Which insider channel?

jimbo45 said:

Note that ALL these windows are activated by your digital license -- so if you have 2X Canary, 2X dev 1X beta and 1X standard they are all activated.

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I just activate all my VMs. I had saved the activation info from a large number of VMs several years ago (all 100% legit) so I just recycle those activations.

cereberus said:

Why select any specific one?

If you create native boot virtual hard drives (not virtual machines), you could install each Insider version in its own virtual drive (vhdx) file each with its own boot entry.

That way you can select which Insider to boot from.

I would consider install release version on pc, then clone OS to a vhdx file say dev.vhdx. Then copy that to say Beta.vhdx etc so you end up with 1 vhdx file per Insider version.

Then add a boot entry to boot from vhdx file (see tutorial section).

The boot into each vhdx section in turn and join appropriate Insider version.

Even if you decide to join only one Insider, I would still have stable release as Host OS, and Dev version in a vhdx file. That way if dev version falls over big time with an update, you can simply delete vhdx file and boot entry, and repeat procedure about to recreate dev vhdx again.

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This is very interesting and helpful, thank you. I think for now I will start with just one or two on separate machines and see how I go. But it's something I didn't know you could do.

I came across this link on another thread as well, from @glasskuter - if the information in this is still correct, it sounds like the beta channel and release preview might be right for me.

Hazel123 said:

I came across this link on another thread as well, from @glasskuter - if the information in this is still correct, it sounds like the beta channel and release preview might be right for me.

Deeper look at flighting - Windows Insider Program

Understanding flighting, channels, and updates

learn.microsoft.com

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Those are the exact two I run, beta and RP. When I do get bugs they are generally annoyance type bugs that eventually get fixed. I don't setup.and play with VM's so those are the safest insider builds for my three machines. Since I'm retired and don't use my machines for work or anything critical I don't mind a little adventure trying semi experimental builds and features.

I won't do it on my main laptop - I have too much on there and it's used daily and needs to function! I have two spare laptops though (Identical models bought second hand in case one dies )

Hazel123 said:

I won't do it on my main laptop - I have too much on there and it's used daily and needs to function! I have two spare laptops though (Identical models bought second hand in case one dies )

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This is why learning how to use a virtualization platform like Hyper-V, VMware Workstation Pro, etc. is so useful. First, many of these are free (the best price!), and you can tinker to your hearts content because the only thing you can mess up is the VM.

This is exactly why I run these things in a VM: My primary machines are all my most powerful machines, and I would hate to not be able to experiment on those machines for fear of messing something up. Ironically, it is also the most powerful machines that are best suited to run insider builds. But with a VM, anything bad that can happen will affect only the VM and not the main OS. So I can tinker with no fear of negative repercussions.

I get it, it's not for everyone and it may seem a little intimidating, but within an hour or two you can know most of what is necessary. If you are person who likes to tinker and learn, especially if you are experimenting with insider builds, VMs are a great tool to have.

BTW, I often don't run any insider builds at all for the majority of the year. It is only when we get to within a few months of final release that I like to start hitting the insider builds hard. That way on day of release I am already very familiar with all the new features and I can hit the ground running.