Windows 10 to be Free Upgrade for Windows 8.1 and Windows 7 Users

RealNeil · Jan 22, 2015

They make a hull of a lot more money on Office software than they do on Windows OSs. Office is the Cash Cow.

Uplink10 · Jan 22, 2015

RealNeil said:
I'm using Win-10 Preview on a i5-4670K System. I like the way it works, it's real fast booting and it games well. Everything on the OS works without issues.

I'll probably upgrade some of my systems right away. I'll hang on to my Win-7 software in case there is a hang-up with Win-10 in the future.

You do know Microsoft is keylogging everything you press?

nexus_a · Jan 22, 2015

Hood said:
I'm trying it right now, and it looks and feels just like 8.1 (as far as I can tell). So the start button now opens a split-personality start menu, with Metro and Desktop sides - no help, I greatly prefer the full "old style" start menu offered by Classic Shell, which I can install and customize in about 30 seconds, and avoid the Metro interface altogether.

Making it free may be a brilliant move; all the anti-trust bullshit will disappear, and the money will be made by selling lots of $1.99 and $2.99 "Apps" and "games" to idiots who are too stupid or lazy to find the same for free...they're hoping to be just like Apple.

Everyone knows freemium is the best way to make money. Freemium>>>pay to use

darkangel0504 · Jan 22, 2015

I am interested in DirectX 12

Super XP · Jan 22, 2015

I'll buy a copy of Windows 10 64-Bit only if it's not like the crap Windows 8 fiasco.

TRWOV · Jan 22, 2015

Uplink10 said:
You do know Microsoft is keylogging everything you press?

Says it right on the disclaimer notes so yes. I don't care, it's just a gaming rig.

HammerON · Jan 22, 2015

btarunr said:
I thought I made it idiot-proof by adding that sidenote in the brackets. I was wrong.

-> If you upgrade to Windows 10 from Windows 8.1/7 within the first year of Windows 10's launch, you can have it for free till the Sun runs out of hydrogen. You get an upgrade key, and you can use that even if you need to reinstall things 3 years later.

-> If you're trying to upgrade to Windows 10 from Windows 8.1/7 after 1 year following Windows 10 launch, you pay for the upgrade.

Try as you can, there will still be those that cannot comprehend what others do

I think this is great news :toast:

mroofie · Jan 22, 2015

MxPhenom 216 said:
that should be implied...

btarunr said:
I thought I made it idiot-proof by adding that sidenote in the brackets. I was wrong.

-> If you upgrade to Windows 10 from Windows 8.1/7 within the first year of Windows 10's launch, you can have it for free till the Sun runs out of hydrogen. You get an upgrade key, and you can use that even if you need to reinstall things 3 years later.

-> If you're trying to upgrade to Windows 10 from Windows 8.1/7 after 1 year following Windows 10 launch, you pay for the upgrade.

Hmm nice attack there :0
But I will wait for more credible info seeing its Microsoft
Thanks

buggalugs · Jan 22, 2015

wow, bold move by Microsoft. Whats there to complain about??

TRWOV · Jan 22, 2015

mroofie said:
Hmm nice attack there :0
But I will wait for more credible info seeing its Microsoft
Thanks

Microsoft themselves announced it, what could be more credible than that? :confused:

Dark Revenger · Jan 22, 2015

Windows makes money from royalties, OEMs and enterprise licenses. Microsoft doesn't care of the occasional user who bought a Win7 license, as long as consumers buy Windows-powered devices. And they just presented a wide array of them: it is now a complete Windows environment. It is convenient and easy to have Windows devices.

It is going to work.

P4-630 · Jan 22, 2015

Ok what happens if I install Windows 10 on my old Windows 7 laptop and after a year I need to do a factory restore?

64K · Jan 22, 2015

P4-630 said:
Ok what happens if I install Windows 10 on my old Windows 7 laptop and after a year I need to do a factory restore?

btarunr said:
I thought I made it idiot-proof by adding that sidenote in the brackets. I was wrong.

