Rollback from Windows 10

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mjflynt

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Rollback from Windows 10

#1

Post by mjflynt » Wed May 11, 2016 12:03 am

I have a "official" WMC running on Windows 8.1 pro. I've been searching the web and this site, but I cannot find a definite answer. I apologize if I missed the posts.

I want to know if upgrading to Windows 10, then activating it to lock in the upgrade then doing a rollback also restores the Windows 8.1 WITH WMC. I expect it does. I will image my drive if I can find something large enough to hold it just in case. But if it does not restore it at all, then I will not do the upgrade.

But while I am here, I also am wondering how the Windows 10 version of Media Center works for just basic OTA recordings. I expect my 785 gigs of old recordings will not work with this version. Is that correct?

I suspect Microsoft has some XBox universal UWP media center app in the works that'll likely only work on Windows 10. If so, I want access to it, but I don't care to lose WMC now.

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Shark007

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#2

Post by Shark007 » Wed May 11, 2016 1:30 am

There is no such thing as locking in the Windows 10 upgrade.
If you rollback (within 30 days) they will know and the Windows 10 activation will no longer exist for that PC.

(after 30 days of using Windows 10, you are locked in and rolling back will report 'test version' on 8.1)
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bob_p

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#3

Post by bob_p » Wed May 11, 2016 3:02 pm

A simpler solution would be to clone your Windows 8.1 system disk to a second hard drive (using backup software; we use Acronis) and then install the Windows 10 upgrade on that disk. And after Windows 10 is installed, removed the new hard drive from your system - and continue running 8.1 until you're ready to pull the plug on WMC and run Windows 10.

NOTE that the Windows 10 upgrade uninstalls WMC - so even if you were able to keep the Windows 10 license available for a future upgrade, rolling back to 8.1 and running WMC may pose challenges in getting WMC working again.

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#4

Post by bob_p » Wed May 11, 2016 3:04 pm

A simpler solution would be to clone your Windows 8.1 system disk to a second hard drive (using backup software; we use Acronis) and then install the Windows 10 upgrade on that disk. And after Windows 10 is installed, removed the new hard drive from your system - and continue running 8.1 until you're ready to pull the plug on WMC and run Windows 10.

NOTE that the Windows 10 upgrade uninstalls WMC - so even if you were able to keep the Windows 10 license available for a future upgrade, rolling back to 8.1 and running WMC may pose challenges in getting WMC working again.

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#5

Post by mjflynt » Thu May 12, 2016 3:35 am

So, I got a partial answer here, but the lock in part of the question is based on the ideas in this article: http://www.zdnet.com/article/how-to-loc ... s-version/
Yes, you can. And it's not a loophole, nor does it involve any tricks. It merely involves claiming your entitlement under the free upgrade offer and then rolling back to your prior operating system. With that entitlement in place, you can schedule the final upgrade for when you're ready, even if that's after July 29.
But for the Windows Media Center part, I don't know... I would think that many people here upgraded to Windows 10 then realised that they lost WMC so rolled it back. Has anyone actually tried this? I don't have another 2 TB drive to do any cloning nor would that work anyway. Only one of the two keys can be active at a time, but according to the article, once you claim your upgrade (by activating I assume) then you can still rollback and reactivate your Windows 8.1 key. Later you could upgrade to Windows 10 for free. I think. I cannot be 100% certain but I have read about this in a number of places online suggesting you have to actually activate it to claim it. I expect this "counts" toward one of the billion installs Microsoft is aiming for, and why they don't care.

Also, does WMC work OK for OTA on Windows 10 pro with the the special installers here? I am reading that people are not getting their program guides, etc. Is this a temporary problem?

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Shark007

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#6

Post by Shark007 » Thu May 12, 2016 4:12 am

mjflynt wrote:So, I got a partial answer here, but the lock in part of the question is based on the ideas in this article: http://www.zdnet.com/article/how-to-loc ... s-version/
Good luck!
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mjflynt

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#7

Post by mjflynt » Thu May 12, 2016 4:23 am

Thanks - not sure the focus is on the rollback. I won't need a rollback if it works (mostly) in Windows 10.

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Crash2009

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#8

Post by Crash2009 » Thu May 12, 2016 2:14 pm

If you are planning to use WMC in Win10, I believe you have to uninstall WMC from Win8.1 PRIOR to upgrading to Win10.

You might want to ask the developers for advice on that one.

http://forums.mydigitallife.info/thread ... ost1228514

Also, the WMC version you need (v12) is available there.

WMC works fine in Win10. With a little effort, Xbox will work also.

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Crash2009

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#9

Post by Crash2009 » Thu May 12, 2016 4:15 pm

Uninstall WMC from Win8.1 PRIOR to Win10 upgrade.
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RemoveWmcFromEight.JPG

mjflynt

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#10

Post by mjflynt » Fri May 13, 2016 4:17 am

OK - good to know, but not sure why you have to uninstall it first when it still is going to uninstall it again, LOL! So, until I can pare down my system to the point of being able make a system image, I can't do the upgrade now because I have lost the original key to reinstall WMC when I revert (unless it is the key returned with a tool like Magic Jelly Bean). It seems that installing WMC changes the key to one that includes the media center. It is not the same one I used to install it. Does anyone know?

I have searched my Outlook account for the key, and like many other people online have noticed for theirs, mine has vanished mysteriously. I use email as an archive for such things. Funny I could find my Windows 7 early release receipt in their though... That was years earlier. I have to wonder if MS has searched for these emails and deleted them. Oh well.

So, if and when I revert back to Windows 8.1 pro, I'll be without the the WMC regardless it sounds. This kind of answers my first quest about a revert though. So, the upgrade will uninstall WMC prior to upgrading so on restore that functionality is gone I guess. That's messed up. My only hope to revert is a system image.

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#11

Post by Crash2009 » Fri May 13, 2016 6:10 am

"Loosing their key" seems to be a common problem around here lately. Which hack did you use to get the key in the first place?

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#12

Post by mjflynt » Sat May 14, 2016 12:35 pm

If you purchased the WMC upgrade for Windows 8.1 pro then you got an email with the key and had to enter it on the add Windows components screen. I stupidly left it in the email (in my hotmail account) because I have virtually every email for the past 15 years in there. I believe it was "removed" but I have no real proof other than some of those that did the same hove found theirs also missing. I expect it wouldn't matter unless when WIndows 10 removes media center that the original key returns. Probably it does not so it would just be a matter of reinstalling Media Center from the add Windows Components screen.

I used Belarc Advisor to get all my keys including the "new key" for WMC that someone else on another board claimed that they still had the printout of the email said matched in their case. It seems a great deal more comprehensive than Magic Jellybean.

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#13

Post by Crash2009 » Sat May 14, 2016 2:35 pm

I suppose the easy answer is.....don't use the hard drive that contains your Win8.1 on it. SSD's are pretty cheap...50 bucks, and they cant take that away, can they.

Roll Back is a pain in the neck anyway. When I did my Win7, hardly anything was put back in the same place, and I had to re-install most if not all of my apps. They did give me a nice little list of what was not restored though. It was easier to format and start over. I'm sure that was part of their plan. Also any files stored in Non-Normal locations were conveniently missing. Glad it was on a test7 and not my Main7.

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