Reserve Your Free Upgrade to Windows 10
June 01, 2015
This morning I glanced at the "notification area" (formerly known as system tray) of my Windows 8 desktop and noticed a brand new icon:
Nervous to click it (I had a dream last night where I clicked on an email and got a virus...) yet excited to see what it was - I clicked.
What a welcome way to begin my week! It was a notification to reserve my free upgrade to Windows 10.
Clicking on the "Reserve your free upgrade" button, this screen appeared:
After clicking the "Send confirmation" button, it stated that I will receive a notification when Windows 10 is ready:
Cool!
What's New in Windows 10?
Click here for the list of what's new.
When will Windows 10 be available?
July 29, 2015
Who is eligible for the free upgrade?
Microsoft's website says:
The only requirements are that a) your device is compatible, and b) you're running genuine Windows 7 Service Pack 1 or Windows 8.1. Windows 10 is designed to run on Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 PCs. That means your device is likely compatible and will run Windows 10.
Other Q&A
Reserve Your Copy of Windows 10 today!
If you do not see the notification in your notification area, click here to reserve your copy of Windows 10 today.
Does Legacy Family Tree work with Windows 10?
Yes, from what I hear it works great!
Posted by Geoff Rasmussen in Technology Tip | Permalink
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Comments (28)
Thanks for heads up, Geoff. For folks who have Win7, MS says to click on "Windows Update in Start menu. Whiz band, a funny little icon showed up in my little Win7 tray. Nifty. My Win10 is reserved, and the check says it will run fine on my machine. Suspect some features won't apply (I don't have a touch screen and don't particularly want one-- I have short arms). But looking forward to other features.
Posted by: Annie Stratton | June 01, 2015 at 02:38 PM
ooooh thanks for the heads-up Geoff .... I also saw the notification in the system tray window when I turned on my computer this morning ... but I wasn't game enough to click it.
I'd like to upgrade as I have had Windows 7 for some years now .... but I would also like to know what cost in $$$ I'm up for before I say "yes" to upgrading.
Posted by: Maggie | June 01, 2015 at 03:52 PM
Annie - Microsoft has stated that it is a free upgrade if you have Windows 7 or 8.
Posted by: Geoff Rasmussen | June 01, 2015 at 03:57 PM
Does this offer work here in Australia?
Posted by: John Spooner | June 02, 2015 at 03:22 AM
Thanks, Geoff. I didn't even notice the icon until you pointed it out.
Posted by: Michele Lewis | June 02, 2015 at 09:06 AM
Microsoft 10 free update is offered in Australia, but Cortana is not part of the Australia release, yet.
Posted by: Peter | June 02, 2015 at 10:35 PM
I have the offer in Australia. Check of the website indicates a flowon of notifications over several days. Go to Microsoft.com and check the Windows 10 tab if you do not receive the offer. There is advice in the Q&A about getting eligible.
Posted by: bob Millman | June 03, 2015 at 01:21 AM
Thanks for pointing this out. I think it's a move in the right direction to allow users of W7 and W8 to upgrade for free. I'm hoping that there aren't as many surprises and changes as there were with W8 and glad they made some needed adjustments with W8.1.
That being said I tend to wait to do upgrades until some of the initial bugs are worked out and I get a feel for whether the upgrade is right for me. Some of these releases are like phase 2 of the Beta testing. Also folks should consider that upgrading your OS sometimes means you will have to pay for other software upgrades that might not be compatible with the new W10, those companies have to pay their programers to write upgrades and patches and in the end it is the consumer who pays.
Posted by: D | June 03, 2015 at 11:46 AM
If, having got the initial window up, you click on the new Menu icon (looks like 3 horizontal bars) in the top left-hand corner, you'll see a menu. In the bottom half, there's an option that will tell you what software you have installed that might have problems being used on Windows 10.
Posted by: Mike Fry | June 08, 2015 at 05:56 AM
I am a bit wary also, will wait. have not had a notification yet here in Australia.
Posted by: David mcKay | June 08, 2015 at 06:03 AM
Yes, the update notice is on my desktop. You do have one year to get your free update to win 10. So I will wait. Let the adventurers try it out first and work out the bugs.
My printer died a couple of months ago and I am waiting to get a new one so that I know that it will be compatible with Win10. Miss my Canon printer--about 7 years+ old.
We will all have to get Win10 or switch to Apple. Take the bite in the next year so you will not have to pay for it.
Agnes
Posted by: Agnes | June 08, 2015 at 06:55 AM
I was eager for Windows 10 to arrive until I learned that Windows Media Center has been dropped. I record a lot of television shows for later viewing, so until I find an alternative providing that functionality, my upgrade to Windows 10 will be on hold.
