What's new in Windows 10?

Among key functions can be distinguished:

• Extended Start Menu. The familiar Start menu is back in place, giving you quick, one-click access to your most frequently used functions and files, and the ability to personalize your favorite apps, programs, people, and websites.
• Windows applications. Windows Store apps now open in the same format as desktop apps. They can be dragged and resized, and there is a title bar at the top, with which users can expand, minimize and close the application with one click.
• Improved pinning function. With the new arrangement of quadrants on one screen, you can pin up to four applications. Windows will show you other running applications and programs that you can dock, and even make recommendations on how to fill the remaining screen space with other open applications.
• New button for submitting tasks. A new taskbar button provides a single view for all open applications and files, allowing you to quickly switch between user-created desktops.
• Multiple desktops. Instead of cluttering one desktop with files and applications, you can now simply create multiple tables for different purposes and projects and easily switch between them.

What editions of Microsoft Windows 10 are there?

Disadvantages:
The software "binds" to the "hardware" upon activation. It is illegal to purchase a license separately from a computer 1.

OEM editions of Windows 10 Home and Windows 10 Pro are sold.

Box

Advantages:
Possible variant if you buy licenses separately from computers. Simple licensing, no minimum quantity restrictions. If available from the seller, the delivery time is minimal. Price includes VAT. Licenses are not registered, they can be transferred to another organization, but not more than once.

This is the only type of Windows licensing that allows you to transfer a license to another computer.

Disadvantages:
High price. No right to use previous versions... Inconvenient logistics for large purchases. The need to store packaging (empty boxes) to confirm the legality of the software. A boxed license is not equivalent to a volume license.

Boxed editions of Windows 10 Home and.

Electronic key

In the online stores of Microsoft partners, you can purchase Windows 10 dongles and download the corresponding distributions. These licenses are for personal users and correspond to the boxed versions.

Windows 10 Home editions and:

Corporate license

For volume licensing programs, Windows is only available as an update ("upgrade"). This means that volume licenses are purchased after OEM licenses, boxes, or electronic keys are purchased.

From commercial editions of Windows 10, volume licenses exist for the Pro and Enterprise editions.

Advantages:
Volume keys (VLK). There is a possibility of legal use of previous versions - downgrade. The term for the production of licenses is from 2 working days.

Disadvantages:
Licenses are registered, they cannot be transferred to another organization. There are restrictions on the minimum order (at least 5 licenses).

How to legalize Windows?

The optimal and most economical way to purchase complete Windows licenses- purchase of a pre-installed OS on a new computer (OEM license). However, if you find counterfeit software or apply a Volume Licensing Windows Updates license without the appropriate operating system solutions can be used on computers to resolve the inconsistency that occurs. We are talking about the so-called "legalizers" of Windows.

If you are interested in the question of how how to get a non-pirated version of Windows 10 for free and legally, then you almost certainly know that the free upgrade to this operating system from the "seven" and "eight" has ended July 29, 2016... For a whole year, the owners of 7 and 8 versions could get Windows 10 absolutely free of charge and, of course, many people think that this “free cheese” could not end irrevocably. This is indeed the case. Microsoft itself has left for those in greatest need the opportunity to upgrade to the top ten, without paying anything.

So, after July 2016, it will not be possible to upgrade to Windows 10 from "seven" or "eight" in the same way. But there are other workarounds that allow you to use the latest operating system from Microsoft for free. Let's start in order with the simplest.

Free Windows 10 for a computer on which it was already installed

The most obvious option is free upgrade to Windows 10 computers whose owners have already tried to install this operating system during the free upgrade period (from July 29, 2015 to July 29, 2016), but then for some reason decided to switch back to Windows 7, 8 or 8.1.

The good news is that free activation (license) at the time of that previous installation, it was already tied to the computer. All that is needed now is to install Windows 10 by selecting the option "I do not have an activation key", and after the installation process is completed, the system will be activated automatically via the Internet.

