Having become available for download at the end of July, the new Windows OS of the tenth modification has already managed to make a lot of noise and get a lot of mixed reviews. Not only was it provided for download from the official Microsoft website in a completely free mode, it was also possible not only to install the system from scratch, but to upgrade existing Windows to version 10. But this only concerned systems 7, 8 and 8.1. Unfortunately, XP and Vista are not upgradeable. Separately, the question will be discussed how to upgrade Windows Phone to 10.
What you need to know before installing Windows 10
First of all, one should pay attention to several important aspects. As already clear, you can update the system only in versions of Windows 7 and above. But here it should be borne in mind that the bit depth of the installed “tens” should correspond to the old “OS”, that is, if the same existing “seven” has a 32-bit architecture, the update will be made to the 32-bit “ten”. The same goes for 64-bit systems.
In addition, if the user decided to upgrade Windows to version 10, you should pay attention to system requirements. True, they are not so high as this might be supposed. According to official data from Microsoft, a 2-core processor and 2 GB of RAM are enough for the new system. But the situation with the hard drive is somewhat more complicated. The fact is that, according to the official release, installation requires a little more than 3.5 GB of free disk space. In fact, during the installation process, the installer may display a message stating that at least 9 GB is required. This is due only to downloading the installation package. At the end of the process, the installer files, as well as the installation files of the previous version of Windows, can be deleted. But more on that later.
Is it worth it to establish the "top ten"
Whether to upgrade to Windows 10 an existing system, everyone decides. However, a lot of experts highlight quite interesting new features of the “tens”. For example, enhanced Xbox support, advanced system or computer management tools, the Start button again and the main menu in combination with Metro interface elements, the ability to quickly switch between standard and tablet modes, the ability to roll back to a previous version of Windows that has been updated to the "tens", etc.
Separately, it is worth mentioning that a new Edge Internet browser has appeared in the system, replacing Internet Explorer. By the way, he bypasses the nearest competitors in all respects, including even such well-known programs as Google Chrome, Opera and Mozilla.
How to upgrade Windows 7 to Windows 10?
But back to the installation itself. The first thing to do is go through the registration procedure on the Microsoft website and create an account (if it is not already for some reason). After that, you can stand in line, so to speak. When the time comes, a flashing icon in System Tray will notify the user that the installation content is available for download.
True, for those who do not want to wait, the company has provided a more convenient option, which not everyone knows about. From the same official site, you can download a small utility called Media Creation Tool and start the installation immediately.
Immediately it is worth considering that you can upgrade Windows to version 10 only if all the latest updates have been installed for the previous system. Otherwise, the installer, after starting, will offer to make such an update first, and only then proceed with the installation of a new system.
The installation process of the “tens” does not cause any particular difficulties. Most of the time is spent only on downloading the installation distribution from the Microsoft website. It is clear that in this case it all depends on the speed of the Internet connection, and the process itself can take several hours.
The rest is simple. As usual, the first choice is to use this computer’s update (rather than creating bootable media), then the language settings, keyboard layout, currency and date display formats are selected, and then the installation starts.
When the installer reaches the moment of choosing the installation option, you should pay attention to the fact that there are two of them: upgrade with saving programs, files and settings (Upgrade) and a “clean” installation either in a new section as a second “OS” or on top existing system with complete data destruction. In this case, we are interested in the first method. It is good because, firstly, you don’t have to bother with formatting partitions, and secondly, the necessary information will remain on the hard drive, and all previously installed programs will work without problems.
We look further at how the upgrade to Windows 10 is going on. How to upgrade the system so as not to delve into the settings? Easy peasy. At a certain stage, the installer will display a window with basic settings. Most users can use Express Settings, advanced users can play with them in the Advanced section (the settings window is not provided for all versions of Windows 10, for example, in the original free version they are not). In general, that's all. It remains to wait for the installation process to complete.
How to upgrade Windows 8.1 to Windows 10
In the G8 or its version 8.1, the update process is practically no different from what was described in the case of Windows 7. Problems can appear at the stage of system setup, because for some devices (in most cases these are graphic adapters) drivers are not always installed . You can solve the problem by installing the drivers under Windows 8 again.
