Traditionally, the Windows 10 Insider Preview has combined ISO deliveries of its latest builds to accompany Slow Ring builds releases to Insiders. The idea being, that more bugs have been ironed out and that an ISO would help deliver a cleaner install process for Insiders who have opted to wait on builds.
However, with the recent Windows 10 Insider Preview build 10565, the Windows team appears to have thrown caution to the wind and released an ISO of the Fast Ring build. According to Gabe Aul of the Windows team, Microsoft heard feedback from Insiders who wanted to explore new activations paths.
@GabeAul We don’t usually do ISOs for Fast Ring builds, but we heard feedback that these would be helpful to try the new activation paths.
— Gabriel Aul (@GabeAul) October 15, 2015
To grab the ISO, Microsoft has laid out a few steps, tips and tricks for the best ISO activation process possible. First off, going the ISO route means that users will need to install the latest build on a device that has already an active Windows 10 install or product key. Other notes include:
- You’ll need a third-party program to convert the ISO file into installable media—DVD burning software often includes this capability.
- Remember, trying out an early build like this can be risky. That’s why we recommend that you don’t install the preview on your primary home or business PC. Unexpected PC crashes could damage or even delete your files, so you should back up everything.
- If you want to stop using Windows 10 Insider Preview and return to your previous version of Windows, you’ll need to reinstall your previous version from the recovery or installation media that came with your PC—typically a DVD. If you don’t have recovery media, you might be able to create recovery media from a recovery partition on your PC using software provided by your PC manufacturer. You’ll need to do this before you upgrade. Check the support section of your PC manufacturer’s website for more info.
- After you install Windows 10 Insider Preview, you won’t be able to use the recovery partition on your PC to go back to your previous version of Windows.
The download links can be found here, in 23 languages ranging from Chinese (simplified) to Czech.
Happy downloading, Insiders!
