14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has recently rolled out a free upgrade reservation tool that enables users to reserve their free upgrade to Windows 10 from any Windows 7 or 8.1 computer, thus allowing everyone to benefit from an offer that nobody can ever refuse since this is the first new full Windows version that will be available for free.
With the reservation tool that has landed on Windows 7 and 8.1, users can pre-download Windows 10 ahead of its public launch on July 29 and wait for the installer to start when the new OS becomes available.
But what happens next is still an enigma for many people, although Microsoft provides all the necessary information in a FAQ published on the official Windows 10 upgrade page.
You’ll know when you can start installing
With this pre-downloading system, Microsoft wants to make sure that, on July 29, everyone can start installing Windows 10 without hurting its servers, which is clearly a critical thing for every new release.
By putting the necessary files on users’ computers ahead of the official launch and starting the installer when the new OS becomes available, Microsoft thus addresses one of the biggest problems when it comes to making new software available to everyone at the same time.
Redmond says that once Windows 10 is out, computers that reserved the upgrade will see a notification in the system tray telling them that “your copy of Windows 10 is ready to install!”
A wizard will guide you throughout the first steps, and you can also schedule the installer at a more convenient time. Needless to say, you can also reboot immediately and start the setup without waiting anymore.
The Windows 10 installer completes the whole thing all by itself, and you don’t need to do anything if you upgrade from Windows 7 or 8.1. The process reboots your computer a couple of times, but everything should be performed automatically, so you can sit back and relax until everything is complete.
Obviously, if you don’t reserve your upgrade, you won’t be able to do that, but we bet that Microsoft will still show notifications telling you that Windows 10 is available no matter if you reserve or not.