Microsoft Takes Another Step Towards Minimizing Activation Issues on Windows 10

[Petrovic]

Today Microsoft released Windows 10 Build 14371 to Insiders on the the Fast Ring and, while it had a long list of fixes included, it only had one new feature added however, this feature promises to help users minimize activation issues which can be a source of frustration.

 

We are at the point in the development of the Windows 10 Anniversary Update, just five weeks from the expected release date on 29 July 2016, that in the past there has been a slowing down of builds and new features to the operating system update.

 

Apparently the new Microsoft is changing even more than it has because we have had a total of nine new builds released to testers in June alone. There have been five for PCs and four on the mobile side.

 

So let's start with a little Windows 10 history.

Here on SuperSite: Windows the time leading up to the initial release of Windows 10 last July was full of questions about licensing, activations, what hardware changes would trigger re-validation of the license and other concerns when it came to the actual upgrade process for Windows 7/8.1 devices to the new operating system.

We learned a lot along the way about the Digital Entitlement and the critical necessity to perform an upgrade to Windows 10 first before any clean installs so that the hardware would have the right Digital Entitlement for activation. That was even more critical because at that time users were not allowed to use their Windows 7/8.1 product keys to activate Windows 10 on their devices.

A Windows 10 system activated with a Digital Entitlement.

 

Then leading up to the release of the Windows 10 November Update last year, Microsoft implemented a feature just four weeks prior to the first major update of Windows 10 that allowed users to activate their Windows 10 installs using the product keys for Windows 7/8.1 on that hardware. That meant simplicity when it came to activation whether you upgraded from the eligible operating system or you did a clean install.

 

Now here we are just five weeks before the release of the Anniversary Update for Windows 10, the second major update for the OS, and Microsoft has just unveiled a new feature that will go even further to helping users maintain their activation and eliminate concerns about losing their free Windows 10 upgrade.

 

A Windows 10 system showing the Digital License activation.

 

Beginning today with Windows 10 Build 14371, users will be able to associate their Microsoft Account (MSA) to their systems Digital License (DL), what we used to call a Digital Entitlement, and validate that hardware by logging in with their MSA. If they use a Local Account then they would be prompted to sign in on the Settings > Update & security > Activation page to to connect the DL to their MSA.

 

What this basically does is give the user the ability to run the new Activation Troubleshooter when they encounter activation issues on a Genuine Windows system.

Some examples of possible scenarios could include a system that was activated with Windows Professional but inadvertently has Windows Home installed in a clean install. The situation that is more likely to occur though, and probably the one that concerns people more than anything, is a hardware upgrade of say a disk drive, video card or even a motherboard according to Microsoft, causing the system to be no longer properly activated.

 

In these situations users will be able to go to Settings > Update & security > Activation > Troubleshoot to begin the troubleshooter and resolve the activation issues.

 

Of course, key to this is that user must have previously logged their Digital License against their MSA otherwise that activation information will not be available when the Activation Troubleshooter attempts to resolve the issue.

 

If you already use a MSA to log into Windows 10 on your devices and your device is already properly activated then this information is already tied to your MSA.

Article source

[visualbuffs]

3 hours ago, Petrovic said:

Today Microsoft released Windows 10 Build 14371 to Insiders on the the Fast Ring and, while it had a long list of fixes included, it only had one new feature added however, this feature promises to help users minimize activation issues which can be a source of frustration.

 

We are at the point in the development of the Windows 10 Anniversary Update, just five weeks from the expected release date on 29 July 2016, that in the past there has been a slowing down of builds and new features to the operating system update.

 

Apparently the new Microsoft is changing even more than it has because we have had a total of nine new builds released to testers in June alone. There have been five for PCs and four on the mobile side.

 

So let's start with a little Windows 10 history.

Here on SuperSite: Windows the time leading up to the initial release of Windows 10 last July was full of questions about licensing, activations, what hardware changes would trigger re-validation of the license and other concerns when it came to the actual upgrade process for Windows 7/8.1 devices to the new operating system.

We learned a lot along the way about the Digital Entitlement and the critical necessity to perform an upgrade to Windows 10 first before any clean installs so that the hardware would have the right Digital Entitlement for activation. That was even more critical because at that time users were not allowed to use their Windows 7/8.1 product keys to activate Windows 10 on their devices.

A Windows 10 system activated with a Digital Entitlement.

 

Then leading up to the release of the Windows 10 November Update last year, Microsoft implemented a feature just four weeks prior to the first major update of Windows 10 that allowed users to activate their Windows 10 installs using the product keys for Windows 7/8.1 on that hardware. That meant simplicity when it came to activation whether you upgraded from the eligible operating system or you did a clean install.

