Upgraded to Win 10 Today/29 July Without Issue

[thedemon]

Thanks to some clever nerds it is now possible to do a clean install of Windows 10 completely bypassing the need to go through the upgrade process. Apart from saving a lot of time it should be helpful to those that have problems with the "get windows 10" thing, a dodgy internet connection or have issues during the upgrade process.

There have been all kind of media stories about Microsoft delving into your Win7/8/8.1 installation during the upgrade but this demonstrates that qualifying for the free upgrade is a remarkably simple process and doesn't even require an internet connection until the end when you activate your new Win 10.

You still need to have an activated installation of Win7/8/8.1 before you start so this has nothing to do with piracy. But there is no need to install any updates. You don't even need to install drivers. The only prerequisite is that the installation you are using to qualify is activated.

You can create USB install media using a version appropriate to your system here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

Then follow these steps precisely;

1 - From your Win10 install media locate the file gatherosstate.exe in the /Sources folder and copy it to C:\ of your Win7/8/8.1 system

2 - From an admin command prompt run gatherosstate.exe. That will immediately create a file called GenuineTicket.xml. Save this file to e.g. a USB drive.

3 - Do a clean install of Win10. Skip product key and skip connecting to WiFI. This is important. Do NOT go online throughout the install.

4 - After install reboot. Copy GenuineTicket.xml to C:\programdata\microsoft\windows\clipsvc\genuineticket\. Reboot again.

5 - Go online and Win10 should now activate.

You're done and your machines unique HWID is now stored on the MS activation servers.

In the last few days several forums have listed variations on the above process. Some didn't work for me and some extra steps proved unnecessary but I have now installed from 2 Win7 machines and 1 Win8.1 and the above process is precisely what did work for me. I haven't tried it with Win8 but don't suppose that is any different.

I need to issue an update to my post yesterday.

Firstly, if going from Win 7 to Win 10 the above definitely works. I have no doubt about that.

However with Win 8.1 I'm now not so sure. After posting yesterday I set about doing the same thing (upgrade bypass) with a notebook that came with OEM Win8.1. I was confident because as mentioned, I had previously done the same thing with another almost identical machine. This time however, I couldn't get the damn thing to activate no matter what I tried.

In trying to figure out why it worked the first time and not the second I recalled that I had previously had Win10 insider preview installed on the first machine so that may be the reason that it was accepted by the MS activation servers.

I'm not too sure about this though so will post again if/when I learn more. Hopefully I haven't wasted anyone's time already.

[JetsetBkk]

I've been tweaking the Win10 installation on my Netbook using "Winaero Tweaker".

I Googled it for any malware connections but, even though the author is Russian , it does appear to be genuine.

It certainly has a lot of tweaks in it that are easily applied rather than going through the usual Desktop/Folder Properties/Themes or Registry routes. All the effects so far have worked fine.

(Still waiting for my Laptop to finish downloading its Windows 10, so I can dual boot it, too )

If you haven't time to waste tweaking there's a 1 click fix that disables 37 potentially "spying" features of win 10

http://techfrag.com/2015/08/07/new-tool-lets-you-fix-37-windows-10-privacy-issues-with-just-one-click/

The tweaks in Winaero Tweaker are about how it looks, boots, behaves and accounts, and not about privacy. So you can make it look pretty much like Windows XP if you like - and I do like.

I will be using the DoNotSpy utility later.

Regarding privacy, when you install Win10, you are first presented with a few screens. The first is titled "Get going fast" - probably to tempt you to click on the "Use Express Settings" button.

But if you look closely, there is a much smaller and dimmer link titled "Customise settings". That's the one I used.

Having clicked on that, you get a couple of screens of "features" you can turn off:

personalise your speech

send typing data to MS

let apps use your ID

let apps request your location

use smartscreen

use page prediction

automatically connect to hot spots

automatically connect to networks shared by your contacts

- so I turned all of those off.

On the "New Apps" page, you can click "Let me choose" and turn off all the stuff you don't want. I left only "Edge".

I've just finished upgrading my Laptop to Win10. If you are in a hurry to get Win10, it is my impression that if you click on the "Get Win10" icon often enough, MS starts the download quicker, as if they have a "Requests received" counter and start downloading it straight away when the counter reaches 3 or 5 . Either that, or it was a coincidence that when I clicked it again tonight, the high speed download started almost immediately.