-> If you upgrade to Windows 10 from Windows 8.1/7 within the first year of Windows 10's launch, you can have it for free till the Sun runs out of hydrogen. You get an upgrade key, and you can use that even if you need to reinstall things 3 years later.

-> If you're trying to upgrade to Windows 10 from Windows 8.1/7 after 1 year following Windows 10 launch, you pay for the upgrade.

rtwjunkie · Jan 22, 2015

thebluebumblebee said:
Not sure I like that.

RE: the support forever for the length of the life of that device: That seems to support what I've seen as rumor that Windows 10 will be the last edition of Windows. Which means, everything after that will be as upgrades of that version, like 8.1 was to 8. That's how I see it.

Kind of a catch-22 fo me. I waited till December last year to ditch W7 on my main rig and go 8.1. I've got it like I want it, and spent a great deal of time reinstalling games. My other concern, which only user reports of the RTM version can allude to, is support for older games. I've got games all the way back to 2001 on my PC that all play on 8.1 (I've found 8.1 to be the most retro-friendly game-player OS Microsoft has ever released), and would hate to lose that.

I may wait till day 364 to get W10. Sure, I would love Direct X 12, but let's be honest, how many years before we have even a handful of DirectX 12 games?

Ahhzz · Jan 22, 2015

rtwjunkie said:
RE: the support forever for the length of the life of that device: That seems to support what I've seen as rumor that Windows 10 will be the last edition of Windows. Which means, everything after that will be as upgrades of that version, like 8.1 was to 8. That's how I see it.

Kind of a catch-22 fo me. I waited till December last year to ditch W7 on my main rig and go 8.1. I've got it like I want it, and spent a great deal of time reinstalling games. My other concern, which only user reports of the RTM version can allude to, is support for older games. I've got games all the way back to 2001 on my PC that all play on 8.1 (I've found 8.1 to be the most retro-friendly game-player OS Microsoft has ever released), and would hate to lose that.

I may wait till day 364 to get W10. Sure, I would love Direct X 12, but let's be honest, how many years before we have even a handful of DirectX 12 games?

^^ this. Minus the Win8 stuff

I'll probably get another hard drive, image my existing install to it, and boot to Win10 when I want to see what works or not, and stick with 7 for a while. But, free OS is free OS. Hell, I think I've got a key for 8 somewhere...maybe in that trash can under my desk.....

nickbaldwin86 · Jan 22, 2015

If you think about it this is industry normal.

Apple gives away each OS upgrade.

Why can't Microsoft? well they do now.

Not very many people "buy" Windows... they get it with a machine or OEM

Also a HUGE factor to this is SUPPORT, they keep saying that they don't want to support legacy software (ie Windows XP, Vista and soon 7). So by them giving away Windows 10 they are getting you on the latest and greatest and you can spend money in the store or many of the other ways you can give them money... buying the OS is chump change from a end consumer.
Microsoft would love if everyone went to Windows 10... you know how many millions they could save on support alone? start counting now, you will not get there by release date.

Uplink10 · Jan 22, 2015

"Intel Skylake Removes Support for USB based Windows 7 Installation" - seems like people will have no choice but to switch to Windows 10 or 8

Source: http://wccftech.com/intel-skylake-remove-support-usb-based-windows-7-installation-platform-specs/

Ahhzz · Jan 22, 2015

Uplink10 said:
"Intel Skylake Removes Support for USB based Windows 7 Installation" - seems like people will have no choice but to switch to Windows 10 or 8

Source: http://wccftech.com/intel-skylake-remove-support-usb-based-windows-7-installation-platform-specs/

Sure, if they want to use the Skylake chips. This has been discussed and recussed in another thread.

nickbaldwin86 · Jan 22, 2015

Uplink10 said:
"Intel Skylake Removes Support for USB based Windows 7 Installation" - seems like people will have no choice but to switch to Windows 10 or 8

Source: http://wccftech.com/intel-skylake-remove-support-usb-based-windows-7-installation-platform-specs/

Ahhzz said:
Sure, if they want to use the Skylake chips. This has been discussed and recussed in another thread.

