Here's how
to upgrade Windows 7 to Windows 10 via Windows Update
If you have
a spare Windows 7 PC sitting around, why not put it to use to see what's in
store for the future of Windows? Using Windows Update to upgrade to Windows 10
is much easier than doing a clean install and allows you to keep your settings,
personal files, and most apps. It is worth noting that you can do this with
Windows 8.1 too – just don't do it on your primary machine as Windows 10 is
still in the technical preview, or beta stage, and it will be buggy. Here's a
look at the steps involved.
Before
starting, it's a good idea to run the Windows Upgrade Assistant, which will
check to make sure your computer has adequate hardware to run it, and to show
which of your currently installed programs will be compatible with Windows 10.
If your computer can handle 8.1, it should have no problem running Windows 10.
The most important thing here is to learn which apps will or won't run.
While this
will be your test computer, make sure to back up any valuable data on it that
you might want later, because once the upgrade starts, it can't be undone, and
there's no guarantee something won't go awry.
Updating
Windows 7 to Windows 10 tech preview
Before you
can get the Windows 10 upgrade, you'll need to sign up as a Windows Insider,
which is free and easy to do. For more details on that, read our article on how
to install Windows 10 tech preview. After you are all set up as an Insider,
head to this page to start the upgrade.
That will
download a small executable file for you to install. This will tell Windows
Update to search for the appropriate tech preview update, i.e, the 64- or
32-bit version.
A restart of
your PC is required, and when it comes back and you log in, you'll see Windows
Update is already running.
You'll then
be presented with the following update that allows you to start the upgrade to
the Windows 10 tech preview.
After the
technical preview update is downloaded, you'll be greeted with the following
screen where you can decide to continue with the update, or stop the upgrade
all together.
The amount
of time it takes to complete the upgrade will vary, and could take an hour or
longer. During the upgrade process your computer will restart several times.
After you've
completed the set up process and signed in to your Microsoft account, the
install will be complete. You'll see the new desktop and can start
familiarizing yourself with new Windows 10 features. You should still have all
of the compatible programs and files that were on Windows 7.
Just like
any version of Windows, after the upgrade has completed, you'll want to check
for updates, and there will definitely be a few to download.
Summing Up
Microsoft
will be using Windows Update when it releases the final version of Windows 10
for Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 users. There won't be a physical disc to buy at a
retail store, but we can safely assume there will be downloadable ISO files
available for download if you want to do a clean install.
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