You can download a tool with which you can upgrade your computer to a "dozen" or create a media with a clean image of Windows 10, you can absolutely free and legally with official site Microsoft. If you want to upgrade to “ten” from version 7 or 8 of the operating system, choose “ Update now". But it's better to put the OS clean by choosing “ Download the tool now". After that, a program will be downloaded to the computer that will write the installation Windows files 10 to a USB flash drive or DVD.

Do not rush to immediately discount this option until you read this section of the article.

Another option to get the officially activated version of the Windows 10 operating system for free is actually the recognition of oneself as a person with disabilities (or maybe we mean our material capabilities?). For such people, Microsoft has provided a proposal for free transition to the top ten from 7 or 8 Windows versions no expiration date... Acquainted with detailed information about this you can go to special page corporations. I myself did not use this method, since I received a license for Windows 10 for free at the time of its first official release as a participant in the Insider Program. But my friends wrote that it works.

This offer for a free update for the "top ten" is intended for people with disabilities, but this does not mean that the operating system itself will be any special and curtailed in functionality. This will be the most common version of Windows 10. It's just that the update itself is provided for people with disabilities and who need to install additional auxiliary programs.

As I understand it, Microsoft is not going to track whether any OS versions legally activated in this way are used. third party services for people with disabilities. This can be understood at least by this phrase on the page of questions and answers for this proposal: “We do not limit the offer for users of any specific assistive technologies. If you use similar technologies in Windows, then you have every right to a free update. " If you think about it, there are so many things that can be understood as people with disabilities and assistive technology. Perhaps you have limited financial opportunities and you need to use "assistive technologies" for typing using your voice (by the way, it will not be difficult to find and install such a program for your own peace of mind). In general, I would definitely try this method myself if I had not preferred participation in the Insider Program and had not already received my licensed version of Windows 10 there.

Let me add that I do not in any way want to call you to deceive Microsoft. Just describing the opportunity legal and free upgrade to activated windows 10 while pointing out the vagueness of Microsoft's language. As they say, he who has ears, let him hear. In general, there is talk on the Internet that an international corporation specifically left such a loophole for a free update. On the one hand, caring for people with disabilities increases the reputation of any company, on the other hand, many believe that it is profitable for Microsoft to somehow legalize those users who traditionally used pirated activation methods and still never buy a licensed product. You can make money on such people in other ways, for example, by showing ads in the Start menu (by the way, it is available in all purchased versions of Windows 10, but you can turn it off). How things really are, we can only guess.

This method no longer works! Its only advantage over the non-activated regular Windows 10 is that the watermark of the technical version appears on the screen. Unlike the usual one, it can be removed. Alternative to him way to get legal activation of Windows 10 described on our new site. At the beginning of September 2017, he was working.

Absolutely Free, activated version of Windows 10 is available to Insiders from Microsoft. This service is designed for users to test the latest versions of the operating system. By participating in this program, you agree to test the upcoming releases of Windows 10. They have not yet been presented to the mass user. Of course, sometimes they may not be fully finalized, but personally, I do not consider this a serious obstacle. Moreover, it is possible to choose one of three levels of OS readiness for the end user. I recommend joining the Windows 10 Insider Program if you:

• It does not have a licensed version of Windows 7 or 8, 8.1, which could be upgraded to “dozens” in another way.
• Wants to legally use not Home, but Professional (Pro) version of Windows 10.
• Wants to be a pioneer and use the most recent version of the operating system.
• I agree to a periodic full update of my Windows 10 to the latest version of its construction (once every 2-4 months, the OS will offer a major update that takes 1-2 hours).
• Wants to help Microsoft improve its product (this is optional, but program members can provide feedback on their experiences and issues).

Of course, if this whole proposal did not have its inconveniences and disadvantages, then this a way to get Windows 10 legally and for free everyone would use it. But the pros, in my opinion, outweigh the cons in this case. It is definitely better to use the insider version of the "ten" than the pirated version. Besides, as they say, trying is not torture. Moreover, after several months of participation in the Insider Program, Microsoft is most likely will bind absolutely legal activation to the computer on the most common (non-test) version of Windows 10. At least, this was the case before for all Insider Preview participants who received a license for Windows 10 despite the absence of a legal "seven" or "eight" (I myself am one of them).

