Microsoft had made it their mission to upgrade everybody in the world to Windows 10 during the first year of Windows 10’s existence, while it was a free upgrade- whether the users themselves wanted to upgrade to Windows 10 or not was not something they were concerned with. For Americans who never think beyond Pacific, Eastern, Mountain or Central time, that means that you have just a bit more time beyond midnight to complete the upgrade-unless you live in Hawaii.
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The tech giant set a deadline of July 29 for the free upgrade, which will see users provided with Windows 10 Home or Windows 10 Professional at no cost.
Some applications may not work after you upgrade, and you need to back up your data to be safe. Aside from that the transition should be quite easy. Microsoft‘s aggressive campaign to get those users to update to Windows 10 via its “Get Windows 10” app and prompts. Microsoft has confirmed that the Media Creation Tool will be available on August 2, 2016, along with the Anniversary Update release build so users will be able to use that to get an ISO, perform an in-place upgrade or create installation media for a clean install for their systems just like past year.
It’s worth checking that your machine meets the minimum requirements for the new operating system.
While IT pros won’t have disablement controls over tips, tricks and Windows Store suggestions in Windows 10 Pro version 1607, end users of that OS version will have that capability.
The Microsoft Windows 10 download will take up around 3GB of storage space, with downloads taking around 20 minutes on a 75-Mbps internet connection. The whole process should not take longer than 2 hours.
A few might even choose to invest in a retail license and pay 9 for a Windows Home upgrade or 9 for an upgrade to Windows 10 Pro.
Lovers of Solitaire, Minesweeper and Hearts will be disappointed to hear that the games will also disappear. “Windows 10 tips, tricks, and suggestions and Windows Store suggestions can be turned on or off by users”, Microsoft explained, in the TechNet article. If you need help with upgrading, you may check this guide. If you don’t have a valid subscription your antivirus software will not be installed, and it’s worth double-checking.
Interestingly, the Xbox One August Update will be the only version of the Anniversary Update that will actually begin rolling out on the anniversary of the Windows 10 launch – at least, going by the release date on Microsoft’s support page.
If you are making a last minute upgrade your system won’t remain the same for too long. Microsoft is calling it the August Update. So, technically, if you wanted to play it close and get up really early Saturday, you could probably make the deadline.
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If you want to upgrade, go to the Windows Download page, or follow the annoying prompts that you’re nearly certainly getting on your computer if you’re eligible for the deal.
