Win10 Pro vs Home – worth the upgrade?

Topic

New Reply

Interesting question from poster K: I am a home user and it seemed it wasn’t a huge disadvantage in Windows 7 to be one, but I definitely see the disa
[See the full post at: Win10 Pro vs Home – worth the upgrade?]

Reply | Quote

Replies

Worth the upgrade wasn’t the question.

It was what would be affected (if anything).

Reply | Quote

I am replying to K, the original poster.
Home Editions were never meant to be too configurable as they were released for people who just want to use the computer and not tune it too much. In Windows 7 I think that there was a Premium Edition which was a sort of Pro for home users, which is no longer the case now with Windows 10.
While in Windows 7 the “luxury” edition for home users was Ultimate, which was essentially the same thing with retail Enterprise, in Windows 10 the only edition which is available through the retail channels and is close to the requirements of Woody’s readers is the Pro edition. Those on Home should leave Microsoft to manage their machines, worry less and use what is available, as this is the design.
I will mention without giving details that as it is now, anyone can use Windows 10 Enterprise or LTSB in non-activated mode forever with very few limitations, without doing any hacks, but with the right knowledge about the licensing model of Windows 10.

Reply | Quote

I’m thinking of upgrading from Windows 7 Professional to Windows 10 Pro in the future. So what I was wondering about is the builds. Can I choose whether or not I want to upgrade my build to a newer one or choose to only receive updates for a certain build? I’m confused on how the Windows 10 patching model works. I know with 7 & 8.1 each have 1 build. And patches are issued. But 10 has multiple builds which really confuses me.

Reply | Quote

At the time you upgrade, I’m 99% certain that you’ll be upgraded to the latest build of the latest version, although it may depend on how you upgrade.

If you found a way to upgrade to 1511 right now, then, yes, you can block the upgrade to 1607.

Reply | Quote

Threw Home 1607 in a VHD last week on first boot it tells me that it wont activate as the “digital activation” was only valid on my machine with Pro and would i like to upgrade? If you were to update 1511 setting the network settings to off (ie forget/remove in network settings) may help but i am not sure if it needs to download anything to update, probably not as you can /set-targetedition in a wim. But before using any net work connections again hit the GPOL and/or defer upgrades other wise your into an unwanted upgrade.

Reply | Quote

Not true about Windows 7 and 8.1.
Windows 7 has Service Pack 1 which is mandatory.
Windows 8.1 has Update 1 (April 2014) which is mandatory and Update 3 which is a major rollup, not mandatory, but highly recommended.
Windows 10 has 1507 (RTM), 1511 (Service Pack 0.5 ) and 1607 (Service Pack 1). At the moment, the mandatory versions are 1511 (Current Branch for Business) and 1607 (Current Branch).
for a new installation, you should aim to install only the latest version which is 1607.
It is not so confusing or at least not more confusing than Windows 7 or 8.1 after all.

Reply | Quote

The way to upgrade to 1511 or any other older build is to use the ISO image for 1511.
But the recommendation for new installations is to use the latest build anyway.

Reply | Quote

If so why I could not install the ltsb? Can u refer me to link to the ltsb copy that individual users can install?

Reply | Quote

Yep, but how would a “normal user” get a copy of 1511? Is Microsoft distributing them any more?

Reply | Quote

1507 (RTM) is current for LTSB.

So Windows 10 has three currently supported versions, whereas Windows 7 and 8 only have one:

Windows 10 current versions by servicing option;
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/release-info

That’s what makes it more confusing.

Reply | Quote

That list is interesting – and confusing – because it doesn’t list 1607 under CBB or LTSB. (I’ve seen 1607 under LTSB referred to as “LTSB 2016.”)

1607 has been released for LTSB, as of build 14393.351 (or was it 14393.222?) – and I assume it’s also been released for CBB.

As you note, the Win10 branching nomenclature is enormously confusing.

Reply | Quote

“1607 … – and I assume it’s also been released for CBB.”

Not yet, but soon.

Reply | Quote

+1

That’s a whole lotta Win10 versions shakin’…

Reply | Quote

TO KB, OR NOT TO KB…

“To KB, or not to KB, that is the question:
Whether ’tis Nobler in the mind to suffer
The Slings and Arrows of outrageous Microsoft
Or to take Arms against a Sea of Updates,
And by opposing end them: to die, to sleep
No more; and by a sleep, to say we end
The Heart-ache, and the thousand Natural shocks
That Windows is heir to?”.

Or buy a Mac!
98 to 7 I’ve been Windows to the core.
I’m done.
Just bought two legacy MacBook Pros.
Last of the line, just in time.
As Apple turn their Retinas to The Cloud and all their new computers into phones for dummies.

Be keeping my classic Win7 “Toshy” laptop shipshape with the legendary Captain Woody of course!

Let’s hope the future is brighter.
LEONHARD NEW MICROSOFT CEO!
“‘Tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wished. To die, to sleep,
To sleep, perchance to Dream…”

Shakin’ the Speare!
sainty???

Reply | Quote

I posted the URL in the past, but being a non-supported configuration, I will not post it again. I will say that it is one of the mainstream sites though.

