A Windows XP help forum. PCbanter

If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Go Back   Home » PCbanter forum » Windows 10 » Windows 10 Help Forum
Site Map Home Register Authors List Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read Web Partners

Downgrade to Windows 8



 
 
Thread Tools Rate Thread Display Modes
  #1  
Old November 23rd 17, 12:24 AM posted to alt.comp.os.windows-10
Keith Nuttle
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1,844
Default 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
Ads
  #2  
Old November 23rd 17, 03:03 AM posted to alt.comp.os.windows-10
Paul[_32_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 11,873
Default 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  
Old November 23rd 17, 04:27 AM posted to alt.comp.os.windows-10
Good Guy[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 3,354
Default 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  
Old November 23rd 17, 07:10 AM posted to alt.comp.os.windows-10
....W¡ñ§±¤ñ
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 8
Default 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  
Old November 23rd 17, 07:08 PM posted to alt.comp.os.windows-10
Char Jackson
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 10,449
Default 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."


 




Thread Tools
Display Modes Rate This Thread
Rate This Thread:

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off






All times are GMT +1. The time now is 01:56 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2024 PCbanter.
The comments are property of their posters.