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#1
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Downgrade to Windows 8
I bought a HP Stream 7 tablet with 32GB of storage. It came with Window
8. I installed Windows 10 but in the several revision have lost the Recovery partition to increase free space, so don't have access to the OEM installation. Over the period I am having increasing problems installing the Windows 10 updates, because of the small size of the CPU and the limited storage. I have two questions. 1. If I revert to Windows 8, will I gain enough free space, that it will continue to update through the period of MS support? 2 If I do revert to Windows 8 will the product Key that I used to update to Windows 10, allow me to downgrade to Windows 8 using the same Key? (The computer was purchased about 6 month before Window 10 came out so the key is on the computer. -- 2017: The year we learn to play the great game of Euchre |
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#2
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Downgrade to Windows 8
Keith Nuttle wrote:
I bought a HP Stream 7 tablet with 32GB of storage. It came with Window 8. I installed Windows 10 but in the several revision have lost the Recovery partition to increase free space, so don't have access to the OEM installation. Over the period I am having increasing problems installing the Windows 10 updates, because of the small size of the CPU and the limited storage. I have two questions. 1. If I revert to Windows 8, will I gain enough free space, that it will continue to update through the period of MS support? 2 If I do revert to Windows 8 will the product Key that I used to update to Windows 10, allow me to downgrade to Windows 8 using the same Key? (The computer was purchased about 6 month before Window 10 came out so the key is on the computer. If the tablet has a Win8 MSDM key inside the BIOS, then Windows 8 should automatically activate. That's the whole purpose of it (no COA sticker). You can extract the key if you want. Try a search on MSDM for ideas. For example, I could definitely do it from Linux, by dumping that particular ACPI table. It should be just as easy on Windows... as long as someone wrote some code to do it. The Windows 10 licensing arrangement uses a Digital Entitlement. When you re-install or upgrade Windows 10, it contacts the Microsoft server, with the details of your tablet, and it figures out you'd already received the Windows 10 Upgrade. So it activates again. It doesn't need a local key for the purpose. If you buy a box of Win10 at retail, it actually comes with a key, then the key in the Registry is unique and extractable like any other Windows OS. But for the Win10 free upgrade, the key in the registry is bogus, and the real key is stored on the MS Activation Server as a "digital entitlement". As for key storage, note that you cannot search for xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx in a registry search. Like, if you had the key in hand, and you were trying to verify it was stored in the registry. It's actually in an encoded form. It's not encrypted, just encoded. That is intended to make it hard to search for. People have written the (trivial) algo to convert that registry key back into the 25 letters. So when you use a MagicJellyBean or whatever, it has a copy of the algo to do the extract. The details of the algo were posted, so you could eventually track it down if you're curious. It was just a dumb thing for MS to do, but it fits into their general approach of how to design stuff. Paul |
#3
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Downgrade to Windows 8
On 22/11/2017 23:24, Keith Nuttle wrote:
I bought a HP Stream 7 tablet with 32GB of storage. It came with Window 8. I installed Windows 10 but in the several revision have lost the Recovery partition to increase free space, so don't have access to the OEM installation. Over the period I am having increasing problems installing the Windows 10 updates, because of the small size of the CPU and the limited storage. I have two questions. 1. If I revert to Windows 8, will I gain enough free space, that it will continue to update through the period of MS support? Yes but why do you need updates? What new features Windows 8.1 updates give you? All you need is Windows 8.1 but apart from that just use it as you would like any other systems. There is no point in sitting in front of a machine watching new updates coming to your system. They come if they want to come otherwise don't have nightmares!!. 2 If I do revert to Windows 8 will the product Key that I used to update to Windows 10, allow me to downgrade to Windows 8 using the same Key? (The computer was purchased about 6 month before Window 10 came out so the key is on the computer. Yes. Your system will continue getting Windows 10 as long as it is still fit for new Windows 10. You may not know this but each Windows upgrade is a new Windows system. In the old days Microsoft called them Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 Windows 8 Windows 8.1 but now they are all Windows 10. In 2025 we may still be using Windows 10 despite the fact that it might have changed beyond recognition. -- With over 500 million devices now running Windows 10, customer satisfaction is higher than any previous version of windows. |
#4
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Downgrade to Windows 8
Keith Nuttle wrote:
