When I heard that Files On Demand became available to those on the Fast Ring Windows 10 Creator’s Update Insider’s Program version 16215, I had to get in. I went to the Windows Insider Program website and signed up using one of my Microsoft accounts. I have an older laptop that isn’t being used right now and I wanted to put it on that.

This is the story of how choosing the wrong Microsoft account and misunderstanding how that account was being used, resulted in putting all three of my computers (including my work computer), on the Windows Insider Fast Track Program!

courtesy Microsoft

Insider’s Program Background

First, a little background to the Windows Insider Program. This program lets people get access to what the Windows folks are working on, which is the next big iteration of Windows 10. It’s called the Creator’s Update and it’ll come out for everyone this fall sometime. If computer enthusiasts like me want to, we can sign up to get either fast or slow versions of the upcoming Windows 10. People who signed up are cautioned not to put these potentially buggy Windows versions on their production computers (the ones we use for work). Things can go terribly wrong with early releases, so you don’t want to put your work computer at risk. They like to get feedback from enthusiasts – bug reports or suggestions.

Because of potential bugs or crashes, I hadn’t signed up for the Insider Program with either my desktop or new laptop. But I saw no reason why I couldn’t test it out on my old laptop. So I did take precautions to make a recovery disk and also a bootable USB just in case. Then I downloaded the ISO and converted it into an executable file and installed the latest Creator’s Update. I did this on a Saturday and the install seemed to go fine and I was up and running. My plan was to do some videos of the new OneDrive and the Files On Demand feature the next week. Read More →