Can you still upgrade 7 to 10 for free?

rumour has it, you can still upgrade win7 - win10 for free. Is this true?

 

Yes.

 

I wouldn't call it an upgrade though

 

Technically no because there was a cutoff date sometime ago but Microsoft wants everyone on Windows 10 so they are essentially looking the other way.

 

The bf used a win 7 key to install win 10 and it's activated. But if that does not work for you I'd try not getting angry about it and just go back to win 7 until you are ready to pay for windows again (there are ways to get win 10 cheap - I suggest you google it if the upgrade fails or the win 7 key does not work).

 

My god, anyone who thinks windows 7 is better than 10 needs their head examined. I used 7 for 15 min and it's a S&*tshow. Its sewage. Can't wait to get my sons computer back on 10 and a modern fast UI/OS.

 

Worked. Updated and activated. Windows 10 is so far ahead of win7 it's not funny. Win7 reminds me of macos. Stale and old. Windows 10 is modern and smooth.

 

Windows 10 gets a bad rap at times, sometimes well deserved because of the forced updates and MS treating it like Linux where you have updates twice a year which at times creates unnecessary bugs. Overall it's a pretty decent OS, again nothing is perfect. I can't live without Live tiles.

 

Yes. But like everything new (MacOS) for example, there are bugs when first released. The only difference is, Apple only has like 15 setups to run MacOS on, so they can fix them quickly, where as MS has hundreds, if not thousands of devices to make sure its fixed on. That being said, 7 is down right terrible now.

 

Try millions if not billions of different combinations when you factor in the different types of BIOS, as well as the unworldly amounts of hardware combinations from around the world. Which is why i'm more impressed how Microsoft gets things to work for most users. Apple just has to worry about their own stuff and even then they screw it up or allow the problem(s) to drag on for several releases.

 

Who are we kidding? Living in denial won't change the facts. For every opinion there is an equally valid and opposite opinion.

Windows 7 is still the best. It's not loaded with worthless bloatware filth, looks better and is a more stable product. Systems running on Windows 7 also outperform the same hardware on Windows 10. Windows 10 consistently loses in almost every benchmark. And, Windows 10 is not new. If you were to say that it is in a constant state of flux and perpetual turmoil, that would be accurate, but it is not new by any stretch of the imagination. This month is its 4th anniversary. It's still a piece of crap, and getting progressively worse. And, after 4 years Micro$lop still hasn't taken Windows 7 by storm. It's nearly an even split (within 2%) in market share with Windows 7. The only reason it's even that close is because many people have purchased a new PC with Windows 10 pre-installed, but we know that a sizable portion of those that have do not like it and would prefer Windows 7 if given a choice.

 

Well... the looks of the OS aside (cause that is totally subjective), yes win 10 has more bloat, more spying, requests a windows account on regular basis and many people don't even know a local account is still an option, has forced updates (microsoft is trying to improve that recently).... But get rid of the bloat, disable a few services and learn how to remove unremovable crap like messaging and phone apps (it's a pc after all), cripple search and kill off cortana.... you will be left with something ok to use.
Stock windows 7 is just as bad as windows 10 if not worse... gets bogged down fast, the animations are slow - giving the illusion that the whole OS is. Typical installation results in the need to install few hundred updates each of which can fail and mess everything up (unless they thought of a better way now that the OS is kinda final - I just know how it was back in the day). And well, by default the updates also get pushed automatically. The only difference is, win 7 is easier to clean up, while win 10 is easier to update (cumulative updates ftw).
The performance differences can be explained. Keep in mind win 10 comes with MANY software patches especially for intel cpu's, where it cripples performance in favor of security.
And that's where the last nail hits the win 7's coffin: no more security updates in a few months. Whoever still chooses to install win 7 now without a valid reason is not making a smart move or knows how to minimize security risk OR can afford to take it (e.g. legacy software/hardware support, financial reasons making switching impossible or stupid for companies usually also relying on legacy stuff).
Imho, the best thing to do for a NORMAL user is to roll with win 10 and learn how to kill off telemetry, background apps as well as remove programs which microsoft would love to push onto us but which also stand in the way of performance.
And yeah, some systems profit from older OS performance-wise. After all they were designed with crappy cpu's and gpu's in mind as well as the use of traditional hdd's (e.g. win 10 defender makes this impossible but well... can be killed off too).