If you are going to run 10 year old software then you can run 5 year old hardware... not going to matter.

If you are building a Skylake machine with DDR4 and the latest hardware and NOT running Windows 10 you are a FOOL! Windows 7 is not meant to run DDR4.

TRWOV · Jan 22, 2015

Uplink10 said:
"Intel Skylake Removes Support for USB based Windows 7 Installation" - seems like people will have no choice but to switch to Windows 10 or 8

Source: http://wccftech.com/intel-skylake-remove-support-usb-based-windows-7-installation-platform-specs/

Can't you use a DVD to install? I still have an internal DVD drive around specifically for situations like this. If you don't want to put down the $15 they cost nowadays you can always borrow one.

Also, that title is incendiary, Intel isn't removing support for "USB based Windows 7 installation", it's removing the EHCI stack from its processors starting with Skylake. This has the collateral of making XP/Vista/7 USB 2.0 bootable drives useless if you choose to use a Skylake or later processor.

Heck, Intel might not even provide a working WDM 1.1 driver for Skylake's chipset, they didn't provide Vista/7 drivers for 865/875 chipsets, MS had to step in and provide a working driver for those. Maybe MS could provide one but since it would be pretty hard to install W7 on a >Skylake system in the first place they might choose not to.

Back on topic, I can't understand why is anyone upset over MS giving away W10 for a year. What's not to like?

Uplink10 · Jan 22, 2015

@TRWOV
Should have wrote "...USB <2.0 based Windows 7 Installation" but I quoted article name which is a little misleding.

I do not know how will you be able to convert your Windows 7 license to Windows 10 without first installing W7 and then upgrading to windows 10.

Static~Charge · Jan 22, 2015

nickbaldwin86 said:
If you think about it this is industry normal.

Apple gives away each OS upgrade.

Apple also sells the only authorized computers to run OS X; they have factored in the cost of the software. Microsoft doesn't sell PCs, let alone have a monopoly on them.

Static~Charge · Jan 22, 2015

The Register has an interesting take on the one-year free upgrade to Windows 10:

"Windows 7 is now six years old with its end-of-support date penciled in for 2020. If Windows 10 also doesn't hit, and assuming Microsoft takes another two years to release the next version of Windows -- its typical roadmap -- then it'll be 2017 before the world's largest software company gets another crack at trying to persuade potential customers it's in their interests to upgrade."

Uplink10 · Jan 22, 2015

Static~Charge said:
Apple also sells the only authorized computers to run OS X; they have factored in the cost of the software. Microsoft doesn't sell PCs, let alone have a monopoly on them.

Apple is currently too highly valued (646.97B) and stocks are gonna lose a lot of value and that always happens when stock has unrealistic price. Apple products are also too expensive (some people complain they do not have any money but they have money for Apple computers and thunderbolt HDDs, I remember reading about somene who lived through college in a car but he bought an Apple notebook - an irony). Apple is milking customers too much in comparison with other companies.

RealNeil · Jan 22, 2015

Uplink10 said:
You do know Microsoft is keylogging everything you press?

Yes, but I'm no Secret Agent and I do my online shopping and banking on just one PC. Not this one.

System Name	Home Brewed
Processor	i9-7900X and i7-8700K
Motherboard	ASUS ROG Rampage VI Extreme & ASUS Prime Z-370 A
Cooling	Corsair 280mm AIO & Thermaltake Water 3.0
Memory	64GB DDR4-3000 GSKill RipJaws-V & 32GB DDR4-3466 GEIL Potenza
Video Card(s)	2X-GTX-1080 SLI & 2 GTX-1070Ti 8GB G1 Gaming in SLI
Storage	Both have 2TB HDDs for storage, 480GB SSDs for OS, and 240GB SSDs for Steam Games
Display(s)	ACER 28" B286HK 4K & Samsung 32" 1080P
Case	NZXT Source 540 & Rosewill Rise Chassis
Audio Device(s)	onboard
Power Supply	Corsair RM1000 & Corsair RM850
Mouse	Generic
Keyboard	Razer Blackwidow Tournament & Corsair K90
Software	Win-10 Professional
Benchmark Scores	yes

