Windows 10: Upgrade to Windows 10

How to: Upgrade to Windows 10

How to Upgrade to Windows 10


This tutorial will show you step by step on how to do an upgrade to Windows 10 from Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, or Windows 10.

Windows 10 System Requirements

See also: Minimum hardware requirements - Windows 10 hardware dev

• OS: Windows 7 or Windows 8.1
• Processor: 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster
• RAM: 2 gigabyte (GB)
• Hard disk space: 32 GB
• Graphics card: Microsoft DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM driver
• Display: 800x600 screen resolution
• Internet access to activate

What you keep when you upgrade

If youre running Windows 7 SP1 or Windows 8.1 Update, in most cases, youll be able to keep your Windows settings, personal files, and most apps when you upgrade to Windows 10. During the upgrade, setup will let you know if theres anything thatll be removedbut its always a good idea to back up your files before you start upgrading.

This table shows what you can keep when you upgrade from your current version of Windows. Keep in mind that no matter which operating system youre upgrading from, you should play it safe and back up everything.

See also: Windows 10 FAQ Tips - Microsoft

Important notes

• The upgradeability of a device has factors beyond the system specification. This includes driver and firmware support, application compatibility, and feature support, regardless of whether or not the device meets the minimum system specification for Windows 10.
• If your PC or tablet is currently running Windows 7 SP1 or Windows 8.1 Update, you can check to see if it meets the requirements by using ‘Check my PC’ in the Get Windows 10 app.
• Applications, files and settings will migrate as part of the upgrade, however some applications or settings may not migrate.
  • For Anti-virus and Anti-malware applications, during upgrade Windows will check to see if your Anti-virus or Anti-malware subscription is current. Windows will uninstall your application while preserving your settings. After upgrade is complete, Windows will install the latest version available with the settings that were set prior to upgrade. If your subscription is not current, upgrade will enable Windows defender.
  • Some applications that came from your OEM may be removed prior to upgrade.
  • For certain third party applications, the “Get Windows 10” app will scan for application compatibility. If there is a known issue that will prevent the upgrade, you will be notified of the list of applications with known issues. You can choose to accept and the applications will be removed from the system prior to upgrade. Please be sure to copy the list before you accept the removal of the application.

Feature deprecation

• If you have Windows 7 Home Premium, Windows 7 Professional, Windows 7 Ultimate, Windows 8 Pro with Media Center, or Windows 8.1 Pro with Media Center and you install Windows 10, Windows Media Center will be removed. For a limited time (the "eligible period"), on systems upgraded to Windows 10 from one of these older versions of Windows (a "qualified system"), a DVD playback app ("Windows DVD Player") will be installed. Note: the Windows DVD Player may not be installed immediately; it will be installed after the first successful Windows Update. The Windows DVD Player will be available for purchase from the Window Store for systems that (i) are qualified systems but the eligible period lapsed; (ii) are non-qualified systems; or (iii) were qualified systems but Windows 10 was subsequently clean installed (in this case, Windows Update cannot detect that it was previously a qualified system).
• Windows Journal will be removed when the Windows 10 Anniversary Update (Windows 10, version 1607) is installed. After Windows Journal is removed, you will no longer be able to open or edit Journal files (with .JNT or .JTP extensions). In place of Windows Journal, we encourage you to switch to OneNote. If you need to open or edit your journal files, more information is available here.
• Windows Media Digital Rights Management (WMDRM) will no longer be supported after Windows 10 Anniversary Update (Windows 10, version 1607) is installed. After installing this update, you will no longer be able to play music or video files that were protected by this rights management technology.
• MDM functionality will not be available in Windows 10 Home edition when Windows 10 is released.
• Windows 7 desktop gadgets will be removed as part of installing Windows 10.
• Solitaire, Minesweeper, and Hearts Games that come pre-installed on Windows 7 will be removed as part of installing the Windows 10 upgrade. Microsoft has released our version of Solitaire and Minesweeper called the "Microsoft Solitaire Collection" and "Microsoft Minesweeper."
• If you have a floppy drive, you will need to download the latest driver from Windows Update or from the manufacturer’s website.
• If you have Windows Live Essentials installed on your system, the OneDrive application is removed and replaced with the inbox version of OneDrive.
• OneDrive does not support placeholder files in Windows 10. Windows 8.1 displayed placeholders for files available in OneDrive but not locally on the device. In Windows 10, users can choose which folders to sync from OneDrive settings.
• Snap is limited to 2 apps in Tablet Mode.
• Homegroup: This feature may continue to function on machines with the Creators Update installed; however, Homegroup will sunset in the release that follows.

