Windows 7 / 8 to Windows 10 upgrade

Step-by-step guide for upgrading Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows 8.1 to Windows 10.

This guide shows you how to upgrade and activate Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows 8.1 to Windows 10.

Before upgrading, please make sure that your computer meets the minimum system requirements:

• processor: 1 GHz

• memory: 1 GB RAM for 32-bit, 2 GB RAM for 64-bit

• hard disk space: 16 GB for 32-bit; 32 GB for 64-bit

• screen resolution: 800 x 600 pixels

• graphics: DirectX 9 graphics processor with WDDM 1.0 driver

Additionally, it is highly recommended to back up your data before performing a major system upgrade such as this one, in order to not risk losing important files.

Step-by-step guide

I. Create a Windows 10 ISO file

1. Download Media Creation Tool (MCT):

Media Creation Tool (MCT) for Windows 10

2. Run MediaCreationTool.exe to start the installation wizard.

3. After accepting the terms and conditions, select the Create installation media for another PC option.

4. Select your language, edition, and architecture and click Next.

5. Select the ISO file option.

6. Choose a download location for the ISO file, e.g. folder "Downloads" on your PC, and click Save.

7. Media Creation Tool will begin creating an ISO file in the location you selected in the previous step. Wait for the process to be completed and then click Finish.

8. When the process is finished, close Media Creation Tool.

Why should I use the ISO option instead of the Upgrade option?

You can use either of the two options to upgrade your computer, but the ISO file gives you more control over some settings (e.g. language choice). You can also use "Upgrade this PC" and adjust your preferences later, from the Windows Settings menu.

II. Upgrade to Windows 10

1. Open the ISO file that was created in the previous step and double-click setup.exe.

Note: On Windows 7, you might need to open the ISO file through a virtual DVD software program, such as WinCDEmu – a lightweight app that doesn’t require installation.

2. When Windows Setup starts, select the language, time and currency, and keyboard layout, then click Next.

3. Click Install now.

4. In this step, Windows Setup will ask you to enter your product key. There are 2 options:

• enter the product key – the setup will automatically select a Windows edition based on the key you entered and will activate it;

• skip this step – you can click “I don’t have a product key” and activate your Windows after installation.

5. If you didn’t enter a product key in the previous step, Windows Setup will now ask you to select your edition.

   IMPORTANT: you must select the exact name of the edition for which you have a product key, otherwise you won’t be able to activate it later.

6. Accept the license terms and click Next to continue.

7. There are 2 options in this step:

• Upgrade – keeps files, apps and settings;

• Custom – performs a clean installation.

This guide uses the Custom option.

8. When doing a clean installation, you have to allocate disks for the system to use. You can separate your drive(s) in 2 or more partitions, or create a single partition. Click New to proceed.

9. In the Size field, type how many MB you want to allocate to the partition. The number cannot exceed the maximum capacity of your drive, but it can be smaller. Click Apply to create the partition.

10. Windows Setup will inform you that it will create its own (small) partitions – this is normal and part of the process. Click OK to continue.

11. Your partitions are ready. Click Next to continue the installation.

12. Windows Setup will now start installing Windows 10. Do not close the setup window.

13. While installing, Windows 10 will restart several times. Wait for the black screen to go away to continue with the Windows 10 account configuration.

III. Configure Windows 10

When the Windows 10 installation finishes, before being able to do anything else, you will be asked to configure your Windows account and a couple of other settings. Follow the instructions below to set up Windows 10 quickly and without unnecessary clutter:

1. First, select your region.

2. Choose which keyboard layout you want to use.

3. Next, you can add an additional keyboard layout, or just skip this step.

4. Select what kind of account you would like to set up – business, or home. This guide uses the business option.

5. In this step, you can either log in with your existing Microsoft account, create a new Microsoft account, or create a local (offline) account without connection to Microsoft services. This guide uses the Domain join option which creates an offline account (lower left corner).

6. If you select the Offline account option, the configurator will attempt to convince you to create an online account. You can skip this by selecting “Limited experience” in the lower left corner. The experience is not really limited, it is just not as tied to Microsoft’s online services as when users sign in with a Microsoft account. You can change to an online account any time after installation from the Start menu by going to Settings → Accounts.

7. Type a name for your account.

8. Create a password – we recommend making it strong by adding at least some capital letters and numbers.

9. Type your password one more time.

10. Select 3 security questions and type answers for them. In case of forgotten or lost password, Windows will try to identify you by your security questions.

11. Select how much data you want to share with Microsoft.

12. Choose whether you want Cortana as your digital assistant or not. Have in mind that Cortana may not be available for all regions.

    You can skip this step by clicking Not now.

13. Now just wait until your Windows 10 is configured. When the system is ready to use, you will see the typical Windows login screen.

Note that you can change most of the configurations any time in the Settings menu – click the gear icon in the Start menu.

IV. Activate Windows 10

Windows 10 must be activated within 30 days after the first login into the system.

1. Open the Start menu and click the Settings icon.

2. Click Update & Security and go to Activation.

3. Click the Change product key text – a window requiring you to enter a product key will appear.

4. Enter the product key that you received with your order and click Next – your Windows will be activated and ready to use.