One correction: slmgr -ato depends on key type. Specified or default KMS server if key is GVLK, otherwise Microsoft's activation servers.
I find this methodical and very informative thread. After reading it, Windows 10 seems to me less mysterious.
Thank you very much Nucleus, really appreciate the help. I should have remembered the clear add for KMS, did it so many times with win 8. Will make changes after eating this sausage tunnel, I'm starving, I just don't look it.
Many thanks for this post! My laptop had Windows 8.1 with original license activation. I upgrade to Windows 10 and now i have a Windows 10 Home activated. Is it possible to upgrade to Windows 10 PRO and keep the activation?
Thanks for the quick reply! That's what i was thinking. For now i stick with the Home version on my laptop.
No, thank you. If I'm not mistaken, at the moment we can't prove what would happen with MS and a system that had a legal copy of windows, and then it removed and a copy was then installed but used a activation tool. So far we can say that a HWID is used to activate. Now that same HWID activates a different copy. Unless we become absolutely positive that after a year MS doesn't block the HWID due to a non genuine copy being installed, I hate to tell you to get pro and find out in the long run they blocked your system. In both hands I can't be sure if legally they could block your purchased copy, I just don't want to cause anyone a problem in the long run until it can be proven wither way. So it's why I think anyone should stay with their legal copy until it's known.
actualy, I dont see how could microsoft "block" illegal copies from the free upgrade. for the free upgrade the windows 7 / windows 8 has to be validated online. If Microsoft is validating "almost" everyone with pirated copies, then how could they "block" these copies if "they" actualy understand these copies as original? keep in mind that not everyone is able to upgrade from a pirated copy. only who is using windows 7 with daz loader and some with kms on windows 8. in fact, they try their best to block these copies, but when these copies bypass the online check for legal copy status, then we are good to go. even microsoft is good with it, otherwise they already could be blocking. the fact is that they dont know how. if they did know how, all these windows 7 and 8 could be getting blocked for sometime now. my vote is to go for windows 10 if you intent to and be cool with your activated hardware. on the other hand, if they figure out a way to identify these pirated copies bypassing their activation status check, they will indeed block everybody, but only who try to activate when they already have a way to identify it. who did the upgrade bypassing the activation status check is good because it was activated by their own servers. the process of upgrading takes some steps, that they are: 1) check your windows 7 / windows 8 activation status; * the activation status is checked online, but the resulted status is located on the user machine so it can be checked "offline"; 2) windows 10 is installed (via upgrade of fresh installation); 3) windows 10 check for the activation status located on your machine (offline) and grab the informations for hardware and original copy status (if ok or if not ok); * these informations are stored in an xml file; 4) windows 10 send the xml file (or its strings only, nobody knows yet) to the microsoft lisencing servers and store it there so the hardware can be always activated if the string mach with the hardware activated for the first time; * windows 10 will not verify any kind of activation status on the machine or the servers. it will only send the actualy "activated xml" file to the server so it can be stored there and then windows 10 will have back an response informing that this xml is ok so windows 10 will show you activated status. thats it. nobody knows if microsoft will elaborate another way of checking activation on windows 10, from upgrade or from key activation, but for who already upgraded using this xml method, these will never get blocked because thats the way it is.
Thanks YRO : For this very methodical post. I don't feel comfortable telling someone with a legal copy to just go ahead and install another copy of a different OS and use a tool, even though we know DAZ loaded has never been caught. My concern lies in the HWID file sent to MS, and MS must see that it was activated, then along comes the same one with a different OS, and then given the OK. What if we do this a few times trying a different version or go back. Will these flag at MS and they take a look at what has happened on one system ? I don't have a clue so just feel safer telling someone to stick with their legal copy. If things changed down the road, they can't hate me.
I understand your concerns but lets be clear: how can they know if the windows 10 installed, validated by its xml file, is coming from an pirated copy? if that pirated copy had bypassed their activation status, thats online by the way.. ? "if" we keep our windows 10 installed by upgrade for 1 year, I dont know how but, maybe they could elaborate some way of finding informations about the previous pirated copy. cant imagine that but its a possibility indeed. but even that way, how could they check it if we go for clean installation of windows 10. the only thing that will be there from previous windows is the xml file and this xml file store only informations about our hardware ids and previous online activated status. there is no other way to "invalidate" these windows 10. see my point? sorry, i dont speak in english. sometimes i strugle to understand what some say and sometimes i get crazy to write things in english... dont use any translator.
Very good point, and I think your English is fine and had no clue it wasn't your first language. I guess I am just a little overly paranoid, and thanks for the post, now i won't need to be as paranoid. **** @ WAZOO- Thank you very much for the thanks, appreciated.
M$ account and activation. 1. Is it compulsory to have a M$ account for the activation? 2. Does the setup prompt us to create one? 3. If I change my M$ account (use a new one or a local account) after the activation, does it affect the activation status?
1- No 2- The setup gives the option to use a MS account or a local one. 3-No, the activation that MS uses is the HWID of the computer, not the users MS/outllook account or changing from a MS to a local account. Any other questions please don't hesitate to ask, everyone at MDL is here to help others.
I don't quite understand this. I currently have a KMS activated Windows 8.1 Pro with Update 3 System. If I want to upgrade to Windows 10 and stay activated by MS itself, how can I go about doing that? Do I have to downgrade to Windows 7 and use DAZ Windows Loader? I really don't want to downgrade right now.