Additional requirements to use certain features

• Cortana is only currently available on Windows 10 for the United States, United Kingdom, China, France, Italy, Germany, Brazil, Mexico, Japan, Canada, Spain, Australia and India.
• Speech recognition will vary by device microphone. For better speech experience you will need a:
  • High fidelity microphone array
  • Hardware driver with Microphone array geometry exposed
• Windows Hello requires specialized illuminated infrared camera for facial recognition or iris detection or a finger print reader which supports the Window Biometric Framework. Windows Hello with an Intel RealSense (F200) camera requires a software update to work on Windows 8.1 devices after upgrading to Windows 10. This update is expected to be available soon.
• Continuum is available on all Windows 10 editions by manually turning “tablet mode” on and off through the Action Center. Tablets and 2-in-1’s with GPIO indicators or those that have a laptop and slate indicator will be able to be configured to enter “tablet mode” automatically.
• Music and Video stream through the Xbox Music or Xbox video app available in certain regions. For the most up to date list of regions, please go to Xbox on Windows website.
• Xbox app requires an Xbox Live account, which is not available in all regions. For the most up-to-date list of regions, please go to Xbox Live Countries and Regions website.
• Two factor authentication requires the use of a PIN, Biometric (finger print reader or illuminated infrared camera), or a phone with Wi-Fi or Bluetooth capabilities.
• The number of applications that can be snapped will depend upon the minimum resolution for the application.
• To use touch, you need a tablet or a monitor that supports multi-touch.
• Microsoft account required for some features.
• Secure boot requires firmware that supports UEFI v2.3.1 Errata B and has the Microsoft Windows Certification Authority in the UEFI signature database.
• Some IT administrators may enable Secure Logon (Ctrl + Alt + Del) before bringing you to the log in screen. On tablets without a keyboard, a tablet with the Windows button maybe required as the key combination on a tablet is Windows button + Power button.
• Some games and programs might require a graphics card compatible with DirectX 10 or higher for optimal performance.
• BitLocker To Go requires a USB flash drive (Windows 10 Pro only).
• BitLocker requires either Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 1.2, TPM 2.0 or a USB flash drive (Windows 10 Pro and Windows 10 Enterprise only).
• Client Hyper-V requires a 64-bit system with second level address translation (SLAT) capabilities and additional 2 GB of RAM (Windows 10 Pro and Windows 10 Enterprise only).
• Miracast requires a display adapter which supports Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM) 1.3, and a Wi-Fi adapter that supports Wi-Fi Direct.
• Wi-Fi Direct Printing requires a Wi-Fi adapter that supports Wi-Fi Direct and a device that supports Wi-Fi Direct Printing.
• To install a 64-bit OS on a 64-bit PC, your processor needs to support CMPXCHG16b, PrefetchW, and LAHF/SAHF.
• InstantGo works only with computers designed for Connected Standby.
• Device encryption requires a PC with InstantGo and TPM 2.0.
• Skype available only in select countries and regions. Calling to select countries and regions only.

Windows 10 Upgrade Paths

You can upgrade to Windows 10 from Windows 7 or a later operating system. This includes upgrading from one release of Windows 10 to later release of Windows 10. Migrating from one edition of Windows 10 to a different edition of the same release is also supported.

