Windows 10: Free upgrade question

Hi, I have been reading the free upgrade FAQ on here and stuff on other sites but still unsure about one point.
Once my PC has downloaded the files for doing the free upgrade do I have to perform the upgrade within the first year since Win 10 launch or can I do it at a later date.
I suppose I will have to do it sometime but from what I have seen on friends PC's I don't see any great improvements over Win 8.1 and there are a couple of things I really don't like, cortana for one.

:)

 

Free Upgrade Question

 

Free Upgrade Question

In order to qualify as a Free Update I'm to assume its going to write over the existing copy of whatever windows variation I have. From there would it be possible to install 8.1 on another partition / hdd and dual boot the system ? Feels like I just bought
the dam thing, or is X aka 10 going to negatively tweak the MBR once again.

Concerned. ______

 

You have to upgrade in first year. You can revert to old os and reinstall 10 at any time thereafter.

Good idea to make image backup of current install.

 

Just to clarify - the free upgrade is only for one year from the day it was released by Microsoft which was July 29. 2015 - not one year from when you download it.

 

Thanks for clarifying that.
I assume there is no point in downloading the upgrade yet then as they keep updating it.

 

MS, quite a while ago, said that Win10 was going to be a perpetual "beta". So, if you're waiting for it to stop changing, then you're never going to upgrade to it.

You're best option is to make an image backup of your current install (recommend using Macrium Reflect) and do the upgrade now.

 

I was aware of the continual updating of Win 10 which is why I thought it would be better to leave downloading a copy as long as possible.
I don't mind reinstalling the OS to freshen things up a bit.

 

Once you've installed and activate Win 10, you can revert to your old OS as previously mentioned or leave it at Win 10.
You can get the latest ISO files as they are release so if you ever reinstall Win 10 you will have the latest version.