If you reserve your free upgrade, Windows 10 will be installed in the background before July 29 launch date

Jun 2, 2015 04:20 GMT  ·  By

Yesterday Microsoft started showing Windows 10 upgrade notifications on Windows 7 and 8.1 PCs, allowing users to reserve their free upgrade to the new operating system, but it turns out that there’s more to know for those who actually do that.

If you reserve your free copy of Windows 10, which means that once the new OS becomes available, it’ll be automatically downloaded and installed on your computer, Microsoft will actually pre-deploy the necessary files on your PC before Windows 10 actually launches, so when it becomes available, you’ll get it instantly.

Bit by bit, Windows 10 will arrive on your computer between the date you make your reservation and July 29, the day when the new OS is set to make its public appearance. Since all files will already be on your computer, Windows 10 should start installing on July 29, so Microsoft will make the new OS available to everyone during the same day, with no concerns of server issues or delays across the world.

You can’t block this behavior

Right now, there is no option to prevent this behavior from taking place on your computer, so if you reserve your free Windows 10 upgrade, you basically agree with it.

Here’s a small explanation in the Q&A section on the Windows 10 page:

“When you reserve, you can confirm your device is compatible with Windows 10. Between reservation and when your upgrade is ready, the files you need for the upgrade will be downloaded to your PC to make the final installation go more quickly. Then, when your upgrade is ready after July 29, 2015, you get a notification that lets you get started with your upgrade.”

In the meantime, it’s no surprise that many actually want to stick to Windows 7, so they are looking for ways to disable that notification and avoid getting messages to upgrade every once in a while. Learn here how to disable the Windows 10 upgrade notifications for Windows 7 and Windows 8 .1.