 

Now here we are just five weeks before the release of the Anniversary Update for Windows 10, the second major update for the OS, and Microsoft has just unveiled a new feature that will go even further to helping users maintain their activation and eliminate concerns about losing their free Windows 10 upgrade.

 

A Windows 10 system showing the Digital License activation.

 

Beginning today with Windows 10 Build 14371, users will be able to associate their Microsoft Account (MSA) to their systems Digital License (DL), what we used to call a Digital Entitlement, and validate that hardware by logging in with their MSA. If they use a Local Account then they would be prompted to sign in on the Settings > Update & security > Activation page to to connect the DL to their MSA.

 

What this basically does is give the user the ability to run the new Activation Troubleshooter when they encounter activation issues on a Genuine Windows system.

Some examples of possible scenarios could include a system that was activated with Windows Professional but inadvertently has Windows Home installed in a clean install. The situation that is more likely to occur though, and probably the one that concerns people more than anything, is a hardware upgrade of say a disk drive, video card or even a motherboard according to Microsoft, causing the system to be no longer properly activated.

 

In these situations users will be able to go to Settings > Update & security > Activation > Troubleshoot to begin the troubleshooter and resolve the activation issues.

 

Of course, key to this is that user must have previously logged their Digital License against their MSA otherwise that activation information will not be available when the Activation Troubleshooter attempts to resolve the issue.

 

If you already use a MSA to log into Windows 10 on your devices and your device is already properly activated then this information is already tied to your MSA.

Article source

 

 

 

all software had a way to hack

[steven36]

So in other words, if  you want too change hardware and you use a local account,  you will need to reinstall  windows and install it using MSA, then change hardware,  but if you dont ever installed it  before with MSA,  you're just screwed if you're hardware fails . Something minor like changing a hard drive want effect  activation  though done been there and tested it and  it worked fine .

 

This explains it  more in depth.

https://www.thurrott.com/windows/windows-10/69659/windows-10-build-14371-released-activation-troubleshooter-announced

 

 

 

 

[humble3d]

These events are only precursors to what microsoft has planned for the future...

 

They will own you...

 

But only if you let them...

 

The Nazi-Fascists are coming... The Nazi-Fascists are coming...

 

The Nazi-Fascists have already arrived...

 

"Wake up!  it's time to die!" 

 

 

[steven36]

19 minutes ago, humble3d said:

They will own you...

Nope they don't own shit unless you let them own you When it dont activate with what you have you just pirate windows or install it with some other O/S  you have a key for or use Linux were you  dont need a key at all or go buy a Mac OSX box.

[humble3d]

They will own you...

 

But only if you let them... 

[steven36]

12 minutes ago, humble3d said:

They will own you...

 

But only if you let them... 

yes true  but i know how too switch out o/s  in just a few minutes . This is a forum of a technical nature  , I join nsane to learn more about  software  If you dont know nothing about software . that's not my problem they can just own you for all I care.  I come here to learn  did you? I dont claim to know it all like  some on here and i learn more everyday 

[humble3d]

I am but a humble3d student... 

[steven36]

30 minutes ago, humble3d said:

I am but a humble3d student... 

It's like insurance though for something that was free , and it only cost you the price of a Microsoft account  not a bad deal, You can sign up and change hardware log in with MSA get activated   and switch over to a local account without reinstalling.

http://www.networkworld.com/article/2956427/microsoft-subnet/how-to-setup-a-local-account-in-windows-10-during-or-after-installation.html

 

 

[DogDays]

humble 3d steven 36 Respectfully your both right

Thanks Petrovic for the heads-up

[Karlston]

Woody Leonhard's (as usual) detailed take on this...

There's a new twist in the Windows licensing maze, and Microsoft has provided frustratingly few details

Yesterday afternoon Microsoft released a new beta build of Windows 10 to the Insider Fast ring, 14371.0.rs1_release.160617-1723. We know it isn't a final build or official release candidate because of the telltale watermark on the desktop and expiration date (type winver in Cortana). That's about all we know for sure at this point. 

 

The pace of beta versions has been breathtaking: There was 14366, on June 14, with the LastPass Edge extension; 14367, on June 16, with the Start Fresh option; and now 14371, on June 22, brings us the Activation Troubleshooter. In each case, we've had lots of fixed bugs, a few lingering known problems, and very little visible change -- as befits the final stages of a beta.