 

As @Mr. Fox said, Windows 10 Share is only 45.8% while Windows 7 is just a tad lower at 35.4% after 4 full years of release (July 29, 2015), and adding Windows 8.1's 4.5% brings Windows 10 hold-outs in at 39%+.

Operating System Share by Version


Windows 10, the OS no one wants, but can't refuse if you want new hardware to run Windows natively. The *only* reason Windows 10 has as high a share as it does is because of Microsoft's shenanigans forcing people to upgrade from every trick MS could think of to ram it down people's throats.

Just so MS could collect and sell data on you and me. I certainly don't want to reward Microsoft for their underhanded BS.

It will be interesting to see if Windows 8.1 share grows after Windows 7 expires next year... I know that's what I'll be running on the hardware that support's it.

4 years of Windows Vista / 7 / 8.1, no crazy updates, no crazy instabilities, just sane quiet use without the bother of Windows 10. It's been wonderful.

 

Windows 8.1 is the same way regarding updates from a clean install. I used a program called WSUS Offline Update and it worked perfectly in getting my Razer Blade up to date. It took over an hour to get all the patches downloaded and installed, but at least it worked, unlike the official method.

 

Meanwhile updating windows 10 is very easy especially if you use the latest build for installation (media creation tool ftw)... If lucky there might not even be anything to update so I'd say that's a great improvement and microsoft should never return to the old model of updates ever again. Nevertheless, happy for the OP that he could get win 10. Now it's time to debloat - there should be a guide with LOTS of stuff and ideas somewhere on the forums on how to make win 10 better.

 

Once you've used WSUS Offline for the initial run on Windows 8.1, the MS updater works without issue.

 

I understand the performance hunting aspects of using Windows 7. To me, it's an insane and unnecessary amount of time and effort to keep an older OS running while modern/current software and hardware drops support for it left and right. I've been on W10 for years with no instability, no problems with updates (ever), no loss of data (ever), no security problems (I don't even run AV, disable WD). It is not the nightmare OS that some people make it out to be. Those users simply have niche interests/uses, and cannot abide the lack of control and "forced" updates W10 "pushes" on you. It is really about perspective, honestly.

Agreed. I've spent hours tuning W10 to be as trim as I need and as functional as I need. Still, a TON of things you can disable/uninstall, services, startup tasks, task scheduler, group policy. I'm on the latest OS release, newest drivers for my specific hardware, blah blah. All to say, everything works (for me), 100% stability, with more power than the laptop had out of the box in ALL aspects (CPU, RAM, GPU) all while being on a supported OS that works and will work in the future. For me, that is ideal and more important than outright performance.

 

Use Simplix pack with arguments such as /NVMe /USB3 etc... and you'll see Win 7 is much faster for overall usage. Only downside is multi-instancing of control panel with several custom bat scripts to disable or enable components takes too much time and may lag unlike Win 10.

 

There are some people that create windows ISOs with the latest patches included.

Windows 7, 8.1 and 10 included. You'd have to search around for those though..

I'm using 10 on my Area-51m (7 doesn't work because no CSM option)

Windows 8.1 on my M18xR2 (just because I got bored of 7, I have this issue of going from 7, 8.1, 10 in circles on this machine LOL)

I think each OS can be tuned to a way where it's liked. I always install startisback on my 8.1 and 10 installations. I prefer the older start menu.

WinAero Tweaker as well on Windows 10 to get rid of some bloat and stuff.

 

I am the opposite. I prefer the new start menu and overall layout of windows 10 compared to 7. I do wish they made "tablet mode" windows 8. That was such a great OS for the surface.

