Windows 10 free download: How to get the upgrade now

RV_ · March 14, 2021

Microsoft no longer supports Windows 7. If you haven't upgraded to Windows 10 yet, follow these simple steps now.

If you have a leftover Windows 7 computer or one you use daily that you like it is still possible for many to upgrade to Windows 10 for free. If you aren't comfortable just buy a used HDD from your local computer shop for 10 bucks and clone your drive.

If you have a windows 7 system odds are it is getting on in years so having a spare clone of the Hard drive while trying the upgrade the worst that can happen is you put the clone in place. If your original hard drive crashes at some point you have an immediate fix by swapping out the "good" clone.

Good video in the link below too.

Warning: If you don't know what you're doing talk to someone who does and see if they'll help. It is easy if you know your way around one but do this at your own risk.

Excerpt:

"Support for Windows 7 ended about a year ago, and Microsoft wants holdouts to upgrade to Windows 10 to keep devices running securely and smoothly. If you have an older PC or laptop still running Windows 7, you can buy the Windows 10 Home operating system on Microsoft's website for $139 (£120, AU$225). But you don't necessarily have to shell out the cash: A free upgrade offer from Microsoft that technically ended in 2016 still works for many people. And if you find yourself spending more time at home on your computer due to the coronavirus pandemic, it may be a good time to try it out for yourself.

When Windows 10 was first released in July 2015, Microsoft offered an unprecedented free upgrade offer for Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 users, good through July 2016. But in 2017, Ed Bott of CNET sister site ZDNet reported that the free upgrade tool was still functional. I tried it out in November 2019, and was able to upgrade a 2014 Dell OptiPlex 9020 desktop from Windows 7 Pro to Windows 10 Pro. As of the end of December 2020, readers are still emailing me and commenting below, saying that it's worked for them as well.

Read more: 11 easy Windows 10 tricks you didn't know about

Windows 7 users who don't upgrade to the new version will no longer be able to get Microsoft's security updates or fixes, or technical support for any issues, leaving your computer at greater risk from viruses and malware. While Windows 10 users have experienced a number of bugs over the years, upgrading remains the best option for keeping your computer safe, analysts say. And more people seem to be making the move: Windows 10 now has more than 1 billion active users worldwide, Microsoft reported in March."

Source: https://www.cnet.com/how-to/how-to-download-windows-10-for-free-now-that-windows-7-is-dead/

Bill Joyce · March 15, 2021

A couple friends have upgraded to Windows 10 in the last couple years for free, so I know it works.

Edited March 16, 2021 by Bill Joyce

Ray,IN · March 16, 2021

If I can do it anyone can. All I had to do was follow on-screen prompts. The only tough part is reading the instructions until you understand completely before pushing a button. Haste makes waste is a valid concern.

Edited March 16, 2021 by Ray,IN

chuckbear · March 16, 2021

My Windows 7 works just fine and has for many years. My security is all via 3rd part software which is much better than Microsoft anyway. So I have no concern for my OS security. Of course Microsoft wants to frighten us by promoting that if we keep our older systems we will somehow be hacked and our entire life ruined. Any company that uses scare tactics to get you to do what THEY want should be suspect in my opinion. So I will stay with what works for me without any complicated (see the warnings about you being tech savvy enough to switch OS) OS "upgrades". I have two laptops with Windows 7 working perfectly without Microsoft support or help since the Windows 10 push. Remember when they would trick people into replacing 7 with 10? The motto I have lived by and done well is simple. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. One Windows 7 laptop began acting wonky on me. A simple factory reset and I have a computer in as good shape as it was when I took it out of the box new. It should be good for another 10 years. Chuck

NamMedevac 70 · March 16, 2021

Thanks again RV. I have upgraded for free and without glitches two older laptops to WIN 10 including an old Acer Vista. I still have one WIN 7 and WIN 8.1(new) that work just fine without trouble.

