Check for any recent driver updates, especially for network and storage hardware.This is especially important if you recently reinstalled Windows.
If you have a PC running a "genuine" copy of Windows 7/8/8.1 (Windows 7 Home, Pro, or Ultimate edition, or Windows 8.x Home or Business, properly licensed and activated), you can follow the same steps I did to install Windows 10 as an upgrade.īefore getting started, I recommend a few preliminary tasks that can head off potential problems: Whether you're looking for a tablet to stream videos or to replace your laptop, here are some compelling options. Want your own digital license to the latest Windows 10 version? Follow these instructions.
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. Here are ZDNet's top picks for a variety of use cases. If you want, you can also download the latest ISO image of Windows 10 using this tool.Google Drive alternative: Decentralized and encrypted Based on the architecture and Windows edition, it automatically detects the correct configuration and lets you create a bootable USB flash drive. You can create a Windows 10 bootable USB drive right from the app – without downloading the ISO file separately. The best part is that it does not touch any of your files and seamlessly installs the latest build.Īpart from that, this tool also lets you create installation media.
So if you want to try it, you will have to manually install the update using the Windows 10 Media Creation Tool. Initially, the update is rolled out only to a small number of users. And if you are already on Windows 10, this tool allows you to install the most recent build.įor example, the Windows 10 21H1 (May 2021) update has just been released, but you can’t get it from Windows Settings right now. The tool is not limited to Windows 10 users, but Windows 7, 8 & 8.1 users can also use it to upgrade to Windows 10 if they hold an authentic license. The Windows 10 Media Creation Tool is an official utility by Microsoft for updating Windows operating system to the latest Windows 10 build.