Updated 20-Sep-2019: Thank you to the many readers who have continued to provide firsthand reports that this procedure still works. The overwhelming majority of reader reports confirm that this upgrade is still available. A small number of readers have reported that the upgrade fails because of a Setup error or a compatibility block. For details on how to troubleshoot these errors, see 'This free Windows 10 upgrade offer still works. Here's why - and how to get it.'.
- Windows Anytime Upgrade Advisor
- Windows Anytime Upgrade Vista To 7
- Windows Anytime Upgrade Windows 10 Key
- Anytime Upgrade Windows 10 Professional
- Windows Anytime Upgrade Windows 10 Pro
- Windows Anytime Upgrade Windows 10 Cost
Windows Anytime Upgrade is a discontinued component of Windows Vista and Windows 7 that enabled users to upgrade their editions of Windows (e.g., from Home Basic to Ultimate). Pricing for upgrades purchased through Anytime Upgrade was also reduced when compared with traditional retail packaging. Sep 12, 2019 Free windows 10 anytime upgrade download software at UpdateStar - Coupon Search Plugin for Firefox, find some of the best discounts and deals around from the best retailers on the net.
Featured
Everyone knows the free upgrade offer for Windows 10 ended on July 29, 2016, right?
That's when Microsoft officially ended the Get Windows 10 program and, to the relief of many, stopped forcing the GWX tool onto the PCs of unsuspecting users who were perfectly happy with their current version of Windows and had no desire to upgrade.
As of July 30, 2016, the upgrade notifications stopped and the GWX app began disappearing. In theory, that means the only way to get a Windows 10 upgrade is to pay for it.
The funny thing is, no one told the folks who run Microsoft's activation servers. Which means today, more than three years after the free upgrade offer supposedly ended, you can still upgrade to Windows 10 from Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 and claim a free digital entitlement, without being forced to jump through any hoops.
You can also still upgrade Windows 10 Home to Windows 10 Pro by using a product key from a previous business edition of Windows 7, 8, or 8.1 (Pro/Ultimate). That can save you $50-100 in OEM upgrade charges if you buy a new PC with Windows 10 Home preinstalled. (For details, see How to upgrade from Windows 10 Home to Pro without hassles.)
Windows Anytime Upgrade Advisor
In this post, I'll cover the basics of a Windows 10 upgrade. I'll also talk about the licensing issues involved, which are (as always) confusing.
How to upgrade an old PC to Windows 10
In early 2017, I recycled an Intel small-form-factor PC that had previously been working full-time in the living room, running Windows Media Center on Windows 7 Ultimate. When I finally pulled the plug on Media Center after the release of Windows 10, I had put this little device on a shelf.
The GWX utility had never been installed on this PC and it had never been offered a Windows 10 upgrade via Windows Update.
As part of my digital clean-up, I decided to run the Windows 10 upgrade from Windows 7. I fully expected that after the upgrade was complete, the system would fail activation and I'd be asked for a product key.
Imagine my surprise when, instead, I was greeted with this screen.
I confirmed the same sequence on two different virtual machines, both created from scratch and running clean, fully activated installs of Windows 7 and Windows 8.1, respectively. I repeated those steps on test PCs at least monthly since the release of the Creators Update in April 2017 and the Fall Creators Update in October 2017, and as of mid-September 2019 I continue to receive confirmation from people who've seen the same results on their home or office PCs.
If you have a PC running a 'genuine' copy of Windows 7/8/8.1 (Home or Pro edition, properly licensed and activated), you can follow the same steps I did to upgrade it to Windows 10.
To get started, go to the Download Windows 10 webpage and click the Download tool now button. After the download completes, run the Media Creation Tool.
If you've downloaded the Media Creation Tool on the machine you plan to upgrade, and you plan to upgrade one and only one PC, you can choose the Upgrade this PC now option and be done with it.
free pdf
Windows 10 configuration settings can be difficult to locate because they reside deep down the rabbit hole of screens, control panels, and menus.
If you're running the tool on a different PC, or if you just want more flexibility, choose the second option and save the installation files to a USB drive or as an ISO file.
After the download is complete, double-click the ISO file to mount it and open a File Explorer window; or, if you chose the option to create a bootable drive, open the USB flash drive in File Explorer and run Setup from there.
Free download adobe audition 1.5. Then just follow the prompts to complete the upgrade. You will not be asked for a product key, and when the upgrade is complete and you've connected to the Internet, you'll have a digital license to Windows 10, which you can confirm by going to Settings > Update & Security > Activation.
The digital license is associated with that specific device, which means you can reformat the disk and perform a clean installation of the same edition of Windows 10 anytime. You won't need a product key, and activation is automatic.
Windows Anytime Upgrade Vista To 7
NEXT PREV
Is your license valid?
And now the big question: If you avail yourself of this upgrade, is the resulting license valid?
The entire 'free upgrade' offer was always accompanied by language that was, to put it politely, a bit squishy. And the language around the end of that offer is similarly vague. For example, see the answers I've highlighted here on Microsoft's Windows 10 Upgrade FAQ:
That's very odd language. The free upgrade through the Get Windows 10 app ended on July 29, 2016. Likewise, the discussion of product keys says a key will be necessary 'for this tool to work' (not true) but doesn't say a word about licensing.
And unlike the weasely 'Genuine Windows' label on older upgrades, the activation screens for a Windows 10 upgrade specifically confirm the existence of a 'digital license.'
