More than three years after Microsoft’s free upgrade offer officially ended, people are still reporting successful Windows 10 upgrades from older machines. Here’s the latest extremely unofficial report.
In January 2017, I wrote a post titled “Here’s how you can still get a free Windows 10 upgrade.” It has become the single most popular post I’ve ever published at ZDNet, and it still gets hundreds of thousands of pageviews every month.
In the months after that original publication, I rechecked, revised, and updated the post several times. After the first few updates, though, I ran out of old PCs to upgrade; so I tacked on a note at the end of the article, asking readers who tried this technique to use the contact form and let me know how the experience went.
The response to that request has been overwhelming, and it too shows no signs of stopping.
In July and August alone, I received 89 reader messages from all over the world, people who took the time to find the contact form and send details about their Windows 10 upgrade attempts. Of that total, 76 (roughly 85%) were reports of successful upgrades, often accompanied by expressions of amazement that the process was so easy.
The remaining 13 messages reported that the upgrade failed.
Two were trying unsupported upgrade scenarios. One was attempting to upgrade a PC running Windows 7 Enterprise (the free upgrade offer is only for Home and Pro editions). The other had reinstalled Windows 7 prior to doing the upgrade but had forgotten to activate the new Windows installation first (the free upgrade offer requires that the underlying copy of Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 be properly activated).
Five readers told me they had been unable to upgrade because the Windows Setup program failed with an error message like “0x80070011, The installation failed in the SAFE_OS phase with an error during MIGRATE_DATA operation.” Those errors are tough to diagnose remotely, but can be caused by something as simple as a corrupted setup file. Those errors are unrelated to the underlying license.
Another six correspondents reported that they were blocked from performing the upgrade by a different error message, typically starting with “This PC can’t be upgraded to Windows 10.”
Those messages represent compatibility blocks, which Microsoft introduced earlier this year with the May 2019 (version 1903) release. If you can track down the hardware driver or software app that’s causing the block, you can usually get past this roadblock.
One reader succeeded after we exchanged some emails and determined that he needed to update the firmware on his 2014 HP PC. In other cases the culprit is an older program that contains incompatible system-level code, such as an antivirus program or DVD writing software. Uninstalling the offending app typically allows the upgrade to succeed.
TRY THIS IF YOUR UPDATE IS BLOCKED
If you encounter a compatibility block, the first thing to do is check for a BIOS or firmware update. That’s especially true on a PC that was designed before the release of Windows 10 in 2015. You should also check with the PC manufacturer to see if there are updated drivers for storage controllers, network adapters, display adapters, and other important hardware devices. As a precaution, disconnect all non-essential external devices before trying again.
You might be able to use the SetupDiag tool to examine the log files after a failed upgrade to determine the cause of the failure. For details, see my “Windows 10 tip: Use setup log files to troubleshoot installation problems.” Chris Hoffman at How-To Geek has also written an excellent summary of troubleshooting techniques: “How to Fix ‘What Needs Your Attention’ Windows 10 Setup Errors.”
With those exceptions aside, the conclusion is inescapable. Although Microsoft officially ended its free upgrade offer in mid-2016, one year after the initial release of Windows 10, it continues to make the upgrade free (and painless) for its retail customers running Windows 7 and Windows 8.1.
Why is Microsoft doing this? And is there a catch?
The answer to that first question is easy. Remember, Microsoft’s Windows business is predicated on its partnership with PC makers, who pay a license fee for every copy of Windows they install on a new PC. Those OEMs are none too happy about the idea of extending the life of an older PC; they would much rather have you buy a brand new PC instead.
So, to mollify its OEM partners, Microsoft put a time limit on the free upgrade offer, and they simply don’t speak of it now. The Windows marketing team continues to promote new models of Windows PCs, and the enterprise sales staff continues to sell volume licenses of Windows 10 Enterprise and Microsoft 365 subscriptions. Nobody talks about upgrades.