System Name	I read I watch I listen but I don't game (2013 Sep build)
Processor	Intel Core i7 4770K
Motherboard	Asrock Fatal1ty Z87 Killer
Cooling	Cooler Master Hyper 212X
Memory	Transcend DDR3-1600 16GB
Video Card(s)	Inno3D GTX 660
Storage	Transcend TS128GSSD340, Western Digital WD3000FYYZ, Hitachi HDS722020ALA330, Seagate ST2000DM001
Display(s)	Eizo EV2455 24.1" 1920x1200
Case	Cooler Master CM 690 III
Audio Device(s)	Arcam irDAC + Harmon Kardon HK980 + Q Acoustics 3020 / Shure SRH1540 / Aurisonics ASG-1.5
Power Supply	Corsair AX750
Mouse	Roccat Kone Pure Optical / CM Storm Xornet II
Keyboard	Varmilo VA87MR
Software	Windows 10 Pro x64

System Name	Windows 10 Pro 64 bit
Processor	Ryzen 5 5600 @4.65 GHz
Motherboard	Asus ROG X570-E
Cooling	Thermalright
Memory	32 GB 3200 MHz
Video Card(s)	Asus RX 6700XT 12 GB Dual
Storage	1TB Samsung 970 EVO Plus
Display(s)	SS QHD 144Hz + LG 55 Inch 4K
Case	Corsair 4000D
Power Supply	Superflower 850

System Name	RiseZEN Gaming PC
Processor	AMD Ryzen 7 5800X @ Auto
Motherboard	Asus ROG Strix X570-E Gaming ATX Motherboard
Cooling	Corsair H115i Elite Capellix AIO, 280mm Radiator, Dual RGB 140mm ML Series PWM Fans
Memory	G.Skill TridentZ 64GB (4 x 16GB) DDR4 3200
Video Card(s)	ASUS DUAL RX 6700 XT DUAL-RX6700XT-12G
Storage	Corsair Force MP500 480GB M.2 & MP510 480GB M.2 - 2 x WD_BLACK 1TB SN850X NVMe 1TB
Display(s)	ASUS ROG Strix 34” XG349C 180Hz 1440p + Asus ROG 27" MG278Q 144Hz WQHD 1440p
Case	Corsair Obsidian Series 450D Gaming Case
Audio Device(s)	SteelSeries 5Hv2 w/ Sound Blaster Z SE
Power Supply	Corsair RM750x Power Supply
Mouse	Razer Death-Adder + Viper 8K HZ Ambidextrous Gaming Mouse - Ergonomic Left Hand Edition
Keyboard	Logitech G910 Orion Spectrum RGB Gaming Keyboard
Software	Windows 11 Pro - 64-Bit Edition
Benchmark Scores	I'm the Doctor, Doctor Who. The Definition of Gaming is PC Gaming...

System Name	Dell-y Driver
Processor	Core i5-10400
Motherboard	Asrock H410M-HVS
Cooling	Intel 95w stock cooler
Memory	2x8 A-DATA 2999Mhz DDR4
Video Card(s)	UHD 630
Storage	1TB WD Green M.2 - 4TB Seagate Barracuda
Display(s)	Asus PA248 1920x1200 IPS
Case	Dell Vostro 270S case
Audio Device(s)	Onboard
Power Supply	Dell 220w
Software	Windows 10 64bit

