Preliminary information
Before we get to the heart of this guide and show you how to download windows 10 on windows 7, I consider it appropriate to provide you with some specific information on this procedure. To begin with, the computer on which to install the latest version of the Microsoft operating system must respond to some minimum requirements very specific, which are the following.
- CPU: 1 GHz or more powerful.
- RAM: at least 1 GB (preferably 2 GB) for 32-bit operating system, 2 GB (preferably 4 GB) for 64-bit operating system.
- Disk space: 16GB for 32bit OS, 32GB for 64bit OS.
- Video Card: Any hardware supporting DirectX 9 or later, with WDDM 1.0 driver.
- Screen resolution: 800 x 600 or higher, preferably 1024 x 768. Resolutions lower than the latter, in fact, may prevent certain elements from being displayed correctly, or cause unexpected behavior within applications.
As regards the Costi of the operating system, there is a clarification in this regard: on the occasion of the end of the official support for Windows 7, Microsoft has given the possibility again (initiative taken for the first time in 2015, at the time of the release of Windows 10) from upgrade Windows 7 to Windows 10 for free.
A September 2020 this possibility is still granted in some cases, however Microsoft has never given specific details on what: for this reason, it may be necessary to purchase a user license for the operating system, through which to obtain the product key which, if requested , must be inserted during installation.
Il cost official of Windows 10 Home is equal to 145€, while that of Windows 10 Pro and it seems 259€: it is possible to purchase a user license for the operating system directly from the Microsoft website or from other well-known online stores, such as Amazon and eBay, where there are often strong discounts (but, especially in the case of eBay, you must also be careful to potentially dishonest sellers).
If you need a step-by-step guide dedicated to purchasing a Windows 10 license, I refer you to reading the specific tutorial I have dedicated to the topic.
How to download Windows 10 on Windows 7 for free
Although the use of Windows 10 is always subject to having a regular license, it is possible download Windows 10 on Windows 7 for free through the official tool Media Creation Tool made available by Microsoft. This tool allows you to create a USB pendrive to be used for installing the operating system or aISO image to be burned to DVD.
To get it, connected to the Microsoft website, click on the button Download the tool now and wait for the program file to download to your computer. Once the download is complete, start the .exe file obtained, click on the button Yes and wait a few minutes for the preliminary software download operations to be carried out on your computer.
At this point, accepts the Microsoft license conditions, by clicking on the appropriate button located at the bottom right, wait a few moments and indicate the willingness to download a copy of the operating system on your computer, placing the check mark next to the wording Create installation media (USB flash drive, DVD or ISO file) for another PC.
Please note: if you intend to install Windows 10 on your PC, updating the copy of Windows 7 currently installed on it, do not choose the option to create an installation media, but choose the option for direct installation of the OS following the information that you will find later in this guide.
Fatto ciò, click on your button NEXT and verify that the language,edition and l 'architecture Windows 10 are compliant with what you want to download; otherwise, remove the check mark from the box next to the item Use the recommended options for this PC and use the drop-down menus at the top to define the options that best suit you.
Then click on the button NEXT and indicates, in the next screen, whether to proceed with the creation of one USB flash drive to use as installation media, or to download the ISO file to burn to DVD later, by placing the check mark next to the appropriate box.
In the first case, connect one to your computer USB pendrive of the size of at least 8 GBclick on your button NEXTselect il name (or the drive letter) of the device and click again on NEXT to start creating the media.
If, on the other hand, you want to download the ISO file, after checking the appropriate item, click on the button NEXT and specify the folder in which to save the file. When you are done, click on the button Save.
In both cases, you will have to wait some time, as the program will download the Windows installation file from the Internet: you can check the progress of the process through the Media Creation Tool window.
Once this phase is also completed, if you have chosen to make a USB flash drive, this will be ready to be used as an installation disk for Windows; if, on the other hand, you have chosen to download the ISO file, you must burn it to a blank DVD, using the burning program of your choice.
How to install Windows 10 on Windows 7
You think it's time to install Windows 10 on Windows 7? So do not waste any more time and carefully follow the instructions I am about to give you. Before proceeding, check that the computer you are using meets the minimum requirements for installing the operating system, as I explained to you in the opening words of this guide, and make sure you have a valid user license available for the same.
As a preventative measure, although updating the operating system does not involve formatting the disk, I urge you to create one data security copy most important to you, to restore where something goes wrong. In this regard, my guides on how to make a backup of Windows 7 and how to transfer files from PC to USB stick may be useful to you.
Once you have the necessary, you can proceed with the installation of the system in three different ways: updating Windows 7, thus leaving all your personal files intact; making a new installation, thus eliminating the entire contents of the disk (as well as the old operating system); or by using one virtual machine, which allows you to install Windows 10 in a separate and secure environment, without affecting anything on your current copy of Windows. Find everything explained below.
Updating
If you prefer to proceed with theupdating operating system, you can use the tool Media Creation Tool, the same one I told you about in the section dedicated to downloading the operating system.
