Minimum requirements
As I told you at the beginning of the guide, in order to update your PC with Windows 7 installed to the latest version of the Redmond home OS it is essential that this respects some minimum requirements as far as hardware is concerned.
In order to support the installation and use of Windows 10 your computer must have the following characteristics (more info here).
- At least 2 GB of RAM
- 20 GB of free disk space
- A processor of at least 1 GHz with support for PAE, NX and SSE2
- A graphics card with Microsoft DirectX 9 support and WDDM driver
To make sure that all PC components are actually compatible with Windows 10, you can also download the appropriate tool Free assistant. It is dedicated to Windows 8.1 but, considering that the minimum requirements required to use Windows 10 are practically the same, it also works with the new operating system.
Keep in mind that to install Windows 10 on your PC you will also need theISO image of the system, your CD / DVD or on USB pendrive, or one copy virtual, i.e. in the form of executable software directly from your computer. For example, at the time of writing this article, with the purchase of a copy of the new OS from the Microsoft website, the possibility of obtaining Windows 10 in the form of a pendrive or via direct download is offered.
Regardless of whether you have a physical copy of the operating system or not, if you have purchased Windows 10 and therefore have a valid product key, you can still install Windows 10 using a special tool made available directly by Microsoft.
This is the Media Creation Tool, a freeware software through which you can download any version of Windows 10, install it on your PC, copy it to a stick or save it as an ISO image. To download it to your computer, connect to this web page and then click on the button Download the tool.
Both with the Windows ISO and with the Media Creation Tool you can then choose, based on your needs and preferences, if update the Windows OS already installed on your computer or whether to perform a"clean" installation.
Please note: When you connect to the Microsoft website using an operating system other than Windows, the Windows 10 ISO image is directly offered instead of the Media Creation Tool software.
Price
Now let's move on to the "painful notes" ... the prices! Normally the cost of Windows 10 Home and of 135,00 € while that of Windows 10 Pro and of 279,00 €. The purchase of the operating system can be made directly from the official Microsoft store, from online stores such as Amazon and from physical electronics stores.
Who makes use of the assistive technologies however, you can upgrade your PC running Windows 7 (with SP1 or Windows 8.x) to Windows 10 for free. In this specific case it is therefore sufficient to connect to the dedicated web page of the Microsoft website, press the button Upgrade Now and wait a few moments for the download of the useful tool to be completed to start the installation of the OS at no cost.
Installation
As anticipated at the beginning, based on your needs and preferences you can update Windows 7 to Windows 10 by updating the computer in use without losing data, applications and so on (and also bringing with you any software problems ) or you can succeed in the enterprise by carrying out an installation of the operating system from scratch (thus losing the data saved on the PC ... unless you have made a backup as I explained to you in my guide on the subject). Choose freely which way to go, in both cases do not worry, you will still be able to install the new OS on your PC.
Regardless of the choice made, in order to install Windows 10 on Seven you must first connect the USB stick of the operating system to the computer or you must insert the system installation disk in the CD / DVD drive of the PC. Alternatively, you can run the tool you downloaded earlier from the Microsoft website by simply double clicking on it.
Then click on Accept then, if you are using the tool downloaded from the Microsoft site, specify that you intend to switch to Windows 10 on the PC you are using and wait a few moments for all the files necessary for the operation to be downloaded from the Internet.
Then indicate your willingness to update the PC immediately and then press the button NEXT. At this point, wait for the complete download of all the components necessary for the installation of Windows 10, then follow the wizard that is proposed to you on the screen.
Therefore indicate if you prefer to download the latest updates available for the new OS first before proceeding with the installation of the same on your computer or and click on Accept to accept the conditions of use of the product. It also specifies whether you want to reinstall the operating system while keeping personal files, apps and settings, whether to do so with only personal files, or not to keep any of these. Then click on NEXT and confirm the choice made by pressing on Si.
Finally, choose your language and keyboard layout and click Install. Then enter the product key of the operating system (if you have taken advantage of the possibility to download Windows 10 for free because you use assistive technologies you can skip this step), indicate the edition of Windows 10 to install on the PC (if asked), accept the conditions of use of the software and choose whether to update the copy of Windows already on your computer by clicking on the button Update: Install Windows or keep files, settings and applications or whether to perform a customized installation by clicking on Custom: Install Windows only (advanced option).
Configuration
Once you have carried out all the various steps above, your PC will restart and the initial configuration of Windows 10 will start. At this stage you can adjust the various settings of the operating system by following the wizard on the screen. If you want, you can also speed up everything by pressing on Use quick settings (in this way you will go to use the default settings).
Then specify if the computer you are using belongs to you (therefore it is intended for personal use) or belongs to the company for which you work or to your educational institution, then click on NEXT and enter your Microsoft e-mail address (Live, Hotmail or Outlook) if you intend to take advantage of the cloud features of the operating system. In that case, please note that after doing this the username and password for the account on the PC will be the same as the login data of the email address.
If, on the other hand, you are not interested in synchronizing data and apps between multiple computers via Microsoft cloud services, you can create a "classic" local user account by selecting Ignore this step, by filling in the fields that are subsequently proposed to you with the required data and clicking once again on NEXT.
In a few moments you will then be shown the Windows 10 desktop. Finally, indicate whether or not you want to allow your computer to be discovered on the network by other PCs and devices. Now that you can finally say you are satisfied, you have managed to complete the whole procedure by which to upgrade Windows 7 to Windows 10, my congratulations!
In case of problems
Are you having difficulty in being able to start the procedure to install Windows 10 on your Windows 7? If so, you might try to fix it by installing the OS when your computer starts. The only thing that changes is the way the installation procedure starts, all the other steps are practically identical to what was seen together in the previous lines.
To do this, first connect the USB stick with Windows 10 to the computer or insert the installation disk of the operating system in the appropriate CD / DVD drive of the PC (depending on the media in your possession).
Don't have a USB stick or a Windows 10 disk? Then create the Windows 10 installation media with your own hands by launching the Media Creation Tool, choosing the option Create installation media for another PC and following the simple guided procedure that is proposed to you.
If you choose to use a pendrive for installing the operating system, be aware that it will have to have at least 8 GB of free space. If you choose to create a Windows 10 installation disk instead, you can read my tutorial on how to burn ISO files to find out exactly how.
Then restart the computer leaving the USB key connected or leaving the OS installation disk inserted in the appropriate reader. Proceeding in this way, the installation procedure of Windows 10 should start automatically when the computer starts.
If this does not happen, enter the BIOS and change the boot order by setting the USB port or DVD media as the first device. If you don't know how, you can follow the directions I gave you in my article on how to get into the BIOS.
Return to Windows 7
Have you installed Windows 10 but now you have changed your mind and would like to return to your beloved Windows 7? It can be done and you don't even risk losing your data! In fact, if you have updated the system, you have time until 30 days to go back.
How you do it? Simple: you have to go to the menu PC settings, you must then click on the icon Update and security and choose the item Restoration from the sidebar then you have to then click on the button indicating Windows 7. For more details, read my article on how to uninstall Windows 10.
How to upgrade Windows 7 to Windows 10