Windows Ends Installation Path for Free Windows 7/8 Upgrade

[Ed Gordon]

Windows Ends Installation Path for Free Windows 7/8 Upgrade

Created Date: 2023-09-20 | Last Modified: 2023-09-20

Applies To: Publicly Available
Microsoft's free upgrade offer for Windows 10 / 11 ended July 29, 2016. The installation path to obtain the Windows 7 / 8 free upgrade is now removed as well. Upgrades to Windows 11 from Windows 10 are still free.
Details

To upgrade to Windows 11, devices must meet the Windows 11 minimum system requirements. Some Windows 10 features aren't available in Windows 11. System requirements to experience some Windows 11 features and apps will exceed the Windows 11 minimum system requirements.

Source: Link

Also see: https://www.tomshardware.com/news/mi...dates-are-over

If you upgraded Windows 7 to Windows 10 in the past, you got a permanent "digital license" which will continue to work. However, if you try to do an new upgrade, it will fail.

I discovered this the hard way when I inherited an older HP i5 machine. It is licensed for Windows 7, which I installed from an HP recovery disk. When I then did an in-place upgrade to Windows 10 (ran Windows 10 setup from the Windows 7 desktop), the upgraded Window 10 reported "no valid license key found".

[Steve Guttag]

I just did one a couple of weeks ago (Win 7 Home) and it upgraded to Win10 Home.

[Ed Gordon]

I just did one a couple of weeks ago (Win 7 Home) and it upgraded to Win10 Home.

Good timing on your part Steve! I now have one i5 computer running Win 7 Pro that is only useful for parts.

[Steve Guttag]

My upgrade was 3-weeks after the article's declaration of the Win7 product key no longer working.

[Marcel Birgelen]

@Steve Guttag: I think you've been lucky. I tried to do the same with an Intel NUC with Windows 7 about a week or so ago and I ended up with assigning a new Win10 license to the thing. This one was a Win7Pro OEM. Maybe Microsoft only closed the door for OEM licenses? What kind of license was on your machine?

[Steve Guttag]

It's an OEM. I made up these little Zotac Win7 computers about a decade ago (Bare bones, so I loaded in the OS, HDD and Memory). I'm changing them out for a newer Zotac version and SSD, of course. In the example above, I used one of my carcass' product keys to activate the Win 10 upgrade on it. That is, it had Win7 loaded on (some time ago, this was an early failure of the computer itself and I put a newer computer in its place and used the original key to create its Win 7 OS (I was VERY slow to adopt Win10 and still have not adopted Win11). When I spotted it was on Win7 (it was the only Win7 I had deployed in the later computer style), I decided to update it. Since it was in the field and I didn't have any visual on the product key it was using, I just grabbed a carcass to get a Win7 key. It worked without a hitch, really.

Screen Shot 2023-10-26 at 8.04.11 AM.png

[Leo Enticknap]

W11 licenses can now be had for around $30 from aftermarket vendors, which might still be worth doing for a computer which isn't that old and meets the hardware requirements (primarily, supports UEFI secure boot and has a TPM v2.0).

[Mark Gulbrandsen]

Just bought a Lenovo M720Q tiny on Epay for under a hundred bucks. Out of the box with an 8th generation 4/8 core I-3, and 16 GB of RAM, it is much faster than a 7th generation 4/8 core I-7 at 3.4 g's with 16 GB's that is in my M700. The M720, and other other 8th generation tiny computers are all Windblows 11 compatible. Just be sure to put the BIOS in secure boot mode, and W-11 loads right in. The Lenovo tiny computers accept multiple drives and up to 32g of ram. The case is so tough on these that you could practically pound in nails with one. Pretty amazing for a 7X7X1.4 inch package that can attach to the back of the monitor if you need to save desk space...

[Henry Atkinson]

I'll also give high marks to the Thinkcentre Tiny machines. I have a few M90q Gen2 systems that I got open-box, and they've been bulletproof and are shockingly power-dense.

[Marcel Birgelen]

W11 licenses can now be had for around $30 from aftermarket vendors, which might still be worth doing for a computer which isn't that old and meets the hardware requirements (primarily, supports UEFI secure boot and has a TPM v2.0).

I've seen recycled keys for as low as $10, for retail Pro versions. While OEM licenses may officially not be transferred according to MS doctrine (apparently, the local law does not entirely agree with them), those retail licenses can be freely transferred between machines.

