windows 8.1 to 10 upgrade question?

[Galek105]

So i recently just built my first gaming computer this past January and bought all the parts myself and a copy of windows 8.1. I hear that Windows 10 is coming out and that its might be free for the first year to windows 7, 8, and .8.1 users. Now, will I be able to upgrade to windows 10 without having to uninstall windows 8.1 now and buy (or if its free) another new copy of windows 10 or will I just be able to upgrade to 10 within 8.1 and just have it install itself on the same hard drive? Will i have to get another motherboard because I heard that OEM software ties in with the motherboard you installed it on and if you want to upgrade you have to get a new one? Sorry im a noob when it comes to this kind of software stuff....

 

[i7Baby]

You should be able to get Windows 10 for free near the end of this year - as an upgrade to 8.1 It will install on your PC just fine.

 

[USAFRet]

So i recently just built my first gaming computer this past January and bought all the parts myself and a copy of windows 8.1. I hear that Windows 10 is coming out and that its might be free for the first year to windows 7, 8, and .8.1 users. Now, will I be able to upgrade to windows 10 without having to uninstall windows 8.1 now and buy (or if its free) another new copy of windows 10 or will I just be able to upgrade to 10 within 8.1 and just have it install itself on the same hard drive? Will i have to get another motherboard because I heard that OEM software ties in with the motherboard you installed it on and if you want to upgrade you have to get a new one? Sorry im a noob when it comes to this kind of software stuff....

If you have a valid legal install of Win 8.1, you will be able to upgrade to Win 10 for free.
No uninstall needed.
You can either upgrade through the MS Store from within your existing Win 8.1, or download an ISO of Win 10 and install with that.

No new parts needed.

 

[Vi Abrol]

is it released yet ??

 

[USAFRet]

is it released yet ??

Not yet. Late July, early August, probably.

 

[CaedenV]

The upgrade will be free VIA WINDOWS UPDATE. This means no install media, and you will have to have win8.1 on your system (or a win8/8.1 key injected in your mobo for pre-built systems) to get the update. The process is pretty simple, but it generally means there is no nice way to do a clean win10 install, or to get the free upgrade onto a PC that did not previously have win7/8 on it.

 

[USAFRet]

The upgrade will be free VIA WINDOWS UPDATE. This means no install media, and you will have to have win8.1 on your system (or a win8/8.1 key injected in your mobo for pre-built systems) to get the update. The process is pretty simple, but it generally means there is no nice way to do a clean win10 install, or to get the free upgrade onto a PC that did not previously have win7/8 on it.

Actually, yes. Win 7 and 8.1 owners will be able to download an ISO of Win 10, or do it via Windows Update. According to MS in January, anyway.

 

[CaedenV]

Somehow I was under the impression that even with the ISO you had to do an upgrade rather than a clean install... but now that I think about it I suppose you have been able to do a fresh install this way in the past, as long as you let the Windows installer do all of the formatting after verifying that a previous version was installed.

 

[uglyduckling81]

Hopefully they don't do that stupid thing like with Win8 and tell me I can't install a fresh copy of Win8.1 because my key is for Win8.
I can use my key for Win8 but not if I include the free service pack? God that was annoying.
Thankfully people figured out a work around so I didn't have to do that extremely long service pack update too often.

 

[CaedenV]

Hopefully they don't do that stupid thing like with Win8 and tell me I can't install a fresh copy of Win8.1 because my key is for Win8.
I can use my key for Win8 but not if I include the free service pack? God that was annoying.
Thankfully people figured out a work around so I didn't have to do that extremely long service pack update too often.

If you format on a regular basis then make an image of your system when you are done. Saves a lot of problems and headaches!

 

[orlbuckeye]

So i recently just built my first gaming computer this past January and bought all the parts myself and a copy of windows 8.1. I hear that Windows 10 is coming out and that its might be free for the first year to windows 7, 8, and .8.1 users. Now, will I be able to upgrade to windows 10 without having to uninstall windows 8.1 now and buy (or if its free) another new copy of windows 10 or will I just be able to upgrade to 10 within 8.1 and just have it install itself on the same hard drive? Will i have to get another motherboard because I heard that OEM software ties in with the motherboard you installed it on and if you want to upgrade you have to get a new one? Sorry im a noob when it comes to this kind of software stuff....

You will get upgrade for free. The upgrade is based on a valid Windows 8.1 key for eligibility. I've read that the 8.1 upgrade will be available through the store or thru a downloaded ISO file.

 

[uglyduckling81]

Hopefully they don't do that stupid thing like with Win8 and tell me I can't install a fresh copy of Win8.1 because my key is for Win8.
I can use my key for Win8 but not if I include the free service pack? God that was annoying.
Thankfully people figured out a work around so I didn't have to do that extremely long service pack update too often.

If you format on a regular basis then make an image of your system when you are done. Saves a lot of problems and headaches!

That's not a bad idea. I actually stopped doing clean installs because Win8 is by far the best Windows to date for not slowing down over time. I've found so long as you use Revo Uninstaller when you remove a program it cleans up the left overs really well and really prevents the system from bogging down over time.
Mainly though it was because of the hassle of the reinstall with Win8.