I would probably use my standard hint, 16-digit alpha numeric data totally unrelated to the question. I am not in the F***b**k, Tw*t***, etc. so nobody would know them.
Windows 10
- Thread starter Mercutio
- Start date
I would probably use my standard hint, 16-digit alpha numeric data totally unrelated to the question. I am not in the F***b**k, Tw*t***, etc. so nobody would know them.
sechs
Storage? I am Storage!
Just upgraded to 1709 a couple months ago.
Maybe they'll have that fixed in the next year. ;-)
B
blackwateri
Guest
Windows 10 says my password is incorrect, never changed it in past few months. how to get rid of the message and get into the desktop?
Stereodude
Not really a
:idea: Enter the correct password.
F
Facker
Guest
Set a new password to replace it or reinstall a new Windows 10.
This was literally the first google link when searching "windows 10 home to pro upgrade". 
Stereodude
Not really a
Aww... You had to go ruin all the fun before we even had it.This was literally the first google link when searching "windows 10 home to pro upgrade".
Santilli
Hairy Aussie
- Joined
- Jan 27, 2002
- Messages
- 5,278
Well, I guess I'll have to be obvious:
Is there a cheap way to get it done?
Is there a way to get a DVD or some sort of media that you can reuse if you want to do a clean install?
Examples: We have two Dells, both out of warranty. It would be nice to have a disk, or some form of media that you could use to install, or reinstall the OS, and get rid of Dells' wonderful software and influence.
Is there a cheap way to get it done?
Is there a way to get a DVD or some sort of media that you can reuse if you want to do a clean install?
Examples: We have two Dells, both out of warranty. It would be nice to have a disk, or some form of media that you could use to install, or reinstall the OS, and get rid of Dells' wonderful software and influence.
I use the Windows Media Creation tool for installing Windows 10 to do all my installs. it's the easiest and fastest way for individual PC installs.
Santilli
Hairy Aussie
- Joined
- Jan 27, 2002
- Messages
- 5,278
I'm starting to see laptops that are checking the boxes I'm interested in:
17.3" screen
DVD/Bluray player
decent processor, ram, and
an SSD for a boot drive.
wifi a/c
and priced under 1000 dollars.
Problem is about 100% have Windows 10 home.
I would like to upgrade to 10 Pro, due to networking issues and I like the diagnostic stuff.
Given a choice, I would clean install, and would like a copy of windows if something goes down, and requires a off support reinstall.
17.3" screen
DVD/Bluray player
decent processor, ram, and
an SSD for a boot drive.
wifi a/c
and priced under 1000 dollars.
Problem is about 100% have Windows 10 home.
I would like to upgrade to 10 Pro, due to networking issues and I like the diagnostic stuff.
Given a choice, I would clean install, and would like a copy of windows if something goes down, and requires a off support reinstall.
Santilli
Hairy Aussie
- Joined
- Jan 27, 2002
- Messages
- 5,278
Thanks for the link.
That's the answer to the situation I've been facing.
We have a Dell laptop that would really be far better with an SSD, but, since it's out of warranty, how do you do a clean install, on a new drive?
The laptop has 8.1 on it, and we don't have any media with that, or for that matter, the activation code.
The processor, and everything else is fast enough to be current. Only the hard drive is slow.
Spending 200 bucks on a new os we don't really want, Windows 10, and the cost of the SSD make it too expensive to do. Better just buy another one.
That's the answer to the situation I've been facing.
We have a Dell laptop that would really be far better with an SSD, but, since it's out of warranty, how do you do a clean install, on a new drive?
The laptop has 8.1 on it, and we don't have any media with that, or for that matter, the activation code.
The processor, and everything else is fast enough to be current. Only the hard drive is slow.
Spending 200 bucks on a new os we don't really want, Windows 10, and the cost of the SSD make it too expensive to do. Better just buy another one.
Last edited:
If the laptop already has Windows 10, you just need to install and run the Windows Media Creation tool I linked to and it will create you an installable Windows 10 (all versions) onto a USB stick that you can keep for offline installs. When using it to install you will not need to enter your license key (unless you choose to upgrade to the pro version). This utility will do exactly what you want.
Stereodude
Not really a
Don't be such a defeatist. Look at the 2nd deal. https://www.techbargains.com/store/2884/urcdkeys-coupons
Stereodude
Not really a
Well, if it works and by all accounts it does...
