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. 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. 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. 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. Other critics argued that Microsoft should not have triggered any downloading of Windows 10 installation files without user consent.
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. If you don't have a product key or you're installing Windows 10 on a new hard drive, make sure you've linked your Windows 10 digital license to your Microsoft account before you start the installation. 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 .
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.
Getting hold of the Windows installer is as easy as visiting support.microsoft.com. Whether you've paid for Windows 10 already or not, anyone is allowed to download a Windows 10 ISO file and burn it to a DVD or create installation media on a USB drive for free. Once that's done, you can boot from your installation media and load Windows 10 onto your PC.
During installation, Microsoft asks for an activation key. You can skip it, but eventually, Windows will start alerting you that your install isn't activated. Click Next to have Windows 11 check for any updates, then accept the license terms. The Ready to install screen shows that Windows 11 will be installed and that your personal files and apps will be kept.
You can then elect to keep personal files and apps, personal files only, or nothing. Windows 10 received generally positive reviews upon its original release. First make sure you have a full backup of your data since will be installing on top of the existing data.
You can download the Windows 10 media from the Windows 10 .iso download site and then set the computer to boot from the flash drive. Typically, I find this is often the hardest part of the process — finding the combination of keys that allows you into the bios to force the system to boot from the flash drive. Many would argue that downloading Windows without paying for or already owning a product key is ethically wrong. That said, Microsoft has made this process easier over various Windows iterations and lessened the limitations and nagging that happens when you don't activate. The company isn't trying to close this loophole, probably because it's more interested in driving user numbers.
I've even seen well-known vendors and Microsoft partners do press presentations with watermarks on their desktop. As with so many installation tutorials, the speed of this process will depend on the hardware you're working with. An SSD will be much faster than a mechanical hard drive for reinstalling Windows 10. Considering you'll be downloading new software, it will also take a long time if you're internet connection is slow. Read our tips on how to speed up your internet if you think this might be an issue. If you are using bootable installation media to perform a clean install on a PC that has never been upgraded to Windows 10 and activated, you will need to enter a product key.
You can enter a product key from Windows 10 or from a matching edition of Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows 8.1. 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. 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. Starting with Windows 10 version 2004, Microsoft will require new OEM devices to use 64-bit processors, and will therefore cease the distribution of x86 (32-bit) variants of Windows 10 via OEM channels. The 32-bit variants of Windows 10 will remain available via non-OEM channels, and Microsoft will continue to " feature and security updates on these devices". This would later be followed by Windows 11 dropping 32-bit hardware support altogether, and thus making Windows 10 the final version of Windows to have a 32-bit version. 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. 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 Anniversary Update added Windows Subsystem for Linux , which allows the installation of a user space environment from a supported Linux distribution that runs natively on Windows. The subsystem translates Linux system calls to those of the Windows NT kernel . The environment can execute the Bash shell and 64-bit command-line programs (WSL 2 also supports 32-bit Linux programs and graphics, assuming supporting software installed, and GPUs support for other uses).
Windows applications cannot be executed from the Linux environment, and vice versa. Linux distributions for Windows Subsystem for Linux are obtained through Microsoft Store. The feature initially supported an Ubuntu-based environment; Microsoft announced in May 2017 that it would add Fedora and OpenSUSE environment options as well. 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"). 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. After the download, double-click the ISO file and then double-click the setup.exe file. Click Next at the initial install screen to check for and download any updates to Windows 11.
At the Ready to Install screen, you will see that Windows 11 will be installed and personal files and apps will be kept by default. 10 heavily emphasizes freemium services, and contains various advertising facilities. Some outlets have considered these to be a hidden "cost" of the free upgrade offer. Unlike previous versions of Windows, Windows Update does not allow the selective installation of updates, and all updates are downloaded and installed automatically. Users can only choose whether their system will reboot automatically to install updates when the system is inactive, or be notified to schedule a reboot. Version 1703 allows wired networks to be designated as metered, but Windows may still download certain updates while connected to a metered network.
