[Update] Windows 10 Discussion

[alanbjames]

One thing i have not read about and curious is about the licencing aspect.

Now they state that windows 10 will be free as long as that device lasts, now im upgrading from a Windows 8.1 retail kit where my licence is transferable to another system, so are microsoft saying now they wont honor this in the upgrades?

[BenMcr]

Originally Posted by alanbjames

Now they state that windows 10 will be free as long as that device lasts, now im upgrading from a Windows 8.1 retail kit where my licence is transferable to another system, so are microsoft saying now they wont honor this in the upgrades?

This seems to imply that you can still do a transfer with a retail version

http://www.zdnet.com/article/windows...o-you-qualify/

You can transfer that license to any physical or virtual PC and it will be eligible for a Windows 10 upgrade.

[alanbjames]

So for example lets say i change my PC in a year the licence can be carried over?

[BenMcr]

That seems to be the case, unless they are being particularly nasty.

Also this

http://www.anandtech.com/show/9334/m...fter-upgrading

says that once you've got the W10 update, your existing Win 8.1 licence key will activate a fresh W10 install without issue. However it's not clear whether if you move your install to a different machine whether you'd have to do a two-step install i.e. Win 8.1 > 10.

[AndyCambs]

So what happens if I restore my laptop (which comes with windows 8), can I automatically upgrade each time to Windows 10 again?

[BenMcr]

That seems to be a yes.

[j52c]

Has anyone noticed that pressing the F8 Key when first booting doesn't take you to the boot menu anymore.

I always use it when restoring a system image so I hope they will bring that function back.

[BenMcr]

Originally Posted by j52c

Has anyone noticed that pressing the F8 Key when first booting doesn't take you to the boot menu anymore.

I always use it when restoring a system image so I hope they will bring that function back.

It changed in Windows 8/8.1

http://www.howtogeek.com/126016/thre...-options-menu/

[j52c]

I have win 8.1 Pro and I still use the F* to get into the boot menu and boot from a Recovery USB stick to restore a system image.

[johnhook]

Bios should have a separate boot menu not tied to windows

F8 on some bought up this menu but only if pressed prior to hard drives being read then it would give safe mode option but safe mode as we know it has changed now

To access it set safeboot in MSCONFIG

[admars]

the system recovery to get into safe mode etc is a pain, you have to go into settings, and say you want to reboot into safe mode on next reboot

so if you can't get into windows, you're a bit screwed

[heero_yuy]

Originally Posted by admars

the system recovery to get into safe mode etc is a pain, you have to go into settings, and say you want to reboot into safe mode on next reboot

so if you can't get into windows, you're a bit screwed

I wonder what idiot came up with that?

[Dave42]

To enable the F8 key in Windows 8 or 8.1

right click start button and select command prompt Admin copy and paste following command and press enter

bcdedit /set {default} bootmenupolicy legacy

to turn off again enter

bcdedit /set {default} bootmenupolicy standard

make sure you use Command Prompt as Admin

[BenMcr]

Originally Posted by admars

the system recovery to get into safe mode etc is a pain, you have to go into settings, and say you want to reboot into safe mode on next reboot

so if you can't get into windows, you're a bit screwed

Originally Posted by heero_yuy

I wonder what idiot came up with that?

There is an alternative:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-gb/w...ings-safe-mode

If you can't start (boot) your PC, follow these instructions to get to the Windows Recovery Environment. You'll need to connect a keyboard to complete the steps.

Do one of the following, depending on whether you have installation media (such as a DVD or USB flash drive):

If you have installation media for Windows 8.1, start (or boot) your computer from the installation media. Insert the DVD or USB flash drive and restart your computer. If you see a message asking you to "Press any key to boot from DVD", do so. If you can’t see the message, you might need to change the boot order in your computer's BIOS settings so that it first starts from the DVD or USB. When you see the Install Windows page, tap or click Repair your computer to start the Windows Recovery Environment.

If you don’t have installation media, use the power button to restart your computer three times. This will start the Windows Recovery Environment.

Which then allows you to choose Safe Mode

[heero_yuy]

I still don't understand why they changed it from something that worked perfectly well (F8) and everybody knew how to use and try to hide it so you need to re-activate it BEFORE you know you need to use it. Perverse logic at best.