As I told at the beginning of December of 2019, it was still possible upgrade to Windows 10 for free from any computer with Windows 7 or Windows 8/8.1. This, about to finish the first quarter of 2020, it still remains true.
In addition, the process is fairly simpleand in general you have to follow few steps to update your computer to a system that does have support, unlike Windows 7and offering a user experience far superior to Windows 8.1.
What should I do before upgrading to Windows 10
The first thing is quite important: make a backup of your most important files. You should save all those documents, photos, and other data that you don’t want to lose in case of any problem in an external drive.
For this you can use from a stick, a hard disk, or use some service cloud storage. The next thing is to verify that you have a valid license of Windows 7 or Windows 8 on your computer, and to do this you will need the following:
How to upgrade for free to Windows 10
The first thing you’ll need is to check if your computer is compatible and also have a valid driver’s license. This process is done automatically tool of media creation Microsoft you download here.
Once downloaded to any folder, double-click on the file MediaCreationTool1909.exe you just go down. Accept the license terms, and in the window that appears then select the option “Update this computer now“and click on Next.
Now, after performing various checks to determine if your device is compatible and also has a valid license, you will know if you can upgrade it or not. If you receive a notice that you must enter a license to be able to update and don’t have one, continue reading below and we’ll give you another option.
Sooner or later you’ll see a new window in which you must decide what type of installation do you want: preserving files, or installing just Windows, and erasing everything (update on clean). The tool is going to guide you at all times and you don’t have to choose too many things.
When you start the installation, and Windows starts to copy files and others, the process can take hours depending on your hardware, if your computer is somewhat old and has a hard drive slow, you can spend a good time waiting for you.
System activation should be done automatically and your license will be associated permanently to your hardware. To verify this just go to the Settings the system (press Windows key + R), select Update and security and in the menu on the right click Activation. You can activate your digital license or verify that it is activated itself.
I don’t have Windows license valid can I upgrade to Windows 10?
In theory you can use Windows 10 for free with or without a license. To do this you have a couple of options. The first is do a clean install of Windows 10 creating a bootable USB. If you don’t know how to create a bootable USB with Windowsyou can read this step-by-step.
When you perform a installation on a clean Windows 10 in this way, you will not have to enter a license, you can skip that part during the process and leave it for later. Windows 10 not only will install any way, but you’ll be able to use it without almost any limitation except to be able to change the colors and background of the screen, and you will have a minimum water mark indicating that it is not activated.
You can always buy a license of Windows 10 in the future. Or, your second option is to join the program Insider from Microsoft for test pre-release versions of Windows 10 and access to the system so completely legal, just that you’re going to be a betatester free to do so.
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The news
How to upgrade to Windows 10 for free in 2020
it was originally published in
Engadget
by
Gabriela Gonzalez
.
