11/25/2023 0 Comments Buy a windows 10 product keyThat’s certainly not your only option, though. If you don’t have an old product key that you can use to activate Windows 10 then Microsoft’s advice would be to pay full price for a brand-new key at the company’s online store. Option 3: Buy a second-hand or grey-market product key ![]() ![]() We greatly doubt that Microsoft would object to your installing Windows 10 in this way, especially if you then decommission your old hardware, but legally it’s a grey area. It goes without saying that the same caveats apply to this method as to in-place upgrades. You are however free to install a 64-bit version of Windows 10, even if your old computer was 32-bit only. In other words, if your old product key is from a Home edition of Windows 7 or 8 then you’ll need to install Windows 10 Home if it’s a Professional or Ultimate key then it’ll only work with Windows 10 Pro. The other potential niggle is that you have to install the edition of Windows 10 that corresponds to your previous installation. One very small and simple option is WinTools’ Windows Key Viewer. It might be conveniently located on a sticker somewhere on the casing, but if it’s not, there are plenty of free tools that can reveal it for you. There are just two minor hurdles to contend with, the first of which is finding your old product key. ![]() Run the installer on your new computer, and when prompted to provide a product key, simply enter the code from your old Windows 7, 8 or 8.1 system. The trick described above is perfect for upgrading an old system, but what if you want to install Windows 10 on a new PC? Believe it or not, you can use the same technique. Option 2: Use the product key from an older Windows installation But it’s very hard to imagine that the company would have left this loophole open by accident, or that you’ll get into any sort of trouble taking advantage of it. Microsoft doesn’t officially acknowledge this as an approved way to get Windows 10, so we can’t guarantee it’ll work forever – nor has the publisher explicitly confirmed that upgrades carried out in this way are legitimately licensed. You can download the Windows 10 installer right now from Microsoft’s own website, and launch it on any PC running an older edition of Windows: if a licensed installation of Windows 7 or 8 is detected, it’ll be upgraded to Windows 10 and automatically activated using your existing product key. Yet while Microsoft is no longer advertising free upgrades, it hasn’t actually stopped dishing them out. That promotion ended back in 2016, however – and while the company continued to provide free upgrades for anyone who “used assistive technologies”, that offer was quietly removed from the Microsoft website at the end of 2019. Option 1: Upgrade your existing Windows installationīack when Windows 10 was first launched, Microsoft offered a free upgrade to all users of Windows 7 and 8. In all cases it’s worth checking in with your IT department – the worst that can happen is they say no. Even if you’re not in academia, your company may have an employee discount programme, or a software licensing scheme that covers personal devices which have the potential to be used for work. ![]() Many educational establishments have deals with Microsoft that allow you to install Windows 10 (and Microsoft Office) cheaply or for free. Even so, it’s worth checking whether you can save money by going through your school, university or employer. If you’re reading this then you’re probably looking for a copy of Windows 10 for personal use. READ NEXT: The best monitors to buy for working from home How to get Windows 10 for free – or as cheaply as possible Before you start: Check for organisational discounts and licences Read on to find out how to get Windows 10 on the cheap. Failing that, there are also ways to buy it for much less than the £120 list price. Whatever your situation, you’ll naturally be looking for the best deal on the OS – and the good news is, you may well be able to get Windows 10 without paying a penny. Or if you’re a Mac user, you might need to get your mitts on a legitimate copy of Windows 10 so you can run Windows-specific software in Boot Camp or Parallels. If you’ve bought a second-hand computer that’s in need of an operating system then Windows 10 is again the obvious choice. If you’ve built your own PC, you’ll surely want to treat that temptingly fresh SSD to the latest edition of Windows. Of course, Windows 10 isn’t just for upgraders.
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