Windows 10 Upgrade Released
29 July 2015
Microsoft is making Windows 10 available as free upgrade for qualified Windows 7, Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone 8.1 devices. Upgrades started today (Wednesday 29 July). You may have upgraded already. If you want to upgrade and haven’t already done so, you’d better be quick: you only have a year left to reserve your free upgrade…
To upgrade, simply click on the ‘Get Windows 10 App’ in the status bar:
The only requirements are that the device is compatible, and that the device is running genuine Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1) or Windows 8.1 (Update). It is designed to run on Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 PCs.
Microsoft is planning to roll out the Windows 10 Upgrade “…in an organised way…”. So do remember to take a ticket and stand in line, head straight shoulders back. For those who have reserved the upgrade, it should download shortly (if it hasn’t already) and then it may be installed when convenient.
For newer machines, the installation should take approximately 20 minutes, but Microsoft does advisers users to allow about one hour for the installation to complete. Some Windows 10 features will require advanced hardware and not all features and services are neither available on every device nor in every market. For instance, Cortana is not available in all markets.
Whilst it is free, there is a potential catch for some users. Windows Media Center is not part of Windows 10 and won’t be available after upgrading to Windows 10. If you use Windows Media Center, you will receive an alert you during upgrade that Windows Media Center is not available on Windows 10. However, Microsoft has assured Windows 10 users that there will be a free DVD playback app in Windows 10 for Windows Media Center users.
Some are confused which version of Windows 10 they will receive. The following table provides a high level summary:
It should also be noted for business customers / readers, that Enterprise customers with active Software Assurance subscription in volume licensing have the benefit to upgrade to Windows 10 enterprise offerings outside of the public upgrade offer.
