Updating vista to 10. Ways to obtain a license for free. Online update

The few users of the Vista operating system, which was the first to demonstrate to the world the still used Aero interface, so named because of the presence of the transparency effect of windows and their elements, have encountered an expected problem. The developers of Windows 10 did not provide the ability to update XP and Vista to “ten”. To switch to a new operating system, it is recommended to download the installation image from the Microsoft website and perform a clean installation of the OS. But in this way you will have to buy a license key or use a non-activated Windows version 10, which will remind you of this, periodically offer to purchase a key and will not allow you to change most parameters appearance Metro interface.

For those who don’t remember or don’t know, you can only upgrade to Windows 10 using Windows 7 with the package latest updates SP1 or having on your Windows device 8.1. Knowing that Microsoft provides the opportunity to upgrade from Vista to 7, we can conclude that theoretically you can switch from Vista to 10 using Windows 7 as an intermediate option.

Switching from Vista to "seven"

• Checking if your computer complies system requirements, which Microsoft presents to the “seven”.

In principle, they have not changed since the release of Vista. The PC must be equipped with 1 GB of RAM to install 32-bit or twice as much RAM to install 64-bit Windows 7. A video card with DX9 support, a processor of the appropriate bit rate with a frequency of 1000 MHz and the presence of 16 (for x86) or 20 GB ( for x64) places to store operating system files and temporary files.

Just in case, create copies of important documents that are stored on the system partition, although the developers assure that all of them will remain untouched.

• We go to the Windows developer website and download an application called the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor.
• We launch the utility, accept the license agreement and install it.

• Call the advisor and click “Start scan” so that the program checks your computer for compatibility with the “seven”.

An Internet connection is required for the application to work.

As a result of the check, the advisor will display detailed data about a possible update and offer the optimal Windows edition 7, and will also indicate possible problems(for example, in our case, due to a weak video card installed on the computer, Windows environment 7 Aero effects will not be available).

• We boot from the installation flash drive with the “seven” distribution kit, which will be installed during the update process, and click “Install”.

• We postpone downloading the latest updates and select the “Update” option.

The installer will check Vista's compatibility with the future OS and display information about the affected applications.

• Click “Next”.

Here the classic installation of Windows 7 will begin, saving all the information located on the system volume.

• After the process is completed and Windows launch 7 go to the Update Center using the control panel.
• Click on the “Search for updates” link, which is located on the left side of the window.

• After the scan is completed, click “Install updates” in order to acquire the first and only package of upgrades for the “Seven”.

This is one of the conditions for further updating to Windows 10.

Updating Windows 7 to "ten"

Windows 10 is available to download from the Microsoft website completely free of charge. The only limitation of a non-activated “ten” that users will immediately notice is the inability to personalize the appearance of the new OS.

But this drawback can easily be overcome by turning off the Internet while adjusting the appearance of the windows.

Regardless of whether you had activated or unlicensed Vista, like the “seven,” the Media tool will help you switch from the latter to Windows 10 Creation Tool, which can be downloaded from the window OS developers website.

• Download the utility of the appropriate capacity from the official page of its developer.
• We launch the program and select the “Update this PC now” option.

• Select the language of the updated system, its available edition, architecture and click “Next”.

• Select the “USB device” option to install Windows 10 from a flash drive.

• Select the target flash drive if there are several of them connected.

All information from the drive will naturally be deleted, so take care to create a copy of the necessary data.

The end of downloading files and writing them to the flash drive will be marked by the appearance of a window asking you to read the license agreement and accept it.

• Click “Accept”.

• We choose an acceptable option (the first or second is recommended).

• If the settings are set correctly, click “Install”.

If you want to know how to make the transition to Windows 10, then we can only congratulate you - here you will find the answer to your question, as well as detailed instructions... So, before we begin the story, I would like to note that installing a completely legal “ten” after July 29, 2016 (when Microsoft stopped distributing it for free) is quite difficult. Numerous lamentations have already appeared on the Internet: “I can’t upgrade to Win 10 for free, what should I do??” Of course, you won’t be able to if you use outdated methods. But read our website and understand that not all is lost.