Edited September 7, 2015 by JetsetBkk

[speedtripler]

I've been tweaking the Win10 installation on my Netbook using "Winaero Tweaker".

I Googled it for any malware connections but, even though the author is Russian , it does appear to be genuine.

It certainly has a lot of tweaks in it that are easily applied rather than going through the usual Desktop/Folder Properties/Themes or Registry routes. All the effects so far have worked fine.

(Still waiting for my Laptop to finish downloading its Windows 10, so I can dual boot it, too )

If you haven't time to waste tweaking there's a 1 click fix that disables 37 potentially "spying" features of win 10

http://techfrag.com/2015/08/07/new-tool-lets-you-fix-37-windows-10-privacy-issues-with-just-one-click/

The tweaks in Winaero Tweaker are about how it looks, boots, behaves and accounts, and not about privacy. So you can make it look pretty much like Windows XP if you like - and I do like.

I will be using the DoNotSpy utility later.

Regarding privacy, when you install Win10, you are first presented with a few screens. The first is titled "Get going fast" - probably to tempt you to click on the "Use Express Settings" button.

But if you look closely, there is a much smaller and dimmer link titled "Customise settings". That's the one I used.

Having clicked on that, you get a couple of screens of "features" you can turn off:

personalise your speech

send typing data to MS

let apps use your ID

let apps request your location

use smartscreen

use page prediction

automatically connect to hot spots

automatically connect to networks shared by your contacts

- so I turned all of those off.

On the "New Apps" page, you can click "Let me choose" and turn off all the stuff you don't want. I left only "Edge".

I've just finished upgrading my Laptop to Win10. If you are in a hurry to get Win10, it is my impression that if you click on the "Get Win10" icon often enough, MS starts the download quicker, as if they have a "Requests received" counter and start downloading it straight away when the counter reaches 3 or 5 . Either that, or it was a coincidence that when I clicked it again tonight, the high speed download started almost immediately.

1 click spy didn't change my a us system appearance at all

I had a windows 10 style interface and after the "1 click fix" and a reboot I still had the same windows 10 style interface

From memory, it turns off Microsoft permission to access your microphone and webcams and data management etc

You need to run the windows 7 shell app to make it look like win 7 but I don't know if I'll bother now since I've been on an insider build for many months before win10 official launched so I am kinda used to it by now

[jacnl2000]

Thanks to some clever nerds it is now possible to do a clean install of Windows 10 completely bypassing the need to go through the upgrade process. Apart from saving a lot of time it should be helpful to those that have problems with the "get windows 10" thing, a dodgy internet connection or have issues during the upgrade process.

There have been all kind of media stories about Microsoft delving into your Win7/8/8.1 installation during the upgrade but this demonstrates that qualifying for the free upgrade is a remarkably simple process and doesn't even require an internet connection until the end when you activate your new Win 10.

You still need to have an activated installation of Win7/8/8.1 before you start so this has nothing to do with piracy. But there is no need to install any updates. You don't even need to install drivers. The only prerequisite is that the installation you are using to qualify is activated.

You can create USB install media using a version appropriate to your system here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

Then follow these steps precisely;

1 - From your Win10 install media locate the file gatherosstate.exe in the /Sources folder and copy it to C:\ of your Win7/8/8.1 system

2 - From an admin command prompt run gatherosstate.exe. That will immediately create a file called GenuineTicket.xml. Save this file to e.g. a USB drive.

3 - Do a clean install of Win10. Skip product key and skip connecting to WiFI. This is important. Do NOT go online throughout the install.

4 - After install reboot. Copy GenuineTicket.xml to C:\programdata\microsoft\windows\clipsvc\genuineticket\. Reboot again.

5 - Go online and Win10 should now activate.

You're done and your machines unique HWID is now stored on the MS activation servers.

In the last few days several forums have listed variations on the above process. Some didn't work for me and some extra steps proved unnecessary but I have now installed from 2 Win7 machines and 1 Win8.1 and the above process is precisely what did work for me. I haven't tried it with Win8 but don't suppose that is any different.

I need to issue an update to my post yesterday.

