Create Windows 10 .iso After July 29th Upgrade

[YourNumbr1Fan]

Thanks to Microsoft Community 'MVP' Andre Da Costa's post here (http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10-win_upgrade/free-windows-10-upgrade-creating-installation/72135878-bf38-4a79-aba6-216136fc3036), I thought I would re-post the technique he outlined concerning how to create a full Windows 10 .iso from the .ESD that can be found in the C:\Recovery image folder (your location for this file may be different, depending on the drive-letter Windows is installed on) after the July 29th upgrade. Very useful for those who might want to do a clean-install of Windows 10, and for recovery/re-install. This knowledge may be old-hat to some of you uber-techies, but will surely be helpful to many others.

Without further ado, here's the method to creating a Windows 10 .iso using the .ESD that'll be placed on your hard-drive after the upgrade.

Download ESD Decrypter 4.7 (http://1drv.ms/1HeQkW0)

You can use NTLite (https://www.ntlite.com/) as an alternative to convert the .ESD file into a .ISO


Extract esd-decrypter-wimlib-4.7z to a folder.


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Put the appropriate .ESD file you downloaded into that same folder.


Right click decrypt file in the same folder and click Run as administrator


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Select option 1


Hit Enter


Wait


When complete, burn to a blank DVD or create a bootable copy on a USB thumbdrive.


Preparing the .ISO file for installation.


See these instruction (http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Burn-a-CD-or-DVD-from-an-ISO-file)s (http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Burn-a-CD-or-DVD-from-an-ISO-file) for burning .ISO files in Windows 7 or later


You can also use the Microsoft USB/DVD Tool (http://wudt.codeplex.com/), which is recommended for Windows XP users.


After obtaining the .iso file you use the Microsoft .iso to USB/DVD tool to create a bootable DVD or USB (requires a blank DVD or USB flash stick of at least 4 GB).


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For UEFI based systems


If your computer is UEFI based, these are normally systems that come pre-loaded with Windows 8 or later, you will need to prepare the ISO file for such a configuration or you will receive an error message during setup. The thumbdrive needs to be formatted as FAT32 and use the GPT partitioning scheme. To do this, you need to use Rufus (http://rufus.akeo.ie/), a small tool you can download for free.


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After you have installed Rufus:


Launch it


Select ISO Image


Point to the Windows 10 ISO file


Check off Create a bootable disk using


Select GPT partitioning for EUFI firmware as the Partition scheme


Choose FAT32 NOT NTFS as the File system


Make sure your USB thumbdrive in the Device list box


Click Start


Close when complete

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* Concerning license-key for non-OEM installs/upgrades (as far as I can gather from official sources):

You start with a valid licensed copy of Windows 7 or Windows 8 on your computer.


You upgrade to Windows 10 either by Windows Update or by offline ISO.


At this point, the ID of your computer, the one that Windows normally uses for activation, is registered on the Microsoft activation system. They know from this point forward that your computer, with that ID, is allowed to run a copy of Windows 10


If you want a clean install at this point, you can simply boot from the ISO, erase what you already have there and install. The activation will happen automatically since the ID of your computer is already registered as a valid Windows 10 computer. No need for a key.


And since the ID of your computer is registered as a valid Windows 10 computer, you can reinstall even after the offer expires. The only important thing is to upgrade during the 1 year free offer so that your computer is ID'd.

[A Guy]

If I may...

http://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/2570-esd-iso-create-bootable-iso-windows-10-esd-file.html

Also, Gabe Aul has confirmed you will be able to do a clean install on the free Windows 10 upgrade

http://www.tenforums.com/windows-10-news/6641-free-windows-10-will-support-unlimited-clean-installs.html

A Guy

[2635599]

microsour is pushing something they and most of us have ALWAY said don't do, and that is an in-place upgrade. i personally still believe if you are going to install a new os you must do a clean install on a PROPERLY wiped drive, and NOT run the new os over the top of the old one.

[YourNumbr1Fan]

microsour is pushing something they and most of us have ALWAY said don't do, and that is an in-place upgrade. i personally still believe if you are going to install a new os you must do a clean install on a PROPERLY wiped drive, and NOT run the new os over the top of the old one.

I agree. But, from what MS sources have said so far, it's exactly that (an in-place upgrade) that will have to be done, at least as a one-time thing, in order to 'ID' your computer so that you can then clean-install without needing a key over the future lifetime of your computer. It seems that there's no way around that first-time upgrade, and it has to be done within a year, starting July 29th 2015. Otherwise we would have to buy a key. Pirated versions of Windows won't get to upgrade---they say. They'll need a legit copy of 7 (and have it updated to SP1) or 8/8.1 to be able to upgrade. Only legit copies of the previous versions of Windows will upgrade for free.

So, after that one-time upgrade, your machine is IDd---only that machine and whatever other machines you've legitimately upgraded---and future installs to that (those) machine(s) are 'locked-in'.....Unless, of course, you do something drastic like replace the motherboard, at which time you'll likely have to call MS to re-activate. And new machines will have Win 10 OEM 'baked in'.

That's my understanding so far. I'm hoping that they'll just make Windows 10 .iso files available, without us needing to hack/convert the .ESD files. I can't see why they wouldn't.

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Gabriel Aul (@GabeAul) (https://twitter.com/gabeaul)