You can join the Windows Insider Program at page of this project the official Microsoft website. After registration, you will need to download (select "Download the tool now" on this page) and install a clean image of Windows 10. During the installation process, be sure to log in with your Microsoft account, which was created (or used) with your consent to participate in the Insider Program. After installing the "ten", it is possible that it will not be activated yet. You need to select in the operating system settings All Options → Update → Insider Program → Start, restart the computer and wait in the coming days for the update to the activated insider version of the "dozen".

I will add that even if you participate in the Windows Insider Program, you can choose what degree of readiness the version of the system will be installed on you. This may be the so-called " early access"(The most recent construction, but it may have many flaws)," late access"(There are fewer bugs here) or a version almost ready for mass release" Release preview»(The safest preliminary release, almost ready-to-release updates, which are usually offered to insiders a few days before being sent to all users). To select your membership level after restarting your computer, you need to go back along the path All Options → Update → Insider Program.

Legal ways to get an updated version of Windows 10 for free

So, let's summarize. For those who have licensed Windows 7 or Windows 8, 8.1 and wants to upgrade his system to latest version there are two ways get the officially activated top ten even after July 29, 2016:

• Just upgrade to it again or install it cleanly if you tried installing Windows 10 between July 29, 2015 and July 29, 2016.
• Take advantage of the free upgrade offer for people with disabilities who need assistive technology.

For those who want to get an activated version of Windows 10 for free, without having a licensed "seven" or "eight", there is only one legal way:

• Participate in the Windows Insider Program.

• Use the tool to upgrade this PC to Windows 10 (click to show or hide more information)

  These instructions can be used in the following situations:

  • Do you have a license for Windows installation 10 and you upgrade the operating system of your Windows 7 computer to Windows 8.1.
  • You need to reinstall Windows 10 on a computer where this OS has already been successfully activated.

  If you are installing Windows 10 on a Windows XP computer or Windows Vista or you need to create Windows 10 installation media on another computer, see the section below.

  Note... Before installing Windows 10, make sure your computer is Windows 10 compliant. Also, we recommend that you visit your computer manufacturer's website for more information about updated drivers and hardware compatibility.

  1. Click on Download tool, and then - Run
  2. If you agree to the terms of the license agreement on the page License terms, click To accept.
  3. On the page What do you want to do? choose Upgrade this PC now and then press Further.

  After downloading and installing software will provide instructions on Windows setup 10 on your PC. All versions of Windows 10 are available at the Windows 10 link, except for Enterprise. For more information on the Enterprise version, see the website.

  • If you do not have a license to install Windows 10 and have not yet upgraded to this version, you can purchase a copy here:.
  • If you have already upgraded the operating system on this computer to Windows 10 and are reinstalling it now, you do not need to enter your product key. Your Windows 10 instance will be activated automatically later using a digital license.
  4. When Windows 10 is ready to install, you will see information about the options you selected and what components will be preserved during the upgrade. Click on Change the selected to save components and select the option you want: Save personal files and apps, Keep only my personal files or Nothing.
  5. Save and close all open applications and files, and when you're ready, click Install.
  6. It may take a while to install Windows 10, during which time the computer will restart several times. Do not turn off your computer.
• Use the Installation Media Creator (USB flash drive, DVD, or ISO file) to install Windows 10 on another computer (click to show or hide more information)

  Follow these instructions to create installation media (USB flash drive or DVD) that you can use to install a fresh copy of Windows 10, perform a clean install, or reinstall Windows 10.

  Before installing the tool, make sure you have:

  • Internet connection (ISP may charge service fees)
  • Enough free space on a computer disk, USB device, or external media.
  • Empty a USB flash memory device of at least 8 GB or a blank DVD (and DVD burner) if you want to create media. We recommend using a blank USB media or blank DVD as all of its contents will be deleted.
  • If you see a message that the image file is too large when you burn an ISO file to a DVD, you must use a Dual Layer (DL) DVD.

