?

Emailed them and said I'd report them to trading standards and paypal for selling illegal keys got a refund pretty fast after I said that

I went for this but Microsoft will not allow me to download the Windows 7 ISO - it says it is an OEM key and that their downloads do not include the OEM version.

Thanks for the info. Probably will have to do the same myself.

Easy enough purchase (the 5 minute wait with messages saying 'supply your method of payment' had me worried) but lots of troubling comments on here.

Fingers crossed it'll work. If Microsoft had pricing more around the £40/£50 mark this could be so much easier...

Thanks - I am not really a torrent guy. Never had much success with them and wouldn't feel happy downloading this as a torrent. I appreciate your help though.

Same here, I've never done torrents either, until recently that site hosted the downloads directly so it was easy to get the right ISO without torrent nonsense.

I verified my email, cancelled the SMS verification (after trying 3 times with no text) and when I logged in a few hours later the codes showed up on my account. Very pleased.

The Matr.....Windows 10, it's everywhere

Hi ladies - not all torrentz are dangerous, the MD5/SHA1 hashes are present and can be checked. If it makes you dizzy - leave it well alone and proceed elsewhere.

Goodness me what a pleasant young gentleman you are showing such concern for those of us with such a delicate disposition. A real change from the oh-so-common patronising and tosspotular responses that we so often have to put up with. Now pardon me while I go take a dump, I mean powder my nose. :man:

8.1 key no longer available, is there anywhere else to get a legit 8.1 key for cheap?

What does that mean in English?

Btw, how did you know that I was about to do a Bruce Jenner? :confused:

I have a sneaking suspicion that kind soul was concerned for our online safety. Mercy me.

M'Lady - I must say that It is rather refreshing that someone with your disposition is not only able to savour my comment but also take heed of my advice.

Blimey Roycom is right, post 190 gives you the info - I've just done the Firefox "Download a Windows 7 or 8.1 ISO Without JavaScript" and it works (took a couple of goes but it does allow W7 iso to be downloaded from MS. Nice one!

This article explains how to get ISO images for Windows 7, 8.1 and 10 straight from Microsoft, so they are 100% clean and legit.
https://www.raymond.cc/blog/links-for-windows-7-sp1-iso-from-microsofts-official-distributer/

The last Windows 7 ISO is from 2011, 8.1 from late 2014 and 10 from Feb 2016.

You are too kind sir......... 'faints' <3

It's sold out now :disappointed:

? They're selling only the key. You're asking for your money back because you can download the ISO (for which you'll need a key?) I'm confused.

This ^.

As long as you check both the MD5 and SHA1 against know good signatures it doesn't really matter where the file came from. (MD5 can be compromised, but compromising both with the same file hasn't been done that I'm aware of.)

Yes but MS is ultimately in charge, hence why they get blacklisted eventually.

What does the law state out of curiosity?

I don't believe he checked the key was legit at Microsoft, he tried to download the Windows ISO from the Download Windows 7 page but it checks the license key and only allows you to download the image if the key is a retail one. OEM keys are not supported on that page.

No, that's always been the case with OEM keys, and it clearly stated these are OEM keys!

Bought first key yesterday from Play Asia, worked fine.
Got a second key and it says its currently activated on another machine. Contacted customer support to see if they can issue a new one.
hoping that the working keys won't get blocked later on.

What makes you think they're getting *blocked*? If you mean on MSs download site, OEM keys were never valid for using the downloads from Microsoft! That's what Digital River etc used to be for (an "official" source for getting the OEM disks - Digital River used to host them on behalf of MS) - although they've removed the disks from download at Digital River you can still get the ISOs everywhere/anywhere and simply verify (both) hashes to make sure that the image is 100% bit-for-bit correct!?

Yes, but an OS is not an "application", which is why I thought the original poster was confusing "program" with "application."

In all my years I've never first hand had or seen a standard OEM license being blacklisted or deactivated by Microsoft (the key you get on a sticker). If they are being blacklisted from Play Asia then they could be MSDN keys, stolen keys, sending out the same keys to several users etc

As far as I know OEM key is valid only when you have COA.

They aren't OEM, they are MSDN.

Heat thanks

Considering the windows 10 home for £17.47. Anyone had any issues with this one?

The government already have all that info and more and track everything you do so MS tracking a little is far from the worst thing to worry about.

It used to be simple to convert OEM to retail isos with XP. simply by changing a few details in one file. In Windows 7 & 8 it is apparently easy to make an upgrade version by removing one file. I haven't been able to find out how to convert OEM to retail for Windows 7, though 'apparently' idwbinfo.txt identifies the version.