It's pretty obvious those are either not legitimate or not licensed for resale.
Stereodude
Not really a
So I think is pretty much a record for the shortest duration of a "working" Windows install. I powered up the computer today for the first time since I installed it back in December on the new NVMe SSD, I got to the login screen like normal, got a longer than expected delay after entering my password welcoming me, and never actually got to a working desktop. I got the desktop wallpaper image, but no taskbar, desktop icons, or anything. CTRL+ALT+DEL would bring up the standard menu, I could bring up the task manager, but I couldn't get any further. Attempting to manually launch explorer or anything else didn't work. Two successive power cycles and attempts to get to the desktop were equally fruitless.
The installation was about as clean as it gets. I had only installed three things. ClassicShell, Spybot Anti-Beacon, and Firefox. So basically, I never even used the system and it somehow it managed to eat itself.
So, now I'm clean installing it again...
Stereodude
Not really a
Is there some evidence that is going to happen / that the keys are not authentic?
There is evidence that people have had issues with the key they purchased from one of these gray market sites. Assuming the key you buy isn't from an MSDN subscription or OEM you would technically be breaking the EULA which is the same as pirating windows. I don't care if you do it, I'm just saying there is some risk with a $12 key purchase.
sechs
Storage? I am Storage!
I was suspicious myself, but haven't had any problems with these cheap keys.
Should MS suddenly decide that one I received isn't genuine, I'd still be well ahead buying another one.
Should MS suddenly decide that one I received isn't genuine, I'd still be well ahead buying another one.
Santilli
Hairy Aussie
- Joined
- Jan 27, 2002
- Messages
- 5,278
Handruin:
Do you know if the same technique, and program would work on Windows 8.1?
What I'm thinking is taking the Dell Laptop, installing 8.1, clean, on an SSD.
Does Dell make the drivers for their hardware proprietary so you can't get them, and do such upgrades?
Do you know if the same technique, and program would work on Windows 8.1?
What I'm thinking is taking the Dell Laptop, installing 8.1, clean, on an SSD.
Does Dell make the drivers for their hardware proprietary so you can't get them, and do such upgrades?
Stereodude
Not really a
I'm pretty sure that breaking some EULA (that you would have no idea you were breaking) is not the same as piracy in the eyes of the law/courts.
The point wasn't the legal consequence to you as the consumer but more that MS may just invalidate the license because of the way it was sold outside of their EULA. I'd expect MS would go after the seller versus you if they chose to pursue it. I guess for $12 it might be worth the risk if the site you buy it from is trustworthy with your personal info and credit card number.
sechs
Storage? I am Storage!
There are so many of these sellers, and they're moving so many keys. If MS cared, they'd at least be trying to shut them down.
It's easy enough to use Windows totally unactivated. If MS is looking to monetize Windows to home users in ways other than just licensing fees, the more users the better.
It's easy enough to use Windows totally unactivated. If MS is looking to monetize Windows to home users in ways other than just licensing fees, the more users the better.
@Santilli
MS used to have a similar utility for Windows 8.1 and they may still have one I just haven't looked.
I haven't had a Dell laptop in a while so it's tough to answer you there regarding drivers. I would guess that they do not have a large amount of proprietary drivers and even if they did you can typically download them all right from their website. If you stayed with Windows 10 you would get more included drivers if that's your concern.
Stereodude
Not really a
Are there really any cases where the Windows 8.1 drivers won't work in Windows 10? I used Windows 7 and Vista drivers in 10 before on a few hardware devices.
Last edited:
I don't think so. I see many drivers for motherboards listed as Win8-Win10 and they work fine. I just meant that Windows 10 might do a better job of pulling in more-recent drivers automatically vs Win8 but that's just a subjective opinion. I don't have anything to back that up concretely.
Santilli
Hairy Aussie
- Joined
- Jan 27, 2002
- Messages
- 5,278
From what I can gather, on startup, the first time, it checks with MSFT for updates, HP for updates.
Then the initial process is combined with some really evasive questioning, and account information.
You need to sign in, tell them your birthday, on an archaic, slow alarm type data entry, requiring you to click each time, to go back a year, reminding me on my 65th birthday, that I'm really old, and really intolerant of things wasting my time.
So after the MSFT account stuff, HP wants you to setup an account.