 

Discussion of the Activation Troubleshooter starts with spokesperson Dona Sarkar's description on the build 14371 announcement page:

Starting with this Insider Preview build, we're introducing the Activation Troubleshooter that will help you address most commonly encountered activation issues on Genuine Windows devices including those caused by hardware changes. For example -- if your device has a digital license (formerly called "digital entitlement") for Windows 10 Pro from a previously installed activated Windows 10 build but you accidentally re-installed Windows 10 Home on such a device, the troubleshooter will automatically guide you through upgrading to Windows 10 Pro and activate Windows…

 

We are also introducing the ability to link your Microsoft account (MSA) to the activation digital license with this Insider Preview build. If you already used an MSA to log in to your activated Windows 10 Home or Pro device, your MSA will be automatically linked. You can use this MSA linked digital license to re-activate your Genuine Windows 10 device by running the Activation troubleshooter, if you run into Activation issues caused by hardware changes.

There's also a lengthy discussion, with screenshots, on the Win10 Insider Hub (only accessible if you're running Windows 10).

 

I've gone over the descriptions, stood on my head and squinted real hard, and I'm still left with the overwhelming feeling there's some core functionality, some higher purpose, that I just don't understand.

 

Clearly, Microsoft is trying to move us to a world where the Win10 upgrade is no longer free -- where, for example, entering a Win7 activation key won't activate Win10. We're facing a licensing maze straight out of Byzantium.

 

Based on the documentation we have so far, it looks like "genuine" copies of Windows 10 will have a digital license. (Eight months ago, Microsoft coined the term "digital entitlement," and apparently a digital license is the same thing.)  If you upgrade a genuine copy of Win7 or 8.1 to Win10 prior to July 29, 2016, there's a digital license stored on Microsoft's servers that says "this PC is licensed to use Win10." If you buy a new PC with Windows 10 pre-installed, there's a similar digital license on Microsoft's servers. Apparently, if you actually bought Windows 10 (there must be a dozen people who have), there's also an analogous digital license. Fair enough. Those have been the rules of the game for almost a year.

 

But those rules don't work very well when, for example, you upgrade your PC's motherboard, or if you accidentally install Win10 Home on a system that has a license for Pro and then try to revert to Pro. We've had problems with those outlying situations for decades. They've invariably been resolved by phoning the Microsoft activation center and asking for a stay of execution.

 

In all cases, the licenses have ultimately been assigned to one, single machine. One PC, one license. (Again, I'm not talking about Enterprise versions.)

 

Now a third variable has been added to the equation: the Microsoft account. Having been through the Activation Troubleshooter descriptions backward and forward, it's not clear to me how the bilateral status quo (one PC = one license) will shift to a trilateral PC --> license --> customer account triangle.

 

In simple situations, there will be no problem. When you sign in to an activated PC using a Windows account, the account will automatically pick up on the license. The Insider Hub article goes into great detail on how to manually link a Microsoft account to a specific license. (Hint: you have to do it while running the licensed machine.) If your PC suddenly becomes "ungenuine" -- the example given involves a "hardware change," which presumably includes changing the motherboard -- you can use your Microsoft account to re-establish the license-PC link and make your modified hardware "genuine" once again.

 

That's all well and good in normal circumstances. The procedure merely underlines the fact that Windows licensing has shortcomings. It always has.

 

At the same time, though, it introduces more questions than it solves. Kludges often do.

 

The fundamental question: Does the Microsoft account own the license? If so, the owner should be able to move the license from PC to PC, burning the old license in its wake. If not, what happens when, for example, the genuine machine is sold to someone else? Does the license move with that system, or does the license go with the owner's Microsoft account?

 

There are many more questions. Anybody's who's suffered through a graph theory class could have a field day. 

 

I'm all for simpler licensing. Unfortunately, the Activation Troubleshooter technique takes the potential for licensing screw-ups into an entirely new dimension.

 

Source: New Windows 10 beta build 14371 introduces mysterious Activation Troubleshooter (InfoWorld - Woody Leonhard)

 

InfoWorld - Woody on Windows

 

AskWoody.com - Woody Leonhard's no-bull news, tips and help for Windows and Office

 

[Jordan]

More....

 

Linking Windows 10 licenses to Microsoft Accounts

Microsoft introduced a new feature in windows 10 Build 14371 that allows you to link the digital license of the operating system to a Microsoft Account.

Even though Microsoft stated in the announcement that the feature is available starting with Build 14371, things look different currently than how Microsoft describes them.

Considering that this is a preview build after all, you can expect the feature to become available with the Anniversary Update at the latest.

