It's time for Microsoft to fix the Windows 7 update slowdowns

This might be helpful.

Upgrade to Windows 10: FAQ - Windows Help

Can I go back to my old operating system?

Yes, there are a few different ways for you to go back from Windows 10 to a previous version of Windows:

If it's been less than a month since you've upgraded to Windows 10, you'll be able to go back to your previous version of Windows from Settings > Update & security > Recovery.

If your PC manufacturer provided the option, you might be able to restore your device to factory settings.

Like most I have read so much about this Free Upgrade I can't remember all the places I read from.
If one is willing to risk their completely good Windows 7 COA key, well just go for it. I'm not going to. I paid a $140.00 for my Windows 7 Pro/64.

The EULA terms are a legal dispute and question which I'm not qualified to answer.

I do have a opinion on the EULA.
By the time the law question is answered by the courts your grand children will be collecting Social Security.

Layback Bear said:

The upgrade using the Windows 7 COA key is free for 30 days.
If one keeps the W-10 free upgrade 31 days or longer it will suck up your Windows 7 COA key and make it a W-10 key. It will no longer work on the Windows 7 system weather it a upgrade or a clean install of W-10.
After 30 days; one COA key per operating system will be what happens.

Do you have a link to that info?

As far as I know, the upgrade to Windows 10 does not consume the license of the qualifying OS. I upgraded from Windows 8.1 Pro to 10 Pro. Months later I reinstalled 8.1 on that same PC and had no issue activating with its original Retail key. That PC has a digital entitlement for 10 Pro as per the free upgrade. When I reinstalled 10 Pro I just clicked skip when asked for a key and it activated just fine with the digital entitlement stored on the activation server.

When you do the free upgrade you get a 30 day rollback period where you can rollback to the previous OS, if you have issues or just don't like Windows 10. The reason its 30 days is because a scheduled disk cleanup deletes the windows.old folder. Once that folder is gone you can't rollback. That doesn't stop you from reinstalling the original OS manually though.

As near as I can tell, when you do the upgrade from your current OS, it doesn't even look at the key. It just verifies activation status and notes what version of Windows your running so it can select Home or Pro for the upgrade. Do a clean install, and you have to enter a key to activate. It can be a Windows 7, 8 or 8.1 Key. Once your activated with the digital entitlement the key is irrelevant. You get a generic key with a digital entitlement. Everybody running 10 Home has one key and everybody running 10 Pro has another identical key. The only time you get a unique key is if you install with a Windows 10 Retail or OEM key. Or install the Enterprise or Education version.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-10/upgrade-to-windows-10-faq




Upgrade to Windows 10: FAQ - Windows Help

Layback Bear said:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-10/upgrade-to-windows-10-faq




Upgrade to Windows 10: FAQ - Windows Help

I don't see anything there saying you can't go back after 30 days? Just that the recovery option won't work after 30 days. No mention of your product code being deactivated either?

Can I go back to my Old operating system?

Yes, there are a few different ways for you to go back from Windows 10 to a previous version of Windows:

• If it's been less than a month since you've upgraded to Windows 10, you'll be able to go back to your previous version of Windows from Settings > Update & security > Recovery.
• If your PC manufacturer provided the option, you might be able to restore your device to factory settings.
• If options to go back and restore factory settings aren’t available, you can use installation media and a product key to install a previous version of Windows.

For more info and requirements, see the go back to a previous version of Windows section of Recovery options in Windows 10.
Note

• If the manufacturer set up your PC to run from a compressed Windows image file (also known as Windows image file boot or WIMBoot) and included the option to restore factory settings, that option will no longer be available after

Alpha:

Do you have an opinion on the chances of being unable to clean install and activate a retail Win 7 license after months of being on a clean install and activated Win 10, perhaps on new hardware?

Or the chances of being unable to restore and use an image of a Win 7 installation?

Suppose I want to pay for Windows 10 at Newegg or Amazon. I see "full" and "OEM" versions. I don't see "retail". Do either of those include the right to install on new hardware indefinitely into the future as was the case with "retail" versions of Windows 7?

Or is this still an unknown?

It appears SKUs have disappeared.

Hi,
Using both installs might be misleading during the free offer to upgrade
I don't believe ill effects will be seen until after the free offer expires.

