[mini] these are the ways users can upgrade to windows 10 on launch

[cesrai]

I know that. It's just that the general public seems to not understand the current wording, leading to confusion.

I mean you could just type is windows 10 free and go to windows 10 official page which will say:

Free Upgrade Offer*

Great news! We will offer a free upgrade to Windows 10 for qualified new or existing Windows 7, Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone 8.1 devices that upgrade in the first year!  And even better: once a qualified Windows device is upgraded to Windows 10, we will continue to keep it up to date for the supported lifetime of the device, keeping it more secure, and introducing new features and functionality over time – for no additional charge. Sign up with your email today, and we will send you more information about Windows 10 and the upgrade offer in the coming months.  

 

I would say that is pretty clear.

[dalekphalm]

I mean you could just type is windows 10 free and go to windows 10 official page which will say:

 

 

 

I would say that is pretty clear.

You might think so, but my experience (And probably @ionbasa's as well) is that many people, even after reading that, still don't understand, and think it's just a 1-year "trial".

 

Plenty of people on this very forum, even in this very thread, still question the meaning. I think that @ionbasa has it down with the wording he used. Takes literally all of the confusion away.

[cesrai]

You might think so, but my experience (And probably @ionbasa's as well) is that many people, even after reading that, still don't understand, and think it's just a 1-year "trial".

Plenty of people on this very forum, even in this very thread, still question the meaning. I think that @ionbasa has it down with the wording he used. Takes literally all of the confusion away.

Sadly I can't disagree.

[suicidalfranco]

Windows 8 is ~30gb, 7 is similar, so a clean install leaves ~470gb not 16. check your math.

my HDD config:

• 500gb dedicated to MacOS (usable left 480gb)
• out of the 500gb 80gb goes to win8 (400 left to macos, 50 to win8 after os install)
• then there's 64gb going to ubuntu (336 left on mac os, roughtly 60 to ubuntu after os install)

and that's just the OSs, still have to throw my fundamental apps

 

What he's saying is that the "necessary" (applications, I'm assuming) take up ~454GB of space.

 

pretty much

[suicidalfranco]

You might think so, but my experience (And probably @ionbasa's as well) is that many people, even after reading that, still don't understand, and think it's just a 1-year "trial".

 

Plenty of people on this very forum, even in this very thread, still question the meaning. I think that @ionbasa has it down with the wording he used. Takes literally all of the confusion away.

it's just sooo hard to put (and believing it) Windows and free on the same sentence. Can't blame people for being skeptic

[suicidalfranco]

I survive perfectly fine on a 60GB SSD

i would die with just that

[Tim Drake]

i would die with just that

I constantly have 15GB or slightly less free.

 

I need another 1TB though

[Sakkura]

You might think so, but my experience (And probably @ionbasa's as well) is that many people, even after reading that, still don't understand, and think it's just a 1-year "trial".

 

Plenty of people on this very forum, even in this very thread, still question the meaning. I think that @ionbasa has it down with the wording he used. Takes literally all of the confusion away.

 

You can take confusion away, but you can't always take stupid away.

[Bonesy]

 

@Bonesy, I guess this puts our dispute to rest , and hopefully is the last nail in the coffin for that argument.

-snip-

 

 I stated you would need an iso to do a clean install, and the latest news is that the ISO will cost. That information still remains valid(AFAIK). I think the "dispute" was mostly with yourself. So, thanks for calling me out and trying to flex your e-peen...better luck next time.

[dalekphalm]

 I stated you would need an iso to do a clean install, and the latest news is that the ISO will cost. That information still remains valid(AFAIK). I think the "dispute" was mostly with yourself. So, thanks for calling me out and trying to flex your e-peen...better luck next time.

Hmm? Can you post any source verifying your claim that the ISO will cost money?

 

Because, you've never had to pay for the ISO for Windows. You've always been paying for the Windows License (in the form of a Product Key). In the past, Microsoft has been iffy about actually providing a digital place to download said ISO, but it's not even illegal to download (aka torrent) a retail ISO of Windows, as long as it is:

1. Not cracked, and

2. Does not come with a license

 

Microsoft, furthermore, started to provide ISO downloads for Windows 7 using Digital River. And then recently they announced a site dedicated to allowing you to download an ISO if you have a legit key:

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-recovery(Currently this only seems to work with Windows 7, but it could also be that it's auto-detecting the current OS I'm using).

 

So, with the Windows 10 free upgrade, there's a 99.9% chance that you'll verify your current Key (Be it 7 or 8.1) and you'll get a Windows 10 key.

[ionbasa]

Hmm? Can you post any source verifying your claim that the ISO will cost money?

