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Here's how you can still get a free Windows 10 upgrade in 2020

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  • Here's how you can still get a free Windows 10 upgrade in 2020

    Here's how you can still get a free Windows 10 upgrade

    I did this for my secretary this weekend - upgraded from 7Pro to Win10Pro for FREE.

    Microsoft's much-hyped free upgrade offer for Windows 10 ended in 2016, right? Not exactly. The GWX tool may be gone, but all the other upgrade tools still work. The end result is an apparently valid digital license, and there's no evidence that the free upgrades will end any time soon.

    Updated January 7, 2020: Thank you to the many readers who have continued to provide firsthand reports that this procedure still works. The overwhelming majority of reader reports confirm that this upgrade is still available. A small number of readers have reported that the upgrade fails because of a Setup error or a compatibility block. For details on how to troubleshoot these errors, see "This free Windows 10 upgrade offer still works. Here's why - and how to get it.".
    The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

  • #2
    Thanks for that. Not sure I have the guts to give it a try. Definitely not 'til I get over this flu (18 days and counting) and have better brain function.

    This old Toshiba lappie has a 2012 BIOS. Latest update at the Toshiba site was posted in 2016, but appears to have a 2012 date. The article says anything older than 2015 is likely to be trouble.
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    • #3
      I still have one Windows 7 machiine. It's a pretty old desktop. I think I tried to upgrade it to W10 a while back but it didn't meet the specs. I think it needed a newer video card. I am now debating whether it is worth buying a new video card so I can update it to W10 or just leave it as W7. I don't really use it much. I got a new desktop that I have hooked up to my HDTV and just put this one in the "office" where I maybe use it 3 or 4 times a year.

      What would be a good cheap video card to get? It just needs two DVI ports on it. The hardest thing it would have to do is play youtube videos.

      Or even an all-in-one motherboard (CP you still build PC's right?)
      Last edited by Sparko; 01-15-2020, 06:52 AM.

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      • #4
        Originally posted by Sparko View Post
        I still have one Windows 7 machiine. It's a pretty old desktop. I think I tried to upgrade it to W10 a while back but it didn't meet the specs. I think it needed a newer video card. I am now debating whether it is worth buying a new video card so I can update it to W10 or just leave it as W7. I don't really use it much. I got a new desktop that I have hooked up to my HDTV and just put this one in the "office" where I maybe use it 3 or 4 times a year.

        What would be a good cheap video card to get? It just needs two DVI ports on it. The hardest thing it would have to do is play youtube videos.

        Or even an all-in-one motherboard (CP you still build PC's right?)
        I haven't been building PCs for the last couple years - and that technology moves fast. Pretty much out of the PC business.
        The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

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        • #5
          Originally posted by NorrinRadd View Post
          Thanks for that. Not sure I have the guts to give it a try. Definitely not 'til I get over this flu (18 days and counting) and have better brain function.

          This old Toshiba lappie has a 2012 BIOS. Latest update at the Toshiba site was posted in 2016, but appears to have a 2012 date. The article says anything older than 2015 is likely to be trouble.
          Interesting... I've used a free cloning software in the past to clone the hard drive first, then do the update -- if it fails, you just revert to the cloned disk. So far (knock on wood) I've never had to use the cloned disk.
          The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

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          • #6
            Originally posted by NorrinRadd View Post
            Thanks for that. Not sure I have the guts to give it a try. Definitely not 'til I get over this flu (18 days and counting) and have better brain function.





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            • #7
              Originally posted by Cow Poke View Post
              I haven't been building PCs for the last couple years - and that technology moves fast. Pretty much out of the PC business.
              Same here. I don't know what to even look for now. If I decide to upgrade to W10 I will see about getting a cheap video card first. Saw some for $40.

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              • #8
                Originally posted by Sparko View Post
                Same here. I don't know what to even look for now. If I decide to upgrade to W10 I will see about getting a cheap video card first. Saw some for $40.
                I've gotten some pretty good advice through the years from Tom's Hardware --- that's pretty much my go-to when I'm over my head in tech.

                In the early days, it was very lucrative to build clones, but Dell kinda blew that up by mass producing cheaper alternatives, then others got into the act, and it became pretty hard to build a clone and make decent money when you could buy the whole system for just a few bucks more, INCLUDING a properly licensed OS.
                The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

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                • #9
                  Though none of our computers are presently running Windows 10, during the time it was offered for free I installed it on all of them just so if we ever decided in the future that we want 10 on any of them after all then it'll still be free.

                  Every now and then I like to plan ahead.
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                  • #10
                    By the way, I HATE the Win10 menu structure crapola thing, so I use Classic Shell (now called Open Shell) to get that Win7 menu experience.

                    You can configure it how you'd like...

                    open shell.jpg

                    And (since their website is not the best, and it might be difficult to find) download the installation package here.
                    The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

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                    • #11
                      Originally posted by Cow Poke View Post
                      I've gotten some pretty good advice through the years from Tom's Hardware --- that's pretty much my go-to when I'm over my head in tech.

                      In the early days, it was very lucrative to build clones, but Dell kinda blew that up by mass producing cheaper alternatives, then others got into the act, and it became pretty hard to build a clone and make decent money when you could buy the whole system for just a few bucks more, INCLUDING a properly licensed OS.
                      Even a gaming PC with very powerful hardware is now cheaper to buy than to build. At least it was for me with the parts I wanted. Still expensive, but I can play most new stuff with medium/high settings. Depending on how all out they went in the graphics department.

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                      • #12
                        Originally posted by Cow Poke View Post
                        I've gotten some pretty good advice through the years from Tom's Hardware --- that's pretty much my go-to when I'm over my head in tech.

                        In the early days, it was very lucrative to build clones, but Dell kinda blew that up by mass producing cheaper alternatives, then others got into the act, and it became pretty hard to build a clone and make decent money when you could buy the whole system for just a few bucks more, INCLUDING a properly licensed OS.
                        Well I looked up my graphics card by looking through my newegg order list. It is an Radeon HD 5750 and it says it does DirectX 11 so it must not have been the graphic card that was the problem. I will need to rerun the W10 upgrade tool to see what it was.

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                        • #13
                          Originally posted by The Melody Maker View Post
                          Though none of our computers are presently running Windows 10, during the time it was offered for free I installed it on all of them just so if we ever decided in the future that we want 10 on any of them after all then it'll still be free.

                          Every now and then I like to plan ahead.
                          uh what? You have it installed but they are not running it?

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                          • #14
                            Originally posted by Sparko View Post
                            Well I looked up my graphics card by looking through my newegg order list. It is an Radeon HD 5750 and it says it does DirectX 11 so it must not have been the graphic card that was the problem. I will need to rerun the W10 upgrade tool to see what it was.
                            And it's possible that the updated upgrade tool fixed some of those problems with hardware compatibility. I had one old desktop that would NOT upgrade to Win10 last summer, but it smoothly upgraded a week ago.
                            The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

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                            • #15
                              Originally posted by Sparko View Post
                              uh what? You have it installed but they are not running it?
                              Back then you could download the Win10 install package.
                              The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

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