✔ = Full upgrade is supported including personal data, settings, and applications.
D = Edition downgrade; personal data is maintained, applications and settings are removed.

[table][tr][td][/td] [td][/td] [td]Windows 10 Home[/td] [td]Windows 10 Pro[/td] [td]Windows 10 Pro for Education[/td] [td]Windows 10 Education[/td] [td]Windows 10 Enterprise[/td] [/tr] [tr][td]Windows 7[/td] [td]Starter[/td] [td]✔[/td] [td]✔[/td] [td]✔[/td] [td]✔[/td] [td][/td] [/tr] [tr][td][/td] [td]Home Basic[/td] [td]✔[/td] [td]✔[/td] [td]✔[/td] [td]✔[/td] [td][/td] [/tr] [tr][td][/td] [td]Home Premium[/td] [td]✔[/td] [td]✔[/td] [td]✔[/td] [td]✔[/td] [td][/td] [/tr] [tr][td][/td] [td]Professional[/td] [td]D[/td] [td]✔[/td] [td]✔[/td] [td]✔[/td] [td]✔[/td] [/tr] [tr][td][/td] [td]Ultimate[/td] [td]D[/td] [td]✔[/td] [td]✔[/td] [td]✔[/td] [td]✔[/td] [/tr] [tr][td][/td] [td]Enterprise[/td] [td][/td] [td][/td] [td][/td] [td]✔[/td] [td]✔[/td] [/tr] [tr][td]Windows 8[/td] [td](Core)[/td] [td]✔[/td] [td]✔[/td] [td]✔[/td] [td]✔[/td] [td][/td] [/tr] [tr][td][/td] [td]Professional[/td] [td]D[/td] [td]✔[/td] [td]✔[/td] [td]✔[/td] [td]✔[/td] [/tr] [tr][td][/td] [td]Professional WMC[/td] [td]D[/td] [td]✔[/td] [td]✔[/td] [td]✔[/td] [td]✔[/td] [/tr] [tr][td][/td] [td]Enterprise[/td] [td][/td] [td][/td] [td][/td] [td]✔[/td] [td]✔[/td] [/tr] [tr][td][/td] [td]Embedded Industry[/td] [td][/td] [td][/td] [td][/td] [td][/td] [td]✔[/td] [/tr] [tr][td][/td] [td]Windows RT[/td] [td][/td] [td][/td] [td][/td] [td][/td] [td][/td] [/tr] [tr][td][/td] [td]Windows Phone 8[/td] [td][/td] [td][/td] [td][/td] [td][/td] [td][/td] [/tr] [tr][td]Windows 8.1[/td] [td](Core)[/td] [td]✔[/td] [td]✔[/td] [td]✔[/td] [td]✔[/td] [td][/td] [/tr] [tr][td][/td] [td]Connected[/td] [td]✔[/td] [td]✔[/td] [td]✔[/td] [td]✔[/td] [td][/td] [/tr] [tr][td][/td] [td]Professional[/td] [td]D[/td] [td]✔[/td] [td]✔[/td] [td]✔[/td] [td]✔[/td] [/tr] [tr][td][/td] [td]Professional Student[/td] [td]D[/td] [td]✔[/td] [td]✔[/td] [td]✔[/td] [td]✔[/td] [/tr] [tr][td][/td] [td]Professional WMC[/td] [td]D[/td] [td]✔[/td] [td]✔[/td] [td]✔[/td] [td]✔[/td] [/tr] [tr][td][/td] [td]Enterprise[/td] [td][/td] [td][/td] [td][/td] [td]✔[/td] [td]✔[/td] [/tr] [tr][td][/td] [td]Embedded Industry[/td] [td][/td] [td][/td] [td][/td] [td][/td] [td]✔[/td] [/tr] [tr][td][/td] [td]Windows RT[/td] [td][/td] [td][/td] [td][/td] [td][/td] [td][/td] [/tr] [tr][td][/td] [td]Windows Phone 8.1[/td] [td][/td] [td][/td] [td][/td] [td][/td] [td][/td] [/tr] [tr][td]Windows 10[/td] [td]Home[/td] [td]✔[/td] [td]✔[/td] [td]✔[/td] [td]✔[/td] [td][/td] [/tr] [tr][td][/td] [td]Professional[/td] [td]D[/td] [td]✔[/td] [td]✔[/td] [td]✔[/td] [td]✔[/td] [/tr] [tr][td][/td] [td]Education[/td] [td][/td] [td][/td] [td][/td] [td]✔[/td] [td]D[/td] [/tr] [tr][td][/td] [td]Enterprise[/td] [td][/td] [td][/td] [td][/td] [td]✔[/td] [td]✔[/td] [/tr] [tr][td][/td] [td]Mobile[/td] [td][/td] [td][/td] [td][/td] [td][/td] [td][/td] [/tr] [tr][td][/td] [td]Mobile Enterprise[/td] [td][/td] [td][/td] [td][/td] [td][/td] [td][/td] [/tr] [/table]