Frankly, at this point the only people who are still interested in a free upgrade are enthusiasts, home users, and very small businesses running hardware that’s at least four years old. Several of the reports I received specifically mention successfully upgrading PCs from the very beginning of the Windows 7 era in 2009-2011.
The vast majority of Windows PCs sold in the past four years included Windows 10 licenses, and businesses who have stuck with Windows 7 have typically done so by exercising downgrade rights. They’re free to install Windows 10 anytime, without having to jump through any hoops.
On PC’s that were originally sold with older versions of Windows, Microsoft’s calculus is pretty straightforward: It’s in the company’s best interests to see those old Windows versions retired, both for support purposes and to improve the security of the Windows ecosystem. There’s no profit in trying to sell upgrades to that market, and there’s plenty of goodwill to reap by making those upgrades easy.
BUT IS THERE A CATCH?
The second question is a little tougher. Is there a catch? In technical terms, no. A PC that is upgraded from Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 to Windows 10 in 2019 reports that it is activated and has a digital license for Windows 10.
s that license legal? As I’ve said many times, I am not a lawyer, so I can’t offer legal advice. But I have a lot of experience with Windows licensing, and it’s literally inconceivable (and yes, that word means exactly what you think it means) that Microsoft would choose to enforce an ambiguous license agreement against its retail customers. They are, after all, prospects to subscribe to Office 365, buy Xbox hardware and games, play Minecraft, and eventually buy a new Windows 10 PC from one of those aforementioned partners.
And whatever pittance Microsoft’s bean counters might be able to squeeze out of those upgrades wouldn’t come close to balancing the very, very bad publicity that would come from sending threatening letters to retirees and mom-and-pop businesses that are trying to squeeze a few extra years of life out of their old hardware.
If you’re running a business, of course, the calculation is different. Do you really want to be unsure about whether your business software assets are properly licensed? (Your accountant will tell you no.) But here too I’m convinced that there’s roughly zero likelihood that the software police are going to haul anyone away because they decided to upgrade an old PC.
Ultimately, this all ties into the new Windows retail licensing model Microsoft introduced with Windows 10 in 2015. You only have to buy the license once, usually with a new PC, and after that all the upgrades are free, as long as the hardware allows it. That’s the official policy with Windows 10, and it’s clear that the unofficial policy includes older Windows versions too.
If you are someone who is in need of assistance on your computer, please contact our support and they will be more than happy to assist you. Kindly visit our website www.reimageplus.com.
Hello,
We’re glad to hear that you like our blog and enjoyed reading it!
Regards,
Shannon
Keep on writing, great job!|
Thank you.
Regards,
Kerry Hershey
It’s hard to come by experienced people for this topic, however, you sound like you know what you’re talking about! Thanks|
Hello,
Thank you for your feedback!
Regards,
Kylee
Thanks-a-mundo for the blog.Really looking forward to read more. Keep writing.
Hello,
Thank you for your feedback!
Regards,
Kylee
Thank you for your blog.Really looking forward to read more. Great.
Hi,
We appreciate that you like our blog post.
We’ll be posting more interesting topics that you will surely enjoy.
You may also want to visit our website, http://www.reimageplus.com
Best Regards,
Kerry Hershey
Enjoyed every bit of your post. Cool.
Hello,
Thank you for your feedback!
Regards,
Matthew
A big thank you for your blog article.Really thank you! Awesome.
Thank you.
Regards,
Deborah Moore
Thank you.
Regards,
Deborah Moore
A big thank you for your article post.Really looking forward to read more. Want more.
Thank you.
Regards,
Deborah Moore
Say, you got a nice post.Really looking forward to read more. Want more.
Hi,
We appreciate that you like our blog post.
We’ll be posting more interesting topics that you will surely enjoy.
You may also want to visit our website, http://www.reimageplus.com
Best Regards,
Kerry Hershey
I appreciate you sharing this blog.Thanks Again. Want more.
Hello,
Thank you for your feedback!