I bought a HP Stream 7 tablet with 32GB of storage. It came with Windows 8. I installed Windows 10 but in the several revision have lost the Recovery partition to increase free space, so don't have access to the OEM installation. I have two questions. 1. If I revert to Windows 8, will I gain enough free space, that it will continue to update through the period of MS support? 2 If I do revert to Windows 8 will the product Key that I used to update to Windows 10, allow me to downgrade to Windows 8 using the same Key? (The computer was purchased about 6 month before Window 10 came out so the key is on the computer. First, one can obtain Windows 8.1 media using the 8.1 Media Creation Tool to create the 8.1 media on usb/dvd or an iso for mounting. Windows 8.1 Media Creation Tool https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/soft...nload/windows8 A1. 32 GB should be sufficient to install Windows 8.1 and receive updates for the supported period though you'll still be limited on space for additional software. If the drive has a media card(e.g. 32 or 64 GB, one should leave that connected during normal use to ensure data and downloads don't occupy space. If a card reader slot is not available data and downloads would best be saved to an external device). Windows 8.1 is the current supported o/s(not 8.0) for updates and remains supported until 2023. 2. The 8x product key used to upgrade to Win10, if an 8.0 or 8.1 product key then it is sufficient to clean install Windows 8.1. - If the OEM product key is on firmware then a product key is not necessary to clean install using 8.1 media, activation will occur using the product key stored in firmware. - If the product key is not on firmware then one of two possibilities exist. a. Prompt for product key during 8.1 clean install setup and installation b. Use the 8.1 license stored on the MSFT server and not require a product key during setup/installation For additional info see the Windows FAQ's(applies to Windows 8.1 and 10) https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/faq A few applicable faqs are provided below qp "How do I find my Windows product key? Windows 8.1 - Devices Pre-Installed with Windows Before using operating system copies from this site for install, re-install or recovery on devices with pre-installed operating systems, see your device manufacturer or reseller for the customized drivers and applications specific to your machine. Using operating systems copied from this site for install, re-install or recovery may void your support agreement with your manufacturer or reseller. Any drivers or programs that were installed by the device manufacturer or reseller may be removed during installation. Windows 8.1 & 10: The product key may be embedded on the motherboard or may be on the Certificate of Authenticity sticker on the bottom of the device." "Windows came pre-installed on my device, can I use media from this site to download and install? - Before using operating system copies from this site for install, re-install or recovery on devices with pre-installed operating systems, see your device manufacturer or reseller for the customized drivers and applications specific to your machine. Using operating systems copied from this site for install, re-install or recovery may void your support agreement with your manufacturer or reseller. Any drivers or programs that were installed by the device manufacturer or reseller may be removed during installation" "Will media from this site install correctly on a device that came with an operating system pre-installed? - Windows 8.x and Windows 10 Pre-installed: You can download and use media from this site on your device and it will install correctly. In most cases you will not be asked for a product key during installation, the product key is included on the motherboard. However, after installation, the device will NOT contain the specialized drivers and software that came pre-installed from your manufacturer. *If you are prompted for a product key during installation, refer to How do I find my Windows product key? question above." /qp -- .....w¡ñ§±¤ñ msft mvp 2007-2016, insider mvp 2016-2018 |
#5
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Downgrade to Windows 8
On Wed, 22 Nov 2017 21:03:43 -0500, Paul wrote:
As for key storage, note that you cannot search for xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx in a registry search. Like, if you had the key in hand, and you were trying to verify it was stored in the registry. It's actually in an encoded form. It's not encrypted, just encoded. That is intended to make it hard to search for. People have written the (trivial) algo to convert that registry key back into the 25 letters. So when you use a MagicJellyBean or whatever, it has a copy of the algo to do the extract. The details of the algo were posted, so you could eventually track it down if you're curious. It was just a dumb thing for MS to do, but it fits into their general approach of how to design stuff. I think you just described the concept known as "security through obscurity". Obfuscation is one of its hallmarks, and MS uses the approach in many ways. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Securi...ough_obscurity "In security engineering, security through obscurity (or security by obscurity) is the reliance on the secrecy of the design or implementation as the main method of providing security for a system or component of a system. A system or component relying on obscurity may have theoretical or actual security vulnerabilities, but its owners or designers believe that if the flaws are not known, that will be sufficient to prevent a successful attack. Security experts have rejected this view as far back as 1851, and advise that obscurity should never be the only security mechanism." Now, contrast that with "security by design". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secure_by_design "Secure by design, in software engineering, means that the software has been designed from the ground up to be secure. Malicious practices are taken for granted and care is taken to minimize impact when a security vulnerability is discovered or on invalid user input." |
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