Installing the system from a USB drive or optical drive
When using the Media Creation Tool, at the beginning of the launch, you need to choose not to update the computer, but to create bootable media.
After finally downloading the files, you will need to create an image and write it either to disk or to a regular flash drive. After that, the desired device is installed in the BIOS as a priority for boot, and the installation starts from the selected media. The update process itself is absolutely no different from the above. At the end of the installation (upon reboot), of course, the BIOS settings must be changed so that the system partition of the hard drive is set as a priority.
System preconfiguration
At the first start, in principle, no special settings are required. Please note that you will be logged in with your Microsoft account with a username and password. In the future, a request for a password and login during normal login or when exiting hibernation can be disabled without any problems. But now this is not about that.
If you look at the system carefully, you can see that when updating the “ten” saves all the settings, files and programs that were installed on the old system. But here the hard disk space will be much less.
If the hard drive needs to be cleaned, you need to use the standard disk cleaner, you can also remove the Windows 10 installation files and the set of files of the old system responsible for rollback in the components (unless, of course, the user is not going to return to the previously installed "OS"). According to the most conservative estimates, you can free up about 25-30 GB of disk space.
As already mentioned, it is possible that some devices will not work correctly. You can simply reinstall the drivers from a special disk or download their latest versions from the official Internet resource of the equipment manufacturer. By the way, what’s good about updating: you don’t have to rebuild your Internet connection or LAN.
As for the activation of the “tens”, it will not be required during the upgrade (unlike a clean installation). You can check the product key in the computer properties.
Install updates for Windows 10
Now let's see if it is possible to update Windows 10. As previously reported, for the “tens” release of service packs will not be provided. But, as practice shows, they come out with enviable regularity. What is most interesting - even with the automatic update turned on, they are not always installed in this mode.
So, we have the established “ten”. How to update? Windows 10 Update, located as a menu in the Control Panel, often does not open. Here you need to use, again, the properties of the computer, and select this section on the left.
By the way, this way you can install not only important update packages, but also upgrade the system to Windows 10 Pro, not to mention additional Microsoft products.
Upgrading to Windows 10 Pro
Upgrade to the professional version is done in the standard way from the "Update Center". First, the latest updates for the existing “dozens”, say, Technical Preview, are installed, and then the Windows 10 Pro installation package is downloaded.
A minimum of 10 GB of free space on the system drive is required. The upgrade process may take several hours. Again, all settings and programs will not be affected, although some minor changes in the interface and additional features and commands that pop up context menus will become noticeable.
Install Windows Phone 10 on mobile devices
We will dwell separately on how to upgrade Windows Phone to 10. There are also two ways here. In the first case, in the settings of the smartphone, check the box next to the automatic update download settings in the smartphone update section and wait in line.
In the second case, if you do not want to wait, a more complex option is used. First you need to reset all the settings on the smartphone, after which you need to download the Windows Insider application on the smartphone, and WPInsiderHacks on the computer, install and run.
In the network settings, activate the proxy server, specify the IP address of the computer and specify the port 8877. Now in the browser, specify the IP address of the computer and agree with all the certificates. Then use Windows Insider and activate the “Get preview builds” button, then use the Set to RM-976_1161 item and click the “Accept” button. We agree with the license (the application will automatically close).
Now go back to the Wi-Fi settings, turn off the proxy and delete the IP data. Again, open the application on the smartphone, enter your account and use the “Fast Branch” button, and then in the update settings we check their availability and “tap” on the “Update” parameter. All. "Ten" will be installed automatically.
Conclusion
Here is a brief summary of everything regarding the question of how to upgrade Windows to version 10 on different devices. As already seen, some difficulties may arise with mobile gadgets. There are no problems with computer systems, unless reinstalling the drivers for some non-standard devices. The rest of the installation process is much simpler than the same installation of the "seven", not to mention Windows 8 or 8.1. But is it worth it to upgrade, decide for yourself. User reviews about the new system are very controversial, so a definite answer to the question cannot be given. Here, perhaps, is all about how to upgrade Windows to version 10.