Regards,
Kylee
Great, thanks for sharing this blog article.Much thanks again. Will read on…
Hello,
Thank you for your feedback!
Regards,
Kerry
Hello,
Thank you for your feedback!
Regards,
Shannon
I cannot thank you enough for the article post.Really looking forward to read more. Awesome.
Hello,
We are glad you liked the article. Thank you for the feedback.
Regards,
Matthew
Thanks in support of sharing such a good opinion, paragraph is pleasant, thats why i have read it completely
Your mode of explaining all in this paragraph is truly pleasant, every one can simply be aware of it,
Thanks a lot.
Hi everyone, it’s my first visit at this web site, and post is really fruitful in support of me, keep up posting
these content.
I appreciate you sharing this post.Thanks Again. Will read on…
Hello,
Thank you for your feedback!
Regards,
Deborah
Hey, thanks for the article post.Really looking forward to read more. Great.
Thank you.
Best Regards,
Kerry Hershey
Hello,
Thank you for your feedback!
Regards,
Shannon
Im obliged for the blog post. Fantastic.
Major thankies for the article.Really thank you! Want more.
Im grateful for the blog post.Really looking forward to read more. Cool.
Hello,
Thank you for your feedback!
Regards,
Shannon
I really liked your blog post.Much thanks again.
Hello,
Thank you for your feedback!
Regards,
Matthew
Appreciate you sharing, great blog post.
Hello,
Thank you for your feedback!
Regards,
Matthew
A round of applause for your blog.Thanks Again. Keep writing.
Hi,
We appreciate that you like our blog post.
We’ll be posting more interesting topics that you will surely enjoy.
You may also want to visit our website, http://www.reimageplus.com
Best Regards,
Kerry Hershey
Hi,
We appreciate that you like our blog post.
We’ll be posting more interesting topics that you will surely enjoy.
You may also want to visit our website, http://www.reimageplus.com
Best Regards,
Kerry Hershey
Thanks again for the article post.Really thank you! Will read on…
Hello,
Thank you for your feedback!
Regards,
Deborah
Awesome article.Thanks Again. Fantastic.
Thank you.
Best Regards,
Kerry Hershey
I truly appreciate this article. Great.
Thank you.
Best Regards,
Kerry Hershey
Thank you.
Best Regards,
Kerry Hershey
Fantastic blog. Much obliged.
A big thank you for your blog article.Really looking forward to read more. Keep writing.
Hi,
We appreciate that you like our blog post.
We’ll be posting more interesting topics that you will surely enjoy.
You may also want to visit our website, http://www.reimageplus.com
Best Regards,
Kerry Hershey
Major thanks for the blog article.Thanks Again. Cool.
Thank you.
Best Regards,
Kerry Hershey
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I really appreciate your efforts and I will be waiting for your next post thanks once again.|
Thank you.
Best Regards,
Kerry Hershey
Wow, great article post.Really thank you! Great.
Thank you.
Best Regards,
Kerry Hershey
Major thankies for the post.Thanks Again. Really Great.
Thank you.
Best Regards,
Kerry Hershey
Im grateful for the blog.Really thank you!
Hi,
Thank you for your feedback.
More interesting articles to be posted soon.
Regards,
Matthew
Very neat article post.Much thanks again. Fantastic.
Thank you.
Best Regards,
Kerry Hershey
Thank you.
Best Regards,
Kerry Hershey
Greetings! Very useful advice in this particular article! It’s the little changes that will make the greatest changes. Thanks a lot for sharing!|
Thank you.
Best Regards,
Kerry Hershey
A round of applause for your blog article.Really thank you! Really Great.
Hi,
Thank you for your feedback.
Watch out for more interesting articles.
Regards,
Matthew
Enjoyed every bit of your blog post.Really looking forward to read more. Fantastic.
Hi,
Thank you for your feedback.
Watch out for more interesting articles.
Regards,
Matthew
Awesome article.Really looking forward to read more. Will read on…
Hi,
Thank you for your feedback.
