Users who upgraded to Windows 10

[mikling]

https://www.howtogeek.com/226510/ho...10-license-after-changing-your-pc’s-hardware/

There is a catch and there it is in the last paragraph.
I did not know this but what Microsoft has allowed is a changed motherboard. They will want an image of the bill. I ran into this recently. My motherboard no longer was able to use my IBM keyboard, at first the circuit to start the PC from the key board no longer worked and a month later, no keyboard use. I tried using a PS2 to USB dongle and that did not work, so I elected to replace my motherboard and then ran into the issue. Windows 10 activation was gone, contacted Microsoft and then they remotely checked my PC and then inserted new keys.

Afterwards I did some checking and found the article. Make sure you accociate your upgrade with a MS account. Now when this done apparently, you have to log onto your pc with your MS account or a PIN. Essentially, they've tied use of your PC with your MS account. Sounds to me like down the road PC use will tied to the cloud in some fashion.

This indicates that in the future, a motherboard change rather than a wholesale change of a PC is then necessary. This is something I normally do anyways but be aware of the situation in future upgrades.

 

[palombian]

Except the motherboard I changed everything already, even the processor.
So if I buy a new motherboard with a new processor my actual free Windows 10 will be validated ?
Chances are I will need a fresh install wit another chipset etc.

 

[mikling]

As of now, I am good cause the tech support left me with a set of Win 10 keys.
Here is what I understand.
So you want to upgrade....new or larger boot drive. No problem at all. Use Macrium. It's all covered.

If you updated to the latest Win 10, and you don't log onto to the Microsoft acct at startup then be careful on the change. Before starting to make changes, create your MS acct. This acct will then know your digital keys inside your storage and link those to your MS acct.
Double check that you are good here. Make sure you record all the details. Then download Belarc advisor and run the free software and print out your results.
Back up your PC using Macrium. make sure you create a recovery disk or USB.
Then make the upgrade to the new motherboard CPU.
The PC will reboot with the new CPU and go about setting itself up. Then eventually you will get a notification that you are not activated. If you get this, then MS has an option for the PC to contact the MS server and using the login of the Microsoft account, it will then re-activate your Win 10.
If you get into trouble, then contact MS and the tech will remote in.

From the looks of it, I can see what is going on. The MS server keeps track of the digital keys on the storage and the activated keys with the MS account. After upgrading to Win 10, you'll notice that there is now an additional third hidden partition as compared to Win 7.
Re-installs are OK as no hardware is changed and Win10 knows to get the digital keys to reactivate.

What MS does not want happening is someone replicating the boot drive and hanging it on all sorts of hardware. Before the anniversary edition, this seemed OK as I played with a win 10 drive and was able to move it around different machines to see how the machines would play with win 10...but this was during the free upgrade which meant MS did not care. After the upgrade, and past the free year deadline, the updates thereafter looks like it completely altered the scheme. The MS acct and digital keys create a signature which the MS server wants to see.

When I changed the MB, I reused everything except the MB, I stayed with the same processor etc. even the same chipset. I was so much in a hurry to get it done, I forgot to check for migration issues.....and I did not create a MS acct before upgrading.. Now I know but in all honesty I probably will not upgrade for a number of years again. I had no intentions of upgrading but my MB failed so I was in a rush.

Win 10 does phone home and home wants to recognize the caller. Each caller has to be unique. Once you've created your MS acct, you MUST log in to your PC each time. The bootup straight into windows is no more apparently. At first the tech told me he could fix that then he contacted his supervisor and then told me it was not possible to boot up without logging in. That told me what was happening.

 

[stratman]

After upgrading to Win 10, you'll notice that there is now an additional third hidden partition as compared to Win 7.

What are your three hidden partitions?

The number of native Windows 10 hidden partitions is related to whether you chose a BIOS/MBR (Master Boot Record) or UEFI/GPT set up for your hard drive when installing Windows. The former creates two hidden partitions and the latter creates three. I have two hidden partitions on my SSD -- a 350 MB System Reserved and a 450 MB Recovery Partition.

I have read on the internet that people may have more than three hidden partitions explained, in part, as remnants of more than one upgrade of the operating system (ie upgrade from Vista to Win 7, then to Win 8, then to Win 10). One or more of these hidden partitions contain Window Recovery Environment (WinRE) that may get a user back to desktop after a failed boot.

