Can I buy windows 10 from microsoft and activate it on a different PC?

ainsley · 30 Aug 2019

So my grandad has win7 and as its coming to the end of its life (rip) he has asked me to update him to win10. I want to be able to install it for him as quickly as possible when we get up there so we have time to do some other stuff. If i buy windows 10 home from the microsoft store on my own PC at home, can I install it on his PC? or does it make me install it on mine? Will it just give me an activation code or what?

Sorry for my ignorance but I've only ever used boxed windows before
Any help is very much appreciated
Thanks <3

dalchina · 30 Aug 2019

Hi, you can still freely update Win 7 to Win 10 on that PC.

If it's a retail licence (not OEM) then you can transfer that license to a new PC in the future.

A table here in this tutorial about upgrading to Win 10 shows you which edition of Win 10 you get:
Upgrade to Windows 10

You can also perform a clean install of Win 10 (= delete all partitions part of the old OS) using the Win 7 license:
Clean Install Windows 10 Directly without having to Upgrade First

Please note that upgrading may not be simple or straightforward- it can fail for many reasons.
Also consider how old his PC is. Whilst many non-supported PCs are upgraded successfully, older ones can be problematic.

If he has not been offered Win 10 by Windows Update, and Windows Update is still wokring on his PC, that probably indicates MS deems his PC not compatible.

Before attempting any major change, make sure you have a full disk image of the current installation, so you can go back to that if things go horribly wrong- and they can.

E.g. Macrium reflect (free) + large enough external disk for the image file(s).

ainsley · 30 Aug 2019

dalchina said:

Hi, if your grandad has a retail copy of Win 7, and you are happy with the edition, then you can still freely update Win 7 to Win 10 on that PC.

If it's a retail licence (not OEM) then you can transfer that license to a new PC in the future.

A table here in this tutorial about upgrading to Win 10 shows you which edition of Win 10 you get:
Upgrade to Windows 10

You can also perform a clean install of Win 10 (= delete all partitions part of the old OS) using the Win 7 license:
Clean Install Windows 10 Directly without having to Upgrade First

Thanks for your reply
I have absolutely no idea which version of win10 he has - and he wont have a clue either.
I'm going up to see him today, so i dont have much time to prepare this.
If he doesnt have a retail verson of win 7, will i not be able to do a straight update?

dalchina · 30 Aug 2019

You will need the appropriate tools in readiness.

Macrium reflect (free): external disk for image files.

You should
a. Create a disk image. (This is also a full backup).
*** I would guess your grandad doesn't do regular backups, and you don't want to risk destroying all his data.. (absolute worst case!!)

b. Attempt the upgrade.
When you do so, disable or uninstall any security software.
A wise person would check the disk and file system before starting.

If he doesnt have a retail verson of win 7, will i not be able to do a straight update?

Sorry I didn't word my first sentence properly (corrected).
Any Win 7 can be upgraded.

z3r010 · 30 Aug 2019

ainsley said:

If he doesnt have a retail verson of win 7, will i not be able to do a straight update?

All you need to do (after you have backed everything up) is download and run the Media Creation tool and just chose update this PC -https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/soft...load/windows10

dalchina · 30 Aug 2019

Bear in mind it's a 4Gb or so download, and then there's a subsequent update. Allow time for that in your planning depending on his internet speed. Then there's the time for the upgrade to occur. Some people find this is quite a bit longer than others (there's a recent thread discussing that).

My preference is to not allow updates as part of the upgrade, as this is much faster and can avoid problems. The updates are then done subsequently.

Bree · 30 Aug 2019

ainsley said:

So my grandad has win7 and as its coming to the end of its life (rip) he has asked me to update him to win10...

If your grandad has Win7 installed and activated on his PC then you can still upgrade it to Win10 for free and it will be activated. The activation of Win10 just requires that the existing Win7 is activated, this applies whether the installed Win7 was a retail install or an OEM pre-installed Win7.

The install media is freely available from Microsoft. As Windows 7 cannot natively mount an ISO the USB install media is the most convenient to use....

Create Bootable USB Flash Drive to Install Windows 10

...then follow Step 6 in this tutorial.

Upgrade to Windows 10

Like dalchina, I strongly recommend you first make a full image of the current install before you try anything.

ainsley · 30 Aug 2019

z3r010 said:

All you need to do (after you have backed everything up) is download and run the Media Creation tool and just chose update this PC -https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/soft...load/windows10

So I can just update it completely free? I thought that offer ended in 2016; has it come back because win7 is at its end of service?

z3r010 · 30 Aug 2019

Yep, it's still free.

Bree · 30 Aug 2019

ainsley said:

So I can just update it completely free? I thought that offer ended in 2016; has it come back because win7 is at its end of service?

No, it never went away. Microsoft were very cryptic in the wording of the announcement of the ending of the 'free offer', only ruling out the use of the GWX app...

...The Windows 10 free upgrade through the Get Windows 10 (GWX) app ended on July 29, 2016.

Windows 10 Upgrade FAQ

...while quietly letting the install media continue to get the free upgrade.