  Check the specifications of the computer on which you want to install Windows 10:

  • 64-bit or 32-bit processor (CPU). You will create a 64-bit or 32-bit version of Windows 10. To check this specification for your computer, go to Computer information in the computer settings or System System type.
  • System requirements. Make sure your computer is Windows 10 compliant. Also, we recommend that you visit your computer manufacturer's website for more information about updated drivers and hardware compatibility.
  • Windows language. When installing Windows 10, you will need to select the same language. To find out which language is currently in use, open the section Time and language in the computer settings or Region in the control panel.
  • Windows edition. You will also need to select the same edition of Windows. To find out which edition is in use, open the section Computer information in the computer settings or System in the control panel and find Windows edition... Windows 10 Enterprise is not available in Media Creator. You can read more about this at.
  • Products Microsoft Office ... If you've just purchased a new device with Office 365 installed, we recommend that you activate (install) Office before upgrading to Windows 10. For information about activating your copy of Office, see Download and install Office 365 Home, Office 365 Personal, or Office 365 Students ... For more information, see Upgrade to Windows 10 on new devices that include Office 365.

  If you have Office 2010 or earlier and want to perform a clean install of Windows 10, you need to find your Office product key. For tips on finding your product key, see Find your product key for Office 2010 or Enter your product key for an Office 2007 program.

  Create installation media using the tool:

  1. Click on Download the tool now, and then - Run... Administrator rights are required to run this tool.
  2. If you agree to the terms of the license agreement, click To accept.
  3. On the page What do you want to do? choose Create installation media for another computer and then press Further.

  4. Select your Windows 10 language, edition, and architecture (32-bit or 64-bit). The table below will help you decide which edition of Windows 10 to install.

     Current Windows release	Windows 10 edition
     Windows 7 Starter Windows 7 Home Basic Windows 7 Home Premium Windows 7 Professional Windows 7 Ultimate Windows 8 / 8.1 Windows 8.1 with Bing Windows 8 Pro Windows 8.1 Pro Windows 8 / 8.1 Professional with Media Center Windows 8 / 8.1 Single Language Windows 8 Single Language with Bing Windows 10 Home Windows 10 Pro	Windows 10
     Windows 8 / 8.1 Chinese Language Edition Windows 8 Chinese Language Edition with Bing	Windows 10 Home China

  5. Select the desired media:
  6. After creating the installation media, follow the directions below to use it.

  7. After completing the Windows 10 installation, please make sure you have all the required device drivers installed. To check for updates, click the Start button, click Settings> Update & Security> Windows Update, and then click Check for Updates. You can also visit the website technical support your device manufacturer to download any additional drivers you may need.

     Note. Surface drivers are available on the page.

  • Using the created installation media (click to show or hide more information)

    Before installing Windows 10, it is recommended that you save all the necessary data and back up your computer. If you downloaded the Windows 10 ISO file using a media creation tool, you must burn it to a DVD before following the steps below.

    1. Connect a USB flash drive or DVD to the computer where you want to install Windows 10.
    2. Restart your PC.

       If your PC does not automatically boot from a bootable USB or DVD, you may need to open the boot menu or change the boot order in BIOS settings or UEFI. To open the boot menu or change the boot order, you usually need to press a key (such as F2, F12, Delete, or Esc) immediately after turning on the power of the PC. For instructions on accessing the boot menu or changing the boot order of your PC, see the documentation that came with your PC or the manufacturer's website. If your USB or DVD is not listed in the boot options, you may need to contact your PC manufacturer for instructions to temporarily disable Secure Boot in BIOS settings.

       If changing the boot menu or boot order does not work and the PC immediately loads the operating system that you want to replace, it is possible that the PC was not completely shut down. To ensure a complete shutdown of your PC, press the power button on the login screen or in the Start menu and select Shut Down.