Firstly, if going from Win 7 to Win 10 the above definitely works. I have no doubt about that.

However with Win 8.1 I'm now not so sure. After posting yesterday I set about doing the same thing (upgrade bypass) with a notebook that came with OEM Win8.1. I was confident because as mentioned, I had previously done the same thing with another almost identical machine. This time however, I couldn't get the damn thing to activate no matter what I tried.

In trying to figure out why it worked the first time and not the second I recalled that I had previously had Win10 insider preview installed on the first machine so that may be the reason that it was accepted by the MS activation servers.

I'm not too sure about this though so will post again if/when I learn more. Hopefully I haven't wasted anyone's time already.

Thanks for the checklist.

Had to perform a clean install after the update got totally out of control due to a probably inherited quite serious but simple three years old Windows 7 Professional 64-Bit unsolved configuration problem. Had to learn what went wrong three years ago ... lol ...

However after the Clean Install I did run into still quite a lot of other configuration problems and issues. But it seems to work now and much more as it was intended to work today.

[fang37]

Another problem I have encountered with the upgrade - Screensaver.

I have downloaded a screensaver a few times; installed etc.

Works OK for a short time & then does not function at all.

Remedy?

[thedemon]

Another problem I have encountered with the upgrade - Screensaver.

I have downloaded a screensaver a few times; installed etc.

Works OK for a short time & then does not function at all.

Remedy?

Settings/Personalization/Lock Screen

[fang37]

After upgrading to W10, I note that when you wish to access say Gmail, it does not do so. What happens is that a very small blue color circle rotates.

After several minutes of frustration, I try to access Gmail by other means.

[RichCor]

What are you USING to access Gmail that gives you a blue spinner, as Google doesn't have a desktop app.

If you are talking about an desktop email client or a web browser then the issue is there.

[fang37]

What are you USING to access Gmail that gives you a blue spinner, as Google doesn't have a desktop app.

If you are talking about an desktop email client or a web browser then the issue is there.

Google Chrome.

[RichCor]

Then I suggest you uninstall Google Chrome, reboot, then reinstall.

You could first try clearing the browser data (history, cookies, cache, hosted app, etc).

[fang37]

Then I suggest you uninstall Google Chrome, reboot, then reinstall.

You could first try clearing the browser data (history, cookies, cache, hosted app, etc).

It is WIP. I do not possess the technical skills.

Stay with Google Chrome or change to the MS preferred browser?

The frustrating aspect of W 10 is the inconsistency.

Startup - sometimes smooth & quick. Then, surprise, a dog.

Even accessing EXCEL, sometimes I cannot access a worksheet.

Early morning seems to be the time when I have trouble. I do turn off the PC every night.

I can wear these obstacles but of course a smooth operation is preferable.

[samtam]

Re my post number 297:

Returned from my 3 week break in UK and have uninstalled Windows 10 and re-installed Windows 7 and my printer now works again. And my desk top taskbar icons are now in a size that I can read with ease.

Did anyone else "lose" printer drivers software when they upgraded?

[Pib]

This evening I had a problem in getting a Win 10 update, Windows 10 Internet Explorer KB 3087040, to install. I tried three times...it would download fine but when trying to install it would fail. I tried three times. I use IE as my secondary browser. When I would go to the link provided within the Windows update error link it would just take to to an area talking the patch for Win 8.1...not Win 10. I even download the update in the Microsoft link which said it was a Win 8.1 just to see if it would install...it would not...it said wrong operating system. So, then I just started googling the issue and lots of link on this particular update causing grief for many Win 10 folks.

The weblink talks about the problem which is apparently affecting many Win 10 users and gives a fix. Link.

Anyway I followed instructions in above weblink which provides a downlink for a patch to fix the problem...downloaded the patch which is from Microsoft servers...it installed fine. When checking my Windows update history it showed KB3087040 had now successfully installed using the patch. I did another Check for Updates and it came back saying my device is Up to Date...no updates to install.

I expect Microsoft will come out with a "fixed" KB3087040" in the near future so it will install properly on all Win 10 systems vs needing to load it via a patch.

