Upgrading operating systems.

[Alphabetsoup199]

When upgrading from Windows 7 to Windows 10, am I able to choose what drive I would like Windows 10 installed to if I have multiple drives? I want to put an ssd in for the operating system when I upgrade and would I be able to just tell Windows 10 to install to the ssd?

 

[WyomingKnott]

The free Windows 10 upgrade is an upgrade. That means that you will have to do it on whatever disk your Windows 7 OS is on, overwriting that Windows 7 OS. If you buy a new license, you can install it anywhere you want.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Actually, Windows 10 will be available as both an upgrade AND an ISO for clean installs, to existing users. You should be able to install it wherever you want. You WILL however initially need to install it as an upgrade, after which you can clean install by downloading the ISO from Microsoft:

IF YOU PLAN TO CLEAN INSTALL WINDOWS 10

YOU CANNOT CLEAN INSTALL INITIALLY OTHERWISE YOU PASS UP YOUR FREE UPGRADE

UPGRADE TO WINDOWS 10 VIA WINDOWS UPDATE OR BEGINNING THE WINDOWS 10 SETUP WITHIN THE WINDOWS 10 DESKTOP. THIS WILL REGISTER YOUR DEVICE AS A WINDOWS 10 DEVICE AND YOU MAY NOW CLEAN INSTALL WINDOWS 10 ON THE DEVICE.



From my extensive testing of the new Microsoft Product Testing introduced into Microsoft Windows 10 Build 10147 I can tell you the following:




•Direct clean installation from Windows 10 Installation Media, skipping product key twice or using the generic key leads to an unactivated product.
•Using the .iso to upgrade from the Windows Desktop will only allow activated versions of Windows to release the license agreement screen. This only allows Activated versions of Windows 7, Windows 8.1 or Windows 10 Insider 10130. After the install Windows 10 10147 is activated.
•Once the initial upgrade to Windows 10147 is complete the device is registered to Microsoft.
•Once a device is registered, you may clean install from the .iso by skipping product keys during Windows setup. Windows will activate automatically.
•The product activation is tied to the device. You can reinstall using a different Microsoft Account or Local Account and the device will activate.
•You may change minor hardware such as a SSD/HDD and clean install. I changed from a SSD to HDD for a quick test and Microsoft Product Activation was applied.
•It seems Windows Insiders with Build 10130 will be passed as eligible to reach Windows 10 RTM. Those who look to join the Windows 10 Insider program after the Windows 10130 .isos have been removed will not be able to install and activate Windows 10 Insider 10147 or later and hence will not be able to reach Windows 10 RTM.

 

[WyomingKnott]

Thanks! I upgraded a clone of my Windows 7 OS, and while I did it my SSD was unpowered. So I guess I have my original OS as-is and a legitimate right to install 10? Sounds too