How to switch to official Windows 10 now

So is it still possible to upgrade to Windows 10 for free? After all, they no longer receive messages “update me, I’m all yours” ten times a day; even on the official website it’s no longer possible to download for free, and licenses for ten are being sold with all their might. Yes, everything stated above is true, but Microsoft left the last loophole. It’s still working, so let’s use it until it’s closed:

1. Conditions for switching to Windows 10: you must have a licensed OS 7, 8 or 8.1
2. You need to go to one of the pages of the official Microsoft website. There are ten offered for people with disabilities. It has special features such as virtual keyboard or a magnifying glass (you don’t have to turn it on). Otherwise, Vinda is completely ordinary;
3. Click “Update now” - it will download to your computer installation file(look on your desktop);
4. Click on the file - it starts - follow the instructions.
5. After the reboot, we get a new ten for use.

How could you move to ten earlier?

Method number 1: update

So, if you needed to know how to completely switch to Windows 10 from a licensed “seven” or “eight”, then the answer was quite simple:

• check if you have automatic updates enabled and, if so, just wait;
• sooner or later, a prompt to update would appear on your screen, after which you would need to download a couple of gigabytes of files (all this would happen without your intervention);
• then simply press the “Next” button until the new OS greets you from the PC screen.

To check the update service, you had to do the following:

Step #1

Open Start – Control Panel.

Step #2

Double-click on the "Update Center" icon.

Step #3

Open the “Settings” section on the left side of the window.

Step #4

Switch installation mode by selecting “Install updates automatically.”

Step #5

Click OK.

Method number 2: insider

The second answer to the question of how it was possible to make the transition from Windows XP, Vista, 7 or 8 to Windows 10 for free, was suitable for those who at one time spared money for a license. IN in this case you needed an account Microsoft entry, which had access to insider information Microsoft program. Then all that was left was to download one of the insider builds (fortunately, they are still lying around on torrents), and then wait until it is updated to the latest build.

However, it is worth considering that in the second case you will act as a test subject, since you will receive all the new features and updates before other users. There are both pros and cons to this; for example, you may well end up with “crude” software that has several errors. However, they are corrected quite quickly...

That's all. Now you can tell your friends how to enable Windows 10 migration.

There is an opinion that today it is no longer possible to upgrade to Windows 10 Windows Vista for free. You will either need to buy a full-fledged distribution kit with Ten, or pay extra to Microsoft for the opportunity to update. However, in practice, a free update is still available. Some believe that the announcement of a time-limited free update was actually a Microsoft advertising ploy. Others believe that this opportunity will soon be closed.

Online update

The most commonly used option, which Microsoft itself offers as the main one. In fact, Vista itself will remind the user of the need to update. You can refuse the offer, or you can agree. In this case, the OS itself will download all the files it needs and install them. This process, I must say, is very slow, so it will take quite a lot of time. But the user will not be required to perform any actions, so you can leave the update overnight - and wake up in the morning with a completely updated operating system.

Can also help standard tools updates - through the Toolbar, go to the Update Center and allow downloading of the necessary files.

Update from disk

You can upgrade Vista to Windows 10 from the system disk with Ten. In this case, the procedure will be as follows.

When Vista is running, it is inserted system disk and select “Upgrade Vista to Windows 10” from the menu. In this case, it is recommended, of course, to make a backup of all your most important files in case something goes wrong. Although it is assumed that when updating all documents remain in their places, in practice anything can happen...

You can get a copy of the Ten, for example, from the official Microsoft website. Or you can buy a disk with this OS, or download it from some third-party resource.

Update utility

Instead of a disk, you can also simply download a utility to update the system bit size you need. In this case, after launch, the utility will ask whether you need to install updates on the current machine, or whether you should create a separate disk to update another computer.

Next, you will need to select the desired system language, and then indicate which flash drive should be used to download all necessary files. Of course, all information from the flash drive will be deleted.

When all files are downloaded, the system will ask you to agree to the terms of the License. You will also be prompted to save documents and configuration files. It is recommended to update and save them.