[JetsetBkk]

This evening I had a problem in getting a Win 10 update, Windows 10 Internet Explorer KB 3087040, to install. I tried three times...it would download fine but when trying to install it would fail. I tried three times. I use IE as my secondary browser. When I would go to the link provided within the Windows update error link it would just take to to an area talking the patch for Win 8.1...not Win 10. I even download the update in the Microsoft link which said it was a Win 8.1 just to see if it would install...it would not...it said wrong operating system. So, then I just started googling the issue and lots of link on this particular update causing grief for many Win 10 folks.

The weblink talks about the problem which is apparently affecting many Win 10 users and gives a fix. Link.

Anyway I followed instructions in above weblink which provides a downlink for a patch to fix the problem...downloaded the patch which is from Microsoft servers...it installed fine. When checking my Windows update history it showed KB3087040 had now successfully installed using the patch. I did another Check for Updates and it came back saying my device is Up to Date...no updates to install.

I expect Microsoft will come out with a "fixed" KB3087040" in the near future so it will install properly on all Win 10 systems vs needing to load it via a patch.

Gives you real confidence that the idiots at Microsoft know what they're doing, doesn't it.

BTW, I've given up on W10 - it's just an unnecessarily tarted up version of W7, with most of the W8 crap removed.

Back to good old, very old, XP for me. It does exactly what it says on the tin.

[Pib]

In about another week I will have two months under my belt with Win 10 since I installed it on day one of the release to the public, 29 July. It's been very stable...had a few initial, minor issues right after the install which I talked about earlier in this thread and that I got resolved pretty quick. It seems the occasional Win 10 failed update is the only problem that seems to bug me when it happens...guess I just expect updates to always install properly and be fully tested before release. And each time I've had a particular Win 10 update install problem, I google it, and find out bunches of other people are having the same issue.

Although I've had Windows update install problems over the years with all versions of Windows, be it XP, Vista, Win 7, etc, (everybody does whether they know it or not) it does seem the number of Win 10 updates which fail to at least initially install (but possibly install later with a Microsoft revamp/fix) is running higher than it should...maybe due to it being in its initial stage after public release.

So far since 29 Jul I've experienced 5 such failed Windows update installs...automatic installs.. Two had KB numbers of KB3087040 and KB3081441 which did end installing successfully after some failures and MS fixing the update...googling reveal lots of folks issues with above mentioned updates. And then 3 drivers related to a language package and my laptops built-in camera....these 3 never did install and did not try to reinstall themselves later on like the updates with KB numbers automatically tried. Maybe those 3 that failed to install the first time then coded themselves as "whoops, I shouldn't have even tried to install on this computer...my mistake...sorry, I won't bother in trying to reinstall when you run a Check Windows Update again...I just say your are good-to-go updates-wise."

Win 10 does seem just to be a cross-breed between a Win 7 and Win 8.1 marriage....trying to give the best of both Win 7 and Win 8.1...make many of the control settings/menu more tablet oriented...but with that effort there have been, and continue to be, some teething problems....but only minor teething problems in my opinion.

[fang37]

Initially, I had problems with W 10. They must have been minor as I cannot recollect what they were.

Far superior to W 8. Looks identical to W 7.

[billd766]

I've been tweaking the Win10 installation on my Netbook using "Winaero Tweaker".

I Googled it for any malware connections but, even though the author is Russian , it does appear to be genuine.

It certainly has a lot of tweaks in it that are easily applied rather than going through the usual Desktop/Folder Properties/Themes or Registry routes. All the effects so far have worked fine.

(Still waiting for my Laptop to finish downloading its Windows 10, so I can dual boot it, too )

If you haven't time to waste tweaking there's a 1 click fix that disables 37 potentially "spying" features of win 10

http://techfrag.com/2015/08/07/new-tool-lets-you-fix-37-windows-10-privacy-issues-with-just-one-click/

I just downloaded that program and within 5 seconds of opening it my Panda 2016 antivirus flagged it up as a virus. Panda neutralised it and I deleted it from my desktop and did a reboot.

I then did a Google search and found this

http://winsupersite.com/windows-10/word-warning-donotspy10-windows-10-privacy-tool

This site says it is OK.

http://www.ghacks.net/2015/08/05/donotspy10-configure-windows-10-privacy-settings/

This is the site

http://pxc-coding.com/de/portfolio/donotspy10/

Make your own decision!

