You’ll see that your system is “activated with a digital license.” Once it’s installed, you can head to the Settings > Update & Security > Activation screen. After the Upgradeĭuring the upgrade process, you can choose whether you want to keep all the files on your system or start fresh. If you prefer a clean install, you can select “Create installation media” and then provide a valid Windows 7 or 8 key while installing Windows 10. We’re not doing anything sneaky here-Microsoft is choosing to let people upgrade via the tool. Run it, click through the tool, and select “Upgrade this PC now” when prompted. Click the “Download tool now” button and download the. To get your free upgrade, head to Microsoft’s Download Windows 10 website. RELATED: What's the Best Way to Back Up My Computer? How to Upgrade to Windows 10 for Free If your PC doesn’t have a sticker, you can always use a tool like NirSoft’s ProduKey to find the license key currently in use on your PC. If you installed Windows 7 or Windows 8 yourself, you’ll want to find the license key you purchased. This key may be printed on a sticker on your PC’s case or on your laptop. We also encourage you to find your Windows 7 (or Windows 8) key, just in case you need it. The upgrade process shouldn’t erase your files unless you choose to erase them, but it’s always a good idea to have a current backup-especially when you’re performing a major operating system upgrade. RELATED: You Can Still Get Windows 10 for Free With a Windows 7, 8, or 8.1 Key Back Up Before Upgradingīefore you get started, we recommend you back up your files. We wouldn’t worry about it for home PCs, but organizations should likely contact their Microsoft licensing partner for more details. If you have Windows 7 PCs in your business, Microsoft may not consider you compliant with the terms of its licensing agreement after using this method to upgrade your business PCs. Update: Note that we can’t speak to the business licensing side of things here. And, after you do upgrade, your PC gets a valid Windows 10 key that will keep working-even if Microsoft stops allowing new upgrades in the future. Microsoft may one day pull the plug and cut off new upgrades. There’s no guarantee this will work forever, but it still worked on January 14, 2020. You just have to provide a valid Windows 7 (or Windows 8) key. You can also upgrade a PC by doing a fresh install of Windows 10, even if it doesn’t have any operating system installed.

Your PC will get a genuine, activated Windows 10 key-just like it worked during Windows 10’s first year when the free upgrade offer was officially being advertised.

Assuming you’re using a Windows PC with a genuine and activated Windows 7 (or Windows 8) key, you can upgrade to Windows 10 in just a few clicks.

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