Windows 10 Upgrades Will Cost $120 Starting July 30th

I won't be surprised if they extend the grace period. No way they are going to get that many people upgrade at $120.

 

Windows 10 Enterprise is still "free" so never mind, as long as there is a way to get the system install image.
Or Windows 10 education. It is also free.

 

I know that's what MS has stated but I'll call BS. They are bluffing!

Not a single home user will upgrade Windows 7 or 8.1 to Windows 10 for $120. Therefore, the adoption of Windows 10 would grind to a near halt on July 1 if they begin charging for the new OS. And, stagnation of Windows 10 adoption is exactly what MS does not want to see happen.

 

Windows 10 Enterprise is not free - unless you hack it you need a MAK activation key or a KMS host with KMS enterprise key to activate it.

Sure you'll be able to install from the ISO, but you will not be able to activate, and thus a bunch of functionality will be disabled.

If you have installed it and activated it at work without the need for a key, be aware that KMS activation will de-activate after 6 months of not being able to talk to your company's KMS activation server.

You can't do anything more with the enterprise media than you can with the Windows 10 home media as far as "running it for free" goes.

 

Thank you for your detailed correction.
Without activation, personalisation is not possible. But other than that, if system is configured to activate through KMS, then most system features are still available, with a constant watermark on desktop.
"6 months" is in fact 180 days exactly.
And thanks again for correction.

 

I've had a read around (scroll to Step 4 Point 2), and it seems the only way to convert a Windows 7/8/8.1 licence key to a Windows 10 licence key is to begin the install process, choose, "Clean Install", and enter your pre-existing key. This should then register your pre-existing licence key with the Win10 servers and allow you to use it for a Win10 Clean Install whenever you like.

Question is: is it possible to have your key so registered and yet then cancel the Win10 install and stay with your current OS? Obviously the point would be to stick with your current OS and yet have a valid Win10 licence key for clean install-purposes after July 30th.

Any tried this?

 

You will be forced, come Kaby Lake it won't support windows 7....nor 8..so if you build you machine you will be forced to upgrade to win 10.

 

I haven't tried this or decided what I'm going to do regarding W10. I read this recently on How-to Geek. While it makes sense, no one can know if MSFT will make this not possible on July 30th+.
http://www.howtogeek.com/253901/get-windows-10-for-free-after-july-29th-with-a-little-prep-now/

 

Well once they start charging money, they sure better stop doing those "haha, tricked you into upgrading" Windows updates.

 

The upgrade pop up is supposed to go away after July 29 but MS, like many other companies, says something and then dord the complete opposite.

 

If you're on Bootcamp it's a bit more complex, but for a VM, I simply duped my VM, upgraded it, registered my key, got activated (digital entitlement), then archived the updated VM.

I was using an old 32-bit Windows, so I actually did this: duplicated VM, updated, archived it, downloaded the 64-bit Win 10, setup new VM, activated that one I'm _now_ using that same activation for a Bootcamp install (where I'm posting from right now), as I needed a little more dedicated resources for the type of work I'm currently doing.

Looks and runs fantastic on my '15 rMBP (370X), Win 10 on a retina display is a nice treat (though I'm mostly using 2x 24" displays).