The bootup straight into windows is no more apparently. At first the tech told me he could fix that then he contacted his supervisor and then told me it was not possible to boot up without logging in.

One has had to log in on boot for years. The process of booting to your desktop could be - and still can be - automated (turn on computer power and boot to desktop without further user action). At least, that is what happens for me, including this morning. Maybe this is a remnant from upgrading from Win 8.x rather than a clean install of Windows 10.

What have you tried to enable automatic log on to desktop? Do you have more than one user account for that OS?

Read the user comments as well as the article: http://www.intowindows.com/how-to-automatically-login-in-windows-10/

 

[mikling]

What are your three hidden partitions?

The number of native Windows 10 hidden partitions is related to whether you chose a BIOS/MBR (Master Boot Record) or UEFI/GPT set up for your hard drive when installing Windows. The former creates two hidden partitions and the latter creates three. I have two hidden partitions on my SSD -- a 350 MB System Reserved and a 450 MB Recovery Partition.

I have read on the internet that people may have more than three hidden partitions explained, in part, as remnants of more than one upgrade of the operating system (ie upgrade from Vista to Win 7, then to Win 8, then to Win 10). One or more of these hidden partitions contain Window Recovery Environment (WinRE) that may get a user back to desktop after a failed boot.


One has had to log in on boot for years. The process of booting to your desktop could be - and still can be - automated (turn on computer power and boot to desktop without further user action). At least, that is what happens for me, including this morning. Maybe this is a remnant from upgrading from Win 8.x rather than a clean install of Windows 10.

What have you tried to enable automatic log on to desktop? Do you have more than one user account for that OS?

Read the user comments as well as the article: http://www.intowindows.com/how-to-automatically-login-in-windows-10/

I have the same partitions as yours now.
Now occasionally, for some strange reason, my PC would sometimes boot back into Win 7 on my hard drive. Well, what I had was Win7 on my hd. I got an SSD, then migrated Win7 to that. Left Win 7 on my HD. But booted from the SSD. When win10 came along I upgraded the SSD. Thus I was now able to selectively boot from Win 10 and Win 7 via the bios selection and choosing the boot drive. I still have than Win 7 Partition on the HD which is now primarily used for data and backup purposes with multiple partitions on it.

I have always had the autologin and not have to log on for as long as I remember even on my other Win10 machines and now I know the result of setting up an MS acct, I will not on those as yet pending further checking into it.
I will look into that autologin. This logging on thing is not for me. There's nobody around snooping into my PC anyways.

 

[stratman]

Now occasionally, for some strange reason, my PC would sometimes boot back into Win 7 on my hard drive.

Did this unwanted booting happen with your previous motherboard as well and the new motherboard or only with the new motherboard?

Does the Boot Order setting in the BIOS change spontaneously? Example - you boot to the BIOS, set the Boot Order to boot the SSD first, save your changes and exit the BIOS to boot from the SSD. The next time you boot up, however, the OS boots from the hard drive despite you not making a change to the Boot Order to now boot from the hard drive. Looking at the BIOS Boot Order you now se that the hard drive was "spontaneously" selected as first in the Boot Order.

Could be a dying CMOS battery, or a BIOS firmware flash gone wrong, or a BIOS in need of a firmware update. Make sure only the hard drive and the SSD are the only ones listed in the BIOS Boot Order.

 

[mikling]

This only happened occasionally on the old MB about 21/2-3 years old. However, it gets me wondering about whether or not the CMOS could have affected the detection or operation of the KB circuit. If so, I now have a spare MB. The old MB was still OK as long as you used a USB keyboard. So when I was in the store, the attendant told me it would be cheaper just to get a new USB KB Yes, only if it was a buckling spring IBM Keyboard....that has been with me for many many years and I love it. It does not have a windows button. I ditched my MB just so I could use that KB.
I am looking for an IBM industrial PC KB with the windows button, I can even spill ink on the KB and then rinse it out afterwards.

As for the new MB, the bios has a better power function on my CPU now. It idles at a lower power level than before, this being an FX8320 OC'ed to 4Ghz with no voltage changes.
The new MB also supports M.2 and USB 3.1. I figure this combination will keep me going for a number of years. The last MB I got as a bargain and I could feel the thin MB substrate. I went back now to top tier brands.