Here's why - and how to get it." For help decoding setup errors, see "Windows 10: Use setup log files to troubleshoot installation problems."
For details on how to troubleshoot these errors, see "This free Windows 10 upgrade offer still works. I continue to receive email messages regularly from readers offering firsthand reports that their free upgrades were successful, with no purchase or product key required.Ī small number of readers have reported that the upgrade fails because of a Setup error or a compatibility block. Over the next four-plus years, I repeated those steps on test PCs at regular intervals and confirmed that the free upgrade tool still works. One digital license, no product key required. Imagine my surprise when, instead, I was greeted with this screen. The free upgrade offer had just ended, and when I downloaded the Windows 10 upgrade tool and ran it on an old Windows 7 PC, I fully expected that the upgrade would fail activation and I'd be asked for a product key. I wrote and published the first version of this post in early 2017, several months after Microsoft's initial free upgrade offer ended. I'll also talk about the licensing issues involved, which are (as always) confusing.
In this post, I'll cover the basics of how to install Windows 10 as an upgrade on older hardware. For those PCs, Windows 10 remains a viable option until at least October 2025. (For details, see "How to upgrade from Windows 10 Home to Pro without hassles.")Įvery technique I describe in this article works the same for Windows 11 as well, although most older PCs will be blocked from upgrading to Microsoft's newest operating system by the stringent Windows 11 hardware compatibility requirements. That can save you as much as $100 in OEM upgrade charges if you buy a new PC with Windows 10 Home preinstalled. You can also still upgrade Windows 10 Home to Windows 10 Pro by using a product key from a previous business edition of Windows 7, 8, or 8.1 (Pro/Ultimate). In the past two years, millions of people have taken old PCs out of storage and gotten up to speed quickly, thanks to these free upgrades.Īlso: Windows 11 FAQ: Here's everything you need to know And it turned out to be a great relief to household budgets when the pandemic made working from home (or going to school via remote sessions) suddenly popular. That upgrade became more important than ever when support for Windows 7 officially ended in January 2020. Once your Windows 10 license is linked to your Microsoft account, later if you decide to permanently use Windows 10 and dump your copy of Windows 7 or 8.1, it shouldn't be a problem as you'll only need to sign in to Windows 10 with that Microsoft account and your license should get restored.Here are ZDNet's top picks for a variety of use cases. This is the time to decide if you want to eventually get Windows 10 since you can still get it for free.įor now, you can use this offer, upgrade to Windows 10 temporarily, link the license to your Microsoft account and then downgrade immediately to Windows 7 or 8.
Microsoft is interested in getting all their users migrated to Windows 10. This process is transparent to the end user and makes Windows 10 eligible for all free feature upgrades released in the future. After the installation, Windows 10 will verify the product key and convert it into a special digital license. This will allow you to install and activate the desired build of Windows 10 instantly.
Starting with the Windows 10 "November Update" (version 1511), you can enter your Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 serial number right in the installer and avoid the upgrade procedure.
Starting next Monday, Januyou will have to pay $119.99 for Windows 10 Home or $199.99 for Windows 10 Pro. This means that you can still grab your copy of Windows 10 for free, but this should be done before this Sunday. Please take advantage of this offer before it expires on December 31, 2017. If you use assistive technologies, you can upgrade to Windows 10 at no cost as Microsoft continues our efforts to improve the Windows 10 experience for people who use these technologies.
Microsoft's assistive technologies website shows a special note that Microsoft will be ending the offer by the end of 2017. Special accessibility features built into Windows are extremely helpful for these people because of their handicap.
Assistive technology users are those who are differently-abled and need ease of access features of Windows to interact with a PC better.