Windows 10 to be Free Upgrade for Windows 8.1 and Windows 7 Users

RealNeil

Uplink10

nexus_a

darkangel0504

Super XP

TRWOV

HammerON

The Watchful Moderator

mroofie

buggalugs

TRWOV

Dark Revenger

P4-630

64K

rtwjunkie

PC Gaming Enthusiast

Ahhzz

Super Moderator

nickbaldwin86

Uplink10

Ahhzz

Super Moderator

nickbaldwin86

TRWOV

Uplink10

Static~Charge

Static~Charge

Uplink10

RealNeil

System Name	Aki
Processor	AMD 7800X3D
Motherboard	ASUS ROG STRIX X670E-A
Cooling	MSI MAG CoreLiquid E360
Memory	Patriot Viper Elite 5 32GB 6200
Video Card(s)	PNY RTX 4090 XLR8
Storage	Samsung 960 Pro 512 GB + WD Black SN850 1TB
Display(s)	Dell 32" Curved Gaming Monitor (S3220DGF)
Case	Corsair 5000D Airflow
Audio Device(s)	On-board
Power Supply	EVGA SuperNOVA 1000 G5
Mouse	Roccat Kone Pure
Keyboard	ASUS ROG Strix Scope II Wireless
Software	Win 11 Pro
Benchmark Scores	Always changing~

System Name	Mroofie / Mroofie
Processor	Inte Cpu i5 4460 3.2GHZ Turbo Boost 3.4
Motherboard	Gigabyte B85M-HD3
Cooling	Stock Cooling
Memory	Apacer DDR3 1333mhz (4GB) / Adata DDR3 1600Mhz(8GB) CL11
Video Card(s)	Gigabyte Gtx 960 WF
Storage	Seagate 1TB / Seagate 80GB / Seagate 1TB (another one)
Display(s)	Philips LED 24 Inch 1080p 60Hz
Case	Zalman T4
Audio Device(s)	Meh
Power Supply	Antec Truepower Classic 750W 80 Plus Gold
Mouse	Meh
Keyboard	Meh
VR HMD	Meh
Software	Windows 10
Benchmark Scores	Meh

Processor	Intel i7 4790K
Motherboard	Asus Z97 Deluxe
Cooling	Thermalright Ultra Extreme 120
Memory	Corsair Dominator 1866Mhz 4X4GB
Video Card(s)	Asus R290X
Storage	Samsung 850 Pro SSD 256GB/Samsung 840 Evo SSD 1TB
Display(s)	Samsung S23A950D
Case	Corsair 850D
Audio Device(s)	Onboard Realtek
Power Supply	Corsair AX850
Mouse	Logitech G502
Keyboard	Logitech G710+
Software	Windows 10 x64

Processor	AMD Athlon X2 3800+ Toledo @2930Mhz
Motherboard	Asrock 939DualSata2
Cooling	Zalman CNPS 9500Led
Memory	S3+ 2x1024Mb DDR400 PC3200
Video Card(s)	Sapphire Radeon HD3870 512Mb GDDR3
Storage	WD Caviar 250Gb + Maxtor 250Gb SATA2
Display(s)	HANNS-G 19" 4ms
Case	Recom Backdraft Black
Audio Device(s)	Intergrated
Power Supply	LC Power Titan 560W Silent
Software	Windows Xp Pro + SP2

System Name	AlderLake
Processor	Intel i7 12700K P-Cores @ 5Ghz
Motherboard	Gigabyte Z690 Aorus Master
Cooling	Noctua NH-U12A 2 fans + Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut Extreme + 5 case fans
Memory	32GB DDR5 Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB 6000MT/s CL36
Video Card(s)	MSI RTX 2070 Super Gaming X Trio
Storage	Samsung 980 Pro 1TB + 970 Evo 500GB + 850 Pro 512GB + 860 Evo 1TB x2
Display(s)	23.8" Dell S2417DG 165Hz G-Sync 1440p
Case	Be quiet! Silent Base 600 - Window
Audio Device(s)	Panasonic SA-PMX94 / Realtek onboard + B&O speaker system / Harman Kardon Go + Play / Logitech G533
Power Supply	Seasonic Focus Plus Gold 750W
Mouse	Logitech MX Anywhere 2 Laser wireless
Keyboard	RAPOO E9270P Black 5GHz wireless
Software	Windows 11
Benchmark Scores	Cinebench R23 (Single Core) 1936 @ stock Cinebench R23 (Multi Core) 23006 @ stock