If most people truly hated it then it wouldn't still exist. I hear a lot about supposed monopolistic practice's by Microsoft but those same policies have never helped the fate of windows mobile or the Xbox platform outside of the US, UK and Canada.

It sells because it works. Linux is still too complicated for the average user and has far too little support to be used as the primary platform in a corporate environment and osx requires a large bespoke hardware investment and is also garbage.

Yes, but where do you get the authentic hashes from (and be sure they are authentic)?

Hi all

Like I said in my last post I got one from ebay for £9.99 from a seller that has been going for 5 years and not only that he emailed me the keya nd also sent me the sticker in the post which I just got today, looks ok to me and its for a windows 7 pro version 64bit or 32bit.

I Just installed the windows 10 iso without any upgrading form windows 7 and put the windows 7 pro key in when windows 10 asked me for a key and it installed and has verified and activated windows 10 so its ok.

like I said I have 4 boxed versions of windows 7 but I did not want to upgraded them as I wanted to test out windows 10 so I bought this key from ebay and I am busy trying it out but seems fine but does have some bugs even after the 6 months its been out hoping the new update will be out soon to sort some things out.

not to happy about how much data Microsoft want from you though

I've got Windows 7 Build 7601 which has never been licensed, it was put on the machine when I got it from vendor.

Do you think I can verify it by using the £13.98 OEM key?
Or can i just remove this exissting version of windows from my pc and get a fresh version using the OEM key somehow?
Clueless!:confused:

Nope Windows 7 is Vista that works properly, they got it right with Windows 7, they actually removed some Vista features such as the annoying I don't think you need this startup item so I've blocked it. The kernel is the very basic element of the OS, every new version of Windows uses an updated kernel. However the GUI elements in Vista that made it trash were largely removed in Windows 7, so I stand by Windows 7 as being the ultimate Windows OS to build from.

This. What they failed to do right in Vista at the beginning was rectified in 7, even if the kernel is similar, they changed too much driver related and broke a lot of things.

8+ with the new "unified" way of approaching the UI, more so now with 10, we find it negative because it's different but Microsoft obviously have a goal in the future to merge the OS into all possible devices, like tablets, and maybe even x86 mobiles down the line running a more basic version of the desktop OS, and not an ARM version.
The problem for me isn't that they're making this venture, it's that they're half assing it every time, adding more slightly changed versions of existing elements but with a different interface with features cut 90%. The the new Settings menu is watered down (I've seen someone at Microsoft talking about removing the control panel!). And the need to have it popup control panel elements because what's needed isn't there, the "Advanced sizing of text and other items" for DPI, or "Change adapter options" for network, you click that it opens up the control panel. If they integrated all the features we're used to in the new settings, it would be great. Same with the context menu. The new start button menu was great until when I right clicked an item it gave me absolutely nothing... Can't even access the Properties using this menu.

I think I've gone a bit off-topic to what you were talking about :smile:

Yes it's where they've gone wrong with Windows Phone as well, there's no apps so people don't want the phone and there's no apps because people don't want the phone. Their Surface range of tablets are excellent so there's rumour/talk of a single unified Microsoft phone which will be the Surface Phone, so now they're going to try the Apple way of doing things, which is have one line of products with a name that means quality. So we'll see how that pans out for Microsoft.

http://www.theverge.com/2016/1/28/10864034/windows-phone-is-dead

I like Windows Phone but after the Lumia 950, Windows Phone is dead. Time for Surface Phone.

Windows 10 is a UI mess because it's legacy and modern all rolled in to one. You have legacy UI elements which people trust and like and know where things are, then you have Settings where everything is a mess and dumbed down and no one knows where anything is.The modern Settings is too much of a shift not a transition. So why not remove Windows Update from Control Panel where everyone knows where it is and just have it in Settings, but still keep all the old icons in Control Panel, that won't fck up anyone's party will it?

Windows 10 is a mess! We'll also do this Insider thing where we ask the public 90% of them are just as clueless as Microsoft so we're appear clueless and not have any direction and just ask the clueless public what they want too and everything will turn out great. It should be obvious which UI elements work and don't work but it's not obvious to Microsoft. They've rushed out Windows 10 as an apology to Windows 8.x and that's exactly how it appears and whilst it's improving the damage has been done. Everyday I hear oh that Windows 10 is crap isn't it? I've heard bad things about it. Well yes it was hopeless when it came out and in some respects is still hopless but it's improving. So do you want what works 7 or even 8.1 or do you want a beta OS which we can't decide how to manage?

