Free upgrade during the first year

WightWalker · 23 Jan 2015

Sounds good, too good to be 'true'?

No matter what I think of Windows 10, it would be kinda stupid not to take up Microsoft on the free upgrade particularly if, like me, you have a standby build of your OS on a separate HD just in case the main drive crashed which I would use for the Windows 10 upgrade.

But, what would happen after the 1st year when the free upgrade offer lapsed & your HD crashed with lose of OS.

I've never found backups of drives with Operating Systems too successful when restoring often with errors that require the installation disk to be inserted into the DVD drive.

Would you be able reinstall your original OS & then upgrade to Windows 10 for free again; I doubt it

adamf · 23 Jan 2015

Do a backup after you upgrade then. At least at some point during the year.

If you say when you restore from your backups it is not successful you really need to try another method. I make backups a lot and they ALWAYS work - it would be pointless otherwise. Certainly you don't need an installation disk to restore a backup.

You could try Macrium perhaps.

Emma · 23 Jan 2015

When they say free for one year that means only one thing. It will be costing us after that year. Why is everyone so excited after hearing that if it is true?

BunnyJ · 23 Jan 2015

Emma said:

When they say free for one year that means only one thing. It will be costing us after that year. Why is everyone so excited after hearing that if it is true?

In the presentation it was clearly stated that the support for Win10 would be free for the lifetime of the device.

badrobot · 23 Jan 2015

Personally, if I decide to upgrade my 7, I will clone the upgraded version on a separate hard drive and use that as a backup to re-clone in case of any problems. I have 4-80GB spinners. Good enough for backups.

adamf · 23 Jan 2015

Emma said:

When they say free for one year that means only one thing. It will be costing us after that year. Why is everyone so excited after hearing that if it is true?

Not at all. It means that within a year of launch (perhaps October based on last update timing) you don't pay to upgrade and it is free forever for that device.

If you forget to upgrade before end of next year (a year after launch) you'll have to pay. I would imagine most people who have found this site will remember to upgrade within the next 18 months.

Emma · 23 Jan 2015

Thanks for that explanation Adam. What about what the guy said about not being able to go back and don't ask me where I read that except I know it was in here. He said every thing related to the old version will be removed so you can't go back. Maybe he meant the recover that is on the pc.

adamf · 23 Jan 2015

Emma said:

Thanks for that explanation Adam. What about what the guy said about not being able to go back and don't ask me where I read that except I know it was in here. He said every thing related to the old version will be removed so you can't go back. Maybe he meant the recover that is on the pc.

When you upgrade from 8 to 8.1 it breaks your recovery partition. Also when you upgrade from 8.1 to 10 preview. I'd expect that the final upgrade from 8.x to 10 will do the same when it is finally released. If you make a backup before and after upgrading you'll be OK.

Emma · 23 Jan 2015

And if you have the reformatting disks you will be okay, right?

groze · 23 Jan 2015

Emma said:

Thanks for that explanation Adam. What about what the guy said about not being able to go back and don't ask me where I read that except I know it was in here. He said every thing related to the old version will be removed so you can't go back. Maybe he meant the recover that is on the pc.

Emma,
I will try to explain this the best way I can. I think it was WHS (sorry if it is not you whs), he thinks some how they can block OEM and Retail version of older version of windows once the system is upgraded to windows 10. I don't see how that would be possible with pre-activated systems though. I actually have one of those systems. I was able to do a clean install of Windows 7 using a re-installation disk provided by dell. It was pre-activated after it was installed and the computer was not connected to the internet. Those type of systems have a master OEM key that is different from what is on your computer. If Microsoft blocked those keys it wouldn't only block mine but it would block others users as well. Those systems would all of a sudden show your product is not genuine. Microsoft is not going to make people mad that don't want to upgrade.