To use it, connected to the official Microsoft website, click on the button Download the tool now and start the file MediaCreationToolXY.exe, which has meanwhile been downloaded to the computer. Now, click the button Yes, wait for the preliminary operations are completed, click on the button Accept to confirm that you have read the Microsoft contractual conditions and wait a few seconds for the preparatory steps to be completed.
Once this is done, put the check mark next to the item Update your PC now, to indicate the willingness to proceed with the "direct" update of the operating system, click on the button NEXT and wait for the program to download the operating system installation files. Depending on the speed of your internet connection, this may take a long time.
In any case, once you have downloaded everything you need, the update tool will check for updates: once the check is complete, click on the button again Accept related to the conditions of use and, if you intend to update your computer while leaving your files intact, click on the button Install; otherwise, click on the item Change items to keep and indicates the items to be deleted or kept, using the available options (personal files, apps and settings, personal files only or nothing).
After pressing the button Install, the actual Windows 10 setup will start, which will proceed completely automatically. During this phase, the computer may be restarted several times; if necessary, press the buttons NEXT e Yes, to top it all off.
After completing the installation of the operating system, you will be asked to perform the first configuration Windows 10: If you don't want to take too long, choose you want use quick settings, otherwise follow the wizard proposed on the screen to define the various options.
In detail, you will need to specify the type of use computer (personal use, company or institution), connect to the Internet and, when prompted, log in with a Microsoft account or through a local account. Next, you will need to define the settings related to synchronization and data collection and to specify whether or not to enable the use of Cortana and the recognition system for digital writing Windows Ink.
Of course, if you are not entitled to the free upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 10, you will also be asked to enter the product key of the operating system, which you should have obtained when purchasing.
If you need further clarification regarding the installation and / or configuration of Windows 10, take a look at the specific guide I have dedicated to the topic, in which I have provided you with all the details of the case.
New installation
If you prefer to proceed with one new installation of the operating system, thus going to delete all the files and personal settings on the PC, I suggest you create a Windows 10 installation media and select the appropriate item dedicated to disk formatting in the operating system installation procedure.
Before proceeding, if you intend to keep important files and documents, create a backup of them, copying them "manually" to a safe place (eg. An external hard drive), or using a special backup program.
Now, create the Windows 10 installation device by following the instructions I gave you previously, insert (if necessary) the media inside the computer and restart it. With a bit of luck, you should see the installation screen Windows, or the message Press any key to boot from DVD ...: if required, perform the latter operation to boot from the installation disk.
If, on the other hand, you should immediately go to the Windows 7 loading screen, you must proceed to configure the BIOS correctly, by changing the boot order of the computer, so that it is started first from the USB key (or from the DVD, depending on the media you have chosen), and then from the hard disk. If you don't know how to proceed, feel free to consult my guide on how to enter the BIOS, in which I have explained everything to you, in great detail.
Once at the Windows 10 installation screen, select the language, time and currency format and keyboard layout using the drop-down menus that appear on the screen, click on the buttons NEXT e Install and, if requested, enter the product key Windows (or click on the item Not now, to enter it later).
At this point, specify theedition of Windows 10 you want to install, click on the button NEXT and, if you want to proceed with the complete cleaning of the disk, click on the button Customize, in order to access the disk and partition management screen.
Using the window that is proposed to you, Formatta the partition where you installed Windows 7 (taking into account that this operation it will delete all the data in it), repeat the operation with any other partitions / disks, if you deem it appropriate, then choose the partition in which to install Windows 10 and click on the button Install, to start the setup process, which will be completed automatically.
If you want to delete all the partitions on the disk, delete them by selecting the appropriate entries and then create a new one on which to install Windows 10.
At the next restart of the computer, you should see the Windows 10 welcome screen, through which you will be prompted to perform the first configuration of the operating system: in this regard, you can follow the same instructions already seen in the previous section of this guide.
Virtual machine
Do you prefer to try Windows 10 before physically installing it on your computer? In this case, you can virtualize it using a specific type of software, i.e. a virtual machine manager.
The latter allows you to create, on the operating system in use (in this case, Windows 7), one or more virtual machines that allow you to emulate the behavior of a real PC on which another operating system is "running" (in this case, Windows 10), but without altering the files already present on the computer in any way.
The only indispensable requirement to be able to apply this solution is to have a sufficiently powerful computer, which allows you to run both operating systems in parallel (both the physical and the virtual one) without running into blocks of various types: in the case of Windows 7 and Windows 10, you should have a computer with at least 8 GB of RAM.
If you are interested in going through this solution, first download theWindows 10 ISO image using the Media Creation Tool (I told you about it a few chapters ago), download and install a virtual machine management software (eg. VirtualBox or VMWare) and create your virtualized computer, putting into practice the steps I gave you in this tutorial. It's simpler than you might think.
How to download Windows 10 on Windows 7