 

Because, you've never had to pay for the ISO for Windows. You've always been paying for the Windows License (in the form of a Product Key). In the past, Microsoft has been iffy about actually providing a digital place to download said ISO, but it's not even illegal to download (aka torrent) a retail ISO of Windows, as long as it is:

1. Not cracked, and

2. Does not come with a license

 

Microsoft, furthermore, started to provide ISO downloads for Windows 7 using Digital River. And then recently they announced a site dedicated to allowing you to download an ISO if you have a legit key:

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-recovery(Currently this only seems to work with Windows 7, but it could also be that it's auto-detecting the current OS I'm using).

 

So, with the Windows 10 free upgrade, there's a 99.9% chance that you'll verify your current Key (Be it 7 or 8.1) and you'll get a Windows 10 key.

Regarding Microsoft providing the Windows 8.1 ISO; it can be downloaded from this page: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/create-reset-refresh-media 

 

Further more, the Windows 8.1 ISO doesn't require a product keyin order to download the ISO (as the key on Windows 8.0+ OEM PCs are saved in the UEFI). You can still download the ISO and install the OS within the grace period without a license key (as it has been since Windows XP /Vista). None of this costs money.

 

Regarding our original discussion, Bonesy believes that a Windows 10 ISO will cost money to clean install even within the first year of license migration. Since Microsoft is providing the ISO for free, that argument doesn't make sense.

[AlexGoesHigh]

snip

that site should be https if they want you to type your key in order to download the iso

[DildorTheDecent]

pirated Windows 8 and got the 8.1 update. 

 

Now getting Windows 10 though Windows Update. 

 

Thanks Microsoft. 

[dalekphalm]

Regarding Microsoft providing the Windows 8.1 ISO; it can be downloaded from this page: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/create-reset-refresh-media 

 

Further more, the Windows 8.1 ISO doesn't require a product keyin order to download the ISO (as the key on Windows 8.0+ OEM PCs are saved in the UEFI). You can still download the ISO and install the OS within the grace period without a license key (as it has been since Windows XP /Vista). None of this costs money.

 

Regarding our original discussion, Bonesy believes that a Windows 10 ISO will cost money to clean install even within the first year of license migration. Since Microsoft is providing the ISO for free, that argument doesn't make sense.

Exactly. Yes I saw the "refresh media" page while I was on the Software Recovery site. There's a link over to it.

 

 

that site should be https if they want you to type your key in order to download the iso

You're probably right. Since I haven't tested it, I cannot say whether it forces you to sign in to a Microsoft Account (thus, forcing HTTPS) before it verifies the key. Perhaps additional research would be in order before one uses it. I wonder if any tech news sites have reported on this.

[Bonesy]

I am gathering this information from the hundreds of websites that quote what Microsoft has stated: Windows XP and Vista(which require a standalone ISO) will be made to pay for this. So it makes sense that therefore, standalone ISO's of the retail version, will cost. Much as previous Windows versions were; instead of being able to upgrade for a low cost, it's free. However, if you wanted the standalone version(digital ISO or disc), you had to pay for it. 

 

They have never stated either for or against this specifically, only saying upgrades will be free and available via windows update for 7/8/8.1. Anytime ISO has been mentioned; it was paired with XP/Vista and cost. As the graph only shows what upgrade options will be available, and not cost, or XP/Vista. So, as this information is not verifiable one way or the other, I will continue to approach this as previous Windows versions have shown. Upgrades will be free(instead of low-cost), but if you want the "full" version(physical or digital) you are paying for it.

[Norman_the_Owl]

What if i'm using tech preview?

[AlexGoesHigh]

I am gathering this information from the hundreds of websites that quote what Microsoft has stated: Windows XP and Vista(which require a standalone ISO) will be made to pay for this. So it makes sense that therefore, standalone ISO's of the retail version, will cost. Much as previous Windows versions were; instead of being able to upgrade for a low cost, it's free. However, if you wanted the standalone version(digital ISO or disc), you had to pay for it. 

 

They have never stated either for or against this specifically, only saying upgrades will be free and available via windows update for 7/8/8.1. Anytime ISO has been mentioned; it was paired with XP/Vista and cost. As the graph only shows what upgrade options will be available, and not cost, or XP/Vista. So, as this information is not verifiable one way or the other, I will continue to approach this as previous Windows versions have shown. Upgrades will be free(instead of low-cost), but if you want the "full" version(physical or digital) you are paying for it.

