News Microsoft to honour $2 Windows 10 Pro key loophole sales

Download the media creation tool

Run it and choose to upgrade the current pc.
After completion of the windows 10 instalation get the (w10) product key with a product key finder.


Now with the product key you can run the media creation tool again and choose the 'other pc' option. Choose the language, 32/64 bit and the correct w10.
If you want create a bootable USB (minimal a 4gb stick) choose USB flashstation. If you want to create a ISO only choose ISO.

You can also download the ISO form Microsoft and use for example Rufus to create a bootable USB.


The key from w10 is locked to the current PC (hardware). After upgrade you cant install to other PC.
And that is the strange part. If you have a retail windows 7 or 8. You can rebuild your pc (mobo/proc/mem) upgrade and install it again. Seems like with w10 you can't do that. You probably need to call Microsoft support to explain that you upgraded your system.

 

So by taking advantage of the free upgrade, you're effectively swapping a full retail copy of Win 7, say, for a copy of Win 10 that is locked to your current hardware config?

That doesn't sound ideal, to be honest. Not a problem for me upgrading my Win 8.1 tablet, but potentially a massive problem for my main PC, which is due a full hardware upgrade at some point in the next year or so. Reckon I'll hang fire on upgrading to 10 on my main rig until this has been clarified...

 

At the moment, noone knows. The EULA and comments on Microsoft's Answers website would seem to indicate that a Win 7/8 retail license will be upgraded to a Win 10 retail license; however, until the demand on the activation servers had died down, the phone activation service has been turned on, and MS support reps get their stories straight it's impossible to be certain. I think it is more likely that an upgraded retail license will remain a retail license tho and will be able to be reactivated on new hardware.

 

Using a product key finder doesn't help. After the upgrade your Windows 10 install is using a generic key which directs Windows to check eligibility with MS hardware activation servers. You no longer have an individual licence key which can be used to reinstall Windows 10 on different hardware or take you through phone activation.

I am sure someone within Microrosoft knows exactly what the story is. But MS have been very vague about this from the start. The best evidence we have to go on are the real experiences of users and Microsoft's original statement that the upgrade licence will be "free for the lifetime of the device". Based on this, retail licences which have been upgraded are not transferable.