 

The opposing camps are like oil and water on this. There is no middle ground or happy medium. The alternative sucks too much for those that hate it to warmly embrace it or forgive all of its atrocities. There are some people in the middle that don't care, but the polarity remains strong. And, that's actually good. I have more respect for those with an equal measure of vitriol at the opposite end of the spectrum than I do the lukewarm wusses in the middle to don't care and don't pick sides. Their tolerance for mediocrity helps make excellence elusive and unattainable. We'd all be better off if more would decide whether they are willing to drink the Kool-Aid or say no to trash.

 

And I would say there are probably more lukewarmers as well as kool-aid drinkers than dissenters once Microsoft made Windows 10 a service based operating system. The OS is essentially free to anyone who owns Windows 7 on up. So while I don't disagree with the faults and warts of Windows 10, it's after all free and that's why Microsoft continues on this path.

I would wager and I know I would win the bet that if Windows 10 was still being marketed and sold as Windows XP, Windows 7, Windows 8.1 there would be serious backlash over the complaints of Windows 10. Hell, it's the reason why Windows 8 and 8.1 were so poorly received and MS decided to can Windows 8.1 pretty early.

I have little doubt that's why Windows 10 was turned into a service and given away for free to just about anyone. What you have never used a Windows operating but want it for free? Well just be one our Beta Testers and we'll give you the OS for free. That's how and why MS has gotten away with forced updates, advertisements and privacy complaints because a good majority want a current OS that doesn't coast them a penny to run on their older computers. If they have to pay $100 for Windows 10, there would be serious blowback just like they saw with Windows 8 and 8.1

So not much is going to change, i'm afraid and it's all because of the word free.

 

Trash or nah, I paid for my legit win 10 pro copy just about 15 euro. I can live with having to learn how to handle its dark side for that, most games are more expensive and unlike windows are not an essential part of my pc. For the rest, you forgot the group I think I belong to: those who care, but choose the lesser evil. For me that is windows 10 over any OS available. Cons and pros, oldschool. But I'd never ever pay more than I did for it as I don't want to be supporting trash. If they make a great OS that respects privacy, does not get periodically broken with updates and does not push crap onto me, I'd seriously consider spending over 100 or 200 euro for it.

 

Yes, I can see that. "Free" often has the same implications as "new" does where adoption is concerned. The assumption on face value that "new" is always means better and "free" is always a good thing leads many down a misguided path for a host of reasons, including ignorance, misunderstanding, being a cheapskate and simple gullibility. And, there are some that are none of those things and just happen to have formed a different opinion.

Yes, I have also paid for numerous Windows 10 licenses. Even though I do not like it as a product, I will exploit it when it is to my advantage. I don't need to like it to do that. I also need to be familiar with it to fully exploit it and to support it for people that I care about that have embraced it. I also understand that the Micro$lop butt kissers (like Intel, NVIDIA and AMD) are gradually eliminating driver support for older OSes. I will continue using Windows 7 as my OS of preference until driver mods and hacks are no longer available to support the hardware I use. But, I know the day will eventually come that the mods and hacks no longer work and I need to know how to mod and hack Windows 10 to bend it to my will before then or I will be starting at ground zero. When that happens I will be in the same boat as everyone else and I will have no option but to tolerate the performance impairments that are present and cannot be corrected with Windows 10.

 

Sad but true and soon almost every Windows PC will have Win 10 installed like Microsoft wanted. I would like more Windows 7 users to move to 8.1 instead of 10 so they'll at least still have control of their PCs or maybe move to Linux. Personally its getting more pointless to force Win10 Pcs to run older OSes like 7/8.1 every passing year, Desktops are easier to downgrade but not laptops.

 

Unfortunately since there is no better alternative this isn't going to change anytime now or in the future.

This is a contrive ranting that isn't going to go anywhere fast. Linux has so many Distro and fighting against each other they have no real standing to go against Windows. Remember in the End everyone is trying Emulate Windows O/S environment. Also with this everyone wants to be Microsoft Office but they can't be. Using the same line I also have control of my Windows 10 by tweaking it to look like Win7 Startup menu without using 3rd party Software just some simple Config and it looks just like Win7 without problems. Also the older the O/S the more security holes grows and that would benefit BotNet and Malware software that you use OutDated O/S to give them permission to your System and Data. No amount of A/V will work when the O/S has holes to permit access.