During the still open free upgrade offer I would imagine switch back and forth with the upgraded install is not a enforced big deal
After the offer has expired anyone dual booting might have problems
They will have to let us know if the not genuine messages start popping up :)

Free? I don't think free is always good. With the conduct displayed by MS. I don't think I want any of their "free" stuff. Free Win 10 to me means giving up control of your device to them. They will pepper you with adds and examine your files. Of course they won't pry into your business. They always say that.

ignatzatsonic said:

Alpha:

Do you have an opinion on the chances of being unable to clean install and activate a retail Win 7 license after months of being on a clean install and activated Win 10, perhaps on new hardware?

Or the chances of being unable to restore and use an image of a Win 7 installation?

Suppose I want to pay for Windows 10 at Newegg or Amazon. I see "full" and "OEM" versions. I don't see "retail". Do either of those include the right to install on new hardware indefinitely into the future as was the case with "retail" versions of Windows 7?

Or is this still an unknown?

It appears SKUs have disappeared.

I personally don't think there will be any issues reinstalling and activating Windows 7 after running Windows 10 for months. I did it with a Retail Windows 8.1 install. Did the free upgrade then months latter, as a test, reinstalled Windows 8.1. Then went back to Windows 10. eaey peasy.

I think Full is retail? And transferable, just like its always been. I have a free MSDN subscription so I haven't had to buy Window for years now. I can only comment on what I'm seeing posted in that regard. My MSDN keys are listed as Retail but I only ever use them on that one PC they were first used on. I haven't tried to move a key from one pc to another.

Have a look at this, it might answer some of your questions.
Activation in Windows 10 - Windows Help

Gentlemen, would this be pertinent to this recent fork in the discussion?

Source: http://Get Your Free Windows 10 Upgrade and Keep Using Your Current Windows Version | www.techsupportalert.com

Microsoft's free Windows 10 upgrade offer expires on July, 29 2016. Here's what to do if you don't want to run Windows 10 right now, but want to take advantage of the the free upgrade before it runs out and still keep the version of Windows you're using now. (The free upgrade offer is available to anyone who is running a genuine version of Windows 7 or Windows 8.1.)

This article by Ed Bott outlines how to keep your existing Windows installation and still have access to the free Windows 10 upgrade, all free and legal. At its core, Ed says the process 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."
This involves an upgrade to Windows 10, and then rolling back your system to it's current operating system (system roll backs need to be done within 30 days of the upgrade, when the roll back option disappears). The Windows 10 upgrade is tied to the specific computer hardware you use for the upgrade and is stored on Microsoft's servers, but if you're considering upgrading to Windows 10 in the future, grabbing a free copy of Windows 10 now might be well worth it.
Full details and directions are in Ed's article.
For more information on rolling back a Windows 10 upgrade, check out this article:
How to roll back your Windows 10 upgrade
(Thanks to our readers for their comments on rolling back the upgrade)

Since snafus have been known to happen even with mundane changes to Windows systems, making an image of your hard disk or backing up your files before making changes (in particular an operating system upgrade) is always a good idea.

How to lock in your free Windows 10 upgrade and keep using your old Windows version

In Ed Bott's article [the link at the bottom of the above quote]:

As with anything that involves Windows licensing, Microsoft doesn't go out of its way to explain these nuances of the Windows 10 upgrade offer. I am not a lawyer, and this post should not be considered legal advice. With that disclaimer out of the way, here's what you need to know.....

....Second, the upgrade process uses that underlying license to record a "digital entitlement" on Microsoft's activation servers: "Once you upgrade, you have Windows 10 for free on that device." The point of the digital entitlement is to associate the Windows 10 license with your specific hardware, making a product key unnecessary.

So...If I'm reading this right, you can make an image, clone or what ever you want to call it of the upgrade to 10 then revert back to 7.
Now lets say 5years down the road you want to put that image of 10 back onto that machine, it would be illegal if you made any hardware changes to that machine in the intervening 5years.

I would believe that as long as you don't make any major hardware changes to a machine, you can upgrade/downgrade to infinity. If you do make changes make sure you save and store those changes.



Related:
Microsoft quietly rewrites its activation rules for Windows 10

Do I need to activate Windows after making a hardware change?
Maybe. When you make a significant hardware change to your computer, such as upgrading the hard disk and memory at the same time, you might be required to activate Windows again. For more information, see Activate Windows 7 on this computer.

Source: http://Activating Windows: frequently asked questions | windows.microsoft.com