Just today, Microsoft officially announced that it will officially release the Windows 10 operating system on July 29, 2015. Microsoft once again emphasizes that Windows 10 upgrades are completely free, easy to use, and worry-free. All eligible Windows 7 SP1, Windows 8.1, and Windows Phone 8.1 devices can be upgraded to the Windows 10 operating system for free. This free upgrade is available on Windows 10 One year after release.
Terry Myerson, head of Microsoft's operating system department, said, "On July 29th, Windows 10 will provide optimized upgrades for PCs and tablets for free, or you can go to the retail store to buy a new Windows 10 PC. If you purchase a Windows 8.1 device, you will also be pushed for a Windows 10 upgrade, or the retail store will upgrade for you for free. ”
It should be noted that starting today, Microsoft will install a tool called “Get Windows 10 Application” on a PC running Windows 7 SP1 and Windows 8.1, through which everyone can directly To book a free Windows 10 upgrade, just enter your email address to confirm this reservation, or you can cancel your reservation. Subscribed users will be notified when they will be able to use the upgrade later in the year, and the time to install the upgrade is entirely up to the user.
Upgradable version
Because the current version of Windows 7, 8.1 installed by each user is different, the version of Windows 10 that can be upgraded for free will be different. For Windows 7 users, Microsoft requires that you must run the latest version of Windows 7 (Service Pack 1) to upgrade to Windows 10 through Windows Update, while Windows 8 users must upgrade to Windows 8.1. As for the upgraded version, Microsoft has done a detailed description, the following table:
Microsoft has made it clear that some version upgrade is not within the scope of: Windows 7 Enterprise, Windows 8 /8.1 Enterprise Edition and Windows RT/RT 8.1. Enterprise users need to pay an ISP fee to upgrade to Windows 10 Enterprise or a specific version, and whether Windows Phone 8.1 devices can be upgraded to Windows 10 may vary by OEM, mobile carrier, or host.
Windows 10 Upgrade Hardware Requirements
Microsoft also said that the Windows 10 upgrade sets some hardware/software requirements, but only if it is connected to the Internet and Windows Update is enabled. For upgrading to Windows 10 on a desktop or tablet, the following requirements must be met:
- The latest version of the operating system: the Windows 7 SP1 or Windows 8.1 update.
- Processor: 1 GHz or faster processor or SoC
- RAM: 1 GB (32-bit) or 2 GB (64-bit)
- Hard disk space: 16 GB (32-bit operating system) ) or 20 GB (64-bit operating system)
- Graphics card: DirectX 9 or higher (including WDDM 1.0 driver)
- Display resolution: 1024×600
Of course, it does not meet the above requirements You will be able to upgrade Windows 10 because it also involves driver and firmware support, application compatibility, and feature support. At the same time, when Windows 10 is upgraded, applications, files, and settings will be migrated as a full upgrade, but some applications or settings may not be migrated, which also involves compatibility issues with the application for Windows 10. Microsoft said that it is best to personally evaluate a PC or tablet with a Windows 10 Upgrade Advisor before the upgrade, if you are not sure if the application is fully compatible.
Upgrade official partners such as Tencent and Qihoo 360 to get a free upgrade. Now Microsoft has further announced some details: Only users who have officially upgraded Windows 10 through Microsoft can retain the user's original settings. If you upgrade through Tencent or Qihoo, Windows 10 will have some customization features, including anti-virus software and default browser search engine and browser home page.
Windows 10 pricing or puzzles
The biggest question now is how Windows 10 is priced for users who are not in the free one-year upgrade, especially if they are using Windows XP, Windows Vista and older versions. Windows, as well as non-Windows users.
A long time ago, it was reported that Microsoft would allow Windows XP users to upgrade to Windows 10 Home Home Edition for only $39.99 (approximately RMB 249), but only online. For other versions, today, the retail price of two Windows 10 versions was suddenly exposed on New Egg America and the booking began. The two versions are the home version price of 109.99 US dollars, about 680 yuan; the professional version price is 149.99 US dollars, about 930 yuan
In short, Microsoft is expected to officially launch Windows 10 on July 29 Announced pricing details, it is not far from this time. Not surprisingly, Microsoft is still in internal discussions. We only hope that users who cannot upgrade for free can purchase genuine Windows 10 in an acceptable architecture.