Then all that remains is to observe how the installation progresses as a percentage. Once it reaches 100%, the computer will reboot with the new operating system.

You can upgrade, but is it worth it?

If for some reason you still have Windows XP or Vista installed, and the system and hardware parameters of the computer correspond to at least the minimum for working in Ten, then yes, it is better to upgrade. Still new Windows It is much better protected than older versions, plus, all kinds of security updates are constantly being released for it, which no longer happens in the case of Vista, and even more so, with Windows XP.

It is possible that in the near future it will indeed be impossible to upgrade Vista to Windows 10 for free. So everyone who wants to switch to the new Ten should hurry up to do so.

The promotion to upgrade Windows 7 and 8.1 to Windows 10 for all users ended at the end of summer 2016. Despite the fact that the free transfer promotion expired a long time ago, many other methods worked for a long time - from changing the time in the system, to Windows activation 10 existing keys of previous versions of the seventh or eighth generations.

But due to the fact that in January 2018 Microsoft representatives announced the official closure of any update opportunities, it seems that you can get it for free licensed Windows 10 is no longer possible. But as practice shows, many options that worked previously are still active. Let's look at the most convenient and effective of them.

At the moment, three methods of free update are working: using the assistant utility Windows Upgrade Assistant, system activation with a key from previous versions, and clean install Windows 10 (relevant for users who have previously made the transition, but for some reason returned to previous versions).

Possible options updates:

Before considering current upgrade options, you need to consider the following points:

1. The process of upgrading to Windows 10 cannot be completed with Windows Vista or XP.
2. The system from which the transition is made must have the latest updates installed.
3. The current system must be activated or an official key purchased.
4. The computer hardware must be supported by Windows 10.

Updating via Upgrade Assistant

For a long time after the termination of the promotion for all users by free update, Microsoft provided the opportunity to upgrade to a new version of Windows 10 for free for people with disabilities. At first, the period of this promotion was extended until December 31, 2017, but after this period expired, the opportunity to upgrade was active until January 18, 2018.

The company even created a separate one to make the upgrade as comfortable as possible. One of the features of this promotion was that the user, to confirm his incapacity, did not need to undergo any special checks or confirmations. Anyone could update by going to the website and downloading the Windows 10 utility Upgrade Assistant.

At the moment, on home page On the Microsoft website for updates for people with disabilities, there is an announcement about the termination of this promotion. The company indicates that now the only option is to purchase the original version already pre-installed on the new device, or to purchase a separate full version software. No download links for this utility are provided.

BUT The downloader file (Windows 10 Upgrade Assistant) is still available on the Microsoft website, download while you have access.
If the file disappears from the downloads, write in the comments, we’ll try to simply put it on the site (if at that time this update option in general still works).

During the first installation, the program will check the current version of the update assistant.

After this, you will need to read and agree to the terms of the license agreement.

Setup Assistant will check if you can upgrade to Windows 10 on your this computer.

And, if all the points have passed a positive check, after clicking the OK button, the update process to Windows 10 will begin. After the update is completed, the key of the previous version is picked up, and at the end the user can use the activated system.

If the utility gives an error when you first launch it, this may be due to what was said earlier - Microsoft has officially closed the possibility of this update. But to get around this limitation, it is enough to change the system time to any one that will be earlier than 12/31/2017.

To do this, click on the clock on the taskbar and go to change the date and time settings.

Then you need to go to the section to change the date and time.

And then choose any date that is earlier than the agreed date of 12/31/2017.

After this procedure, you can try to run the update assistant program again, it should start smoothly and update the system.

Updating using a key from previous versions

This method is the simplest and fastest. To get started, you already need to be the owner of a Windows seventh or eighth generation key. To switch to Windows 10 you need to:

The system must accept the key from previous version and carry out activation.

Clean installation of Windows 10.

It is necessary to point out once again that this method suitable for users who have previously upgraded to Windows 10. It consists of simply performing a clean installation of Windows 10, and the activation key should be automatically picked up by the system.

