The Windows 10 free upgrade ends July 29. We’ve known that for a long time, but now the deadline is looming. You have just 31 days from today to do the deed.
Or not. In the past month, Microsoft’s strategies for getting people to upgrade have swung from deceptive back to friendly, making it hard to know what the company will pull next as the pressure mounts. You see, Microsoft has a goal: It wants Windows 10 on 1 billion devices by 2018. It just hit 300 million in May, so there’s still a long way to go.
We’ll be with you for Windows 10
Even if you’re turned off by Microsoft’s tactics, don’t endanger your PC by turning off updates. Microsoft has its own FAQ and advice pages for the upgrade, and we’ll be posting stories all month about managing the process and troubleshooting problems.
1. Confirm your system is ready for Windows 10
Like any operating system, Windows 10 has system requirements. Microsoft has a helpful page on this topic, but here’s the gist:
CPU: 1GHz
Graphics: Must support DirectX 9 or later with WDDM 1.0 driver
Display resolution: 800x600
RAM: 1GB for 32-bit systems, 2GB for 64-bit
Free storage: 16GB for 32-bit systems, 20GB for 64-bit
While it’s possible your older system could run Windows 10, it may not be pretty. Microsoft even has special error codes to signal when your system falls short of the requirements.
For most people, however, the upgrade should go smoothly. Use these preparation tips to maximize your chances for success.
2. Brace yourself for error codes
Nothing ever goes wrong in an upgrade, right? Right. Microsoft has an entire page devoted to upgrade issues, and over the coming weeks we’ll alert you to the most common errors and problems and tell you what to do about them.
One problem that might crop up immediately is a botched download—corrupted or missing files. We’ve looked into that and have some workarounds for you.
Another unpleasant surprise would be running out of storage space for the installation process. We have some guidance for squeezing more capacity out of your drive.
3. Upgrade done? Here’s what’s next
Welcome to Windows 10. Start off right by focusing on the most important things you can do in the first 30 minutes with your new operating system. We’ve even collected some of our favorite features that you’ll definitely want to try.
Don’t worry if you get cold feet. You have 31 days after upgrading to roll back to your old operating system, and we can tell you exactly how that works.
The free Windows 10 upgrade, and the Anniversary Update to follow, are big events for Windows users. We’ll keep you updated here with more news as these dates near.
