Is Windows 10 Free Upgrade Still Available

Now that you have successfully upgraded to 10 and system properties says activated, you can now do a clean install of windows 10 using the media creation tool mentioned above. Just dont forget to backup your important files because this will wipe everything, hopefully taking all of the bugs with it. I'd also make sure you are on the latest bios for your machine. Once your system is shown as activated in the win 10 system, you can reinstall as much as you want unless u change your motherboard or change the majority of hardware that was installed when you upgraded. Windows 10 uses your system hardware to create a "FINGERPRINT" of sorts of our system.

If too many items change, you may have to re-activate. At that time you will need a windows 10 serial number . I've found that changing the motherboard is the key hardware change that will de activate your system.

Even if you're running good and decide to upgrade your motherboard, you'll probably lose your activation. You could always do a clean install of windows 7 or 8 using the serial number on your computer. Once that is activated through Microsoft, you can then upgrade again to Microsoft Win 10 for free and Microsoft will remember your change/update. When installing clean from the media tool, when it asks for serial number or product key, just skip that part. Once online, Microsoft will activate your Win 10 automatically without entering a product key. The upgrade offer was marketed and initiated using the "Get Windows 10" application, which was first downloaded and installed via Windows Update in March 2015.

Third-party programs were also created to assist users in applying measures to disable GWX. If your Windows 7 or Windows 8 license is not activated and you are not interested in purchasing a license, then your options are limited. Microsoft offers a 90 day trial of its Windows 10 Enterprise edition.

Windows 10 Enterprise is normally distributed under Microsoft's volume license program for large organizations that deploy Windows 10 in bulk. It's a full-featured edition of the operating system but in this case, it's really an evaluation version of the software. Users must register before they can download and install the software. This option is perfect for those users who are running Windows Vista or never had a genuine license, to begin with. 10 product keys, meaning they could be entered during installation to activate the free license, without the need to upgrade first to "activate" the hardware with Microsoft's activation servers.

If you're running Windows 7 or 8.1, the question is a little murkier. These operating systems are supported through 2020 and 2023 for security updates, so you've got no objective reason to switch . Compared with Windows 7, it boots faster, some of the new UI elements are better, and the GUI is a little smoother. I don't personally regret taking Microsoft's upgrade offer, but I can't really point to any grand improvements. Gamers have good reason to grab DX12, but for everyone else? It's mostly a wash, at least for the next 2.5 years.

Other critics argued that Microsoft should not have triggered any downloading of Windows 10 installation files without user consent. Extended support until January 13, 2032The original release of Windows 10 receives mainstream support for five years after its original release, followed by five years of extended support, but this is subject to conditions. Microsoft stated that these devices would no longer receive feature updates, but would still receive security updates through January 2023.

Microsoft will continue to support at least one standard Windows 10 release until October 14, 2025. On May 2, 2017, Microsoft unveiled Windows 10 S , a feature-limited edition of Windows 10 which was designed primarily for devices in the education market , such as the Surface Laptop that Microsoft also unveiled at this time. The OS restricts software installation to applications obtained from Microsoft Store; the device may be upgraded to Windows 10 Pro for a fee to enable unrestricted software installation. As a time-limited promotion, Microsoft stated that this upgrade would be free on the Surface Laptop until March 31, 2018. Windows 10 S also contains a faster initial setup and login process, and allows devices to be provisioned using a USB drive with the Windows Intune for Education platform.

Windows 11 requires modern hardware to run, but if your PC has a CPU released in the last 3-4 years, you're probably in luck. To provide enhanced security to its users, Microsoft is requiring all PCs to feature a specialized chip called a Trusted Platform Module, or TPM, of at least version 2.0. This chip is found in most modern CPUs and also many motherboards. Computers built before 2017 may not be compatible, however, so it's important to take a close look at the minimum system requirements before opting into an upgrade. Microsoft has temporarily disabled its PC Health Check tool to update it for the Windows 11 release, but it promises to advise you of any compatibility issues you may be facing ahead of the upgrade. In March 2016, some users also alleged that their Windows 7 and 8.1 devices had automatically begun upgrading to Windows 10 without their consent.

In June 2016, the GWX dialog's behavior changed to make closing the window imply a consent to a scheduled upgrade. It was concluded that these users may have unknowingly clicked the "Accept" prompt without full knowledge that this would begin the upgrade. This edition is designed for "special-purpose devices" that perform a fixed function .

For this reason, it excludes Cortana, Microsoft Store, and all bundled Universal Windows Platform apps . 10 Home and Pro is "Semi-Annual Channel " (formerly "Current Branch", or "CB"), which receives stable builds after they are publicly released by Microsoft. Each build of Windows 10 is supported for 18 months after its original release.

The new Start menu takes after Windows 7's design by using only a portion of the screen and including a Windows 7-style application listing in the first column. The second column displays Windows 8-style app tiles. Myerson said that these changes would occur in a future update, but did not elaborate.

Windows Phone 8.1 would share nearly 90% of the common Windows Runtime APIs with Windows 8.1 on PCs. We upgraded from Windows 7 to 10 late on October 22, 2019 with no problems on my SSD boot drive . From starting the process to seeing the Windows 10 splash screen for multiple users it took one hour and 30 minutes; including the initial small download and the following large download from Microsoft.

Quite frankly many of my apps seem snappier in response and performance. It may take some time in downloading Windows 10 files from the internet. So it depends on your internet speed that how much time will it take.

If you are using a pirated or cracked version then it may ask you to enter the product key. Otherwise it will not ask for any product / license key and upgrade process will go smoothly. After completion of download, click on the 'Install' button. Windows 11 brings a number of enhancements to Windows users, including a new look, multitasking enhancements, improved gaming performance, Android app support, and more. Aesthetically, it will have a new, frosted glass look, and a reworked start menu, now known as the Dock, optimized for touch input on the latest devices.