*tip The table at the Microsoft site below lists the most common upgrade and installation errors, and a few things you can try to fix the problems.

Get help with Windows 10 upgrade and installation errors - Windows Support

Resolve Windows 10 upgrade errors

The Windows 10 upgrade process: An explanation of phases used during the upgrade process.

Quick fixes: Steps you can take to eliminate many Windows upgrade errors.

Upgrade error codes: The components of an error code are explained.

• Result codes: Information about result codes.
• Extend codes: Information about extend codes.

Log files: A list and description of log files useful for troubleshooting.

• Log entry structure: The format of a log entry is described.
• Analyze log files: General procedures for log file analysis, and an example.

Resolution procedures: Causes and mitigation procedures associated with specific error codes.

• 0xC1900101: Information about the 0xC1900101 result code.
• 0x800xxxxx: Information about result codes that start with 0x800.
• Other result codes: Additional causes and mitigation procedures are provided for some result codes.
• Other error codes: Additional causes and mitigation procedures are provided for some error codes.

*Warning Before you get started installing Windows 10, be sure that you UEFI firmware settings. Some motherboards do not support booting from a USB flash drive with these enabled.

Once installation has finished, you can enable Secure Boot and Fast Boot again if you like.

Video by: simrick





Here's How:

1. If you have not already, you will need to disable or uninstall any 3rd party AV or security program you have installed first to prevent it from interfering with the upgrade to Windows 10. You can enable or reinstall it again after Windows 10 has finished installing.

2. Temporarily disconnect all non OS hard drives until Windows installation has finished. This is to avoid Windows Setup from installing files on other hard drives by mistake.

3. Do the step below depending on how you want to upgrade to Windows 10.

• step 4: To Upgrade to Windows 10 using Media Creation Tool
• step 5: To Upgrade to Windows 10 with an ISO file
• step 6: To Upgrade to Windows 10 with USB Installation Media

4. To Upgrade to Windows 10 using Media Creation Tool
A) Click/tap on the Download button below to go to Microsoft, and click/tap on the Download tool now button at Microsoft's site. (see screenshots below)
*Arrow Download




B) Save the MediaCreationTool1903.exe file (version 10.0.18362.1) to your desktop, and run it.



C) If prompted by UAC, click/tap on Yes.

D) Click on Accept for the EULA. (see screenshot below)



E) Select (dot) Upgrade this PC now, and click/tap on Next. (see screenshot below)



F) Windows 10 will now begin to download, verify, and create Windows 10 media. (see screenshot below)



G) When it has finished, go to step 9 below.

5. To Upgrade to Windows 10 with an ISO file
A) If you have not already, you will need to download a Windows 10 ISO file.

B) In Windows 8, 8.1, or 10, step 7 below.

C) In Windows 7, you will need to step 7 below.