Btw in case I forget... Windows Phone is dead. RIP Windows Phone.

Without me getting into a technical debate, and knowledge oneupmanship, my point was/is, albeit a large download perhaps, this could have been updated via windows update from vista to current windows 10, if microsoft wanted.

Well we can go in to semantics, basic was meant as essential, when you get down to basics, it's what's essential, the kernel is essential and that's essentially what basic means. I didn't mean basic in a way to denigrate the importance of the kernel. The kernel is basic and essential!

I agree they could have had a Vista upgrade to 10 but they skipped the upgrade from Vista to 8 so there was no way they were going to do that, also Vista still makes up another portion of market share they don't want to give free stuff away to.

I've probably said but Windows 10 is a mess, and Microsoft have only made it essential for gamers with DX12, which is why I hope Vulkan API evolves quickly and ready for prime time, which is some years off yet, due to performance issues and mass adoption issues which is has to overcome. Vulkan API is good for everyone, DX12 is good for Microsoft.

Anyway enough of my opinions, but here's another, if you want Windows 10 and you've no other way of getting it, then this is a hot deal, so I voted HOT.

Anyone has problem like me? I ordered yesterday and but I still haven't received it yet.

Yes. I have contacted them 3 times. But haven't received any reply yet....!!!

Haha
On a slightly related note, I was surprised to see space tech using Windows xp when I went on a tour of a lab. Apparently they can't use the latest OS because of the time taken to develop and test software so are quite far behind!

Do you have the link for that ebay listing?

HEAT on the price..

However, like most *registered* oem [not really being sold with a built system] MScloud keys, once this is on a pc/server/laptop/blah blah, there is always a chance that the key/keys will be nullified if you try and reinstall or move to a new hardware.. :man:

This VERYYYYY COOOOOOOL!!. :-)

Be careful when buying one of these, the sellers are known to mass sell these keys until they get blocked by Microsoft.

I was silly enough to buy one of these (Windows 7 key) which eventually got blocked on Windows 10 and couldn't activate my Windows anymore. I phoned Microsoft and played dumb and the guy on the end of the phone was in a really happy mood (supervisor) and he generated me a brand new windows 10 pro key for free. Wouldn't suggest doing this your self, but worth a go if you end up losing this key.

here you go

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/111766760555?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

just my 2 cents worth my OEM key got blacklisted i actually got the message it was blacklisted , it took all my efforts to get them to send me a link to send the pic of my actual sticker on my PC to give me another key, said something along the lines of its been activated more than twice from different geographical locations , my guess is some idiot sold the key when it was sent for repairs under warranty , so yes in this instance the OEM key( win7 pro ) did get blacklisted .
this is apart from several of my keys purchased from sellers for cheaper( win7 ultimate ) getting blacklisted wrote about them earlier .
so in effect if you have an actual sticker they might give you another key.

I think that's the thing, you are not likely to have a genuine key blacklisted unless you have been unlucky enough for it to have been used by someone elsewhere, especially if it's in another "geographical location".

For the record, my key worked fine to install and activate Windows 10 Pro as stated in the original post (used MS Media Creation Tool to do clean install of Windows 10 and entered the purchased key when asked).

I guess we now have to hope Play Asia are a reputable seller that haven't sent the same key to lots of people so that we don't have activation issues down the line....

hmm tempting !

Needed a licence for my new Mame build so picked up the Windows 7 for 13 notes. Worked perfectly on my existing 30 day trial build.

For anyone who has successfully bootcamped this on a mac, can someone just confirm the steps for me?

1. Download 8.1 iso and create bootable usb through bootcamp
2. Reboot, install 8.1 from usb

Now step 3 is where I haven't got up to yet, but would I boot into windows and upgrade to windows 10 through there, or create another bootable usb with windows 10 on to upgrade my windows installation?

I take it I cannot clean install windows 10 using this key? I did try that and i got into installation screen after reboot and it said something along the lines of "no disk image available"

Thanks!

Ryan

Cold for me as anybody can get Windows 10 for FREE.

This is some kind of scam I think. Bought Windows 10 key on Wednesday to find it not valid tried everything to no avail even calling MS. Have since tried to get a refund but they're having non of it. They keep asking for screenshots of install that I have supplied and are now asking for a screenshot of my conversation with MS how the f*** do you provide a screenshot of a phonecall. I''m resigned to loosing the £26 but will never use this shower again.

You paid by PayPal? Open a dispute.

