Oct 28, Note: The ISO download appears to be a Home Premium upgrade image; if you grabbed a Professional upgrade from the student discount page, head to the bottom link and look up your image location.
Instead, you get official installation media straight from Microsoft. The most important thing is that you have a valid license key. One caveat you should be aware of up front is that you can no longer download an ISO for Windows 8—just 8. And the product keys are different for Windows 8 and 8. After you do the upgrade, Windows will assign the new product key to the installation. You can find that product key in a number of different ways and save it for the future. After that, you should be able to do a clean installation of Windows 8.
Note that the Windows 8. Microsoft will offer you a direct download of the Windows 10 or Windows 8. The tool will suggest a language, edition, and architecture for Windows based on information about the PC on which the tool is running. Next, select whether you want the tool to create a bootable USB flash drive with the installation media, or just create an ISO file that you can use or burn to a DVD later.
At this point, the Media Creation Tool will begin downloading the files and assembling your ISO, which can take a fair bit of time depending on your internet connection. Next, choose whether you want the bit or bit version of Windows 7. When you click whichever version you want, the download will begin. Note that download links generated by the site are only valid for 24 hours.
Of course, you could always come back and walk through the verification and selection process again to generate new links. When you install Windows 7, you can avoid the hassle of downloading and installing the hundreds of updates that came out after SP1 by installing the Windows 7 SP1 Convenience Rollup.
The ISOs can be hard to find, though, and for versions of Windows other than the most current, the site tries really hard to push you into using the Media Creation Tool instead. This includes various builds of the Windows 10 Insider Preview. First, head over to HeiDoc.
Just launch the executable file. Note that in addition to the regular editions of the product such as Home or Professional , you can also download regions specific editions such as Windows N which is sold to the European market and does not include multimedia apps like Media Player and DVD Maker and Windows K which is sold to the Korean market. Finally, choose whether to download the bit or bit version of the product.
Either way, note that most links generated by the tool are only valid for 24 hours, though you can always come back and generate new links. Yes, you could accomplish some of this by digging around the TechBench site, but using this clever little utility is quicker and saves a lot of hassle.
Plus, for some products, like Windows 8. Microsoft also provides other software via the TechNet Evaluation Center. If you're upgrading a different machine, choose Create installation media for another PC , and save the installation files.
Microsoft is encouraging Windows 7 users to upgrade to Windows 10 now support for the former has ended. It should be noted that if you have a Windows 7 or 8 Home license, you can only update to Windows 10 Home, while Windows 7 or 8 Pro can only be updated to Windows 10 Pro.
The upgrade is not available for Windows Enterprise. Other users may experience blocks as well , depending on your machine. This upgrade using the media creation tool isn't meant for the general consumer, but it works for many nonetheless.
To get the best Windows 10 experience and take advantage of features like passwordless sign-on through Windows Hello , you'll want to buy a new Windows 10 PC or one released after July with all the hardware upgrades.
If you're a student or university faculty member, you may also be able to download Windows 10 for free. Search for your school's software offerings here.
Stay current on the latest Microsoft news, plus reviews and advice on Windows PCs. For more, check out the best antivirus protection of for Windows 10 , six security changes all Windows 10 users need to make , all of the big differences between Windows 10 and Windows 11 and every Windows 10 setting you should disable. You can also get Microsoft Office online free , too.
Be respectful, keep it civil and stay on topic. We delete comments that violate our policy , which we encourage you to read. Discussion threads can be closed at any time at our discretion. Still running Windows 7? What to know Windows 10 is required to upgrade to Windows Alison DeNisco Rayome. Now playing: Watch this: 7 ways to take screenshots in Windows More Windows 10 tips Windows 10 hacks: 11 hidden tricks to master now How to use multiple desktops in Windows 10 How to get Windows Photo Viewer back in Windows 10 Touchpad not working on your Windows 10 laptop?
Here's how to fix it.
