Free Upgrade to Windows 10 in 2019 from Windows 7 and Windows 8.1
-
@Obsolesce said in Free Upgrade to Windows 10 in 2019 from Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1:
@scottalanmiller said in Free Upgrade to Windows 10 in 2019 from Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1:
@Obsolesce said in Free Upgrade to Windows 10 in 2019 from Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1:
@scottalanmiller said in Free Upgrade to Windows 10 in 2019 from Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1:
@Obsolesce said in Free Upgrade to Windows 10 in 2019 from Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1:
@scottalanmiller said in Free Upgrade to Windows 10 in 2019 from Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1:
@DustinB3403 said in Free Upgrade to Windows 10 in 2019 from Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1:
Here is the all important bit of information, directly on the MCT website.
That line is the strongest argument against the availability of the free upgrade, not for it. This is where I'd have to agree with @bnrstnr that that is suggestive that another license is required prior to downloading the MCT.
According to the EULAs, you do have a license to upgrade to Win10 by having a proper Win7 or 8.1.
That's the hard part, does the EULA come into effect before or after the download? After, AFAIK. And the MCT seems to say (on that one page) that you need a Windows 10 Installation License and are upgrading. Not that you have a valid license and are upgrading.
The wording is subtle but matters. But isn't universally present in all Windows 10 acquisition methods.
It depends on the device you are ON when you go to the site and download the MCT and run it. On one device I get a straightforward EULA. On another, I get a single paragraph. I have not tried it on a Win7 device.
The EULA itself should appear after install, not prior to install (well during, you know.)
There are two EULAs. One for the MCT that appears first, then after a few nexts, prior to install while still in MCT, the June 2018 Windows software EULA.
OIC, okay.
-
@DustinB3403 said in Free Upgrade to Windows 10 in 2019 from Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1:
@Dashrender said in Free Upgrade to Windows 10 in 2019 from Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1:
So now you're saying that if you download the MCT from Linux - that you just get free shit
No, but that Microsoft is saying you can use this to install Windows 10 onto your hardware, but that doesn't imply that you are licensed accordingly.
@Dashrender said in Free Upgrade to Windows 10 in 2019 from Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1:
ou get this potential that you can't actually use MCT unless you have a valid Windows 10 license first AND are using MCT to upgrade a win 7 or 8.1 system...
Yes, because you can pull the OS details from a web browser, so they can make the reasonable assumption that you are appropriate licensed and valid for upgrade.
that's insane - almost no one here is downloading MCT for use on the machine they are downloading on, so that scan is mostly pointless.
-
@Dashrender said in Free Upgrade to Windows 10 in 2019 from Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1:
@DustinB3403 said in Free Upgrade to Windows 10 in 2019 from Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1:
@Dashrender said in Free Upgrade to Windows 10 in 2019 from Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1:
So now you're saying that if you download the MCT from Linux - that you just get free shit
No, but that Microsoft is saying you can use this to install Windows 10 onto your hardware, but that doesn't imply that you are licensed accordingly.
@Dashrender said in Free Upgrade to Windows 10 in 2019 from Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1:
ou get this potential that you can't actually use MCT unless you have a valid Windows 10 license first AND are using MCT to upgrade a win 7 or 8.1 system...
Yes, because you can pull the OS details from a web browser, so they can make the reasonable assumption that you are appropriate licensed and valid for upgrade.
that's insane - almost no one here is downloading MCT for use on the machine they are downloading on, so that scan is mostly pointless.
Mostly sure, but there is the legitimate reason of "Windows 10 is acting fuckery, so I want to reinstall it, let me go and get the MCT from Microsoft and build a new bootable USB"
So your stance is again, Tinfoil Hat related.
-
@scottalanmiller said in Free Upgrade to Windows 10 in 2019 from Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1:
@Dashrender said in Free Upgrade to Windows 10 in 2019 from Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1:
@scottalanmiller said in Free Upgrade to Windows 10 in 2019 from Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1:
Also worth noting, according to the MCT page, only Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 are eligible for upgrade, NOT Windows 8!
I assume because Windows 8 left support early, so is no longer valid.
Sure, but 8 can be upgraded to 8.1 (at least as far as I know it still can be).
Never could. Why would you think that that upgrade was free but others are not (other than paperwork.) Windows 10 is the first upgrade ever offered for free.
that is purely wrong! I upgraded all of my Windows 8 machines around my office to Windows 8.1 for free. Now you're telling me I broke the law? hey considering this conversation - anything's possible.
The windows 8.1 upgrade came from the Windows store. once you installed the 8.1, digital rights for 8.1 where assigned to your machine and could be reinstalled from scratch.