Anyway, the free upgrade offer was extended, at least for people who use assistive technologies. The FAQ on a separate page even called it a 'free upgrade offer extension' and pointedly noted that it was not limited to specific assistive technologies. (I regularly use the Magnifier utility in Windows, which is indisputably an assistive technology.)
Of course, I'm not a lawyer, and this column isn't legal advice. But I will say that I am personally confident in the activation status of any PC upgraded using the tool on that page during the eligibility period.
This extension was, I think, a very large nod and wink, designed to make it easy for those who wanted a Windows 10 upgrade to still get it while placating the OEM partners who were none too happy about the year-long emphasis on upgrades rather than new PC sales.
Alas, I say 'was,' because the extension (which was itself extended) officially ended on January 16, 2018. The page that formerly ran an Upgrade Assistant now displays a message about the expiration of the offer.
It is basically just a slide show with some music on it. Why is this so hard for Fuze to recognize and deal with? The.VOB video is rather long (about 1.3 G), considering the storage limit is 4G on this Fuze. What has worked, using VISTA and the Sansa Fuze, to get a video that is presently in.VOB format into an MP4 format so that Fuze will accept and play it? Sandisk sansa software free download.
The big question now is whether Microsoft will ever turn off the code on its activation servers that dispenses digital licenses after an upgrade from an earlier Windows version. I've continued to test that scenario, and I can confirm as of September 2019 that it still works.
I continue to hear from readers sharing their experiences. If you've used this technique on a PC, click my name at the top of this post and use the contact form to let me know how it went for you.
Windows 10
Related Topics:
Enterprise Software Cloud Big Data Analytics Innovation Tech and Work CollaborationFor many consumers now on Windows 10 your version of the OS – Home versus Pro – depends directly on the previous upgraded OS. More specifically, if your computer had a license for Windows 7 Home Premium you upgraded to Windows 10 Home. Likewise, if you were on Windows 8 Pro your version of the OS should be Windows 10 Pro.
What's the difference between Home and Pro? As it turns out, the differences do not mean much for regular consumers. The versions here truly reflect a consumer edition versus one better suited for business users or professionals.
Windows 10 Pro offers the following features over Windows 10 Home:
- Join a Domain or Azure Active Directory: Easy connect to your business or school network
- BitLocker: Help protects your data with enhanced encryption and security management
- Remote desktop: Sign in and use your Pro PC while at home or on the road
- Hyper-V: Create and run virtual machines
- Private Catalog: Access your company's apps through your own section in the Windows Store
As you can see, many users do not need these functionalities but for others they are a must-have for their jobs e.g. developers, business users, some students, and those in IT and related fields.
Additionally, Windows 10 Pro (and some versions of Windows 10 Home Single Language) can defer automatic updates to Windows 10. You can read how to do that in our tutorial:
Free download for mac os x 10.7. . Mac OS X 10.5 - macOS 10.14 Mojave. RAM: 512 MB RAM|100 MB free hard disk space. Graphic Card: Super VGA (800×600) resolution, 16-bit graphics card or higher. Review Top Free Video Downloaders for Mac. Get the best free Mac video downloader to save online videos from YouTube, FB, Vimeo and more on macOS.
Many of Microsoft's own devices like the Surface series, including the Surface Pro 3, come with a Pro version of the OS, so they all get Windows 10 Pro during the update. The same goes for many Lenovo's and even my HP x360 Spectre.
However, the newer Surface 3 only comes with Home and, therefore, does not get Windows 10 Pro unless you upgrade to it.
To verify what version of the OS you have
Windows 8.1
[Win + C] > Settings > Change PC Settings > PC and devices > PC Info
Windows 10
Settings > System > About and look under Edition.
How to Upgrade Windows 10 Home to Windows 10 Pro
Windows Anytime Upgrade Windows 10 Key
For whatever reason, let's just say you want to upgrade your version of Windows 10 Home to the Pro version to grab those features mentioned earlier. Microsoft has made it incredibly simple although it is not a free update. Here is how it works.
1. Right-click on the Action Center
2. Choose All Settings
3. Pick Update & Security
4. Click Activation
5. Click Go to Store
You are now brought to the Store listing for Windows 10 Pro. Here you can buy the upgrade for a one-time cost of $99. The purchase is made through the Store just like buying a new, game, movie or music.
Once you complete the purchase, the OS simply unlocks those Pro features once the bits have been downloaded. Your Windows 10 license key is also automatically converted to a Windows 10 Pro one. Since your hardware ID is linked to your license in the Store clean installs should also be okay.
Note that it is more expensive to buy a Windows 10 Home license ($119.99) and upgrade to Pro ($99.99) for $218 total instead of just initially purchasing a $199.99 Pro key. However, this only applies if you are building a new computer, not for upgrades.
Anytime Upgrade Windows 10 Professional
Users should also note that you cannot upgrade a 32-bit version of the OS to a 64-bit one due to architectural differences.
Windows Anytime Upgrade Windows 10 Pro
Wrap-up
Overall, the process for upgrading your Windows 10 Home license to a Pro one is just as simple as activating in the first place. Of course, whether you need to do so is another matter. Most consumers should be okay with Windows 10 Home but if you find that you need a Pro version now you know how to make that happen.
Windows Anytime Upgrade Windows 10 Cost
If you think this guide is helpful, we have many more posts like this in our Windows 10 help, tips, and tricks page. Or try our massive Windows 10 Forums at Windows Central for more help!