Posted by: David Paine | June 08, 2015 at 07:20 AM
Thanks for the heads-up. Can't wait to get rid of Windows 8
Posted by: Tom C | June 08, 2015 at 08:41 AM
I have a desktop and a laptop. Do I have to reserve a copy for each computer?
Posted by: Linda Greethurst | June 08, 2015 at 09:35 AM
It's great that it will be free and I can sign up so easy.
Posted by: Donna Jean Mason | June 08, 2015 at 09:57 AM
As I understand it, the free upgrade will be available for one year. After that, if you want to upgrade, you will need to buy it.
Posted by: Bob Hobbs | June 08, 2015 at 10:47 AM
Don't upgrade blindly! From past experience in upgrading to a new version of MS Windows, I found some software, and drivers for various hardware devices (printers, scanners, cameras, etc.) did not operate with the new version of Windows. For some of the software packages, I had to upgrade to new versions at significant cost. For the hardware drivers, I was able to upgrade to new versions, some free and some at a minimal cost. In one case, for a perfectly good HP Laser printer, a new driver was not available and I had to buy a new printer at significant cost. So your free Windows 10 upgrade may not be completely free. My recommendation would be to check that all of your hardware and software will work with Windows 10, and if not, you can then figure out the real cost of the upgrade.
Posted by: Wayne Bower | June 08, 2015 at 11:10 AM
Windows 7 is working well. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Especially with windows. I will likely have to buy a new computer before Microsoft stops sending security updates for 7 and then will have to take what comes with it.
Posted by: Peg | June 08, 2015 at 12:02 PM
Will we be able to move our Legacy back-up between a Win XP, Win Vista, Win 7 & Win 10 without things crashing. I know Microsoft wants everyone to run out and buy all new computers & all the other equipment, but not everyone can do that, So want to know IF Legacy will keep working between all the above?
LaunaD
Posted by: LaunaD | June 08, 2015 at 12:35 PM
I run a Mini Mac with Parallels so I can use Legacy and WordPerfect. I have Windows 7 with the Parallels program. Do you know if Windows 10 will work on my machine? And will it give me any advantages by having it it it does. I tried 8.1 and disliked it so much, that is what motivated me to move to the Mac. However, have not been all that pleased with the Mac either.
Thanks for all the good work you do
Posted by: Richard Brough | June 08, 2015 at 12:50 PM
Launa - you won't have to do anything different with Legacy.
Posted by: Geoff Rasmussen | June 08, 2015 at 01:09 PM
I'm in Canada; running Win 7 Home 64bit sp1. No icon on taskbar.
Posted by: Llb El | June 08, 2015 at 01:37 PM
Thanks, this is very cool
Posted by: Sanadra Jarvis | June 08, 2015 at 06:16 PM
I'm in Canada running Win 8.1, and the upgrade offer does appear. I will probably wait a bit before installing it. I do, incidentally, run Classic Shell over top of Windows 8 and it works flawlessly. I can switch to Win8 easily by just hitting [shft][start button] (hitting the [start button] alone, brings up the classic shell which I have set for Win XP Classic Menu). Some of the feature of Win 10 do look tempting, but will have to see if they are too intrusive. I hate it when the computer tries to out think me and goes down the wrong rabbit hole.
Posted by: Robert | June 08, 2015 at 11:29 PM
The Windows 10 icon is a sleazy way of marketing the upgrade not to mention that it wastes system resources. That said, you can get rid of the icon by uninstalling the Windows update that created it [KB3035583] using Windows Update through the Control Panel. Although, when I tried this it only worked until the next load of updates arrived so it's a gift that keeps on giving.
Any UPGRADE to an O/S will result in a lethargic and clumsy combination of the old and new systems. Most users will decide to go with a full install and therefore won't require the reservation of the upgrade. The full W10 package for 32 and 64 bit systems is available on the Microsoft Downloads page which can be copied to a DVD or flashdrive for installation.
Posted by: Bob Dawes | June 09, 2015 at 07:28 AM
Help! My computer went crazy, and my icon to reserve my windows 10 upgrade disappeared. Computer is fixed, but no icon! Please I want to reserve a my free copy!
Thanks,
Catherine Hockstad
[email protected]
Posted by: Catherine Hockstad | June 16, 2015 at 07:27 AM
I tried to reserve my Windows 10! Being computer illiterate, I am not sure what it meant by "administrator sign in", but now I am wondering if I really want to upgrade (after reading all the "trouble" comments) on their website. My question is will Legacy still run as good as it does now without the upgrade? I do realize that eventually Legacy will only work with the latest Windows but I am very hesitant right now!
Posted by: Christine Maguire | June 21, 2015 at 08:04 AM
If I don't like windows 10 can I go back to windows 8.1
Posted by: BJ Nelms | June 25, 2015 at 08:17 AM