-
@Dashrender said in Free Upgrade to Windows 10 in 2019 from Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1:
@DustinB3403 said in Free Upgrade to Windows 10 in 2019 from Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1:
@Dashrender said in Free Upgrade to Windows 10 in 2019 from Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1:
So now you're saying that if you download the MCT from Linux - that you just get free shit
No, but that Microsoft is saying you can use this to install Windows 10 onto your hardware, but that doesn't imply that you are licensed accordingly.
@Dashrender said in Free Upgrade to Windows 10 in 2019 from Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1:
ou get this potential that you can't actually use MCT unless you have a valid Windows 10 license first AND are using MCT to upgrade a win 7 or 8.1 system...
Yes, because you can pull the OS details from a web browser, so they can make the reasonable assumption that you are appropriate licensed and valid for upgrade.
that's insane - almost no one here is downloading MCT for use on the machine they are downloading on, so that scan is mostly pointless.
I'd agree that it is insane. But almost everyone is, actually, downloading on the machine that they are on because of how it works. The Linux situation I am in is definitely the outlier by far. There are solid cases where you would do this (Windows 7 machine without Internet access), but they are anything but the norm.
Since you have to download the MCT every time, doing it to a separate machine on any scale doesn't work.
-
@Dashrender said in Free Upgrade to Windows 10 in 2019 from Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1:
@scottalanmiller said in Free Upgrade to Windows 10 in 2019 from Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1:
@Dashrender said in Free Upgrade to Windows 10 in 2019 from Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1:
@scottalanmiller said in Free Upgrade to Windows 10 in 2019 from Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1:
Also worth noting, according to the MCT page, only Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 are eligible for upgrade, NOT Windows 8!
I assume because Windows 8 left support early, so is no longer valid.
Sure, but 8 can be upgraded to 8.1 (at least as far as I know it still can be).
Never could. Why would you think that that upgrade was free but others are not (other than paperwork.) Windows 10 is the first upgrade ever offered for free.
that is purely wrong! I upgraded all of my Windows 8 machines around my office to Windows 8.1 for free. Now you're telling me I broke the law? hey considering this conversation - anything's possible.
The windows 8.1 upgrade came from the Windows store. once you installed the 8.1, digital rights for 8.1 where assigned to your machine and could be reinstalled from scratch.
Interesting. If that was the case, then it likely was the same as the Windows 10 one now, with Windows 8 having had a free upgrade option that expired when Windows 8 licenses were no longer valid (past end of life.)
Basically what you are describing is the same as the MCT process. Just through a different link.
-
@Dashrender said in Free Upgrade to Windows 10 in 2019 from Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1:
The windows 8.1 upgrade came from the Windows store. once you installed the 8.1, digital rights for 8.1 where assigned to your machine and could be reinstalled from scratch.
This is basically exactly what we are describing now. Except obviously the Store has failed and they use their website now rather than the Store everyone universally blocks or ignores.
-
@scottalanmiller said in Free Upgrade to Windows 10 in 2019 from Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1:
@Dashrender said in Free Upgrade to Windows 10 in 2019 from Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1:
@DustinB3403 said in Free Upgrade to Windows 10 in 2019 from Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1:
@Dashrender said in Free Upgrade to Windows 10 in 2019 from Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1:
So now you're saying that if you download the MCT from Linux - that you just get free shit
No, but that Microsoft is saying you can use this to install Windows 10 onto your hardware, but that doesn't imply that you are licensed accordingly.
@Dashrender said in Free Upgrade to Windows 10 in 2019 from Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1:
ou get this potential that you can't actually use MCT unless you have a valid Windows 10 license first AND are using MCT to upgrade a win 7 or 8.1 system...
Yes, because you can pull the OS details from a web browser, so they can make the reasonable assumption that you are appropriate licensed and valid for upgrade.
that's insane - almost no one here is downloading MCT for use on the machine they are downloading on, so that scan is mostly pointless.
I'd agree that it is insane. But almost everyone is, actually, downloading on the machine that they are on because of how it works. The Linux situation I am in is definitely the outlier by far. There are solid cases where you would do this (Windows 7 machine without Internet access), but they are anything but the norm.
Since you have to download the MCT every time, doing it to a separate machine on any scale doesn't work.
What makes you think you need to download the MCT every time?
-
@scottalanmiller said in Free Upgrade to Windows 10 in 2019 from Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1:
@Dashrender said in Free Upgrade to Windows 10 in 2019 from Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1:
@scottalanmiller said in Free Upgrade to Windows 10 in 2019 from Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1:
@Dashrender said in Free Upgrade to Windows 10 in 2019 from Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1:
@scottalanmiller said in Free Upgrade to Windows 10 in 2019 from Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1:
Also worth noting, according to the MCT page, only Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 are eligible for upgrade, NOT Windows 8!