 

Microsoft describes the feature in the following way:

Based on Insider feedback, we are also introducing the ability to link your Microsoft account (MSA) to the activation digital license with this Insider Preview build. If you already used an MSA to log in to your activated Windows 10 Home or Pro device, your MSA will be automatically linked. You can use this MSA linked digital license to re-activate your Genuine Windows 10 device by running the Activation troubleshooter, if you run into Activation issues caused by hardware changes.

According to the announcement, Microsoft Accounts will be automatically linked to the license when used to sign in.

The Activation Troubleshooter is another new feature introduced in the same build. Basically, it allows you to run it to re-activate a system under certain circumstances.

Microsoft mentions hardware changes but also when the wrong version of Windows is installed on the device.

Using the Activation Troubleshooter

1. The Activation Troubleshooter will be available in the Settings application under Update & Security > Activation. There you need to select the troubleshoot option to run it.
2. The Troubleshooter attempts to activate Windows and if that works, you are done and the operating system should be activated.
3. If that fails, it displays the message "We weren't able to activate Windows on this device".  A link to "I changed hardware on this device recently" is provided on the screen. Click on it to start the new activation process.
4. You have to enter your Microsoft Account username and password, and sign in to the account. You may also have to enter the local account password if you have not linked the Microsoft Account to the system.
5. From the list of devices that appear, select the device that you are currently using. Check "This is the device I'm using right now" and click on the activate button.

Activation questions

The process seems straightforward enough: sign in with a Microsoft Account, get the digital license linked to the account so that you can run the Activation Troubleshooter at a later point in time to fix activation issues without having to contact Microsoft.

Microsoft has a habit of revealing only some information, and this is one of those situations where an announcement raises more questions than it answers.

First of all, is the license linked to any Microsoft Account that signs in on a device? Or is the license only linked to the first Microsoft Account? If it is linked to every Microsoft Account, can you get multiple licenses assigned to a single account? Can you even collect them by signing in on devices with a Microsoft Account?

 

Second, does the linking to Microsoft Accounts remove the license link to the single PC? Can you install Windows 10 on another device after linking an upgraded copy of the operating system to a Microsoft Account, sign in with that account on the new device, and get it activated using the Activation Troubleshooter?

Or is the linking to the Microsoft Account used solely for reactivating the license on the same device? This would however require the linking of device information to the Microsoft Account.

Third, Microsoft mentions on the Feedback Hub that there is a reactivation limit, but fails to mention it. In the best case, this would mean that you cannot use the Activation Troubleshooter to activate the copy of Windows 10 on the device, and that you would need to contact Microsoft for that.

 

Fourth, does the linking of the license to a Microsoft Account affect selling the device or handing it over to someone else? Can you remove the link between a license and a Microsoft Account? Can you reactivate a new device with that license after selling an activated PC?

 

Source

[steven36]

 

Quote

 

Microsoft tweaks activation rules for the Windows 10 Anniversary Update

 

With the Windows 10 Anniversary Update nearly ready, Microsoft this week announced a seemingly minor change to its activation process. Under the new rules, it should be easier to reactivate Windows on a PC after major hardware changes. But is there more to the story?

 

Microsoft this week announced a seemingly minor change to its activation rules for Windows 10, effective with the Anniversary Update coming this summer.

The announcement was buried in the release notes for build 14371 of Windows 10, released a few days ago. Those notes were published in the Feedback Hub, which is available only to registered members of the Windows Insider Program running a Windows 10 preview edition.

 

As with all things that are related to licensing, the details are confusing and it's easy for even longtime Windows watchers to draw the wrong conclusions or to dream up conspiracy theories.

Here's the short version: Beginning with the Anniversary Update, version 1607, you'll be able to link a Windows 10 digital license with a Microsoft account. This linkage occurs automatically if you're signed in with a Microsoft account when you upgrade to version 1607.

 

For anyone else, including those with local or domain accounts, this step is optional. In any case, it applies only to those who have a Windows 10 digital license. That group consists primarily of those who took advantage of the year-long free upgrade offer that ends on July 29, 2016.

 

This new feature doesn't change the fundamental way that Microsoft's activation servers work. The process of activating Windows relies on a unique installation ID, which is based on a hash of information taken from the hardware on which Windows is installed. That hash is reportedly not reversible and is not tied to any other Microsoft services. It identifies a specific device, not a person.