    3. On the page Installing Windows select the language, time, and keyboard options, and then click Further.
    4. Please select Install Windows.
  • Additional methods to use the ISO file to install Windows 10 (click to show or hide more information)

    If you downloaded the ISO file for Windows 10, it is saved in the folder you specified on your local computer. If the computer has third party program for the DVD burner that you want to use to create the installation DVD, open the folder where you saved the file and double-click the ISO file, or right-click it, select To open with, and then select your preferred program.

    To create an installation DVD using a burner Windows images, open the folder where you saved the ISO file. Right-click the ISO file and select Properties... On the General tab, click Edit and select windows explorer as a program to open ISO files, and then click Apply... Then right-click the ISO file and choose the command Burn disk image.

    To install Windows 10 directly from an ISO file without using a DVD or flash drive, you can mount the ISO file. This will update the current operating system to Windows 10.

When the inscription “Your Windows 10 license is about to expire” appears at the bottom of the screen, it creates a slight discomfort in work, because it is impossible to get rid of this message in a simple way... The user cannot simply pick up and change the screensaver while the operating Windows system will not be activated. What to do when this message appears - we'll discuss later in this article.

Windows license expiration message

Free upgrade to version 10

Previously Microsoft offered everyone to update their Windows operating system to the new Windows 10 that had just come off the assembly line. This update was offered to everyone who was using the supported versions at that time. This promotion lasted until June 29, 2016. Unfortunately, it ended, and those who managed to switch to new version use to this day a free annual license. But the action is still going on for people with disabilities. How to troubleshoot "Your Windows 10 license is about to expire" later in the article.

So, if you have licensed Windows 7, 8, 8.1 on your computer and have no conscience, then you can easily use the upgrade to version 10 for people with disabilities, because no supporting documents are required to be provided to the corporation. The only confirmation is clicking on the "Update Now" button. After that, the image is downloaded to your computer. The image weighs over 3 GB. You can postpone the installation of a new operating system, and you can also create boot disk, all the details on the official Microsoft website. This promotion was extended until December 31, 2017. It is possible that the company will continue to extend the free update of its product.

Upgrading to Windows 10

How to get rid of the message "Your license is about to expire"

To get rid of the message about the term of your license, we will simply disable the services that are responsible for reminding the user about this. For this:

We close the windows and restart the computer. The message "Your license is about to expire" will be forced to leave your computer on Windows 10.

KMS Auto - will eliminate the message about the expired license

KMS Auto is a special activator program that will help rid your computer not only of the message about an expired Windows 10 license, but also help you activate other Microsoft products absolutely free. For the activator to work, some conditions are necessary:

• Operating system - Windows 7, 8, 10.
• On the computer, you must have administrator rights to install the activator and allow it to change the computer resources.
• .NET Framework version 4 or higher.
• The program will take about 5 MB of space on your hard drive.

The activator has several modes of operation:

All these modes and methods of activation are based on the principle of deceiving the system so that it "understands" that the server of the activator program is not on your computer, but somewhere very far away, in remote nodes of the Internet.

How to renew your license using KMS Auto

In order to use the KMS Auto activator, you do not need to have special knowledge. The program is very easy to use. You can easily find the activator on the Internet. When installing, it is better to temporarily disable anti-virus software and other firewalls on your computer. Then start the activator.

The most convenient and easiest way to remove the "Your Windows 10 license is about to expire" program is to use it in automatic mode... After installing the program, it is enabled by default, if you want to use the program in a professional version, with all the settings available in it, enable this mode on the About the program tab.

To start activating Windows 10, click on the button in the middle of the "Activation" program and the selection of modes will start. After successful activation, you will be informed about the termination of the program right there in the window. After that, you can set to reactivate your operating system every 25 days. The same steps are required to activate Office products.

There are severe cases when Windows cannot be activated in the usual way. In this case, switch to the professional mode of the program and in the "Utilities" section you will need to try to install the GVLK file for your OS, and then try to activate it again. But this happens quite rarely, most often the traditional method works.

