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Does anyone know how to BLOCK Windows 10 from auto activating?

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I was more making fun of the conspiracy guys


On the CMOS reactivation trigger, I don't see why boards don't have recharging CMOS batteries, instead of disposable button batteries. could likely rig a small L-ion battery to the CMOS battery terminal with a trickle charge via USB keep it from getting too low.
 
This is not about reactivation. But about preventing ANY activation.
You cannot do anything like that using CMOS battery terminal. I will write you a Private Message now.


Multiple people have private messaged me about legitimate suggestions.

One of them is is this
http://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/3020-windows-10-image-customize-audit-mode-sysprep.html

Sysprep, Audit mode, other methods add numerous steps to this and yes there are work-arounds but you know, a single click vs. avoiding a (very) involved process is what this question is all about.


I think that the solution is in identifying which Windows 10 files are activation files (they are not slui.exe any more) then blocking them using Comodo Firewall.
 
We do not know what the activation executable files are for Windows 10. Only Windows 8 and prior OS.
 
Well...TIme will tell

I just don't like the whole hardware signature thing...........too much like TPM. or Palladium.

- - - Updated - - -

Thanks for the PM btw. Didn't see that my questions were coming across as different than intended............I tend to do that sometimes.
 
It's ok. This thread is not about messing with activation.
Only entering a legitimate Windows key whenever we choose, just like we could in previous versions of Windows.
Windows 10 does not give us that option.
 
You can CHANGE the key yes.
But you cannot prevent Windows 10 from auto activating your machine with a key which is now permanently assigned to your machine which you used FIRST when you first installed Windows 10. So once you install Windows 10 and activate it - WHOEVER and FOREVER installs WIndows 10 on that machone, it will auto-activate using the first install activation information.

No way to disassociate your machine from that first key.
 
Ah.

Well....thats.......not nifty

So, wait......Machine is then defined by the current hardware setup right?
and if you change anything.......MS will what, require you go and buy a whole new key, as your "machine" has changed right?

Or am I missing something. *likely missing something, just wrote a 1000 word essay rough draft and am editing*

I think I felt some more hair turning gray
 
I am not a 100% clear on how many changes to your machine hardware would constitute activation failure, which is nothing new, this used to happen when people manually tried to activate systems on which they changed hardware components and then they had to call Microsoft and request activation over the phone.

This is an old and separate issue. This always was the case with any activation.


That is not what we are talking about in this thread. In this thread we are talking about how, yes, Microsoft identifies your unique machine components and assigns Windows 10 key to those components. This is permanent and cannot be deactivated. Even if you de-activate the key on your machine, your machine WILL BE re-activated using CLOUD information permanently assigned to your Windows 10 machine. That is what's different, that's what this thread is about.
 
Is your install retail? Just curious. That is one thing I have wondered about if the retail copy will be treated the same as an OEM. I seem to remember reading a while ago that Win 10 was going to be a one machine only OS reguardless of which license you had.
 
I am unsure if anyone has posited this particular question before. Not much of a question but a statement I guess...

We know that you can dual-boot Win10 and Win7/8/8.1 on the same machine. Assuming a retail copy of Win7/8/8.1 could you install win10 and then move your copy of 7/8/8.1 to another machine? The reason I ask is because I cannot believe that this issue is only to do with Cloud profiling of your equipment and not also the validity of the product key Win10 was generated from. I wonder if the answer the OP is looking for is not to be obtained BEFORE Win10 registers your board info in the cloud. What Im saying is that if M$ is going to permanently pair your mobo with the OS then perhaps getting a clean image before the origional activation is the cure you seek? is it even possible to do that?

As I type that it occurs to me that the OP has said several times that he is disinterested in workarounds. He knows how to accomplish what he wants to do... now he wants to accomplish it in a better way. With that I can be of no help. I only use windows because my printer is old and its hard to get it working in linux :)
 
^^ that.


This is my issue, I do a reinstall of the OS once per year, just to keep everything clean and fast. Will this be just as simple with past OS's? I am assuming *and assuming has gotten me into nothing but trouble so far* that the hardware based signature, as long as it still matches what is stored in the cloud, should allow that. Unless I am missing something.

I have been totally wrong up until now, so I will not be surprised if you come back and tell me I am yet again wrong.

There is only one way I can think of that you can disassociate yourself from the original key, and that would be an OS upgrade to a more fuller featured version, like home to Pro, or Pro to Enterprise *unless of course the original key stays the same somehow, and they just modify the cloud data tied to it, never mind that idea......thinking while typing*
 
100% Microsoft download brand new fresh install on an empty formatted partition.

Yes. This thread applies to systems on which Windows 10 was already activated once. Fresh install without activation is no longer possible, also, this applies to situations where valid working key is associated with your machine, nothing was done in terms of transfers to others machines etc. Yes I can accomplish what I want using many workarounds.
 
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My particular installation was not a Windows 7/8 upgrade. I believe that this thread applies to all once activated Windows 10 installs.

Because remember if you upgrade you MUST install over Win7/8 once at first. Thereafter you can fresh install with no key. Why? Because Microsoft permanently assigned activation to your machine and 'remembers' it. It then auto-activates all format fresh installs. And here we are.
 
^^ that.


This is my issue, I do a reinstall of the OS once per year, just to keep everything clean and fast. Will this be just as simple with past OS's?
It will be better and simpler for you. Nothing in this thread negatively affects you. All this actually benefits you and will make your experience better.

Now what you should do is learn to partition your drive. Install your Windows on a relatively small partition. Set everything up like you like it to be then image/reimage your OS partition in a few minutes instead of reinstalling Windows once a year.
 
A couple ways. Update kb3035583, is what gives you the get windows 10 icon to appear.
Uninstall that update , it will come back to be installed, then HIDE the UPDATE .

Another thing you can do is, on the popup hidden items on the TASKBAR lower right. click CUSTOMIZE, you will see the GET Windows 10 (GWX) line usually at the top.
Click Hide ICON and Notifications. That puts it out of site.
 
A couple ways. Update kb3035583, is what gives you the get windows 10 icon to appear.
Uninstall that update , it will come back to be installed, then HIDE the UPDATE .

Another thing you can do is, on the popup hidden items on the TASKBAR lower right. click CUSTOMIZE, you will see the GET Windows 10 (GWX) line usually at the top.
Click Hide ICON and Notifications. That puts it out of site.
That's not quite what we were discussing. This is once win10 update has been done when doing a fresh install how do you stop it from activating automatically.
 
To report on the status of this question, experimentation with firewall software yielded the following conclusions:
Blocking slui.exe by itself does not prevent auto-activation. A very involved way of blocking svchost.exe and system will prevent auto-activation, of course at the cost of blocking everything else, making it similar to simply physically never connecting to the internet and therefore practically useless...


So in the end, using different programs that study how svchost.exe splits to (I assume in combination with slui.exe) auto-activate Windows 10 may be the answer but that would be too involved for me to do so long story short, using a third party firewall to simply block an executable is not possible.


Therefore, if you only once activate Windows 10, your machine ID is *permanently* stored in the cloud and permanently associated with that activation.
The very nano-second you *ever* connect unactivated fresh Windows 10 to the internet from that machine, even if you never entered any keys or emails, it *will* immediately activate with no way for you to disassociate your machine from the registration information in the cloud. This is the unfortunate conclusion to this question...
(For now).
 
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