 

When you use a product key to activate Windows for the first time, that installation ID is recorded in the activation database alongside the product key you entered with the installation. Later, if you need to reinstall the same edition of Windows on the same hardware, with the same product key, activation happens automatically. (Conversely, if you try to use that product key on a different machine with a different hardware ID, you'll probably be denied activation.)

 

But those free Windows 10 upgrades don't use a product key, so they require a different way to store the details of each upgrade license on the activation servers.

 

During an upgrade, the Windows 10 setup program confirms that the underlying copy of Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 is properly activated. During the free upgrade period, the Windows activation servers used that confirmation to generate a Windows 10 digital license (during the upgrade period, Microsoft referred to this as a "digital entitlement"). That digital license is stored in the activation database with your hardware-based installation ID and details about the version you just activated (Home or Pro).

 

If you wipe that hard disk completely, boot from Windows 10 installation media, and install a clean copy, Windows tries to activate automatically, using an installation ID that it sends to the Windows activation servers. Because the underlying hardware hasn't changed, the installation ID is identical to one stored in the activation database, and the digital license is activated automatically.

For most PCs, most of the time, that process just works.

 

But there are two situations in which reactivation can stumble.

 

First, if you make major hardware changes. The algorithm that generates the installation ID is a closely guarded secret, but I can confirm from years of testing that it is extremely tolerant of minor changes. If you add a hard drive, upgrade a video card, or increase memory, you almost certainly won't trigger a change in the installation ID.

 

Changing the motherboard, however, generates a new installation ID. Under Microsoft's sometimes Byzantine licensing rules, your license is valid if you replace a motherboard because of hardware failure. You need a new license if you chose to upgrade the motherboard, because you're essentially building a new PC.

 

Under the existing rules, there's no way to prove that you have a digital license for that PC. You have to call the telephone activation line and plead your case with a support representative.

That's where linking the digital license to a Microsoft account comes in. After a motherboard replacement, you can use the new Activation Troubleshooter to view digital licenses associated with your Microsoft account and identify the device that has the replacement motherboard. That action transfers the digital license to the new installation ID.

 

The second situation where the link to a Microsoft account might help is on a PC that has more than one entry in the activation database. That situation might apply if you purchased a PC with Windows 10 Home installed by the OEM and then upgraded to Windows 10 Pro during the free upgrade period using a product key from a retail copy of Windows 7 Professional, for example.

 

In that situation, a clean reinstall of Windows 10 might result in the Home version being activated. The procedure for upgrading to Windows 10 Pro is far from obvious, involving generic product keys that aren't officially published. Here, too, being able to link that Windows 10 Pro license to a Microsoft account makes it possible to identify the correct digital license.

 

Microsoft says the new feature to link a digital license to a Microsoft account is in Windows 10 build 14371 or later. I have one PC that performed this connection automatically. I have not yet been able to test the manual linking process.

 

One concern that some will have is that linking installation IDs to a Microsoft account fundamentally changes the anonymity of activation. That's not likely to go over well with the contingent that believes Windows 10 telemetry is actually a secret spying program.

 

I am sure there will be additional conspiracy theories as well. In fact, I expect to read a few of them in the comments to this post.

 

I'll have more details after I get the chance to test this feature more fully.

 

By Ed Bott for The Ed Bott Report | June 24, 2016 http://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-tweaks-activation-rules-for-the-windows-10-anniversary-update/

 

 

[TheMountain]

Off / On Topic. 

 

If technically possible, please use 'Spoilers' for large posts. 

[steven36]

18 minutes ago, TheMountain said:

Off / On Topic. 

 

If technically possible, please use 'Spoilers' for large posts. 

If you dont want read post dont bother to  come in the topic,. If i didn't want to read post, i would go do something else beside visit here , When you use spoilers it dont hide the post , i'm not going to waste my time putting stuff in a spoiler it dont hide it from no one but people who visit the site. Whenever search engine bots and other bots visit this site they can read it fine in a spoiler . Its just a illusion that its hidden therefore it's a big waste of time and just makes it annoying for those who do want too read a  post..

[TheMountain]

"If you dont want read post dont bother to  come in the topic,."

 

I politely asked for a small favour & you rudely replied to my question. 

 

It isn't me who is acting like a proverbial jackass. 

 

[pc71520]

@TheMountain

 

Gradually, you will learn not to be upset with

such arrogant attitudes, here.

 

Be patient and good luck.

[Paquini]

Quote

Today Microsoft released Windows 10 Build 14371 to Insiders on the the Fast Ring and, while it had a long list of fixes included, it only had one new feature added however, this feature promises to help users minimize activation issues which can be a source of frustration.

 

Wrong, The build number is 14372.