Create a full backup of Windows 7Īlthough Microsoft has been improving the upgrade process with Windows 10, there are always chances that the upgrade will fail, and to avoid any problems, you should make sure to have a full backup of your system that you can use to roll back if anything happens. You may still upgrade to Windows 10 using a Windows 7 product key, but be aware that Microsoft no longer offers free upgrades, as such, the company can stop devices from activating using this method at any time. In addition to determining the hardware compatibility, to upgrade Windows 7 to Windows 10, you’ll need a valid Windows 10 product key. These are the minimum hardware requirements to upgrade to Windows 10: Windhardware requirementsġGHz or faster CPU or System on a Chip (SoC)Įxisting installations: 16GB for 32-bit or 20GB for 64-bit

Windows 10 minimum hardware requirements.

This guide will teach you the steps to upgrade to Windows 10 from Windows 7, ensuring you don’t run into issues during installation.

A clean installation minimizes the chances of problems because you’ll be deleting everything on the hard drive and installing a fresh copy of the operating system. You can perform this task using the Media Creation Tool or a third-party tool like Rufus.Īlthough you can also upgrade to Windows 10 from Windows 7 using an in-place upgrade without losing your files is typically the recommended method, there’s always a chance of issues and errors, which could result from custom configurations, apps, driver incompatibility, and other problems. If you’re still on Windows 7, you can upgrade to Windows 10 with a clean installation and restore your files from a previous backup.

Installing windows 10 on windows 7