Author Topic: Genuine free upgrade to Windows 10 still available  (Read 2787 times)

Genuine free upgrade to Windows 10 still available
« on: 28 March, 2019, 04:15:41 pm »
If you use Windows and a version pre Windows 10 this may be for you.  If not then why not just wander on by.

Windows 7 goes out of support in January 2020.  Windows 10 was offered for free to upgrade for quite a while but was officially withdrawn many months ago.  However ...

Upgrade to Windows 10 for free

I have recently upgraded an Acer laptop built in 2011.  The hard disk had failed so I installed an SSD, added Windows 7 and the necessary device drivers, then upgraded to Windows 10 using the link above.

No issues after two weeks.

Windows 10 has become a lot more reliable in the past year though fanboys of alternative OS will of course have a contrary opinion on this.  If you are a Windows user though it is now a reliable and stable platform.  I have been using it on a new pc since last June and my much older laptop for a couple of weeks now.

I will be upgrading two more pc's in the coming days.  My plan is to clean up each machine, clone the hard drive onto an SSD, swap the disks so that the new SSD is the system disk, then follow the upgrade path.  If I encounter difficulties I should simply be able to revert to the original system disk.

Happy and free upgrading for those so inclined.

fuaran

  • rothair gasta
Re: Genuine free upgrade to Windows 10 still available
« Reply #1 on: 28 March, 2019, 05:05:46 pm »
You can download and install it for free, but will it activate?
Maybe depends on what sort of Windows 7 licence you have. A lot of older PCs may have dubious Windows licences already.

I recently bought a Windows 10 code off Ebay for £2. Not sure if entirely genuine, but seems to activate and is working fine anyway.

Re: Genuine free upgrade to Windows 10 still available
« Reply #2 on: 28 March, 2019, 05:11:03 pm »
Yes, it does activate for genuine Windows 7 licenses.   

Re: Genuine free upgrade to Windows 10 still available
« Reply #3 on: 29 March, 2019, 05:10:57 pm »
I have upgraded 2 PCs to Win10 in the last month.  Both had Win 7 Pro licenses and were dell but the upgrade went without a hitch.  Needed a new driver for the graphics card in one but no problems at all.

Woofage

  • Tofu-eating Wokerati
  • Ain't no hooves on my bike.
Re: Genuine free upgrade to Windows 10 still available
« Reply #4 on: 29 March, 2019, 05:43:32 pm »
I have upgraded 2 PCs to Win10 in the last month.  Both had Win 7 Pro licenses and were dell but the upgrade went without a hitch.  Needed a new driver for the graphics card in one but no problems at all.

Dells seem to have a special magic in them*. My previous laptop (originally supplied with Win7 pro) was completely wiped and had Linux installed but its new owner put Windows 10 on. No licence keys or registration were required even for the updated version. I assume there's some h/w device or BIOS thingy that controls the licence.

* may apply to other manufacturers' computers.
Pen Pusher

Re: Genuine free upgrade to Windows 10 still available
« Reply #5 on: 29 March, 2019, 06:25:19 pm »
When a legitimate version of Windows is registered with Microsoft a hardware profile is saved.  A genuine licensed machine can be legitimately reinstalled / upgraded with little or even sometimes no verification process.

tonycollinet

  • No Longer a western province of Númenor
Re: Genuine free upgrade to Windows 10 still available
« Reply #6 on: 31 March, 2019, 11:01:13 pm »
I've done the same with a new build PC after first installing a legit win 7 version on it.

Re: Genuine free upgrade to Windows 10 still available
« Reply #7 on: 02 April, 2019, 04:54:30 pm »
I've done the same with a new build PC after first installing a legit win 7 version on it.

Excellent.

madamemugwump

Re: Genuine free upgrade to Windows 10 still available
« Reply #8 on: 03 April, 2019, 12:32:58 pm »
Interesting. I wonder if this might be of use to me...