look at the OP it says you can fully upgrade to windows 10 (and not a gimped version but the whole thing) via ISO, in fact you have to use a ISO unless your installation of 7 or 8.1 is fully update to the latest versions then you can use WU to upgrade to 10, and since they have clarified that you can use a ISO to update is safe to say they will provided a ISO for FREE digitally only, because giving a physical disc would be a waste of everyones time and money now days, this isn't the 90's anymore, the only thing they wont provide is a KEY to activate the OS alongside the ISO, microsoft hasn't clarified what is going to do regarding keys and the upgrade offer so i won't talk about it, in short the only people that have to buy a new license during the promotion are:

 

xp/vista users (tbh if your using hardware from that era you should buy new hardware anyways)

with the purchase of a new laptop, AIO, prebuilt, anything that come from a windows OEM

 

oh and if your wondering about the source from the my op, it come from a site that focuses on windows a lot and the info is straight from the winHEC conference that happed last week in china aka as fresh as it can be from the lions mouth

 

What if i'm using tech preview?

TP will expire a few weeks before retail, so you have to roll back to what you used before the TP

[Norman_the_Owl]

TP will expire a few weeks before retail, so you have to roll back to what you used before the TP

Darn

[dalekphalm]

I am gathering this information from the hundreds of websites that quote what Microsoft has stated: Windows XP and Vista(which require a standalone ISO) will be made to pay for this. So it makes sense that therefore, standalone ISO's of the retail version, will cost. Much as previous Windows versions were; instead of being able to upgrade for a low cost, it's free. However, if you wanted the standalone version(digital ISO or disc), you had to pay for it. 

 

They have never stated either for or against this specifically, only saying upgrades will be free and available via windows update for 7/8/8.1. Anytime ISO has been mentioned; it was paired with XP/Vista and cost. As the graph only shows what upgrade options will be available, and not cost, or XP/Vista. So, as this information is not verifiable one way or the other, I will continue to approach this as previous Windows versions have shown. Upgrades will be free(instead of low-cost), but if you want the "full" version(physical or digital) you are paying for it.

It sounds like you're confusing a few things.

 

1st: Windows XP and Vista users will not get a free upgrade

2nd: Windows users will have to "pay" for the "retail" ISO

 

Okay, so there's a bit of a disconnect here.

 

The "Retail ISO", as you're calling it, is the package you would buy from say. Best Buy or NewEgg, that contains Windows, on a DVD, with a product key. You're not paying for the physical disc, you're paying for the License (eg: The Product Key that comes with the disc).

 

As stated before, you can download the ISO for Windows 7 and 8.1 right now from the Internet, and burn it to DVD or make a bootable USB. There's nothing to indicate this will change for Windows 10.

 

Windows XP and Vista will need an ISO to upgrade to Windows 10, because you won't in fact be "upgrading" - at least, not in the sense of an Upgrade Install. Because those OS's are very old, and a lot has changed since then - code wise - you're required to do a "Clean" install of Windows. The Product Key will simply be an "upgrade" key vs a "retail" key.

 

This is actually standard practice, and has been for ages. Generally speaking, Microsoft allows an "in-place Upgrade Install" on the most recent version of Windows, with sometimes offering that to the 2nd newest version as well.

 

For example: Windows 8

You could perform an Upgrade install for both Vista and 7, but not XP.

 

I hope that clears up some stuff for you.

 

If you are using Windows 7 or 8.1, and you take advantage of the free upgrade to Windows 10 - you will have the option of upgrading via downloading an ISO and performing a "Clean Install" - and this will not cost you any extra money.

[dalekphalm]

Darn

That's been the case for all previous "preview" versions of Windows. I highly doubt the practice will change. However, hopefully, you can simply plug in your Windows 7 or 8.1 key and get a Win 10 key + ISO and just perform a clean install.

[Norman_the_Owl]

That's been the case for all previous "preview" versions of Windows. I highly doubt the practice will change. However, hopefully, you can simply plug in your Windows 7 or 8.1 key and get a Win 10 key + ISO and just perform a clean install.

Yea, i haven't been around the tech scene to really remember technical previews. I vaguely remember windows 8 preview but i never used it myself

[SpaceNugget]

my HDD config:

• 500gb dedicated to MacOS (usable left 480gb)
• out of the 500gb 80gb goes to win8 (400 left to macos, 50 to win8 after os install)
• then there's 64gb going to ubuntu (336 left on mac os, roughtly 60 to ubuntu after os install)

and that's just the OSs, still have to throw my fundamental apps

 

 

pretty much

read my post, windows 8 does not take 80gb, and ubuntu is 5gb installed, you could fit almost 13 installations in your claimed 64gb. Partitioned does not equal used.

[suicidalfranco]

read my post, windows 8 does not take 80gb, and ubuntu is 5gb installed, you could fit almost 13 installations in your claimed 64gb. Partitioned does not equal used.

read my post

"and that's just the OSs, still have to throw my fundamental apps"