Reply | Quote

I don’t know. I made the assumption that such a user would already have a copy from the time when it was published.

Reply | Quote

Yes, 1507 is current for LTSB, only for LTSB.
There are 2 supported versions of LTSB at the moment, 2015 (1507) and 2016 (1607) and maybe there will be even more in the years to come.

Reply | Quote

Is is correct, CBB is delayed for few months, I think 4 months on average. But there is nothing stopping someone who was on CBB to move to CB or the other way around. They are just labels to facilitate understanding, without and absolute meaning. Like Group A or Group B for Windows 7/8.1 updating

Reply | Quote

use this link almost as good as MSDN

https://www.heidoc.net/joomla/technology-science/microsoft/67-microsoft-windows-and-office-iso-download-tool?showall=

Reply | Quote

Hey I have a question. After installing updates for Windows 10 it put Twitter and Candy Crush on my computer. Why did it do this? That’s crap I don’t want.

Reply | Quote

It’s interesting watching Win10 users be drawn into the web.

The next time somebody says, you’re making life really complicated trying to hang onto Win7… well, you know.

I wish them well.

Reply | Quote

You don’t have any control over it. Welcome to Windows 10. (sigh)

Reply | Quote

Interesting concept! But is it legit????

Reply | Quote

Yes, but LTSB was always advertised as being more stable than CBB. Very odd. It’s also the first time I’ve ever seen LTSB change, so this may be the way of things to come.

Reply | Quote

All very interesting, but I have to ask if the copies (and the access method) are kosher?

Reply | Quote

I knew Windows 10 updates were bad, but I had no idea they’d do this. Well. It’s time to reinstall Windows 7.

Reply | Quote

Well, if so, then LTSB will be a contradiction in terms.

Its whole point is to keep it more or less fixed and stable, with only bug fixes.

Reply | Quote

Yeah my thoughts exactly but when you start the Download its straight from M$ and they are all non activated, it looks like the old tech bench web site i am guessing your only breaking the rules if you try to activate by any other means. I only recomend because theyre clean and un-adulterated images. As for Digital activation M$ will say either yeah or nay if you meet the criteria. If you have genuinely lost your orig. iso your fine or for testing. My win7 key still works (the disk dosent baby sitting and spag. Bolog. saw to that!) 8.1, 10-X, all do as the laptop came with 8.1 hence the free upgrades

Reply | Quote

Generally one of the first tasks after install, set the GPOL, defer upgrades, wsreset + remove the crudware welcome to Windoze 10

Reply | Quote

Yep, you definitely need a good key. But I thought Microsoft was clamping down mightily on unofficial downloads of the bits.

This just doesn’t feel right to me.

Reply | Quote

Bravo!!! LOL

Reply | Quote

Why does Microsoft install this crap on its users computers without permission? I mean updates and patches are one thing. But Candy Crush and Twitter? When would I want such things? Good thing I downloaded the ISO for free. Because I can’t imagine spending money on this garbage.

Reply | Quote

They didn’t say that LTSB will not change for 10 years. There are 2 versions at the moment, one of them has 9 years of life left in it, while the other one has 10 years left. The new one is not even advertised much because there are still the known issues with WSUS unresolved. Same reason why 1607 is not promoted on CBB. Unfortunately those on CB are the beta testers.
What is not understood is that LTSB 2015 is not supposed to be upgraded to LTSB 2016, unless there is a will to do this. They are 2 different operating systems with their own patches for this purpose.
And most users should forget that LTSB exists, it is not for them and it is not for 90% of Enterprises either, although some will naturally fall into the trap of using it while looking for another Windows 7.

Reply | Quote

Yes, we can afford it on the versions which we use. Not everyone is on Enterprise or Pro. And my understanding is that Pro is further restricted, but I think this will change in the future as there will inherently be backlash about it and opposition to adopting Windows 10.

Reply | Quote

It looks legit to me… I first learned of the Windows ISO Downloader tool on How-to Geek:

http://www.howtogeek.com/186775/how-to-download-windows-7-8-and-8.1-installation-media-legally/

Of course, now… Windows 10 are available.

Reply | Quote

Here’s what worries me. Chris Hoffman:

This isn’t an officially supported way to get Windows 7 installation media — Microsoft won’t recommend this trick — but it’s worked for years. If Microsoft didn’t want users doing this, they’d have disabled access to the files long ago. This won’t help you pirate Windows 7, anyway — even if you download Windows 7 and install it on your PC, you can’t use it for more than 30 days without entering a genuine product key.

It’s really a shame that Microsoft doesn’t make the binaries downloadable for the masses. I don’t understand why they’re being so coy about it.

I just sent an inquiry to Microsoft’s PR company asking about downloading files from Microsoft’s TechBench site. I’ll let you know what I hear.

Reply | Quote

I’m not sure if Microsoft can legally stop including Candy Crush Saga. I’m not sure about Twitter, but they have a contract with the publisher of Candy Crush Saga to automatically install it on Windows 10. It is absolutely ridiculous.