Watch out for more interesting articles.
Regards,
Matthew
Thank you.
Best Regards,
Kerry Hershey
Really appreciate you sharing this blog article.Really looking forward to read more. Awesome.
Hi,
Thank you for your feedback.
Watch out for more interesting articles.
Regards,
Matthew
Hi,
Thank you for your feedback.
Watch out for more interesting articles.
Regards,
Matthew
Hi,
Thank you for your feedback.
Watch out for more interesting articles.
Regards,
Matthew
Thank you.
Best Regards,
Kerry Hershey
Hi,
We appreciate that you like our blog post.
We’ll be posting more interesting topics that you will surely enjoy.
You may also want to visit our website, http://www.reimageplus.com
Best Regards,
Kerry Hershey
Appreciate you sharing, great post.Really thank you! Really Great.
Thank you.
Best Regards,
Kerry Hershey
Thank you.
Best Regards,
Kerry Hershey
I really liked your blog post.Thanks Again. Want more.
Hi,
We appreciate that you like our blog post.
We’ll be posting more interesting topics that you will surely enjoy.
You may also want to visit our website, http://www.reimageplus.com
Best Regards,
Kerry Hershey
This is one awesome article post.Much thanks again. Keep writing.
Hi,
We appreciate that you like our blog post.
We’ll be posting more interesting topics that you will surely enjoy.
You may also want to visit our website, http://www.reimageplus.com
Best Regards,
Kerry Hershey
Thank you.
Best Regards,
Kerry Hershey
Thank you.
Best Regards,
Kerry Hershey
Thank you.
Best Regards,
Kerry Hershey
Thank you.
Best Regards,
Kerry Hershey
Hi,
We appreciate your feedback.
Watch out for more interesting articles.
Regards,
Kylee
Hi,
We appreciate your feedback.
Watch out for more interesting articles.
Regards,
Kylee
Really informative blog article.Much thanks again. Really Cool.
Thank you.
Best Regards,
Kerry Hershey
Im grateful for the blog article.Thanks Again.
Hi,
We appreciate your feedback.
Watch out for more interesting articles.
Regards,
Kylee
Very informative post.Really looking forward to read more. Much obliged.
Hi,
We appreciate your feedback.
Watch out for more interesting articles.
Regards,
Kylee
Im grateful for the article post.
Thank you.
Best Regards,
Kerry Hershey
Enjoyed every bit of your article.Really thank you! Much obliged.
Thank you.
Best Regards,
Kerry Hershey
Fantastic post.Really looking forward to read more. Much obliged.
Hi,
We appreciate your feedback.
Watch out for more interesting articles.
Regards,
Kylee
A round of applause for your blog post.Really thank you! Will read on…
Hi,
Thank you for your feedback.
Watch out for more interesting articles.
Regards,
Matthew
Hi,
We appreciate that you like our blog post.
We’ll be posting more interesting topics that you will surely enjoy.
You may also want to visit our website, http://www.reimageplus.com
Best Regards,
Kerry Hershey
Hi,
We appreciate that you like our blog post.
We’ll be posting more interesting topics that you will surely enjoy.
You may also want to visit our website, http://www.reimageplus.com
Best Regards,
Kerry Hershey
Thanks a lot for the article. Much obliged.
Hi,
Thank you for your feedback.
Watch out for more interesting articles.
Regards,
Matthew
Thank you.
Best Regards,
Kerry Hershey
Thanks for sharing, this is a fantastic article.Much thanks again. Keep writing.
Hi,
Thank you for your feedback.
Watch out for more interesting articles.
Regards,
Matthew
Fantastic article post.Thanks Again. Fantastic.
Hi,
Thank you for your feedback.
Watch out for more interesting articles.
Regards,
Matthew
Looking forward to reading more. Great post.Much thanks again. Awesome.
Hi,
Thank you for your feedback.
Watch out for more interesting articles.
Regards,
Matthew
Hi,
Thank you for your feedback.