The activation key should be automatically accepted due to the fact that the user became a digital license holder when they first upgraded to Windows 10. This means that the activation key is tied to the hash of the equipment installed on the user's system. Then, after logging into your Microsoft account, activation data is stored on the company’s servers, and the digital license is automatically assigned to both the user account and the system equipment.

Updated: March 31, 2018 by: Denis

From time to time, every Windows OS user begins to think about upgrading an outdated version of their system to a newer one. However, sooner or later everyone will still have to switch to at least Windows 10, as Microsoft is gradually adapting all its application software (in particular, Microsoft Office, DirectX 12, modern shader support programs, etc.) specifically for latest version OS.

Preparing for the update

Some users are wondering: is it necessary to do the following before updating the system? backup your files and settings? This depends on the OS version you currently have installed. If you decide to upgrade to 10 from Windows XP or Vista, then it is better to take care of data backup. If you have Windows 7 or 8, then there is no need for this, since the process automatic update does not in any way affect existing data on hard drives. True, it is possible that individual programs will stop working due to bit depth incompatibility with the new operating system.

Switching to Windows 10 from different original OS versions

Algorithms for updating the OS to Windows 10 can be divided into two options:

• upgrade from Windows XP or Vista;
• update from Windows 7 or 8.

How to upgrade to Windows 10 from Windows XP or Vista

For Windows users XP/Vista, unfortunately, there is only one way to switch to Windows 10 - a “clean” installation of the system. That is, you will need to install Windows 10 as the original OS, since the update process for such outdated versions, like XP and Vista, is simply not available due to differences in system component assemblies. To install Ten on a PC with Windows XP/Vista, you must first create a bootable USB drive.

1. Go to the official Microsoft website and download special utility Media Creation Tool by clicking on the “Download Tool Now” button. To receive detailed instructions To download and work with the utility, you need to click on the auxiliary buttons in the form of circles with pluses
2. Launch the Media Creation Tool and after accepting the license agreement, select “Create installation media for another computer."
   Before creation bootable media Make sure you have a USB device connected to your computer
3. In the settings window that appears, check the box next to “Use recommended settings.”
   You can also set the settings manually
4. Then select the “USB flash drive” option to create bootable media. Click the "Next" button.
   Remember that the USB device must be at least 8 GB in size
5. Wait until the bootable media creation process completes, after which you can exit the Media Creation Tool.
   The process of creating bootable media takes several minutes
6. Ready. You can now begin installing Windows using a bootable USB drive. Boot from it and follow the instructions that appear on the monitor screen.

Video: How to create a bootable USB drive with Windows 10 operating system

How to upgrade to Windows 10 from Windows 7 or 8

For Windows 7/8 users, there are several ways to upgrade to 10, both free and paid. All of them are relevant for both versions of the OS, and there are no differences in the update process.

Free upgrade to Windows 10 (special edition)

Until recently, Microsoft provided owners of older operating systems with the opportunity to switch to Windows 10 completely free of charge. However, this generous promotion expired on July 29, 2016. After that, users could upgrade to “ten” thanks to a “special edition for people with disabilities.” But this method also ceased to be available on December 31, 2017. Today, there are no longer such official campaigns to update the system, as you can see by going to the official Microsoft website. Therefore, to upgrade to Windows 10 you have to use other options, which will be discussed below.

Updating using the Windows 10 Upgrade Assistant utility

The Windows 10 Upgrade Assistant utility was available during free upgrade promotions, after which it was removed from the official Microsoft website. The Upgrade Assistant has been replaced by a new utility - the Creation Tool, which does not have the ability to upgrade the OS to Windows 10. But today, the Upgrade Assistant can still be found and downloaded on thematic sites. To update Windows via this utility, necessary:

1. Find and download Windows 10 Upgrade Assistant. After launching it, it will begin checking your PC’s compatibility with the latest Windows 10 update package.
   If at least one of the PC components is incompatible, a message will appear stating that the update is impossible
2. Once the scan is complete, the assistant will begin downloading all the necessary files for installing and updating the system.
   While preparing the update, you can continue to work on your computer by minimizing the Assistant window.
3. After downloading the update package, the assistant will automatically restart the PC.
   You can postpone restarting your PC by clicking on the “Restart later” line
4. Once you reboot, Upgrade Assistant will automatically begin the process of upgrading your system to Windows 10.
   The duration of the update process depends on the power of the PC processor

Activating a Windows Digital License

This method is relevant for users who have previously purchased an official digital license for Windows 10 linked to account Microsoft.