I assume because Windows 8 left support early, so is no longer valid.
Sure, but 8 can be upgraded to 8.1 (at least as far as I know it still can be).
Never could. Why would you think that that upgrade was free but others are not (other than paperwork.) Windows 10 is the first upgrade ever offered for free.
that is purely wrong! I upgraded all of my Windows 8 machines around my office to Windows 8.1 for free. Now you're telling me I broke the law? hey considering this conversation - anything's possible.
The windows 8.1 upgrade came from the Windows store. once you installed the 8.1, digital rights for 8.1 where assigned to your machine and could be reinstalled from scratch.
Interesting. If that was the case, then it likely was the same as the Windows 10 one now, with Windows 8 having had a free upgrade option that expired when Windows 8 licenses were no longer valid (past end of life.)
Basically what you are describing is the same as the MCT process. Just through a different link.
I would equate it more to the rolling updates to Windows 10, but I get your point... yeah sure it was deployed via the Windows Store instead of Windows update...
-
@Dashrender said in Free Upgrade to Windows 10 in 2019 from Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1:
@scottalanmiller said in Free Upgrade to Windows 10 in 2019 from Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1:
@Dashrender said in Free Upgrade to Windows 10 in 2019 from Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1:
@DustinB3403 said in Free Upgrade to Windows 10 in 2019 from Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1:
@Dashrender said in Free Upgrade to Windows 10 in 2019 from Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1:
So now you're saying that if you download the MCT from Linux - that you just get free shit
No, but that Microsoft is saying you can use this to install Windows 10 onto your hardware, but that doesn't imply that you are licensed accordingly.
@Dashrender said in Free Upgrade to Windows 10 in 2019 from Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1:
ou get this potential that you can't actually use MCT unless you have a valid Windows 10 license first AND are using MCT to upgrade a win 7 or 8.1 system...
Yes, because you can pull the OS details from a web browser, so they can make the reasonable assumption that you are appropriate licensed and valid for upgrade.
that's insane - almost no one here is downloading MCT for use on the machine they are downloading on, so that scan is mostly pointless.
I'd agree that it is insane. But almost everyone is, actually, downloading on the machine that they are on because of how it works. The Linux situation I am in is definitely the outlier by far. There are solid cases where you would do this (Windows 7 machine without Internet access), but they are anything but the norm.
Since you have to download the MCT every time, doing it to a separate machine on any scale doesn't work.
What makes you think you need to download the MCT every time?
Because the EULA provided by the tool very explicitly says that you can only use it on one machine. An annoyance and MS will never, ever catch you. But to stay fully legal, you have to download and run uniquely for each install.
-
@Dashrender said in Free Upgrade to Windows 10 in 2019 from Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1:
@scottalanmiller said in Free Upgrade to Windows 10 in 2019 from Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1:
@Dashrender said in Free Upgrade to Windows 10 in 2019 from Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1:
@scottalanmiller said in Free Upgrade to Windows 10 in 2019 from Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1:
@Dashrender said in Free Upgrade to Windows 10 in 2019 from Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1:
@scottalanmiller said in Free Upgrade to Windows 10 in 2019 from Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1:
Also worth noting, according to the MCT page, only Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 are eligible for upgrade, NOT Windows 8!
I assume because Windows 8 left support early, so is no longer valid.
Sure, but 8 can be upgraded to 8.1 (at least as far as I know it still can be).
Never could. Why would you think that that upgrade was free but others are not (other than paperwork.) Windows 10 is the first upgrade ever offered for free.
that is purely wrong! I upgraded all of my Windows 8 machines around my office to Windows 8.1 for free. Now you're telling me I broke the law? hey considering this conversation - anything's possible.
The windows 8.1 upgrade came from the Windows store. once you installed the 8.1, digital rights for 8.1 where assigned to your machine and could be reinstalled from scratch.
Interesting. If that was the case, then it likely was the same as the Windows 10 one now, with Windows 8 having had a free upgrade option that expired when Windows 8 licenses were no longer valid (past end of life.)
Basically what you are describing is the same as the MCT process. Just through a different link.
I would equate it more to the rolling updates to Windows 10, but I get your point... yeah sure it was deployed via the Windows Store instead of Windows update...
Windows 8 to 8.1 is the same leap as any other Windows full major release update.
XP to Vista
Vista to 7
7 to 8
8 to 8.1
8.1 to the first Windows 10 release -
Installation and Use Rights.
a. License. The software is licensed, not sold. Under this agreement, we grant you the right to install and run one instance of the software on your device (the licensed device), for use by one person at a time, so long as you comply with all the terms of this agreement.