Watch out for more interesting articles.
Regards,
Matthew
A big thank you for your article.Really looking forward to read more. Awesome.
Hi,
We appreciate that you like our blog post.
We’ll be posting more interesting topics that you will surely enjoy.
You may also want to visit our website, http://www.reimageplus.com
Best Regards,
Kerry Hershey
Hi,
We appreciate that you like our blog post.
We’ll be posting more interesting topics that you will surely enjoy.
You may also want to visit our website, http://www.reimageplus.com
Best Regards,
Kerry Hershey
Hi,
We appreciate that you like our blog post.
We’ll be posting more interesting topics that you will surely enjoy.
You may also want to visit our website, http://www.reimageplus.com
Best Regards,
Kerry Hershey
Thank you.
Best Regards,
Kerry Hershey
Hi,
We appreciate that you like our blog post.
We’ll be posting more interesting topics that you will surely enjoy.
You may also want to visit our website, http://www.reimageplus.com
Best Regards,
Kerry Hershey
Hi,
Thank you for your feedback.
Watch out for more interesting articles.
Regards,
Matthew
Hi,
We appreciate that you like our blog post.
We’ll be posting more interesting topics that you will surely enjoy.
You may also want to visit our website, http://www.reimageplus.com
Best Regards,
Kerry Hershey
Im obliged for the blog.Really thank you! Keep writing.
Thank you.
Best Regards,
Kerry Hershey
I really enjoy the post.Thanks Again. Much obliged.
Thank you.
Best Regards,
Kerry Hershey
Thank you.
Best Regards,
Kerry Hershey
Enjoyed every bit of your blog post.Thanks Again. Cool.
Hi,
Thank you for your feedback.
Watch out for more interesting articles.
Regards,
Matthew
Im thankful for the article.Really looking forward to read more. Keep writing.
Hi,
Thank you for your feedback.
Watch out for more interesting articles.
Regards,
Matthew
Fantastic article.Thanks Again.
Hi,
Thank you for your feedback.
Watch out for more interesting articles.
Regards,
Matthew
Hey, thanks for the article.Much thanks again. Much obliged.
Thank you.
Best Regards,
Kerry Hershey
Hey, thanks for the article post.Really thank you! Much obliged.
Im grateful for the blog post.Much thanks again. Keep writing.
Thank you.
Best Regards,
Kerry Hershey
Thanks a lot for the post.Really looking forward to read more. Cool.
Hi,
We appreciate that you like our blog post.
We’ll be posting more interesting topics that you will surely enjoy.
You may also want to visit our website, http://www.reimageplus.com
Best Regards,
Kerry Hershey
Thank you.
Best Regards,
Kerry Hershey
Im thankful for the blog.Really looking forward to read more. Fantastic.
Hi,
We appreciate that you like our blog post.
We’ll be posting more interesting topics that you will surely enjoy.
You may also want to visit our website, http://www.reimageplus.com
Best Regards,
Kerry Hershey
I really liked your blog article.Really looking forward to read more. Fantastic.
Hello,
Thank you for your feedback!
Regards,
Shannon
Thank you.
Best Regards,
Kerry Hershey
Thank you.
Best Regards,
Kerry Hershey
Hello,
Thank you for your feedback!
Regards,
Shannon
Hello,
Thank you for your feedback!
Regards,
Shannon
Thank you.
Best Regards,
Kerry Hershey
I truly appreciate this article post.Really thank you!
Thank you.
Best Regards,
Kerry Hershey
Hello,
Thank you for your feedback!
Regards,
Shannon
Im grateful for the article post.Thanks Again. Keep writing.
Hi,
We appreciate that you like our blog post.
We’ll be posting more interesting topics that you will surely enjoy.
You may also want to visit our website, http://www.reimageplus.com
Best Regards,
Kerry Hershey
Thank you.
Best Regards,
Kerry Hershey
Hi,
Thank you for your feedback.
Watch out for more interesting articles.
Regards,
Matthew