6. To Upgrade to Windows 10 with USB Installation Media
A) Open the step 7 below.
7. Run the setup.exe file to start Windows 10 Setup. (see screenshot below)

*tip Windows Setup Command-Line Options

*tip Windows 10 Setup Command Line Switches


8. If prompted by UAC, click/tap on Yes. (see screenshot below)



9. Windows 10 Setup will now start preparing. (see screenshot below)



10. Click/tap on the Change how Windows Setup downloads updates link. (see screenshot below)

*note If you used step 4 with the Media Creation Tool, then you will see step 13 below next instead.



11. Select (dot) Not right now, and click/tap on Next. (see screenshot below)



12. Windows 10 Setup will now start getting things ready. (see screenshots below)



13. Click/tap on Accept for the license terms. (see screenshot below)



14. Windows 10 Setup will now check for and install any available updates. (see screenshot below)



15. Windows 10 Setup will now check compatibility to make sure you're ready to install. (see screenshots below)

*note If anything is found that needs your attention, you can click/tap on Confirm to accept and continue.









16. When ready, click/tap on Install to start upgrading to Windows 10. (see screenshot below)




*note If you would like to change what you keep in the upgrade, then click/tap on the Change what to keep link, choose what to keep, click/tap on Next, and go to step 15 above.

If wanted, you can close the Windows 10 Setup window at this point to safely cancel the upgrade before it starts.




17. Windows 10 Setup will now start upgrading Windows. (see screenshots below)

*note This will take a while to finish.



18. When ready, click/tap on Next. (see screenshot below)



19. Turn on or off the privacy settings you want, and click/tap on Accept when finished. (see screenshots below)

*note You will be able to change all of these privacy settings at anytime in Windows 10.

• How to Turn On or Off Location Service in Windows 10
• How to Change Diagnostic and Usage Data Settings in Windows 10
• How to Turn On or Off Tailored experiences with diagnostic data in Windows 10
• How to Enable or Disable Let Apps use Advertising ID for Relevant Ads in Windows 10

20. Click/tap on Now now or Use Cortana for depending on if you want to use Cortana with your account in Windows 10. (see screenshot below)

*note You will be able to turn Cortana on or off at anytime in Windows 10.



21. Click/tap on Next. (see screenshot below)

*note You will always be able to choose your default apps in Windows at anytime.



22. You can now sign in to Windows 10. (see screenshots below)



23. When each user signs in for the first time, they will see the first sign-in animation below before reaching their desktop.



24. Make sure that you have the correct time set.

25. If you like, you could use Disk Cleanup to delete the Windows upgrade log files, Previous Windows installation(s), and Temporary Windows installation files items to free up the large amount of space that they take on your hard drive. (see screenshots below)

*Warning This step will delete the C:\$Windows.~BT and C:\Windows.old folders.

If you delete these folders, you will no longer be able to go back to the previous version of Windows.




That's it,
Shawn


Related Tutorials

• How to Upgrade to Windows 10 from Windows 7 for Free
• How to View Windows Upgrade History in Windows 10
• How to Upgrade Windows 10 Home to Windows 10 Pro
• How to Upgrade Windows 10 Home to Windows 10 Pro for Workstations
• How to Upgrade Windows 10 Pro to Windows 10 Pro for Workstations
• How to Upgrade from Windows 10 Pro to Windows 10 Enterprise
• How to Do a Repair Install of Windows 10 with an In-place Upgrade
• How to Create a Bootable USB Flash Drive to Install Windows 10
• How to Clean Install Windows 10
• How to Directly Clean Install Windows 10 without having to Upgrade First
• How to Dual Boot Windows 10 with Windows 7 or Windows 8
• How to Reinstall Windows 10 with this media
• How to Go Back to Previous Version of Windows in Windows 10
• How to Install Windows 10 as Virtual Machine in VirtualBox
• How to Install Windows 10 as Virtual Machine in VMware Player
• Enable or Disable Upgrade to Windows 10 in Windows Update for Windows 7 and 8.1
• How to Update to Latest Version of Windows 10 using Windows 10 Update Assistant
• How to Switch to Windows 10 Pro from Windows 10 S

:)

 

Windows10 upgrade

 

Missing Operating System after Windows 10 download

Is there anywhere to download replacement OS for Windows 7 Home Premium? Mine crashed on Windows 10 upgrade.

