How to update from 8.1 to windows 10. Is it possible to update the pirated version

Good afternoon.

Not so long ago, namely on July 29, one significant event occurred - the new Windows 10 OS was released (note: before this, Windows 10 was distributed in the so-called test mode - Technical Preview).

Actually, when I had some time, I decided to upgrade my Windows 8.1 to Windows 10 on my home laptop. Everything turned out quite simply and quickly (1 hour in total), without losing any data, settings or applications. I took a dozen screenshots that may be useful to those who also want to update their OS.

Instructions for updating Windows (to Windows 10)

Which OS can be upgraded to Windows 10?

You can upgrade to Windows 10 from the following versions: 7, 8, 8.1 (Vista - ?). Windows XP cannot be upgraded to Windows 10 (you must perform a complete reinstallation of the OS).

Minimum system requirements to install Windows 10?

1 GHz processor (or faster) supporting PAE, NX and SSE2;
- 2 GB of RAM;
- 20 GB of free hard disk space;
- Video card supporting DirectX 9.

Where to download Windows 10?

Official website: https://www.microsoft.com/ru-ru/software-download/windows10

Starting the update/installation

Actually, to start the update (installation), you need an ISO image with Windows 10. You can download it on the official website (or on various torrent trackers).

1) Although there are various ways to update Windows, I will describe the one I used myself. First you need to unpack the ISO image (like a regular archive). Any popular archiver can easily cope with this task: for example, 7-zip (official website: http://www.7-zip.org/).

To unpack an archive in 7-zip, just right-click on the ISO file and select “unpack here...” in the context menu.

2) After the installation starts, Windows 10 will prompt you to get important updates (in my opinion, this can be done later). Therefore, I recommend selecting “not now” and continuing the installation (see Fig. 1).

Rice. 1. Start installing Windows 10

Rice. 2. Checking system requirements

3) When everything is ready for installation, you will see a window like in Fig. 3. Make sure the checkbox next to “ Keep Windows settings, personal files and applications" and click the install button.

4) The process has begun... Usually copying files to disk (the window as in Fig. 5) does not take much time: 5-10 minutes. After this, your computer will restart.

Rice. 5. Installing Windows 10...

5) Installation process

The longest part is that on my laptop the installation process (copying files, installing drivers and components, setting up applications, etc.) took about 30-40 minutes. At this time, it is better not to touch the laptop (computer) and not to interfere with the installation process (the picture on the monitor will be approximately the same as in Fig. 6).

By the way, the computer will restart automatically 3-4 times. It is possible that nothing will be displayed on your screen for 1-2 minutes (just a black screen) - do not turn off the power or press RESET!

Rice. 6. Windows update process

6) When the installation process comes to an end, Windows 10 will prompt you to configure the system. I recommend selecting " Use standard settings» see fig. 7.

Rice. 7. New notification - increase speed

7) Windows 10 notifies us during the installation process about new improvements: photos, music, new EDGE browser, movies and TV shows. In general, you can immediately click next.

Rice. 8. New applications for the new Windows 10

8) Upgrade to Windows 10 completed successfully! All you have to do is press the login button...

Below in the article there are several screenshots of the installed system.

Rice. 9. Welcome back Alex...

From screenshots from the new Windows 10 OS

Installation of drivers

After updating Windows 8.1 to Windows 10, almost everything worked, except for one thing - there was no video driver and because of this it was impossible to adjust the brightness of the monitor (it was at maximum by default, in my opinion - it hurts the eyes a little).

In my case, interestingly, the laptop manufacturer’s website already had a whole set of drivers for Windows 10 (dated July 31). After installing the video driver, everything began to work as expected!

I'll give you a couple of relevant links here:

Programs for auto-updating drivers:

In impressions...