I walked into Philz at 6;30, and this shit was still going at 7, when they closed, and I had to get up and leave, hence I was well aware of the time.
I've initiated 5 Chromebooks from Acer, and none of them take more then 2 minutes, and you are up and running.
From the little bit I used the HP, the screen didn't look very good, compared to the Acer. 10 was only mildly offensive, other then the startup stuff.
I am able to stream Xfinity on my chromebook.
At my house it will not log in and get to the internet, when the Chromebook will.
It will not play any video, when using my phone as a hotspot, with a viewable, enjoyable frame rate.
The only thing I can think of is the hard drive, a mechanical 1 TB, is so slow, combined with software that much access it during video play, that it slows the video to a stuttering, stopping, unviewable rate.
The specs cpu, gpu, are 8th generation, with 12 gb ram, yet it seems dog slow, and again, this has to be a combination of software, writing or acessing, a very slow hard drive.
I thought it might be Chrome that MSFT made not play on 10, but the same website didn't work on Edge, either.
It also seems to have last century wifi hardware, judging from the speed of the downloads.
Combine that with the bayonet power supply and flimsy port, the lack of this century type of ports, type C, etc. and you have a laptop that is going right back to Costco.
Then the initial process is combined with some really evasive questioning, and account information.
You need to sign in, tell them your birthday, on an archaic, slow alarm type data entry, requiring you to click each time, to go back a year, reminding me on my 65th birthday, that I'm really old, and really intolerant of things wasting my time.
So after the MSFT account stuff, HP wants you to setup an account.
I walked into Philz at 6;30, and this shit was still going at 7, when they closed, and I had to get up and leave, hence I was well aware of the time.
I've initiated 5 Chromebooks from Acer, and none of them take more then 2 minutes, and you are up and running.
From the little bit I used the HP, the screen didn't look very good, compared to the Acer. 10 was only mildly offensive, other then the startup stuff.
I am able to stream Xfinity on my chromebook.
At my house it will not log in and get to the internet, when the Chromebook will.
It will not play any video, when using my phone as a hotspot, with a viewable, enjoyable frame rate.
The only thing I can think of is the hard drive, a mechanical 1 TB, is so slow, combined with software that much access it during video play, that it slows the video to a stuttering, stopping, unviewable rate.
The specs cpu, gpu, are 8th generation, with 12 gb ram, yet it seems dog slow, and again, this has to be a combination of software, writing or acessing, a very slow hard drive.
I thought it might be Chrome that MSFT made not play on 10, but the same website didn't work on Edge, either.
It also seems to have last century wifi hardware, judging from the speed of the downloads.
Combine that with the bayonet power supply and flimsy port, the lack of this century type of ports, type C, etc. and you have a laptop that is going right back to Costco.
Wow that's awful. My Fujitsu Win 10 pro laptop last year did not require any special info or connection to the internet to set up. I was able to choose No or Cancel to any account creation or personal info.
Is this a new MS thing or an HP thing?
Is this a new MS thing or an HP thing?
This must be an HP thing. I did a recent Windows 10 install and it only asks you for a few basic pieces of info to get the system installed. You can optionally create an Microsoft account and log in with that but it's not required.
Santilli
Hairy Aussie
- Joined
- Jan 27, 2002
- Messages
- 5,278
It asked all that and a bag of chips.
The final straw was having to single click backwards 60 times to get to 1954. Without my birthday, I couldn't proceed with the login/boot procedure.
Now for a fairly serious question:
I use Xfinity.com. I log in, and can watch shows we record on the home DVR, on my laptop, and it worked well on my home computer.
The HP 17.3" wouldn't log into the web.
xfinity website, and the one time it did, it wouldn't play the video stream.
The specs were i5 8th gen, with 12 GB of ram, but a dirt slow 1 TB harddrive.
The browser I used was both edge and Chrome.
Chrome, needless to say, works great on the Acer Chromebook, and plays the video easily and all over.
It did NOT do that on the HP 17.
so is it some substandard Wifi, something I could have tested but didn't. stuff just loaded really slow.
Or does playing the video require small, fast writes or reads to the hard disk, that, because the drive was so slow, stopped the browser from playing the video?
I'm inclined to think the later.
The Acer Chromebook uses a 15.6" with 1080, dirt slow Pentium 4200U or something like that 4 or 8 gigs of ram, think it's 4, but a pretty blinding both interface and hard drive.