I beg to differ I can run and install Windows 10x64 Pro on a Dell 1525 and HP DV5, DV6, DV4 so your point has no point here. And these are Laptops that were XP to start with. But I also upgraded these laptop CPU and RAM so it can run but everything takes investments to make it work. And they are still running.

I will also add to the original thread that one can no longer upgrade for free that I know of from Microsoft that date has past.

 

Its not ranting when its the truth about Windows 10. When you have to install a lot of 3rd party software in order to control the data mining tactics and to make it usable thats more than enough proof that its a bad OS, not to mention the major updates that happens twice a year that creates unnecessary bugs and adds useless features. Security updates & Support are the main reasons why and soon if you want to use a Windows OS you have no choice but to use Windows 10 or else risk being vulnerable to security threats.

Also you've missed my point. I was talking about Windows 10 PCs that uses new hardware which dont support older OSes like Windows 7/8.1 and its very hard to downgrade those systems to use Win7/8.1 especially laptops and thats why i said it is pointless....

 

I actually hated Windows 8.X as much or more than Windows 10. Close enough to the same product, but with an uglier UI than Windows 10. It did have a little less bloat. But, I couldn't move to Windows 8.1 even if I wanted to. Only Windows 7 and 10 support RTX video cards. There is no driver support for Windows 8.1 because it was never successful enough to warrant NVIDIA continuing their support of it. And, Windows 7 is far more superior, so I don't see any reason to settle for Windows 8.X... it's not an acceptable alternative to Windows 7 or 10, IMHO. It's the least acceptable option.

I agree it is not a rant when it is truth. But, there is nothing wrong with ranting. Ranting is a good thing. It's an expression of disgust and disappointment, and that is justified where Windows 10 is concerned. It doesn't matter if it is unavoidable, or that some people actually like it. A rant is justified because it's a piece of crap. Micro$lop may not pay attention to it, but at least they deserve to know that at least 50% of the Windows PC users of the world think their latest product sucks. If we don't make sure they know that, they might actually be mislead into believing their digital abortion is a resounding success. It's not even close to that.

 

Objectively looking at it, windows 8 and 8.1 are something like vista. Trying to make a big leap forward but failing miserably. They are good stepping stones though, from vista came windows 7. From 8 and 8.1 came 10. Windows 7 sucked in its own ways too, only an advanced user could make it work well, same as 10 (with the difference that 10 is made to be even more cloud based and has more tools for microsoft to collect data usage for "improvements"). I wonder, if we disregard all the fixes for intel leaks and nvidia driver issues - how does windows 10 compare performance wise to 7? Unfortunately, I don't know any power users on these forums with a full amd system to test that.

 

Take a look into the YouTube video in bro @hmscott’s post.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/windows-10.762434/page-567#post-10930373

And look also at bro Ultra Male’s post http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/windows-10.762434/page-567#post-10930269

This piece of Pastel Colored Tiled junk will only be worse!

 

I kinda agree with you there about Windows 8.X. It sucked so much that Windows 8.1 was quickly announced less than a year and even that didnt fix the damage especially when users was forced to download it from the store instead of from Windows update like the service packs in the past, I know some users who uses Windows 8 because they couldnt download 8.1 from the store.

Sadly it doesnt matter if Windows 10 is a piece of crap, soon almost every Windows PC will have it installed because the lack of options and Microsoft will still think its a huge success. Im going to admit that Windows 10 was a step forward from Windows 8 but they took 2 steps back.

Just wow.... Its like the Windows 10 developers were stoned to think these were good ideas to do. Then again when a company is a monopoly quality is the last thing on their minds not to mention customer feedback.

Disabling Windows Registry backups to save storage space is a weak excuse. Most PCs have more than enough space in this day and age. How about lowering the amount of bloatware that comes with Windows 10 because most of it is useless....

 

King, what monopoly?

