As per the calendar, Microsoft’s much-hyped windows 10 free upgrade offer ended in 2016, right? Well, it’s not exactly how it sounds. It’s just the GWX tool that may have gone, but the rest of the other upgrade tools are still available and there is no such news that the free upgrades are going to end any time soon.
Many users successfully installed windows 10 upgrade even after the expiration date however a few of them got an error message stating, “Windows 10 Setup has failed to validate the product key.” Well, that’s a common error that used to occur even before the expiration date.
Everyone knows that the windows 10 free upgrade offer ended on July 29, 2016, as that’s when Microsoft officially ended the ‘Get Windows 10’ program and stopped imposing the GWX tool onto the PCs of unsuspecting users who were already happy with their current version of Windows and had no craving to get windows 10 upgrade.
From July 30, 2016, the upgrade notifications stopped appearing and the GWX app. That means now you will need to pay to get a Windows 10 upgrade. If you have the key to your previous version of Windows.
Also Read: How To Upgrade From Windows 10 Home To Windows 10 Pro For Free
How To Upgrade Windows 8.1 to Windows 10 For FREE
Step 1. Be handy with the product key of your current version of Windows and write it somewhere safe. To get the product key, you need to click on Start -> Click on ‘Settings’ -> Go to ‘System’ and on the left-hand side panel, click on ‘About’. It will display the product key.
Step 2. Go to Microsoft’s official website to Download Windows 10. Click on the Download Tool Now button to get the installation media.
Step 3. Run the downloaded installation file and on the first screen, select ‘Upgrade this PC Now’ and click on the ‘Next’ button.
Step 4. Follow onscreen instructions and prompts to complete the Windows 10 upgrade. Once the upgrade is complete and you are connected back to the internet, it will ask you to get a digital license for Windows 10, You can confirm the digital license in the settings window.
Step 5. Click on Start -> go to ‘Settings’ -> select ‘Update & Security’ and go to the ‘Activation’ tab on the left-hand side menu.
The digital license gets associated with your specific device, which allows you to format and reinstall the disk and perform a clean installation of the same edition of Windows 10 anytime. You won’t need a product key if the digital license is activated. The activation process is automatic.
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Alternative Method
There is another way you can get windows 10 free upgrade. Follow Steps 1 and 2.
Step 3. when you run the installation media, instead of selecting ‘Upgrade this PC Now’, Select the second option ‘Create Installation Media (USB Flash Drive, DVD or ISO File) for another PC’.
Step 4. Select preferred Language, Architecture and Windows Edition and click on ‘Next’.
Step 5. Now you get an option to either download the Installation Media to a USB to just insert and run the setup or get an ISO file that you will need to burn on a DVD to run the setup.
Step 6. Let’s proceed with the USB file, Insert the USB Drive and select it from the list of available devices and download the file.
Step 7. Insert the USB to the device which needs windows 10 upgrade and restart the computer while pressing F2 to enter the BIOS setup to change the boot priority. This will allow the USB flash drive to run before the system actually boots to the desktop. Select the USB drive under Boot Priority Order and press F10 to save changes and exit.
Step 8. Restart the computer again and you will reach the installation screen of windows 10 upgrade.
Step 9. Enter the product key once prompted and continue with the upgrade of windows 8.1 to windows 10.
Upgrade Successful, Now What?
Once you are done with the upgrade to Windows 10, you should check for updates using the Windows Update feature of your operating system. You should also look for updated Drivers compatible with your new version of Windows 10. There are two methods to look for updated drivers. One is to check each driver manually and the other one is to use Advanced Driver Updater software which will check for the updated drivers and update all device drivers as and when needed.
Hardware devices such as printers, monitors, and graphics cards or additional peripherals may not function properly with Windows 10 as they used to perform with your previous Operating System. Advanced Driver Updater is a user-friendly and easy-to-use tool that will scan your system for any outdated drivers and update all the device drivers as and when they are released. This will help you to get the best of the performance with your new Windows 10 Operating System.
How to Use Advanced Driver Updater
Step 1. Get the setup file of Advanced Driver Updater from the link below.
Step 2. Once the download is complete, Install Advanced Driver Updater on the system.
Step 3. As the software will be installed, it will initiate a system scan for outdated drivers.
Step 4. Once the scan is complete, it will show you a list of outdated drivers.
Step 5. Click on ‘Update All’ to get the latest and updated drivers on your system for all the peripherals.
Step 6. It will ask you to register the product to install the updated drivers. Complete the registration process and relish the evolved performance of your Operating System.
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Summing Up
Now that you are aware of how to get windows 10 free upgrade, If you are still using an older version of Windows, you can go ahead and follow these steps to upgrade Windows 10 on your system for free. If this article turned out to be helpful to you, please like and share this with your colleagues. Do share your thoughts about this article in the comment section.