It's an OEM. I made up these little Zotac Win7 computers about a decade ago (Bare bones, so I loaded in the OS, HDD and Memory). I'm changing them out for a newer Zotac version and SSD, of course. In the example above, I used one of my carcass' product keys to activate the Win 10 upgrade on it. That is, it had Win7 loaded on (some time ago, this was an early failure of the computer itself and I put a newer computer in its place and used the original key to create its Win 7 OS (I was VERY slow to adopt Win10 and still have not adopted Win11). When I spotted it was on Win7 (it was the only Win7 I had deployed in the later computer style), I decided to update it. Since it was in the field and I didn't have any visual on the product key it was using, I just grabbed a carcass to get a Win7 key. It worked without a hitch, really.a

No reason not to believe you... The official free upgrade path from Win7/8 to 10 officially ended somewhere in 2016 but they never seemed to have told their activation servers to block those upgrades for all those years. Whatever made them come back from the decision to just let it go anyway, probably needs time to be rolled out across their activation platform... It's just good to be aware of the fact that this free buffet seems to be closing after all those years.

I also wasn't eager to adopt Windows 10 and are also only reluctantly switching to Windows 11. The unfortunate fact is, you'll eventually need to go with the times, even though 11 brings very little to the table to excite me, but neither did 10 compared to 7, quite to the contrary actually. Fortunately, I managed to mostly avoid Vista and 8, those really were the "Star Trek 3 and 5" of the Windows Series...

[Steve Guttag]

Few things compel me to go with the times. I still have Win 7 machines happily going. As cinema equipment moves more and more into web browser based UIs...there is even less of a need to be on the latest and greatest.

What causes me to move is if there is an application that I need that is only supported on a version or something similar to that. That rarely happens in cinema.

[Mark Gulbrandsen]

I'll also give high marks to the Thinkcentre Tiny machines. I have a few M90q Gen2 systems that I got open-box, and they've been bulletproof and are shockingly power-dense.

Before I bought the M720Q I was using an M93P Tiny. It's also very fast but not Win 11 compatible unless one uses the work around install method. While that does get 11 into a given non compatable computer, it doesn't guarantee that all W-11 features will work. Both will also accept two hard drives, plus a third one in the DVD adapter housing if you use one. So as normal off the shelf parts, it will accept up to an I7-4770k CPU. It's still a great CPU. However the M720 will also accept up to an I9-9900t 8/16 core processor. Even used, these CPU's are $200+ so I've been watching the used CPU's on line for one at a lower price to try out. The M720 will also accept a half dozen types of GPU cards by using a PCIE L adapter. Still blows me away what they have been able to fit inside that little 7x7 case...

[Henry Atkinson]

Before I bought the M720Q I was using an M93P Tiny. It's also very fast but not Win 11 compatible unless one uses the work around install method. While that does get 11 into a given non compatable computer, it doesn't guarantee that all W-11 features will work. Both will also accept two hard drives, plus a third one in the DVD adapter housing if you use one. So as normal off the shelf parts, it will accept up to an I7-4770k CPU. It's still a great CPU. However the M720 will also accept up to an I9-9900t 8/16 core processor. Even used, these CPU's are $200+ so I've been watching the used CPU's on line for one at a lower price to try out. The M720 will also accept a half dozen types of GPU cards by using a PCIE L adapter. Still blows me away what they have been able to fit inside that little 7x7 case...

Yep, I've got i5-11500s in mine. One had a Quadro GPU in it for a little bit. I also love that you can get native serial on them with just a little expansion board. Lenovo has really carried on what IBM did so well with their PCs.

[Mark Gulbrandsen]

Totally agree Henry!! They have taken big workstations and shrunk them way down, while not losing the abilities of what the bigger stations are able to do. A lot of people purpose them as firewalls and run programs like Untangle.

[Mark Gulbrandsen]

W11 licenses can now be had for around $30 from aftermarket vendors, which might still be worth doing for a computer which isn't that old and meets the hardware requirements (primarily, supports UEFI secure boot and has a TPM v2.0).

I just got an 11 Pro license for $25 and tax. At that price it's hard to say no. After purchase you get a notice in your email and download the license. 11 can be downloaded straight from Microsoft. I know I paid more for my 10 Pro license way back from an on line discounter. But it included the disk.