The final straw was having to single click backwards 60 times to get to 1954. Without my birthday, I couldn't proceed with the login/boot procedure.
Now for a fairly serious question:
I use Xfinity.com. I log in, and can watch shows we record on the home DVR, on my laptop, and it worked well on my home computer.
The HP 17.3" wouldn't log into the web.
xfinity website, and the one time it did, it wouldn't play the video stream.
The specs were i5 8th gen, with 12 GB of ram, but a dirt slow 1 TB harddrive.
The browser I used was both edge and Chrome.
Chrome, needless to say, works great on the Acer Chromebook, and plays the video easily and all over.
It did NOT do that on the HP 17.
so is it some substandard Wifi, something I could have tested but didn't. stuff just loaded really slow.
Or does playing the video require small, fast writes or reads to the hard disk, that, because the drive was so slow, stopped the browser from playing the video?
I'm inclined to think the later.
The Acer Chromebook uses a 15.6" with 1080, dirt slow Pentium 4200U or something like that 4 or 8 gigs of ram, think it's 4, but a pretty blinding both interface and hard drive.
Stereodude
Not really a
I don't see any connection between the two. It could be just about anything. I'd get a SSD for it and then clean install the system.
I suspect that it is HP putting so much crap on their systems that is slowing down everything with a marginally fast enough hard drive anyway.
What SD said is good, but you really should not have to put up with the hassle on a new system. Maybe the price was great or something.
What SD said is good, but you really should not have to put up with the hassle on a new system. Maybe the price was great or something.
Santilli
Hairy Aussie
- Joined
- Jan 27, 2002
- Messages
- 5,278
It was 599. However, even at that price, too many problems short comings.
1. bayonet power supply sure to break
why not type c charger?
2. NO type c port, period, much less charging.
3. would like 1080 screen. The screen was 1600 x 900 or something like that, had's lots of ghosts, and generally only looked good at boot screen.
4. Hard drive. Awful, slow, but big. With 100 bucks for a 512 Samsung 960 EVO, when I only need 256, no brainer.
5. The setup and boot software sucked so bad, I have anger management issues with it.
6. No boot copy of Windows 10 to clean drive, and install Windows clean.
7. I think it did have a cd drive.
8. Wifi was VERY slow. I'm sure I could have documented why, but the entire computer seemed to be one of those builds were they use cheap, junk, left over components, and put them together and sell them.
9. I get concerned with computers like this, since the cheapness can go further, like using substandard, junk motherboard chips that would throttle better components if you install.
Reminds me of apple's motherboard chips that limited through put to 73mb/sec, when we had 125 mb/sec raids setup.
1. bayonet power supply sure to break
why not type c charger?
2. NO type c port, period, much less charging.
3. would like 1080 screen. The screen was 1600 x 900 or something like that, had's lots of ghosts, and generally only looked good at boot screen.
4. Hard drive. Awful, slow, but big. With 100 bucks for a 512 Samsung 960 EVO, when I only need 256, no brainer.
5. The setup and boot software sucked so bad, I have anger management issues with it.
6. No boot copy of Windows 10 to clean drive, and install Windows clean.
7. I think it did have a cd drive.
8. Wifi was VERY slow. I'm sure I could have documented why, but the entire computer seemed to be one of those builds were they use cheap, junk, left over components, and put them together and sell them.
9. I get concerned with computers like this, since the cheapness can go further, like using substandard, junk motherboard chips that would throttle better components if you install.
Reminds me of apple's motherboard chips that limited through put to 73mb/sec, when we had 125 mb/sec raids setup.
Santilli
Hairy Aussie
- Joined
- Jan 27, 2002
- Messages
- 5,278
Good points:
17.3 inch fits in back pack, just a little longer.
Heavy, but don't really notice it.
Since this size is not that common, you have to be careful with what you get. I notice you get a huge improvement in
specs going from the 6-700 range to 1000-1300 range.
While costco can be a dumping ground for computers with old parts, at least you can try them, and return them if you don't like
them.
17.3 inch fits in back pack, just a little longer.
Heavy, but don't really notice it.
Since this size is not that common, you have to be careful with what you get. I notice you get a huge improvement in
specs going from the 6-700 range to 1000-1300 range.
While costco can be a dumping ground for computers with old parts, at least you can try them, and return them if you don't like
them.