I now have a brand new Lenovo WIN 10 I Core 7 for daily use. Collected these laptops over many years and have used all of them as desktops for everything. As of now no problems with any of my WIN 10 operating systems. Capt. Happy Camper

P.S. Chuckiebear I hear you and agree with everything you say and still have a WIN 7 laptop as backup.

https://www.facebook.com/Pilot-Bill-Perkins-Exotic-Living-And-Travels-in-Far-East-and-SE-Asia-1425108021122523

Edited March 16, 2021 by NamMedevac 70

hiljoball · March 17, 2021

I have an old Acer 11 inch notebook with 2GB ram and an Atom processor. It came with WIN 7 and over time I upgraded it to Win10 when that came out, but recently Win10 has grown so fat, it has become so slow as to be almost unusable. This is a computer that I take when traveling, so it is used only occasionally.

So I converted it to LinuxMint, which came with a useful package of software - Firefox, a compact PDF reader and Libre Office suite - just about everything I need. So far it is working fine and is fast enough to give me a few more years out of the hardware.

This is my first venture outside of Microsoft - so far so good!

I will not convert my other two (big) laptops as they are fast enough, and have software that is not available on Linux - eg the Garmin downloader for my GPS updates.

John

RV_ · March 19, 2021

I have the disks ($5 or so) of Linux Mint/Cinnamon 18.2 to try and revive an early heavy Windows XP computer. It did not work. Linux Mint was too new and needed too many resources to run on it. It screams on a modern machine. I agree that desktop is as good as Windows for a newbie coming from Windows to Linux. It is familiar, AND you can go under the hood and make changes. It's a good distro, I prefer Windows 10 though. I also liked the AF Linux called LPS or LIghtweight Portable Security. It is obsolete now but can be had if you want to play with it here: https://archiveos.org/lps/ it boots from a USB Flash drive, and was impressive.

Ray,IN · March 19, 2021

Derek the program was updated, now named TENS, here is the new website: https://www.tens.af.mil/download.htm

Edited March 19, 2021 by Ray,IN

RV_ · March 26, 2021

Wow Ray Thanks! I tried that website from a search several times and got warnings all over from my security that it is a dangerous website but I went advanced and allowed it and it was indeed the actual AF.mil website. IT has not only that secure Linux for free it also has other tools but the USAF is dropping support and looking for a commercial agency to continue it.

"DISA has announced that they are no longer willing to fund the TENS program. Without a champion organization and funding, the program will be decommissioned in the coming months.

If your organization has found TENS, Bootable Media and/or Encryption Wizard to be useful and your organization, or one of your parent organizations, would be interested in funding the program or your specialized use case, we'd like to hear from you!

Please contact TENS_Outreach@us.af.mil for more information.

Warning, using this download incorrectly could cause data loss by inexperienced users. I use the ISO tool to make a bootable thumbdirive to use these. To do that you need to download the program to make bootable system disks and Flash drives, and change your settings for bootup sequence to make the USB drive the primary boot device and place the regular boot hard drive as second boot device, or third if you want the computer to first check USB, then CD, then the hard drive that's fine too.Just remember not to boot with a disk in the CD/DVD drive, or Flash drive connected to the USB port and turned on. I use

Downloads

Jump directly to a download section:

Trusted End Node Security (TENS)

Prior to the 1.7 release, TENS was known as Lightweight Portable Security (LPS).

The Public Deluxe edition is the same as Public, but with additional software that most people might not need in every session, such as LibreOffice, Adobe Reader, Citrix Workspace, and VMWare Horizon.

If you are unable to download .iso format files, or are getting incomplete downloads, you may wish to try the .zip format instead. Note: the file format contained in the ISO is already compressed, so these ZIP files are not meaningfully smaller (and might even be larger).

Important Restrictions

A CD-ROM will not hold many of the Deluxe editions due to the size; for these you will need at least a DVD±R disc.
Beginning with 3.0, TENS is a 64-bit-only OS and thus is incompatible with 32-bit hardware. If you are using 32-bit hardware, you must use 1.7.6 or earlier.

Read the Release Notes and version history."

Source: https://www.tens.af.mil/download.htm

If you want to play with it now is the time with the new Feb 2021 release.

Edited March 26, 2021 by RV_