Today I decided to upgrade to windows 10, I have been using windows 7 64bit professional. A legitimate copy that was given to me by my university I currently attend. First of all DO NOT do what I did and try to upgrade to windows 10 by using their media creation tool and creating a usb boot stick.
The problem with using Microsoft's media creation tool to make a windows 10 usb install drive and installing a fresh copy on your computer is that Microsoft will not take your current key to activate the fresh install that was made with their very own tool. I tried to install windows 10 on a separate drive but found out quickly I had to format my windows 7 install or unplug the drive manually. Naturally I decided to be lazy and just formatted the drive and install windows 10. After reading around I found that I had to reinstall windows 7 first, then i could upgrade back to windows 10 and it would activate.
The problem with reinstalling windows 7 in my case is that the download link for my key expired 2 months ago without me realizing on the university website even the key is still valid. I tried entering the keys on the Microsoft software recovery page but no luck. So even though I have a windows 7 key and a windows 8 key from my university I have no way of obtaining the windows 7 iso.
So now I'm stuck without windows 7, 8 or 10. This mistake cost me 200 bucks if I want to buy windows 10. Linux or a trip to thepiratebay sure looks seems like the best options right now. If only I didn't use adobe and what not. Hopefully I can figure something out but it isn't looking great.
TLDR don't try to install a fresh copy of windows 10 without upgrading from a previous version. You will be reinstalling for days, or worse.
Costly mistake on your behalf. Contact your uni for (what I assume Dreamspark academy account) a fresh account. Otherwise see if you can find some of the digital river content (all of the windows ISO's were available) or a dvd off a friend. Be wary of pirated versions, have seen some pretty nasty backdoors built into some of them.
Yes it was and thanks for the suggestion, I'll get in touch with the head of my department to see if they can get me another account. They will probably give out new windows 10 codes actually. It just might be a while.
Ahh nice, I have to wait three or so weeks before I'm actually back in the dorms and fall quarter starts but I think everything will most likely be fine. :) If they don't update dream spark by then I can go talk to them in person.
The problem with that, is that no one has proof the NSA can use it or has access to it.. So it's nothing more conspiracy, tin-foil hat non-sense. Nothing is truly safe. If something can be opened, someone will find a way to open it.. If you didnt build it yourself, than it's not safe.
AMAGAD. They found 3 suspicious keys and one of them is even called NSAKey. What could it be possibly used for? A three letter agency that has nothing to do with Microsoft just inserted these dodgy codes in all windows OSes. Are you really so dense that you want them to spell it out for you... "We are the NSA and we used this code to compromise Windows machines all over the world."
Nobody is gonna give you the proof you want. Do you think that the bad guys will confess?
Exactly. no one knows what it does. just cause a file is named NSAKey does it mean it belongs to the NSA? No. And by that same logic, if there is a file named AMD on my system, does it mean AMD has access to my system? nope. If the NSA really did have access to our PCs, you're telling me that NO ONE was able to find proof that the NSA is monitoring them these past 20 or so years? IF the NSA were spying on people who use Windows, the repercussions on Microsoft would be MASSIVE. it would be all over tech sites across the internet. especially in this time where people are ultra paranoid.
The overall point I'm making is that a key doesn't mean shit if it hasn't been used. If it actually has been used and the NSA has been caught then scream at the top of your lungs all you want at Microsoft.
If you have a AMD file on your system it means that your are either using their hardware or software. And it makes sense because AMD makes products for consumers. But NSA doesn't and yet somehow their code is in our operating systems.
^^ That is entirely possible since Windows is a closed source and nobody is able to see what's inside. The top level management from MS who are able to see the source code and may want to reveal any secrets will not do it because of fear. I assume only a handful of people have access to NT kernel, so it wouldn't be hard to identify who leaked confidential information. And that would get them into big trouble. So for the sake of stress-free life they wont do it.
They should be but aren't because not everyone is tech savy! It's just like John Oliver said. People don't give a shit.