Reply | Quote

I know this won’t change your mind about MS should not include unwanted Universal Apps in the OS installers, but these apps, even the “built in” ones, can be easily and completely removed by such tools as CCleaner’s program removal tab. If removed in this way, they shouldn’t reinstall themselves until the next upgrade (like the 1607 Anniversary Update). As they come in, new unwanted apps can be treated to the same dismissal with prejudice.

Reply | Quote

My one and only Home To Pro upgrade came on my tablet. It was purely by coincidence. I had brought the tablet to the Microsoft Store for repairs after the 1511 update went sour, and the techs there did a free upgrade to Pro. I suspect this was because that was what they had on hand at the time. So the repair and the upgrade were free.

My other conversion was during the change from Windows 7 to Windows 8 on my laptop. I wanted to use the System Builder PUL version in order to continue to dual-boot Windows with Linux, and that got me a Pro license, not an upgrade to Pro from Home.

Unless you’re doing something rather exotic like my dual-boot configurations, Pro vs. Home doesn’t offer that many advantages.

The Carboni mods may have to be reapplied after any major upgrade, but otherwise work just as well in Pro and Home editions. I also recommend O&O Software’s ShutUp 10 for control over other Windows 10 annoyances. That product also works in Home or Pro, and the AU, the 1511 update or original Win 10.

Reply | Quote

Thats good clarification is needed on this subject. It doesent seem to bother them as this “loophole” has been around for a while in add-on script guise and latterly this little prog. In the mean time i better get busy downloading (just kidding) beause i wont get rich but my ISP will lol

Reply | Quote

“they have a contract with the publisher of Candy Crush Saga to automatically install it on Windows 10”

Seriously?!

Reply | Quote

I haven’t seen official confirmation of it, but it’s quite likely – possibly as a quid pro quo, for making a UWP version of Candy Crush Saga.

There are also tiled ads for Twitter, Netflix, FarmVille 2 – and other non-Microsoft properties, from time to time.

Clicking on the Candy Crush tile, for example, runs Candy Crush Saga – you needn’t install it from the Store.

Also, note http://www.infoworld.com/article/3101947/microsoft-windows/more-forced-advertising-creeps-into-windows-10-pro.html

Reply | Quote

I think they at least have an agreement to do this.

Reply | Quote

I don’t have an answer; what I have is a different tack.

1. MSDN (as mentioned in this thread)
https://msdn.microsoft.com/subscriptions/downloads/default.aspx#FileId=68595
Note the SHA1.
If you’re a Microsoft software developer, 500USD/year for a MSDN subscription is reasonable for what you get.
A Managed Service Provider (MSP) might know of a less expensive MSDN subscription.

2. Mirror
http://windowsiso.net/windows-10-iso/windows-10-wiki/
that, again, goes back to
software-download.microsoft.com

Reply | Quote

Do OEM have the Windows ISO on their websites?
Use case :
One is gifted a hand-me-down notebook PC but where’s the original DVD or USB?

Reply | Quote

Microsoft TechBench terminated with the arrival of Windows 10 Anniversary Update.
http://windowsiso.net/microsoft-techbench-offline/

Reply | Quote

http://www.technewborn.com/windows-10-ltsb-explained/
October 4, 2016
That one is likely 2016 LTSB.
Not certain where 2015 LTSB would be outside of MSDN.

Reply | Quote

Ouch. That’s what I was afraid of – that the bits are coming from a non-Microsoft source.

Not clear to me why this source would be better than simply downloading a torrent and comparing SHA1 and MD5…

Reply | Quote

“LEONHARD NEW MICROSOFT CEO!”
YES WOODY! PLEASE BECOME MICROSOFT’S NEW CEO!

Reply | Quote

They are. You can copy the download link from the app. It comes from the same server as the official downloads (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10ISO/). They are using a script that modifies the requested product sent to the server. That’s why you can still download older versions of Windows 10 (which are still on the server) or Windows 7 (which normally requires a product key).

Reply | Quote

Ain’t got the nerves for it.

Reply | Quote

ch100, George and fp, read the following article about Win10 LTSB here:
http://www.techproresearch.com/article/is-the-windows-10-long-term-servicing-branch-right-for-you/

IMPORTANT QUOTE from that article: “LTSB is a licensing option for Windows 10 Enterprise and is available only for customers with a Volume License agreement.”

Reply | Quote

Thanks for the read added some light.
VL won’t be a problem.

Context – Windows 10 Home operators are having USB issues after some Windows updates.
Lesson learned – delay updates or roll-back.
Windows 10 Pro on CBB would be easier.
But, CBB won’t be adequate for high-rate production critical USB; therefore, Windows 10 Pro Version 1607 with driver exclusion.
WUB can be configured to not update the drivers on 1607 per
Manage updates using Windows Update for Business
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/itpro/windows/manage/waas-manage-updates-wufb
LTSB is at Version 1507 (RTM) per
Windows 10 release information
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/mt679505.aspx

Could still evaluate Windows 10 Enterprise LTSB 2016 for USB driver stability then block USB driver failures via wushowhide.
No Candy Crush on production machines

Reply | Quote