 

I think he may be referring to Micro$lop and the fact that Windows (all versions) totally dwarf all other computer OS options combined. Windows is the only statistically relevant option, but the growing hate for Windows 10 and their frequent demonstrations of poor judgment have never been a greater threat to the continuity of their overwhelming market share.

 

Got a question. I have an old dell xps 8100 desktop that uses windows 7. So i can upgrade that to windows 10 pro free of charge? I don't have access to it now but when i do, i can' upgrade it free of charge to windows 10? It will be windows 10 home 64 bit? Im pretty certain my old desktop is windows 7 64 bit.


Is there any disadvantages of upgrading to windows 10 though from an old xps desktop that is from 2010? It does have a quad core processor though from 2010.

 

The fact that Microsoft has the majority of market share does not make it a monopoly. It makes it the most popular. Huge difference. Android does not have a monopoly on mobile os. It's just the most popular.

 

I didn't use that word. Only identified what he seemed to be referring to. But, I can see the logic for using it in casual conversation considering the absence of more desirable options in the force of competition. To a some extent, consumers are responsible for it. Sometimes even the best option isn't great, it's merely the lesser among evils available to choose from. I agree. That does not constitute a monopoly. But, it would not be unusual for it to be referenced as one in casual conversation. And, most people reading the comment wouldn't take issue with the use of the word or feel compelled to defend a large corporate entity being referred to as a monopoly.

Edit: The bolded part seems to be a very fitting description of Micro$lop's current behavior.

 

Microsoft owns 80% of the marketshare you mind well call it a monopoly especially if you want do more than browse the internet, nobody is gonna consider a Mac if you want to do gaming or other high demanding tasks, Like what Mr. Fox has posted thats what Monopoly type companies do no matter how bad a product is its still gonna sell because theres not many options. The difference between Android (Google) and IOS that they both can do the same tasks but Android phones are way more common but IOS (Apple) can at least compete with Android phones unlike in the PC sector where Microsoft dominates because of the reasons above.

It should still work, As stated before you can still upgrade any Windows 7, 8, 8.1 PC to 10 for free. You might run into some driver issues if theres not an updated driver for Windows 10 on your manufacturer's site

 

Indeed, there could be a device that has no Windows 10 driver support. That happens sometimes. Gladly, it is not too frequent. Most older computers will have full native driver support integrated as standard fare with Windows 10 and the possibility is great that no drivers will need to be added.

 

Again. Is windows the only operating system? No. It's the most popular, not the only. No matter what the market share is, it's not a monopoly.

 

King, just so you know, a monopoly is when you have only one choice. Hence mono, meaning one.

 

I highly recommend you do not use your windows 7 key to upgrade yet, especially if you have not been using win 10 at all. First of all, if your desktop does not have an ssd you should get one. Then install windows 10 on it (edition that is comparable to your win 7 installation - if it's windows 7 64bit home, then you will need the standard windows 10 64 bit edition, if your desktop had win 7 pro, then you should install the pro version). You do not need to activate windows 10 yet during installation, you will just be left with a watermark on your desktop. Then try if you like it and if it runs well with your old pc. If it does, then you may proceed to format the disk where win 7 is installed and using its key to activate windows 10 OR you can keep both if you wish. An OEM (1 pc only, hardware bound) key for win 10 costs like 15 bucks online.
PS. speaking of 2010, we had an amd pc from that time which we installed with win 10. The asus mb came with VIA audio - company that no longer makes these chips and there are no new drivers available. They were stubborn and would not install on windows 10 at all and the standard microsoft audio drivers provided lower quality. It took hours of looking for solutions to make it work - it did in the end but it was a major pain. So yeah, driver support can be a real issue if you want perfection.

 

When you have limited options, and the newest option is lousy, that's known as a suckopoly.

I agree with not using the Windows 7 license for a "free" Windows 10 upgrade. Soon or later, as sad as it will be, moving to Windows 10 will be unavoidable due to lack of driver support on newer hardware. Might never be an issue on one of today's systems, but when you eventually are forced to replace it with newer hardware that hasn't been released yet chances are pretty good you're going to find yourself between a rock and a hard spot.