Overall, there are not that many changes (the transition from Windows 8.1 to Windows 10 does not give anything in terms of functionality). The changes are mainly “cosmetic” (new icons, START menu, image editor, etc.)…

Probably, someone will find it convenient to view pictures and photographs in the new “viewer”. By the way, it allows you to easily and quickly perform light editing: remove red eyes, lighten or darken the image, rotate, crop edges, apply various filters (see Fig. 10).

Rice. 10. View pictures in Windows 10

At the same time, these capabilities will not be enough to solve more advanced problems. Those. in any case, even with such a photo viewer, you need to have a more functional image editor...

Viewing video files on a PC is quite well implemented: it’s convenient to open a folder with films and immediately see all the episodes, titles, and previews for them. By the way, the viewing itself is quite well implemented, the video picture quality is clear, bright, and not inferior to the best players (note:).

I can’t say anything specific about the Microsoft Edge browser yet. The browser, like a browser, works quite quickly, it opens pages as quickly as Chrome. The only drawback I noticed is the distortion of some sites (apparently they are not yet optimized for it).

START menu it has become much more convenient! Firstly, it combines both a tile (appearing in Windows 8) and a classic list of programs available in the system. Secondly, now if you right-click on the START menu, you can open almost any manager and change any settings in the system (see Fig. 12).

Rice. 12. Right mouse button on START opens additional. options...

Of the minuses

I can highlight one thing for now - the computer has taken longer to boot. Perhaps this has something to do with my system specifically, but the difference is 20-30 seconds. visible to the naked eye. Interestingly, it turns off just as quickly as in Windows 8...

That's all for me, good luck with the update :)

The release of Microsoft's new operating system is the result of the work of many people. It takes a lot of resources to develop and debug a new version of Windows. It is not surprising that the operating system costs a lot of money. So it came as a surprise when Microsoft announced that you could upgrade your previous version of Windows to Windows 10 for free.

Is it possible to upgrade from Windows 8 to Windows 10

The Windows 8 operating system does not have a direct upgrade option to Windows 10. The fact is that this system was replaced by the Windows 8.1 version, developing and finalizing the changes in the main version. If you haven't updated Windows 8, you should do so before upgrading to Windows 10.

This may seem unfair, since Windows 7 has the ability to be upgraded to Windows 10, despite the fact that it is an older version of the operating system. This is due to the fact that Windows 8.1 is not so much a new operating system as an improved version of the previous one.

Upgrading Windows 8 to Windows 8.1

Let's figure out how to make this upgrade for the next one - to Windows 10. Perform the following steps:

The system has been successfully updated to Windows 8.1 and is ready to upgrade to Windows 10.

Upgrade from Windows 8.1 to Windows 10

Until July 29, 2016, the upgrade was available free of charge to all Windows 8.1 users. Users were pleasantly surprised by this. But due to intrusive notifications about the possibility of updating, many were dissatisfied. Now the official option for a free update is no longer available, and you can only purchase the Windows 10 operating system at full price. The price of the home version of this operating system is more than eight thousand rubles. For users who are not ready to pay such a sum, Microsoft has left a loophole that makes it possible to upgrade Windows 8.1 to Windows 10 for free.

Free update after July 29, 2016

Even though the free upgrade option was disabled as promised, the offer is still valid for people with disabilities. Microsoft does not require any proof, so everyone can use this update method, even if they are not entitled to it due to their social status. This is done as follows:

  1. Open the promotion section on the official Microsoft website and download a special utility. It will be used to update. To download the utility, click "Update Now".
  2. After downloading, make sure that your version of Windows is correct and that the operating system itself is activated.
  3. Run the downloaded utility, read and accept the terms of the license agreement.
  4. The computer's compatibility with Windows 10 will be checked. It is enough that your system has 2 gigabytes of RAM installed and sufficient hard drive space. The requirements for the central processor are negligible. Click Next.
  5. The utility will begin loading the operating system onto your computer. Wait for it to finish. The download may take a long time (depending on internet speed).
  6. As soon as the download of the operating system is completed, scanning of the downloaded files will begin. This is necessary so that during installation there are no problems if one of the files does not download completely due to network outages. Wait until the scan is completed.
  7. The installation procedure for the new operating system will begin. All this time you can continue to work at the computer.
  8. A notification appears asking you to restart your computer. You will have half an hour to complete the current work on the device. If you want to delay the final stage of installation, you can click Restart later.
  9. Once the system is restarted, the final stage of installation will begin. Wait for the process to complete.
  10. A notification will appear indicating that the process has completed, and the new Windows 10 operating system will launch to perform initial system settings.