For those who have Windows 8.1 installed, the activator needs the installed TAP driver, as well as the use of the IP address 10.3.0.2-254, or use a special adapter. All these necessary tools are built into the activator program. If you use the local activation method (without the Internet), then the TAP interface can be omitted, but use the address of the computer on the network. In any situations with the program settings, if you entered the jungle, set up unknown parameters, after which the program does not work correctly - this can be corrected by selecting the "Reset settings" item in the menu. After that, the program will work stably, as it did during installation.

You just have to choose the most suitable way to get rid of the message "license expires" on Windows 10 among those described above.

The free upgrade to Windows 10, as reported by Microsoft, ended on July 29, 2016, and the upgrade path for persons with disabilities ended in late 2017. This means that if Windows 7 or 8.1 is installed on your computer and you have not updated on the specified date, having decided to abandon the upgrade to Windows 10, then officially in the future you will need to buy a new OS if you want to install it on your computer. (we are talking about the licensed version, of course). However, there is a way around this limitation in 2018 as well.

On the one hand, the decision not to receive an update, but to remain on the current version of the operating system for someone, may be quite balanced and justified. On the other hand, you can imagine a situation where you can even regret that you did not update for free. An example of such a situation: you have enough powerful computer and you play games, but "sit" on Windows 7, and a year later you find that all newly released games are designed for DirectX 12 in Windows 10, which is not supported in 7.

Update 2018: this method no longer works. Upon completion of the main free update program, the official Microsoft website appeared new page- it tells that users using special abilities, all can also be updated for free. At the same time, no check for limited capabilities is carried out, the only thing by clicking the "Update now" button, you confirm that you are the user who requires special system capabilities (by the way, Screen keyboard- also a special feature and many come in handy). At the same time, as reported, this update will be available indefinitely.

After clicking the button, the executable file is downloaded to start the update (it is required that a licensed version of one of the previous systems be installed on the computer). At the same time, the system being loaded is normal; accessibility features are manually enabled by the user if necessary. The address of the official update page is: https://microsoft.com/ru-ru/accessibility/windows10upgrade (It is not known how long this update option will work. If something changes, please notify me in the comments).

Additional Information: If you received a Windows 10 update before July 29, but then uninstalled this OS, then you can on the same computer, and when you request a key during installation, click "I do not have a key" - the system is activated automatically when you connect to the Internet.

Free installation of Windows 10 after Microsoft Updater completes

To begin with, I note that I cannot guarantee the performance of this method, since on this moment time to verify this will not work. However, there is every reason to believe that he is a worker, provided that at the time when you read this article, it is not July 29, 2016 yet.

The essence of the method is as follows:

1. , we are waiting for activation.
2. We roll back to the previous system, see. On the topic of this step, I also recommend reading the end of the current instruction with additional useful information.

What happens in this case: when free update, activation is assigned to the current equipment (digital entitlement), which I wrote about earlier in the article.

After the implementation of the "attachment" is possible (or disk) on the same computer or laptop, including without entering a key (click "I do not have a key" in the installer) followed by automatic activation when connected to the internet.

At the same time, there is no information that the specified binding is limited in time. Hence the assumption that if you perform the "Update" - "Rollback" cycle, then, when required, you can install Windows 10 in the activated edition (Home, Professional) on the same computer at any time, even after the expiration of the free update period ...

I hope the essence of the method is clear and, perhaps, for some of the readers the method will be useful. Unless I can not recommend it to users for whom the theoretically possible need to reinstall the OS manually (rollback does not always work as expected) is very difficult.

Additional Information

Since rolling back from Windows 10 to previous operating systems with built-in system tools does not always work smoothly, the preferable option (or as a means of safety net) may be to either create a complete backup the current version of Windows, for example, using the instructions (the methods work for other versions of the OS), or temporarily cloning the system disk to another disk () with subsequent recovery.

And if something goes wrong, you can perform a clean installation of Windows 7 or 8 on your computer or laptop (but not as a second OS, but as the main one) or if you have one.