A good example of this is the fact there is no driver support for RTX GPUs for Windows 8.X users. Only Windows 7 and 10 are supported. And the word "support" is misleading. Support doesn't really matter. Functionality does, and there is none. Likewise, if you run a system that relies on Intel HD Graphics, you're screwed there as well. It doesn't matter on a desktop that uses discrete GPU, but it does if you don't have that or your system is a turdbook with hybrid graphics.

You can always run Windows 10 without activating to see if you can tolerate it or not first.

Or, better yet... prepare for the inevitable. Learn how to manipulate Windows 10 to make it suck less now so that when that is the only option available to you, you will have already learned to how to dominate it and recreate it in your own image.

Best way to do that... buy Windows 10 from eBay or a place like Kinguin.net for less than $30. You can do like I do and dual boot with Windows 7. When you've had a gut full of Windows 10, you simply boot back into Windows 7 to find things are as they should be and life is still good... for now.

You can also do what I am doing and start working toward becoming a Linux expert. I'm doing it now, as I am under no pressure. My hope is by the time Windows 7 can no longer work I will have no reason to continue using Windows 10. There is also a remote possibility (although very slim chance of it) that the Redmond Retards will stop the nonsense and give us a flavor of Windows 10 other than urine (Pro/Enterprise) and feces (Home) that runs well and isn't laced with telemetry and UWP cyanide, and doesn't emasculate CPU performance.

 

Windows 7 is a crappy terrible slow mess compared to 10.

 

Maybe there is something wrong with your hardware, screwed up OS, drivers etc.

There isn’t many benchmarks Win 10 perform better than Win 7.

 

This is correct. The only explanation could be user error. I've tested well over a dozen systems with both OSes and 100% of them run slower on Windows 10. That's just a fact. There are a couple of things that Windows 10 is able to come close or match Windows 7 performance, but not many. If it involves performance of the CPU and/or memory, the performance hit for Windows 10 is much greater than if it is only a measurement of GPU performance. (Fire Strike has mislead many thousands of people into believing Windows 10 runs better and faster. I suspect that is by deliberate design with the express intent of manipulating consumers.)

 

I also can't see how it's even remotely possible for W10 to be faster than W7 when the CPU is gimped in W10 via microcode patches because of the Spectre and Meltdown microcode issue. And lot's of GPU's also offload the CPU so they also take a hit as well. Windows 10 Game Mode is also a big joke i.e. "snake oil". In every game I used it on there was no difference in performance with or without it.

 

Windows 7 eats less CPU cycles then windows 10 on all my machines, I don’t see how windows 7 is any slower. It’s lightweight and free of advertisements and other Microsoft blackhattery. There is a reason why MS was pushing windows 10 into everybody for low cost or no cost at all. I’m hanging on to my windows 7 for dear life, and I hope MS releases a Windows 10 debloat/nonspyware paid version soon. Interestingly enough, windows 7 bit locker also uses stronger encryption than windows 10.

 

Install Win 7 and apply Simplix pack with NVMe, USB3 etc.. goodies and you'll see Win 7 and W10 has same install footprint and W7 performed 99% better. Then again, its almost 10 y.o and new Win 10 rarely runs w/o issues.

MSFT can release a better Win 10 and people at MDL or other forum will debloat it. Then again, on a semi-annually serviced OS that kind of stability is hard to find. Maybe if they change to annual release then it will be better.

 

Any of you guys have links to Windows 7 SP1 and SP2? Microsoft's website is a mess trying to figure out which one i'm supposed to download.

Has MS revised SP1 and SP2 to incorporate the fix for Spectre and Meltdown? This is strictly an offline PC to run my games. I'd like to get some performance back.

 

Again you mind well call it a monopoly especially if you want do more than browse the internet, nobody is gonna consider a Mac if you want to do gaming or other high demanding tasks. Macbooks are overpriced plus its harder to install the OS itself on a Windows PC with working drivers making it not a good option to get away from Windows....