It's really quite simple. Contact the seller and threaten to report them to Microsoft for software piracy if you don't get refunded within 24 hours. Here's the link: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/piracy/reporting/default.aspx

If you do end up reporting them to MS by completing the online report form, MS will give you a free 100% legitimate Windows 8.1 / Windows 10 license for your trouble as part of the reporting process. Plus, once MS verify the seller is selling OEM keys illegally, it will be easy for you to get a full refund from Play Asia. Net result: you get a legit windows license for free.

So, if anyone is unsure if they have a genuine license, this method will either give you confirmation or a free legitimate license from MS.

HTH :smiley:

Legally? Teach us!

First post to say thanks fo_sho_yo - I successfully installed and activated Windows 10 today using the key purchased from this deal!

going through the same thing.
Bought 2 keys, first one worked. 2nd one says its already been activated on another machine.
showed them screenshots and they're making up excuses..might be paypal dispute time

looks like i'm mistaken here. i called MS to check the key was valid and they said it's fine.
The problem is, if i'm going to activate W10 using a W7 key, i'll need to do a clean install. that's why it was giving problems.

what i was trying to do was go from W10 home to W10 pro using a W7 pro key

Man, I thought I was going mad... I got round to soldering my broken DC port on my Dell Laptop which had Win 7 on it and I thought it was weird that I could not get the updates... in the end I just installed Win 10 directly but this makes a lot of sense now.

I tried googling the solution but I must not have been entering the right info...

Windows 10, no thanks, I'll stick with 7, I like my computer not recording everything I type being sent to M$ then sold on to spammers!


http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/jul/31/windows-10-microsoft-faces-criticism-over-privacy-default-settings

It's one big trojan.

Just don't accept all the default settings on install.It's quite possible to do this only adds a minute or 2 to the process.

Buyer Beware:
I read in the comments someone mentioning the key can be used to install Win10 Pro directly, which I did. It does install however it does not register as MS says the key was not entitled, meaning the upgrade should have happened from windows 8 to Win 10 for the digital entitlement. Anyways, since I had already tried to register in Win10 and failed, I reinstalled Win8 and this time it said the key was in use elsewhere ( I am assuming this is a glitch cos of what I did before) Anyways got in touch with PlayAsia support and I must say they were very responsive, over 8 emails were exchanged, yes they asked for screenshot and they gave me choice of refund or re-issue. I asked to re-issue in next hour or refund if not possible. They re-issued a new key, I installed Win8, then upgraded to Win 10 Pro and everything registered.
I did this on a new MacBook Pro Retina 13.

Went to microsoft site to make a win 7 pro bootable usb and microsoft message said my key from Play Asia appears "to be for software pre-installed by manufacturer" and would not proceed.

I then just installed a win 7 pro Dell iso and the key has just activated fine !

Current builds of Windows 10 should activate with 7/8 keys. If it doesn't it's worth using Windows 10's contact support app and seeing if they will just activate it manually for you.

I'm going to have to do a clean install - does anyone know the best way to save the win10 drivers so that I dont have to manually search for each one - it's a build I did myself so I cant just go to a manufacturers site and download the lot.

Out of interest, where did you get the Dell Win 7 Pro ISO from? Only ask as just bought an OEM disc of Win 7 Home Premium for a friend off Amazon for his Dell and wonder whether there is a Dell specific ISO I could download for him.

Sorry ive had my dell e6430 a few years now and cant recall exactly.
I do remember a dell windows 7 disc when i bought it so maybe i made the iso from that.
Theres also links to dell iso's such as this one but cannot verify how suitable they are.

http://getintopc.com/softwares/operating-systems/dell-genuine-windows-7-pro-oem-dvd-iso-download/

This did not work for me, I tried re-installing windows 10 from USB using media creation tool, I then enter the key and it accepts it, but when I go to my pc specs it says windows is not activated

Still working thanks OP

Thanks for posting the link. I'm now activated and for only a tenner. They answered my questions really quickly, sent me the key in a message and the hard copy arrived 2 days later in the post.

Voted hot, will this code be okay for a dual boot on a MacBook or does it need to be a completely clean installation?

Folks, perhaps some of you can help?

I bought the Windows 7 option and - thanks to posters on here - downloaded the Windows 7 ISO from the MS site. It installed fine.

I have now purchased a second copy for a friend who has Vista and will be upgrading his Vista Home to Windows 7 next week.

What I would like to do after upgrading his Vista to Windows 7 is, rather than to then download all the updates to Windows 7, to go immediately to downloading and installing Windows 10. Can I do this and, if so, how do I go about prompting the Windows 10 upgrade option to kick in?

