a lil trick! on first reboot of w7 setup.. clone hdd and it boots to a setup on each pc. no need to validate online just gatherosstate and save genuineticket.xml for each pc serial number folder in usb w10 to copy offline to. if it fails do the AT upgrade.
Can't really afford 12 Windows 10 Pro licenses... That would be like $2400. I thought M$ wanted everyone to be on Windows 10? Well, they sure ain't making it easy.
I think I'm just going to go straight to the AT upgrade at this point, mate. I've tried the Genuineticket method 5 times now, it never works for me for some reason. So my plan now is to install w7 Ultimate x64 on each computer one by one, install the Wi-Fi driver, activate with DAZ, validate online, then go straight to the AT update. It'll take me a full day to do all the computers this way, but I don't see any other choice now.
I have a question: How CAN I deploy copies of Windows 10 to all the computers if I want them set up in the exact same way? Cloning doesn't seem like it would work, since that would also clone the license, and that obviously would only be tied to one computer. (Although, for the record, all the computers are 100% identical, in terms of hardware.) Sharing a Microsoft account across all 12 computers is out, since once these are in the users' hands they should be free to set them up as they see fit. So what can I do? Is there a program that can copy computer settings and programs installed without getting deeper into the computer and also cloning the software key?
They did make it easy. For an entire year they made it easy and free. Where were you? It's over now. Did you not believe them? Did someone, here or elsewhere, lead you to think otherwise? You'll be getting XP support from M$ before you get W10 free. And thanks for the entertaining thread.
From OP: 4 Once it's installed make sure your internet connection is DISABLED/do not enable the internet connection! Reboot w10. If you cannot follow a simple instruction then....it's no wonder....if the ticket should not vanish try to restart the clipservice....no need to start all over again. For each individually since the HWID is built on unique identifiers like HW serials/MOBO UUID...
Right, and I wasn't referring to your post when I said that. I had seen another post that explained how to use the genuineticket.xml method, and not one mention of keeping the computer offline. Guess I can follow instructions after all, as long as I get the right ones. Along those lines, I'll try your advice about the clipservice, because even following the instructions of your post, it still didn't work for me. I did notice that the ticket wasn't vanishing like others said it should, so maybe this is a possible solution. We shall see.
Well, I didn't have these computers at that time, so that should answer your "Where were you?" question. I know, bad timing and all, should have planned ahead better, so on so forth, but I was led to believe I could still activate it by the method that has been described elsewhere in this forum, which so far has not worked for me. And glad I could provide some entertainment!
Ah, OK..didn't want to point on 'stupidity', rather on confusion. It's strange that it doesn't work for you. The last confirmation that this method still works is from 16th August... Make sure there is no connection issue or router config which might block communication (ports) to the activation server.... Hopefully it is no general censorship issue there where you try to activate…
Aye, no harsh feelings. I can understand why I might come across as an idiot when everyone and their mother can get Windows activated using the genuineticket.xml method and I alone can't, but I assure you I've followed your instructions to the "T" once I was made aware of them. HOWEVER! I am happy to report I DID finally get one computer activated by using the AT update method! Win 7 Pro -> DAZ -> AT Update = Activation Successful! So now I just need to do this with 11 other computers and they should all have digital licenses, then I can clean install Windows 10 on all of them. Should be able to get it done over the next few days. Now, here's my other issue: Once I get all computers activated, I would like all of them to have the exact same settings and programs installed. On Windows 7, I used touse Acronis to clone everything across. How can I do it in Windows 10? I know I can't clone the drives because they will lose their Activation on the other hardware, right? (Even though all the computers have the exact same hardware.) Any tips how to go about this? Thanks again guys, think we've almost sorted this!
Once you've got all PCs activated separately their HWID is known at M$ server. You should be able to re-install them using an image/clone made from a sysprep'ed installation. They should activate again sending a known HWID anyway...another thing would be the licenses of the installed software... I am not sure if sysprep.exe /generalize /oobe /shutdown is needed since they have exactly the same hardware...it'd be better since it allows to create new user accounts and other stuff like computer name... Maybe others can add a coment... Add: Without an unattend.xml the drivers are resetted. To keep them (same hardware) you'd need to add this: Code: <settings pass="generalize"> <component name="Microsoft-Windows-PnpSysprep"> <PersistAllDeviceInstalls>true</PersistAllDeviceInstalls> </component> Also sysprep won't work from an upgrade directly, you would need to make a clean install on PC1 again, then sysprep like sysprep.exe /generalize /oobe /unattend:C:\unattend.xml All depends on what you want to keep and what you want to have removed (personal/unique stuff)....
clone an unattended install of hdd in process of the first reboot post copy file. "windows needs to restart to continue setup" dont restart.. shut down and clone it.
I thought I'd post an update, in case anyone was wondering: What I ended up doing was using Acronis 2016 to clone the drives of one of the activated computers that I set up just the way I wanted. I cloned it to 5 of the other 12 computers so far. Of those, one of them activated right away, but the others are all giving me an error message saying something like "Windows can't activate on this device right now. Try again later, or go to the Store to buy genuine Windows." I assume it's just a server issue, so I am leaving one of the computers on over night to see if it activates itself. Seeing as how one of the cloned computers has already activated, and I know all the computers had digital licenses, I reckon it's just a matter of time before the others fall into line. It seems cloning works, as long as all computer have digital licenses beforehand. Not sure what the delay is in activating, or if there's some way I can force it to activate, but I'm wiling to wait a day or two and see what happens. Any thoughts would be appreciated!
Ok, this is my final update to this thread: I finally got all 12 computers on Windows 10 and re-activated. It turns out the key was changing the region from China to the U.S. I have no idea why this would matter (and would love to hear theories/reasons), but once I cloned the drives to all the computers and switched the region, they all activated without a hitch. I had to re-activate Office 2016 on all of them, but that's a pretty minor hitch. So, for anyone who is interested, this is the final process I went through: 1. Use Double Driver to backup drivers 2. Clean Install Windows 7 Pro, restore drivers, activate with DAZ, confirm Genunine License 3. Download Run Windows 10 Assistive Technologies update 4. Confirm all computers have Digital License 5. Clean install Windows 10 on one computer and set up the way it needs to be 6. Clone said computer using Acronis 2016 and install Acronis 2016 on all other computers 7. "Restore" all computers to the clone, change region, all computers activate, re-activate Office It wasn't the most elegant or quickest solution, but I'm just glad it finally worked. Thanks to all that helped me finally figure it out.
Glad to hear you got it sorted eventually. I wonder if the the w7/Daz/Win 10 method failed because of the issue you found with changing the region? Also, its great that you took the time to feedback to the people who helped you - too many times I see people offering help but never getting any feed back from the OP.
Here's an interesting postscript to this thread: I had another set of computers with a completely different hardware setup than the first set. On a whim, I tried the gatherosstate/Genuine Ticket method on them, and lo and behold, it worked! So I can confirm (as many others have) that the Genuine Ticket method works when using DAZ to activate Windows 7 first, but I still have no idea why it wouldn't work on the first set of computers I tried it on. Very odd indeed.