Users will be able to rearrange windows into new arrangements, like a 4x4 grid, using Snap Layouts that can then be saved into Snap Groups and recalled later. The desktop will also be enhanced with the addition of Windows Widgets, an AI-driven feed of updates based on your interests and daily tasks, including daily calendar updates, traffic, weather, sports, and more. If you get to upgrade from windows 7 "Free upgrade" then the key will be stored in your microsoft account .

So, you just have to try to upgrade for free from windows 7 and when you have installed your new windows 10 log in with your microsoft account. Then you will have a activated copy totally legal. If you want later reinstall windows 10 you just have to download the same version you have activated and you install it w/o key and when you start your windows you log in and it will be activated.

Feature updates prior to version 1909 are distributed solely as an in-place upgrade installation, requiring the download of a complete operating system package (approximately 3.5 GB in size for 64-bit systems). Unlike previous builds, version 1909 is designed primarily as an update rollup version of 1903, focusing primarily on minor feature additions and enhancements. For upgrades to 1909 from 1903, a new delivery method is used where its changes were delivered as part of the monthly cumulative update, but are left in a dormant state until the 1909 update "enablement" patch is installed. The full upgrade process is still used for those using builds prior to 1903. Some times it happened that if you have a genuine Windows 7 key and still Windows installer can throw message like "This product key didn't work".

In this case you can try to re-activate Windows 7 first. And then start upgrading again, now installer will skip that step and you will be able to start the upgrade process. Note, during the upgrade process the tool download windows 10 files from the Microsoft server, and the time depends on your internet speed and hardware configuration. This process can take quite a while, and the computer will restart numerous times.

Older blog but I will take a chance and post my problem. One partition is windows 10 Home 64bit and the other is windows 10 pro 32 bit. When I had a hardware failure I replaced the mainboard with a board that was very close to the original in the sense of chipsets and CPU. Used my original Graphics card , FAXmodem , Hard drives, and memory.

When I powered the system I went to the 64 bit partition first. It activated using the "replace hardware recently" option. I have a second retail win 7pro disc package with valid key but when I enter it, It just keeps saying I can't have two different versions on the same machine basically. Microsoft's support web pages have revealed that Microsoft will discontinue its support so that they can focus on supporting newer technologies and creating better experiences. As a replacement, the tech giant recommended users to install Windows 10 sometime before January 2020.

When you do the in-place upgrade, your product key is converted to digital entitlement and uploaded to Microsoft's cloud servers. You can then wipe your drive and do a clean install of Windows 10. When you reinstall Windows 10 you'll get to a screen that asks for your product key.

Just click on the 'I don't have a product key' link on the bottom of the screen. Once the installation is complete, Windows will automatically activate the first time your system gets online. On January 21, 2016, Microsoft was sued in small claims court by a user whose computer had attempted to upgrade to Windows 10 without her consent shortly after the release of the operating system. The upgrade failed, and her computer was left in a broken state thereafter, which disrupted the ability to run her travel agency. The court ruled in favor of the user and awarded her $10,000 in damages, but Microsoft appealed.

However, in May 2016, Microsoft dropped the appeal and chose to pay the damages. As of the May 2019 update, the minimum disk space requirement has been increased to 32 GB. In addition, on new installations, Windows permanently reserves up to 7 GB of disk space in order to ensure proper installation of future feature updates. A new iteration of the Start menu is used on the Windows 10 desktop, with a list of places and other options on the left side, and tiles representing applications on the right.

The menu can be resized, and expanded into a full-screen display, which is the default option in Tablet mode. A new virtual desktop system was added by a feature known as Task View, which displays all open windows and allows users to switch between them, or switch between multiple workspaces. Universal apps, which previously could be used only in full screen mode, can now be used in self-contained windows similarly to other programs.

Program windows can now be snapped to quadrants of the screen by dragging them to the corner. When a window is snapped to one side of the screen, Task View appears and the user is prompted to choose a second window to fill the unused side of the screen (called "Snap Assist"). Windows 10 received generally positive reviews upon its original release.

After the installation process is complete, you will need to activate Windows 10. For that, connect your machine to the internet and go to Windows Update and then Activation. There is another option in case online activation does not work. You can enter the license key that you got with your copy of Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 and manually activate your Windows 10 from the Activation portal. That said, if you're feeling adventurous or wait until Microsoft officially releases Windows 11 to the public, this new OS has a lot of interesting features that are poised to genuinely change your computing experience.

Snap Layouts should offer better multitasking support, especially on large or ultrawide monitors. DirectStorage can offer big reductions to load times for gamers. Android app support opens a whole new app ecosystem up to Windows users.

Only time will tell if Windows 11 proves to be as popular as Windows 10, but it seems like Microsoft is providing compelling reasons to sign up for the update when the time is right for you. For productivity, the operating system will now feature native Microsoft Teams integration. Microsoft says this will make it easier to connect with friends and colleagues across devices by adding Teams functionality right into the start menu and taskbar. If you use Windows on a laptop with an external display, Windows 11 will also remember the position of windows on that screen when disconnected and will restore them once it's plugged back in. This may just be the perfect time to stop pondering and upgrade your PC to Windows 10.

Microsoft is set to end the support for Windows 7 on January 14, 2020. That means any PCs or laptops running Windows 7 post that date will not get any new updates, bug fixes, security patches or even technical help by the Microsoft customer service. Microsoft wants to solely focus on Windows 10 heading into the new decade, and will be developing new features as well as giving it all the attention required in terms of security updates, patches, performance boosts and more. The good news for you is, you can still upgrade your PC to Windows 10, for free.