Secondly, as I will going to my friend's house to do all of this, is there a way to download the Windows 10 install prior to save waiting to download it on the day?

Could I simply go to the Microsoft site and, using the info from previous in the thread, just download the Windows 10 ISO, burn it to a bootable DVD and have it ready once I have installed Windows 7?

Would there be any problems with serial numbers then or not - I assume not but just wanted to ask out loud?

Thanks for any help.

It should be much simpler than all that faff - install Windows 10 from scratch and enter the Windows 7 licence key you've bought which Win10 should accept, 'upgrade' to a W10 licence and you're good to go. You can use the W10 media creation tool to download the installation file to a USB stick then do a fresh install to his old Vista PC - this will DELETE all existing files on the PC so BACK UP BACK UP BACK UP before doing anything. If that wasn't clear, BACK UP all his stuff onto another drive as it will all get lost with the new install of W10.

http://www.howtogeek.com/224342/how-to-clean-install-windows-10/ and read the Option One: Create Installation Media and Install Windows from Scratch which does what you need. There is no need to waste time installing W7 to then upgrade it to W10. In fact a clean install is much less bothersome than doing a new fresh install.

Make sure you have a spare working PC when doing this so you can install driver updates that W10 may not have, eg wifi, network, graphics and chipset drivers. You might upgrade to W10 then find the network driver is missing and can't get online to download it. So a second PC is very handy.

Reading some previous comments about doing the above, people have found the licence key not accepted, this, I suspect is because the key has already been activated by another user and so is rejected. If you get a key rejection then you'll probably have to do a manual phone call to get the key activated. These keys seem rather, umm, non legit as far as I can see.

Thanks for taking the time to write all that.

The Windows 7 CD allows the option to upgrade the Vista install as opposed to wiping the drive and doing a new install. So that is preferable.

However, I would be annoyed if, once upgrading to Windows 7, that any upgrade to 10 then requires formatting of the drive - surely that would not be the case as millions of home users around the world would be in a world of grief if the Windows 10 upgrade from 7 formatted their drives first.

OK if you want to upgrade from Vista without losing data (reformatting) then I think you need to upgrade to 7 then 10 but I don't actually know if W10 does anything other than create an image of the W7 install so it can be rolled back. I can't see why you'd need to install the 200+ WIn7 updates though.... I'd have thought you then go straight to install W10 upgrade or download the media creation tool before hand and put onto USB/DVD etc

I never do the upgrade path, I'd just backup my files (which people should do regardless) and do a fresh install of 10 and start from a good clean starting point. Maybe others that have done the upgrade path can better advise?

Yep, have done some research and it looks like I can upgrade Vista to Windows 7 with SP1 and then use the upgrade tool for Win 10.

Thanks for you help.

I read your post by chance, didn't buy this deal, your tip helped me sort out the windows update for a win7 laptop which I couldnt get the updates to work. KB3102810 didn't work but KB3138612 did. Thanks!

I read in the remarks somebody saying the key can be utilized to introduce Win10 Pro specifically, which I did. It installs anyway it doesn't enlist as MS says the key was not entitled, which means the update ought to have happened from windows 8 to Win 10 for the advanced privilege. At any rate, since I had effectively attempted to enlist in Win10 and fizzled, I reinstalled Win8 and this time it said the key was being used somewhere else (I am expecting this is a glitch cos of what I did before) Anyways contacted PlayAsia backing and I should say they were extremely responsive, more than 8 messages were traded, yes they requested screenshot and they gave me decision of discount or re-issue. I asked to re-issue in one hour from now or discount if impractical. They re-issued another key; I introduced Win8, then moved up to Win 10 Pro and everything enlisted.
I did this on another MacBook Pro Retina 13.

Your text here

I read in the remarks somebody saying the key can be utilized to introduce Win10 Pro specifically, which I did. It installs anyway it doesn't enlist as MS says the key was not entitled, which means the update ought to have happened from windows 8 to Win 10 for the advanced privilege. At any rate, since I had effectively attempted to enlist in Win10 and fizzled, I reinstalled Win8 and this time it said the key was being used somewhere else (I am expecting this is a glitch cos of what I did before) Anyways contacted PlayAsia backing and I should say they were extremely responsive, more than 8 messages were traded, yes they requested screenshot and they gave me decision of discount or re-issue. I asked to re-issue in one hour from now or discount if impractical. They re-issued another key; I introduced Win8, then moved up to Win 10 Pro and everything enlisted.
I did this on another MacBook Pro Retina 13.

Your text here

Key didnt work. Trying to resolve with customer services