1. Go to the official Microsoft website and download the special Media Creation Tool.
   Once you install the Media Creation Tool, you can then use it to download and install Windows 10
2. After launching the program, you will be prompted to accept the license agreement. Then you will need to select “Update this PC now.”
   You can also save Windows 10 to a USB drive to create a bootable device
3. After clicking the “Next” button, the long process of downloading and checking all system components for the update will begin. In this case, about a dozen alternating windows will open sequentially.
   Before you start the preparatory phase Windows updates, make sure you have enough free space on the system hard drive
4. Once the preparatory process is complete, a window will appear notifying you that you are ready to install the update. Click the "Install" button.
   You can change the components selected for saving, selecting only those that are really needed
5. Now all that remains is to wait for the process to complete Windows installations 10.
   After clicking the “Install” button, the standard Windows 10 installation process will begin.

After successfully upgrading Windows 7 to Windows 10, you should attach a “digital license” to it. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Open the Start menu and click on the Settings tab. You can also open the Settings settings by pressing the hotkey combination WIN+I
2. Go to the Update & Security section and select the Activation setting. Then click on the “Add account” line.
   By clicking the "Learn More" link, you can get Microsoft help on activating Windows
3. Enter the required data (username and password) to log into your Microsoft account.
   You must already have a Microsoft account with activated digital Windows license 10
4. Done, your Windows 10 is now linked to your account and assigned a “digital license”.
   After logging into your Microsoft account, a message will appear in the OS activation field stating that Windows 10 has been activated using a digital license

Connecting to the Digital Entitlement affiliate program

Digital Entitlement, or "Digital Entitlement", is available only to members of the Windows Insider partner program (this program from Microsoft gives users the right to pre-authorize Windows ratings 10) . To become a Windows Insider and receive “digital permission” to upgrade your Windows OS to version 10, you must:

1. Go to the Windows Insider Program settings (Start - Control Panel - Update and Security) and click the "Get Started" button.
   You can also open the program settings through the Windows search window
2. After launching the settings, you will need to sign in to your Microsoft account (if you don’t have an account, you will have to create one).
   You can also create a Microsoft account through the official website of the corporation.
3. Once your account is integrated with the OS, you will be asked to choose one of three Windows Insider build packages:
   
4. After confirming your selection, your computer will automatically restart.
   Rebooting the PC can be delayed if necessary
5. After restarting the system, go to the “Windows Update” settings and click on the “Check for updates” button. The Windows 10 update package will begin automatically downloading and installing.
   If the button is not pressed, it means that the process of automatically downloading updates has already started
6. Wait for the update process to complete and restart your PC.

Video: How to become a Windows Insider

After updating Windows via "digital resolution", even if you download the package Windows builds Insider number three, this still does not guarantee stable operation of the system (the update files will still be test files). In addition, you will have to update the system more often (it will become mandatory), and the resulting Windows version 10 will not be truly licensed (you will only be provided trial version for 90 days with subsequent automatic renewal).

Purchasing a license activation key

There are two purchasing options license key activation of Windows 10 OS.

Purchasing licensed digital Windows keys 10 on third parties trading platforms often causes problems. The most common of them are non-working activation keys or the purchase of temporary “OEM licenses” (keys that, through certain time reviewed by developers). In order to protect yourself as much as possible when purchasing on third-party trading platforms, you must carefully check all the information provided, namely: the reliability of the seller, the type and version of the activation key, the availability of a return within 30 days.

Today, there are several ways to update Windows 7 and 8 to Windows 10. In addition to purchasing a digital license or activation key, you can also become a member of Microsoft's partner testing program for free or use special utility. For users of Windows XP and Vista, there are no alternatives other than a “clean” reinstallation of the system.