Processor	i7 7700k
Motherboard	MSI Z270 SLI Plus
Cooling	CM Hyper 212 EVO
Memory	2 x 8 GB Corsair Vengeance
Video Card(s)	Temporary MSI RTX 4070 Super
Storage	Samsung 850 EVO 250 GB and WD Black 4TB
Display(s)	Temporary Viewsonic 4K 60 Hz
Case	Corsair Obsidian 750D Airflow Edition
Audio Device(s)	Onboard
Power Supply	EVGA SuperNova 850 W Gold
Mouse	Logitech G502
Keyboard	Logitech G105
Software	Windows 10

Processor	Core i9-9900k
Motherboard	ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming 6
Cooling	All air: 2x140mm Fractal exhaust; 3x 140mm Cougar Intake; Enermax ETS-T50 Black CPU cooler
Memory	32GB (2x16) Mushkin Redline DDR-4 3200
Video Card(s)	ASUS RTX 4070 Ti Super OC 16GB
Storage	1x 1TB MX500 (OS); 2x 6TB WD Black; 1x 2TB MX500; 1x 1TB BX500 SSD; 1x 6TB WD Blue storage (eSATA)
Display(s)	Infievo 27" 165Hz @ 2560 x 1440
Case	Fractal Design Define R4 Black -windowed
Audio Device(s)	Soundblaster Z
Power Supply	Seasonic Focus GX-1000 Gold
Mouse	Coolermaster Sentinel III (large palm grip!)
Keyboard	Logitech G610 Orion mechanical (Cherry Brown switches)
Software	Windows 10 Pro 64-bit (Start10 & Fences 3.0 installed)

System Name	OrangeHaze / Silence
Processor	i7-13700KF / i5-10400 /
Motherboard	ROG STRIX Z690-E / MSI Z490 A-Pro Motherboard
Cooling	Corsair H75 / TT ToughAir 510
Memory	64Gb GSkill Trident Z5 / 32GB Team Dark Za 3600
Video Card(s)	Palit GeForce RTX 2070 / Sapphire R9 290 Vapor-X 4Gb
Storage	Hynix Plat P41 2Tb\Samsung MZVL21 1Tb / Samsung 980 Pro 1Tb
Display(s)	22" Dell Wide/24" Asus
Case	Lian Li PC-101 ATX custom mod / Antec Lanboy Air Black & Blue
Audio Device(s)	SB Audigy 7.1
Power Supply	Corsair Enthusiast TX750
Mouse	Logitech G502 Lightspeed Wireless / Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum
Keyboard	K68 RGB — CHERRY® MX Red
Software	Win10 Pro \ RIP:Win 7 Ult 64 bit

System Name	Red 101
Processor	9th Gen Intel Core i9-9900k
Motherboard	EVGA Z370 Classified
Cooling	Custom Primochill and Heatkiller water cooling loop
Memory	16GB of Gskill 3200Mhz CL14
Video Card(s)	EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 FTW2 with Heatkiller block @2114Mhz
Storage	4- Samsung Evo 250GB, 1- Pro 512GB and 1-512GB M.2
Display(s)	LG 38" UW
Case	In Win 101 customized a lot and painted red
Audio Device(s)	Razer Kraken 7.1 Chroma
Power Supply	EVGA 850w G2
Mouse	Razer DeathAdderv2
Keyboard	Razer Ornata Chroma
Software	Win10Pro and games
Benchmark Scores	NA

Processor	Intel Core i3-8100
Motherboard	ASRock H370 Pro4
Cooling	Cryorig M9i
Memory	16GB G.Skill Aegis DDR4-2400
Video Card(s)	Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1060 WindForce OC 3GB
Storage	Crucial MX500 512GB SSD
Display(s)	Dell S2316M LCD
Case	Fractal Design Define R4 Black Pearl
Audio Device(s)	Realtek ALC892
Power Supply	Corsair CX600M
Mouse	Logitech M500
Keyboard	Lenovo KB1021 USB
Software	Windows 10 Professional x64