How do you know whether it was or wasn't used? They wont do something like take over your mouse and start making havoc on your desktop. That would be easily noticeable. It's probably some process running in the background that can't be seen even in the task manager. NSA could have placed the malicious code into one of the windows updates that we download and install.
this is also my point on why i personally believe Linux will never replace WIndows or even OS X on the desktop. tech enthusiast will say ALL freakin' day that Linux has potential to replace Windows or it just will period.. which is true, it really does have potential. but the average non-tech savy person doesn't know what Linux is, they don't even know that Android is Linux based. you tell someone to try Linux and the first thing they are going to ask.. can i run all the programs i use? once you respond no at least not natively. all their hopes of Linux is thrown out the Window. (no pun intended) the average idiot can use WIndows. Contrary to popular belief Linux is not for the average idiot. cause you're constantly fixing stuff that happens to break. which a non-tech savy person may not know how to do.
That is exactly my point.. the NSA isn't perfect. I mean look how easy it was to find this "_NSAKEY" .DLL file on Windows. i mean if the NSA were so perfect at monitoring people without their consent then, they are doing a horrible job of making sure people haven't found out yet.. it doesn't take 20 years to find out the NSA is monitoring your WIndows based PC. people found out a decade and a half ago that this alleged Key is on Windows. but we have no proof if it's been used. which goes back to my point, "a Key doesn't mean shit if it hasn't been used".
It's still Windows 10 related so it's fine. plus it's still a discussion worth having considering millions of people are actually upgrading to Windows 10.
When upgrading to 10 using a bootable USB, you have to just run the setup file from within your current OS (open the USB in file explorer and run setup.exe). You tried to do a fresh boot from the USB.
Do you have a Win 7 product key or not? These are conflicting statements.
Firstly, if you did this without having your actual Win 7 key on you, it was a big mistake, and secondly Win 10 doesn't work with that key (as you found out).
Sorry that is a shitty situation. You can get a Win 7 ISO from r/microsoftsoftwareswap (ISO links are on the right hand side).
And if you don't have a key, there are easy ways to get your copy of windows activated and once it is activated, you can get a proper Win 10 key when you upgrade (allowing you to do a fresh install with official MS software). And this works for all techniques used to activate windows. You could buy a key from r/mircosoft... either, and for a lot less than 200. Like orders of magnitude less.
This is a bit off topic (it ain't helping squid anyway).
But on that note, I upgraded to 10 and I have the OS in a reasonable way. Although I did this by firstly, by never signing into a MS account (MS can suck my balls first), and secondly by hunting down all the damn settings to lock it down. It still ain't perfect but it isn't bad. Unfortunately most people won't do this though.
I am debating whether to stick with 10 though but in the end I kinda have to (I still have my 8.1 running as dual boot). I do have a dedicated Linux machine but Windows still gets the main OS (due to software and the odd game).
Yeah I felt like having a fresh install would be better than a drive full of old data. It's my fault for actually booting from the usb when upgrading and wiping my drive. I have the key, but the download links for the iso's that pairs with the windows keys have expired on the website 2 months a go.
And if you don't have a key, there are easy ways to get your copy of windows activated and once it is activated, you can get a proper Win 10 key when you upgrade (allowing you to do a fresh install with official MS software). And this works for all techniques used to activate windows. You could buy a key from r/mircosoft... either, and for a lot less than 200. Like orders of magnitude less.
yeah like I said I made a mistake. I have done fresh installs of windows before and figured it wouldn't be an issue. Well I was wrong. Anyways the purpose was just to point out how it can be a real hassle if you try to upgrade without giving it too much thought. For some reason I thought it would all go smoothly as I logically thought the upgrade path would link with my hotmail account and my old product key.
Sorry I didn't mean to come across like I was giving out to you. I probably should have stuck a :P (cheeky face) in there somewhere to show it was lighthearted.
Are you sure that your key is paired to a specific ISO? I didn't think that educational licenses require a specific ISO file. Microsoft don't hand out the ISO files too readily so are you sure the university didn't just have a generic copy to let everyone use?
If you have reasonably fast internet it is worth a shot getting the ISO from r/microsoft.... They give you a link to a clean ISO file. You can check the sha1 sum matches official. Do not go to the pirate bay for an ISO. Then just try the key you have with that ISO.
Don't pay $200 for it either if your key doesn't work. Again its $20 if you wanna do it the hassle free way by buying a key from r/microsoft....