I dumped it.

[billd766]

I have been running Windows 10 64 bit on my desktop for 2 weeks now and apart from the odd problem of finding my way around I have no complaints.

To me it feels a bit better than Windows 7 Ultimate.

[Roman51]

I recently had a similar probem. My friend bought herself a new laptop with Win8. She wanted to be sure this is only Win8 because her dad uses the same system, and sometimes she helps him with OS problems by phone, so it need to be the same system. Unfortunately, the Win8 system tried to forced upgrade to Win10. I just wanted to download the latest updates to Win8 without going to Win10. But .. it can't be done.. For now I just turned off avaliability of any updates.

[Pib]

I recently had a similar probem. My friend bought herself a new laptop with Win8. She wanted to be sure this is only Win8 because her dad uses the same system, and sometimes she helps him with OS problems by phone, so it need to be the same system. Unfortunately, the Win8 system tried to forced upgrade to Win10. I just wanted to download the latest updates to Win8 without going to Win10. But .. it can't be done.. For now I just turned off avaliability of any updates.

I expect when the Win 10 upgrade nagware icon appeared in the taskbar, someone opened it, and clicked yes they want to reserve their copy. Then Win 10 was downloaded. But even then it still requires the person the click the upgrade icon to go ahead and do the upgrade once it downloads. So, they got what they asked for.

Now even when reserving Win 10 for download (intentionally or by mistake) a person can "unreserve" that copy using the same icon menu and the Win 10 upgrade files will not automatically download. But they need to do this before the upgrade files download. The Win 10 nagware upgrade icon will stay in the taskbar probably until 29 Jul 16 when the free upgrade period ends...it just a person has to be sure not to use it to reserve their copy.

Unless something has changed a person can uninstall the Windows update that installs the Win 10 nagware upgrade icon and then immediately "Hide that particular update" in the Window 7/8.X Check for Windows Updates menu to keep the update from reinstalling itself.

[Crossy]

I installed W10 Enterprise via the M/S Partner network.

Only real issue was that my network printer decided to stop working after a Windows update which prompted a return to W8 for a month or so. Back with W10 now as the printer now functions correctly (after further updates).

Feels fine even without ClassicShell

[Roman51]

I expect when the Win 10 upgrade nagware icon appeared in the taskbar, someone opened it, and clicked yes they want to reserve their copy. Then Win 10 was downloaded. But even then it still requires the person the click the upgrade icon to go ahead and do the upgrade once it downloads. So, they got what they asked for.

Now even when reserving Win 10 for download (intentionally or by mistake) a person can "unreserve" that copy using the same icon menu and the Win 10 upgrade files will not automatically download. But they need to do this before the upgrade files download. The Win 10 nagware upgrade icon will stay in the taskbar probably until 29 Jul 16 when the free upgrade period ends...it just a person has to be sure not to use it to reserve their copy.

Unless something has changed a person can uninstall the Windows update that installs the Win 10 nagware upgrade icon and then immediately "Hide that particular update" in the Window 7/8.X Check for Windows Updates menu to keep the update from reinstalling itself.

Hmm, thanks for the reply. Perhaps confused me that when I've marked all updates from Win8 except Win10. After that and click get updates, on the taskbar displayed information about downloading Win10. Even if it's just download process of Win10, and after that it does not update to win10. I think that system should download only these updates that I've chosen (Win8) not those for Win10. I specially unchecked for not downloading! But as you said PIB, windows update may just download the Win10, but wouldn't force to install it without permission. I'll check it. Thanks for your help.

Edited September 25, 2015 by Roman51

[Pib]

How time flies...I upgraded from Win 8.1 Home Single Language (SL) to Win 10 Home SL on 29 July 15 the first day of the official public release of Win 10...it's now 1 Oct which is a little over two months since the Win 10 public release. Knock on wood (my head) Win 10 is working just fine for me.

