Frequently Asked Questions about the Windows 10 Free upgrade

BlauUmlaut said:

My apologies. I know what I was trying to ask was confusing. I need a clear, concise answer on if my 10 reservation currently on my 8.1 device will be considered 'first in line' for the rollouts starting July 29th for Windows Insiders OR if that will only apply to currently installed 10 TP that had been upgraded over the top of a valid 7 or 8.1. My justification for this resides in the fact that my 10 TP was not installed over the top of my OEM 8.1 license. It is operating as the device that has 'checked in' for the 10 upgrade whereas my 10 TP is on a new drive specifically for testing. I hope that made it clearer as to my intent of this question. This will tell me if I need to begin my backups and drive swaps now.

As an Insider, I have Windows 8.1 on one partition and Windows 10 on another. Both have the same Microsoft account. I have reserved Windows 10 on the 8.1 partition.

It is my understanding that as a Windows Insider I will be among the first in line for the upgrade because my Microsoft account is connected to both installations.

All insiders will get the release on the 29th. It doesn't matter if you upgraded or not.

You have to understand that the insider program is separate from the RTM upgrades for non-insiders. The only thing that is related is that when you upgrade over your old OS, then MS considers that an "upgraded license" when you go back to the non-insider version.

Mustang said:

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I interpret the article shown to mean:

1. Windows 10 upgrade software can only be downloaded onto a particular PC with an appropriate OS running on that PC.

2. If needed, the software can be burned onto a disk as an ISO, and the hard drive on that computer can be formatted and W10 reinstalled as a stand alone installation without installing the previous original OS.

3. The upgrade will be considered as an OEM linked to that particular PC.

The only other questions are:

1. Can the OS on that PC be rolled back to the earlier version of Windows that was on there at the time of upgrade.

2. Can both W10 and the original OS be run simultaneously on the same PC while deciding if you want to keep it.

Mystere said:

All of these issues are discussed in the first post of this thread. Did you read it?

Yes I read it thoroughly and just wanted to be sure I had interpreted it correctly.

Mustang said:

Yes I read it thoroughly and just wanted to be sure I had interpreted it correctly.

Well, you interpreted a few things incorrectly.

I have no idea what you mean by 1... if you mean that the Windows Update based upgrade only works in Windows 7 SP1 and Windows 8 S14, then yes. However, you can always do an upgrade install with the ISO.

#2 - You can only do a clean install after you have first performed a successful upgrade on that PC.

#3 - We don't really know if that will be the case... That is something that is still unclear.

Your second set of questions:

#1 Yes, you can.

#2 - We don't have the EULA yet, but most likely not legally. Technically, you most likely can.

@Mustang

2. Can both W10 and the original OS be run simultaneously on the same PC while deciding if you want to keep it.

I had some issues with that method. I tested it. It just depends on your system. On one hard drive the boot sectors seem to conflict with each other. My system is a little different, I had to figure out a different way to upgrade to windows 10 long story but I did get it to work and for the recorded my upgrade is legal

groze said:

@Mustang




I had some issues with that method. I tested it. It just depends on your system. On one hard drive the boot sectors seem to conflict with each other. My system is a little different, I had to figure out a different way to upgrade to windows 10 long story but I did get it to work and for the recorded my upgrade is legal

Groze, I had no problems at all. I created a dual boot system from my Windows 8.1 hard drive. Once that was done, I installed Windows 10 on the new partition and when I booted, I had a choice between Windows 10 and Windows 8.1.

Mystere said:

Well, you interpreted a few things incorrectly.

I have no idea what you mean by 1... if you mean that the Windows Update based upgrade only works in Windows 7 SP1 and Windows 8 S14, then yes. However, you can always do an upgrade install with the ISO.

#2 - You can only do a clean install after you have first performed a successful upgrade on that PC.

#3 - We don't really know if that will be the case... That is something that is still unclear.

Your second set of questions:

#1 Yes, you can.

#2 - We don't have the EULA yet, but most likely not legally. Technically, you most likely can.

Hi Mystere, and thanks for your reply.

What I meant by #1. Is it correct to say the upgrade must be loaded onto a PC with either W7, 8, 8.1 already installed ... as opposed to downloading it as a stand alone ISO, installing it on a clean hard drive, and activating it with your W7, 8, 8.1 product key.

Other than that all good.

Cheers M :)

groze said:

@Mustang




I had some issues with that method. I tested it. It just depends on your system. On one hard drive the boot sectors seem to conflict with each other. My system is a little different, I had to figure out a different way to upgrade to windows 10 long story but I did get it to work and for the recorded my upgrade is legal

I tried running it with dual boot to both W7 and 8.1. And it partially worked on both, but messed up files on my 2nd internal SSD storage HD. Also after 3 or 4 boot ups, W7 wouldn't boot at all.

ok guys,

i am back on the subject.

Some pointed a finger to me because i asked a question about Win 10 being free for all Win 7, 8, 8.1 users....

And i might be wrong again, but my best friend who did get the info about free upgrade via mail by me, said this to me this morning:

When trying to install Windows 10 over Win 7, that, since he has Windows 7 PREMIUM, he has to install Win 8 and 8.1 and BUY Windows 10.

So where am i wrong here?
my friend has a genuine license and the computer says no free upgrade possible?

thanks for any help to get this right.

Jeff