This part of the EULA is important, in that it grants you the license at this time for install. I was posting this to show that portion, but it is also the portion that shows Dashrender why you have to acquire a new EULA for each machine. And to do that, you have to get the MCT again. Is it binary identical? Yes. Can MS track it? I don't think so. But technically do you need to? I think to be absolutely technically correct, yes. Is MS ever going to check for that even in the worst audit fight in history? I can't imagine.
-
@scottalanmiller The MCT is an executable and not a classic installable application, so I would actually disagree with your assessment there.
I would read it to say exactly this "we grant you the right to install and run one instance of the software on your device (the licensed device), for use by one person at a time"
Edit: Meaning you can't run the MCT more than once at a time on whatever licensed device you're on at the moment.
Not that you have download the software a million times over, the MCT allows you to create bootable media for the device your on or another device - so your stance here I think is mistaken.
-
@DustinB3403 said in Free Upgrade to Windows 10 in 2019 from Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1:
Not that you have download the software a million times over, the MCT allows you to create bootable media for the device your on or another device - so your stance here I think is mistaken.
The statement to the "one" comes not inside the MCT, though, but in the installation that it creates.
-
@scottalanmiller solid logic, why bother going through all this effort when you could just crack a base install? So long as it activates you are good right?
-
@zamsp said in Free Upgrade to Windows 10 in 2019 from Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1:
@scottalanmiller solid logic, why bother going through all this effort when you could just crack a base install? So long as it activates you are good right?
I assume you are joking, but if not, no, activation is no indicator of failure (e.g. not being licensed.) Activation is a requirement of the license and is only meaningful or purposeful once you have a valid license in place. If you don't have a valid license, the activation means nothing at all. Activation is required, but as an additional step, not instead of, the license. And since it is required only by the license and nothing else, it doesn't conceptually do anything on its own.
What is useful about the activation is it allows you to know if anything along your license acquisition path has gone wrong. Or helps, at least. If you have cracked your install, you'd know. Or if you acquired the OS from someone other than MS, you'd know. But as long as you do everything in the way that you are supposed to do (getting the OS from the maker, not cracking anything) then check the activation, it should be a solid final check that the software that you acquired is valid and hasn't been tampered with. But it doesn't check the license, so tells you nothing in that regard.
-
Updated the OP to show that Windows 8 isn't a valid option.
-
Something worth noting, I think, that helps to make it clearer that this upgrade path is valid not just logically or legally, but from a careful comprehensive planning perspective, is that all other options are carefully avoided.
The EULA, Activation, MCT, and other tools make all other options non-viable.
Some examples:
Why can't you do a non-upgrade installation to new media? Because the only way to get a valid key for Windows 10 installation is from Windows 7 or 8.1. This can be typed in (retail box) or automatic (OEM in UEFI firmware), but must exist and be unused elsewhere. If you don't have an available and applicable key you will violate two provisions of the license (key requirement, activation requirement.)
Why can't you do an upgrade from any OS instead of just the two allowed? Because the MCT states which can be used and checks for them before running the update, and only those keys will work. So you have three places where it stops this (license, key, and activation.)
Why can't you crack the OS? Because the EULA explicitly only applies to unaltered copies of Windows and any cracking of any sort nullifies the entire license.
What if you manage to get it to activate? Activation is a final verification step that is only required by the license. If the license is not already valid, the activation has no purpose as the installation is already not allowed. Activation is required, but will always work (although might require a phone call) under any situation where the license is valid. Activation on its own is meaningless. And any workarounds to the process invalidate the activation and, in turn, the license.
Essentially every scenario is carefully handled, as expected, by the EULA. It invalidates any other kind of install. Only the valid and genuine Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 Upgrade installs make it through the gauntlet of requirements (key, media, license, activation.) The requirements are a mixture of legal (paperwork) and technical (verification) that together make for a holistic approach that is reasonably simple to follow, but completely restrictive to the proper usage.
-
@scottalanmiller Is it legal to buy Windows 7 Pro license and install Windows 10 with MCT and key from that Win7Pro without first installing Win7Pro on that PC?
We can buy used Win7Pro licenses for 30EUR/35$ (in EU it is legal to buy/sell used licenses)
-
@Mario-Jakovina said in Free Upgrade to Windows 10 in 2019 from Windows 7 and Windows 8.1:
@scottalanmiller Is it legal to buy Windows 7 Pro license and install Windows 10 with MCT and key from that Win7Pro without first installing Win7Pro on that PC?
We can buy used Win7Pro licenses for 30EUR/35$ (in EU it is legal to buy/sell used licenses)
AFAIK, yes. I don't see any issue with that. You can dig into the EULA for the upgrade, but as far as I know, that works for the time being.