Of course, Microsoft developers are aware of the possibility of “unfair” updates. However, they benefit if people use their product even when they are not willing to pay for it. After all, profit comes from software sales and internal purchases of applications for the new operating system.

Video: free update after July 29, 2016

Now you know how to upgrade Windows 8 or Windows 8.1 to Windows 10 completely free of charge. Use this knowledge if you want to upgrade to the latest operating system from Microsoft.

Technological progress does not stand still. Everyone in this world strives for something new and better. Microsoft programmers also keep up with the general trend, periodically delighting us with the release of fresh versions of their famous operating system. Windows "Threshold" 10 was presented to the public in September 2014 and immediately attracted close attention from the computer community.

Frankly speaking, the most common one so far is Windows 7. But if you decide to update the operating system to version 10 on your PC, even just for personal testing of the new software, then you should not have any serious difficulties. So, how can you upgrade from Windows 8 to Windows 10? Don't forget to make sure your computer meets the Windows 10 system requirements before starting the update process.

Method 1: Media Creation Tool

A dual purpose utility from Microsoft. Updates Windows to version ten and helps create an installation image for self-installation of the new operating system.


Method 2: Installing Windows 10 over Windows 8

If you want to save all settings, installed programs, and information in the system partition of your hard drive, you can install a new system over the old one yourself.
We buy a disk with the Windows 10 distribution kit or download installation files from the official Microsoft website. We burn the installer to a flash drive or DVD. And we follow the instructions already published on our website.

Method 3: Clean installation of Windows 10

If you are a fairly advanced user and you are not afraid of setting up the system from scratch, then perhaps the best option would be the so-called clean installation of Windows. The main difference from method No. 3 is that before installing Windows 10, you need to format the system partition of the hard drive.

For Windows 7 and 8.1 users, the planned one-year free upgrade period to Windows 10 officially ended on July 29, 2016.

Immediately after this date, Microsoft launched a site designed for users with disabilities using assistive technologies for Windows. However, it also stopped working on January 16, 2018. However, with the help of the Windows 10 Upgrade Assistant utility, which is still available for download from official servers, anyone can still upgrade to Windows 10 for free.

A phased upgrade to Windows 10 October 2018 Update (version 1809) is currently available.

To take advantage of the free update offer, you must follow these steps:

1. For a hassle-free installation, you must install all the latest updates for your current system.

2. Download a special version of the Windows 10 Upgrade Assistant utility, with which you can check your computer’s compatibility and update your Windows 7 SP1 or 8.1 operating system for free.

3. Launch the utility and follow the onscreen instructions.

4. The update may take from one to several hours depending on your computer configuration and Internet connection speed. Once the update is complete, Windows 10 (version 1709) will be installed.

You can see other ways to update to the latest version of Windows 10 in the article:

Activating Windows 10 using Windows 7 and 8.1 keys

Windows 10 can be activated using product keys from Windows 7 and 8.1.

If you own a key for an OEM version of Windows 7 or 8.1, then when you perform a clean installation of the system, you will be able to complete the activation procedure in the application Settings > Update & Security > Activation.

Found a typo? Highlight and press Ctrl + Enter

The popularity of operating systems from Microsoft explains why many users are wondering how to update Windows 8 to 10. Today we will try to give the most detailed answer to the question posed. We are confident that everyone who reads the material will have a clear idea of ​​exactly how this procedure should be performed.