I had a Dell windows 10 pro PC that the motherboard got fried on. I fitted another motherboard but could not re-verify (or whatever the word is) the OS - something to do with OEM builds or summat. Sure, it'd boot up and operate fine but had limitations (as I recall, it was sort of 'water marked' and was frozen in time  i.e. would upgrade further) I read a number of hacks on the web but came to the conclusion that nothing short of buying a new (or suspect) licence would sort it - or perhaps a long, begging phone call to MS support.

In short, I couldn't be bothered with it, so wiped it and installed linux.

Having a Windows PC does have some uses and (like @Polar Bear) I found Win10 to be, achem, quite good really. So to have it back, without cost, does interest me. The Win10 install was registered with MS  and I have a profile ID (or whatever) so do you reckon I've got some path back to an officially supported install?

Re: Genuine free upgrade to Windows 10 still available
« Reply #9 on: 03 April, 2019, 02:04:28 pm »
My understanding is that you need to contact Microsoft and explain that you had to replace the mainboard.  They should then allow you to reinstall Windows 10.

madamemugwump

Re: Genuine free upgrade to Windows 10 still available
« Reply #10 on: 03 April, 2019, 03:04:22 pm »
My understanding is that you need to contact Microsoft and explain that you had to replace the mainboard.  They should then allow you to reinstall Windows 10.

Cheers, that's what I read somewhere too. I just couldn't be bothered with the hassle as it didn't matter that much to me.

Re: Genuine free upgrade to Windows 10 still available
« Reply #11 on: 03 April, 2019, 03:10:04 pm »
I think that it is worth doing as you keep your genuine Windows licence with no extra expenditure.

Re: Genuine free upgrade to Windows 10 still available
« Reply #12 on: 03 April, 2019, 03:11:47 pm »
Do you need to input a licence key? I ask, as half of my licence sticker is missing, so I'm unable to enter one if needed
Haggerty F, Haggerty R, Tomkins, Noble, Carrick, Robson, Crapper, Dewhurst, Macintyre, Treadmore, Davitt.

Re: Genuine free upgrade to Windows 10 still available
« Reply #13 on: 03 April, 2019, 04:43:55 pm »
Sometimes.

There are ways to retrieve your key from the pc depending upon age and Windows version installed

How to retrieve Windows product key


Re: Genuine free upgrade to Windows 10 still available
« Reply #14 on: 03 April, 2019, 07:10:05 pm »
Ooh, ta PB :)
Haggerty F, Haggerty R, Tomkins, Noble, Carrick, Robson, Crapper, Dewhurst, Macintyre, Treadmore, Davitt.

Re: Genuine free upgrade to Windows 10 still available
« Reply #15 on: 04 April, 2019, 11:59:15 am »
Continuing to test the process with positive results:

My latest upgrade began yesterday evening.  My eldest son presented a bricked Sony Vaio from about 2012.  The hard disk was shot and it seemed to be running on only half of the ram (2gb instead of 4).  It had a genuine install of Windows 7 from the factory.

I adopted a slightly different approach this time based upon perceived need.  The Sony website is laden full of support but it is slightly difficult to work out which drivers I would need.  On this basis I cunningly thought, why not install Win 10 direct and let it do the drivers malarky.  Windows 10 is reputed to be very slick at getting and installing the latest drivers automatically.

I made an iso on a usb of Windows 10 from the link above, slotted a Crucial 240gb ssd into the laptop in place of the knackered Seagate drive, clipped 4gb of compatible ddr3 ram into the machine and fired it up with the usb drive in one of the usb ports.

The install went smoothly (I always select the option that says I do not have the product key at this time) and within 30 minutes the machine was fully functioning with a full complement of compatible drivers installed.  Windows 10 is indeed very slick now at finding and installing the latest compatible drivers.

This morning I activated Windows 10 using the Win 7 product key from the label on the underside of the machine.  Activation was successful.

That is three machines now and I have a fourth lined up.  I am aware of at least thirty machines that have been upgraded now, all successfully.  I don't know how long this will remain possible but if you are looking to do this before January 2020 I would recommend sooner rather than later. 

If you are upgrading a working machine I would also recommend buying an SSD, cloning your existing hard drive after doing a good clean up, then upgrading using the cloned ssd.  If all goes Pete Tong you have a working system drive to restore to.

TTFN