 

Gav what's up *Biggrin
I did it already lol so it's too late for me but I believe scrub and reload would be all it takes,
Although there is a folder that should of been windows old it's actually prior update which is just over 8 gig's which is I suppose win-8.1
Recovering that would be my question which might be your question too *Wink
Cheers.

 

It wouldn't. You will still be able to use your retail Windows 8 Pro product key to activate a Windows 8 Pro installation. *Smile

 

Hello.
I have a Danish windows 8.1, and I just upgraded to Windows 10 build 9926, choosing to keep my apps, my personal files and my PC-settings. After what you write in top of this guide, it should not be a succes, but it is!! All my settings, all my apps and all my personal files "survived" the upgrade to Windows 10. The install told me, that if I want to downgrade again, I must install my own language (Danish) again when Windows 8.1 is up and running, but that was all.
Other than that, I found your guide to be very good, and I will now start to see after other tips and tricks.

 

Hello Burgurne,

That's great news. What did you use for the installation media? It may have been an updated version that allowed it.

 

I have downloaded the .iso here:
Download Windows 10 Technical Preview ISO - Microsoft Windows

It was a success after they made the review available in 10 language (but not Danish), so it might have been the difference since earlier builds.

One problem though (I'm not sure this has anything to do with the language, but maybe ... ??). My other computers can connect in my LAN (filesharing) and in Homegroup, but the Windows 10 PC can't connect to other PC's. I can see the other PC's, and I can see the shared drives and folders, but when I try to connect them I get this error:
\\FOTO-PC is not accessible. You might not have permission to use this network resource. Contact the administrator of this server to find out if you have access permissions. The account is not authorized to log in from this station.

I can't seem to find the setting in Windows 10 that will "authorize" me to log in to PC's that has not changed since I ran win8.1 on this PC. Could this be a language problem, you think? If not, then I will continue to look for this error in the tenforum *Smile

 

Hopefully, that's a good sign about the language.

I would recommend to post the network issue in the network forum area to get the best help with it. Our network experts won't see it here.

 

Hi Shawn,

Over on this thread, there's a link to an article mentioning problems upgrading computers which come with WIMBoot to 10 Preview:
https://gigaom.com/2015/01/26/got-a-...e-some-effort/.

As I understand it, WIMBoot is used to save space on recent computers (probably running Windows 8.1) which have small drives, typically 32GB.

Assuming the article is correct, is it worth mentioning in the Notes? Is there a way around it?

Hope this helps...

PS Is the expiry date still 15 April 2015? I thought it had been extended?

 

I'm afraid that I haven't played around with WIMBoot enough to say one way or the other. *Sad

Yep, the expiration date for buld 9926 is October 1st 2015.

 

Thanks - the April date is still mentioned in the Tutorial itself.

 

Here is an article that covers WIMBoot.
Downloading Windows 10 build 9926? Get KB 3034229 ASAP

 

Thanks for this tutorial. I will use it tomorrow when I install 9926 x64 on my gaming rig. I just purchased a 500gb Samsung 850 Evo to replace my 128gb Crucial M4. I am hoping that my pc will boot faster when I am done. I built this pc about 3.5 years ago and it takes about 60-90 seconds to boot to the desktop. I think I am using legacy boot mode so I'm planning on changing to UEFI. Do you know if I need to install Intel Rapid Storage or is that only for people that are booting to a hdd? Is there anything else I need to know? Thanks.

 

Hello aqxea, and welcome to Ten Forums.

If you currently are using legacy BIOS and are going to switch to UEFI, then you'll need to do a clean install instead of an upgrade. *Sad

https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/1...n-install.html