I ran Win 10 Home on my Lenovo laptop from 29 Jul to 27 Sep. On 27 Sep I was able to buy a Win 10 Pro license off Ebay for a mere 12.9 Euros (about Bt521), entered that Pro license in the Windows Settings Activation Change Product Key area, the upgrade to Pro automatically started, and after about 5 to 10 minutes of automatic downloading of some upgrade files and a computer restart my Home version had mutated to the Pro version...and activated. That quick upgrade from Home to Pro went fast and easy...and didn't require a Clean Install. Pro has been working fine since 27 Sep. I've even bought another Pro license for Bt521 Euros from the Ebay seller for a near-term new computer buy which I will do a clean install on since it will not come with any operating system.

With that upgrade to Pro I'm no longer running a SL version of Win 10 which means I'm no longer stuck with just one display language. A SL version means whatever Windows "display" language came with the license you are stuck with although you may prefer a different language (like the various versions of English) or say your Thai partner also uses the computer and wants/needs the display language in Thai. Display language is the the language all your Windows menus/settings are displayed in and is not to be confused with keyboard input language where you can select as many keyboard languages as you desire even on a SL version like when typing in an email, word document, etc. Like on my Lenovo laptop it has a English and Thai keyboard so I had both of those keyboard intput languages selected even on the SL version. Being a U.S. person, I have already changed my display language from English-International (which is really UK English) to U.S. English...all that took was download of the U.S. English language pack which I was not able to do before since a SL version limits you to only the one display language pack that came with the SL version. And if I ever decide to sell or loan out my computer to say someone who prefers Thai (or whatever language) the display language can be changed by just installing the appropriate display language pack. I'll probably going to setup a second account on my computer for the Thai wife where the Windows display language will be Thai...but under my account it will be U.S. English...an example of now being able to have multiple display languages.

Of course Pro comes with other benefits like Bitlocker which I may start using (probably should start using for my personal data), the ability to defer some Windows updates, etc. Windows Home and Pro have updated fine also although there was one update that didn't' initially install for me or a lot of folks but I found the workaround to get that update to install. Oh yea, there was one other Windows driver update that made my touchpad erratic but once I rolled back to the previous driver the touchpad worked fine and Windows did not try to reinstall that updated driver. Laptops can be so picky about some of its drivers. Pro also seems a tad faster than Home.

Yeap, after a little over two months of running Win 10 Home and/or Pro they are running just fine....stable..fast...etc. Knock on my head...fingers crossed...all is still fine.

[fang37]

I have found W 10 Pro an anti-climax.

Benefits - zero

The only big advantage is that I was never confident of the authenticity of previous versions.

Many members have commented that they intend to wait until the bugs are rectified.

Recently, updates = zero.

[lostinisaan]

Tried to put it on old my DELL notebook for the third time. Always the same issue. Couldn't get my MS office 2013 running. Then the roll back to W 7 didn't work and messed the whole notebook up.

Edited October 1, 2015 by lostinisaan

[lostinisaan]

Sorry, page was gone. My DELL notebook was really <deleted> after the rollback didn't work No idea what was causing it. Then I made a system restore, but I had no sound?

It was an image I made with Acronis. Never again.

[Pib]

I have found W 10 Pro an anti-climax.

Benefits - zero

The only big advantage is that I was never confident of the authenticity of previous versions.

Many members have commented that they intend to wait until the bugs are rectified.

Recently, updates = zero.

Really, zero benefits to having Win 10 Pro? Guess you have a special edition of Pro.

And recently no updates? I don't know what you define as recently but I just counted the number of "Windows cumulative/security updates" since 29 Jul and i counted 28....and one of those 28 was just this morning.

[fang37]

Pib

I have Windows only because one must have an operating system. Benefits - not really interested.

Updates - early on I recollect many. Now, I don't seem to see any. Download via net. Update on shutdown. Lately, I haven't notice any.

I do recollect 25+ updates.

[Pib]

Keep in mind that all Windows updates do not install only when shutting down/rebooting. Some also install while you are using the computer and no computer restart is required...all done in the background....you won't even notice it. You will never know some have installed (or failed to install) in the background unless you go look at your Windows updates history by clicking Settings, Update & Security, Advanced Options, View Your Update History.

Also, if you have other Microsoft products on your computer be sure to check/enable the update block titled, "Give Me Updates for Other Microsoft Products When I Update Windows."

Edited October 1, 2015 by Pib

[fang37]

Pib

Just checked update history. Barely a windows update.

Reasonable number for MS Office products.