Microsoft offers several ways to download Windows 11 manually. One is to use the Installation Assistant app, which you install on your PC to trigger a normal upgrade install via Windows Update. The second is to use the Windows 11 Media Creation Tool, which automates the process of creating a bootable USB install drive or downloading an install ISO file.
Once you have a USB drive, you can either boot from it to perform a clean install or run the Setup app from within Windows 10 to do a normal upgrade install. You can also burn the ISO to a DVD, but installing from any USB drive, even an old USB 2.0 drive, will be much faster, so you shouldn't do that. Finally, you can just download an ISO file directly from Microsoft's site. Another option is to create installation media on a USB key and install the operating system using that.
A final option is to download a Windows 11 disk image to create a bootable installation media such as a USB stick or DVD, or create a virtual machine to install the new Windows software. When you finally get to the Windows 10 desktop, connect to the network and allow a bit of time for Windows 10 searching for drivers for your hardware. The screen resolution may be wrong but will be all right after drive update. And you will have to manually transfer your files and install the apps once Windows 10 is installed. Reboot your computer and connect it to the internet. Open Settings and choose "Update & Security" and click "Activation." From here, you can see if the Windows 10 upgrade worked.
If not, press an "Activate" button ; this will create a digital Windows 10 product key. Try using your Windows 7 or Windows 8 license key. Keep updating Windows 1o as and when updates are released.
The Go Back feature, which allows you to reinstall a previous version of Windows, is available for 10 days after upgrading to Windows 10 . The Windows installation files occupy a large amount of hard drive storage space during that time. The files are deleted automatically after 10 days. However, you can delete them manually if you want to free up storage space before then. Microsoft allows absolutely anyone to download and install Windows 10 on their computers for free.
Even if you don't have a product key, you'll still be able to use an unactivated version of Windows 10, although some features may be limited. 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.
In October 2015, Windows 10 began to appear as an "Optional" update on the Windows Update interface, but pre-selected for installation on some systems. A Microsoft spokesperson said that this was a mistake, and that the download would no longer be pre-selected by default. In December 2015, it was reported that a new advertising dialog had begun to appear, only containing "Upgrade now" and "Upgrade tonight" buttons, and no obvious method to decline installation besides the close button. Device Guard is designed to protect against zero-day exploits, and runs inside a hypervisor so that its operation remains separated from the operating system itself.
As I've noted in past blogs, being on the latest version of Windows provides you with the best in creativity, protection and productivity. Windows 11's minimum system requirements enable a new era of experiences, reliability and security. AsPanos Panay shared in June, this is the first version of a new era of Windows.
And, for customers who are using a device that is not eligible for Windows 11, Windows 10 is a great place to be. Windows 10 will be serviced through Oct. 14, 2025and we previously announced that the next feature update to Windows 10 is coming very soon, continuing to offer you both support and choice with Windows. It is also recommended to uninstall any software (such as antivirus, security tool, and old third-party programs) that may prevent the successful upgrade to Windows 10. It would also help if you disconnected any hardware connected to the device, including printers, phones, cameras, external hard drives, and other USB peripherals, to help avoid problems. To upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 10 if you have a product key from Windows 7, 8, or 8.1, download the Windows Media Creation Tool from the Microsoft website, and then follow the prompts to upgrade your PC.
Other options include purchasing a new PC with Windows 10 installed or buying Windows directly from Microsoft. No matter which method you use, to reinstall Windows 10 without losing data, it is recommended to back up your important files before starting a reinstallation. We suggest using the professional PC backup software for Windows 10/8/7, MiniTool ShadowMaker Trial Edition, to back up files or folders with simple steps on the desktop or in WinPE.
Run the media creation tool and select Create installation media for another PC and USB flash drive. You could directly burn the ISO file to the USB or disc. It's not imperative that you upgrade your system to Windows in the next couple of weeks, or even months. For many people, that's about the time to upgrade to a newer device, one that will come with Windows 11 already installed.