First of all, you need to understand that it is impossible to update, without a certain intermediate step, directly from the 8th version to the 10th. Microsoft developers did not provide for such a possibility, since the next version of Windows 8, variation 8.1, is not a completely new option, but rather an improved and modified version of the existing system.

After the launch of Windows 8 to the masses, a large number of “bugs” and shortcomings were noticed. We had to react urgently, correcting problem areas and patching “holes” as we went. Therefore, if you have Windows 8 installed on your computer, then before updating to build 10, you will have to update the OS to version 8.1. Naturally, all driver packages and control panels will be saved. In exceptional cases, you will have to do it again to improve the performance of your Radeon video card.

First, let's use the official "Store" application from Microsoft, where the following button is located: "Free upgrade to 8.1." Naturally, you need to click on this button. Please note that all of this is only possible if you have the product key. For trial versions or incorrectly hacked versions, the method will not work. Microsoft itself warns about this.

The required “Store” is located in the control panel, you can find your way using the following screenshot:

After this, a new window will open, and there will be information there, as well as a “Download” button. We click and download the files.

After the download is complete, the installation of the updated version – 8.1 – will start. At some point, you will be asked to restart your PC or laptop, and you will have to agree to the restart.

The entire update process is automatic. You just have to wait for the update to finish. At the end, a window will open with the operating system settings and the so-called window in which the computer welcomes you.

Congratulations! Now you half know how to update Windows 8 to 10 for free, with your own hands. It's time to figure out the next step - updating version 8.1 to 10.

How was the update to OS version 10 announced?

From the very beginning, Microsoft stated that the new operating system would be available for free throughout the entire calendar year, after the release of the installation package. It was planned that the update would no longer be free and that money would have to be paid for it. That is why the built-in service constantly notified users of Windows 7 and 8.1 about the opportunity to upgrade to version 10.

Within a few days, the “cunning” representatives of Microsoft launched a visual countdown, which was supposed to speed up the decision-making of many users. In general, this is what happened!

But the most interesting thing is that after 1 calendar year, we still have the opportunity to switch to Windows 10 for free. We will take advantage of this opportunity, since the presented operating system has a lot of advantages, here are just a few:

  • Stylish and modern design;
  • Convenient navigation;
  • A rich list of useful functions and tools;
  • A large number of automated processes;

Now let's talk about how to do this correctly.

Let's move on to updating build 8.1 to 10

In this case, we will need an electronic assistant, which you can download on the official Microsoft website. If the download is complete, then we begin the update process by launching this assistant on a personal computer.

Let’s immediately say that versions 8.1 and 10 are very similar, so if you are worried that the design will change, don’t worry, because 90% of everything will remain the same, and the rest can be corrected, for example, by downloading.

After launching the assistant, you will need to accept a small agreement with Microsoft. The system will then begin checking the computer's capabilities. The main requirements are 1 GB RAM for 32-bit versions and 2 GB RAM for 64-bit versions, and 16 GB and 20 GB for 32-bit and 64-bit respectively.

Then the program starts downloading from the Internet the necessary image of the operating system, which will ideally “fit” the installed version of the program. After several tens of minutes, or maybe even hours, the download will end.

The image integrity check begins, in other words, the OS checks the files for errors. Once this process is complete, you can say that the free upgrade from Windows 8 to Windows 10 is coming to an end.

The launched process will last from 40 to 60 minutes and everything happens directly in the system files of the installed OS. Then a warning about a required reboot will appear, you can immediately agree, or you can wait until the end of the allotted period of 30 minutes.

As soon as the PC or laptop is rebooted, the basic installation of the new system will begin.

This process takes everyone from 20 to 50 minutes, it all depends on the speed of the drive. At the end, the user is notified that he was able to update Windows 8 to 10 for free and independently.

Now you can use your PC with the latest build of Windows 10 installed on it!

And if you still have questions, or errors appeared during the update process, we recommend watching the following video: