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Don’t wait for Microsoft, here’s how to get Windows 10 right now

So the Windows 10 launch date has come and gone, and people on qualifying PCs who opted into Microsoft’s free upgrade via the little icon that appeared in their task bars a month or so back are in the process of upgrading.

Or are they? I opted in the minute the option presented itself, and yet now, 10 hours after Windows 10 became available globally, my update is not yet ready to install. This is because Windows 10 is being pushed out in “waves” according to Microsoft, and my turn simply hasn’t come.

That’s a little disappointing, considering I am sitting at Microsoft’s global headquarters as I write this, but what can you do.

So I’ve found another way to get my upgrade, and I am more than happy to tell you how to do the same.

How to grab your upgrade early

First, go here: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10.

This page provides links to a download tool that will do everything for you. Simply choose which version of Windows 10 you want – 32-bit or 64-bit – download the 18MB file, and once it’s down double-click it.

That opens Microsoft’s Windows 10 setup tool, and now all you need to do is click “Upgrade this PC now” which will start the download. You’ll need to have at least 4GB of hard drive space available.Win10_Upgrade this PC now_2

Once the Windows 10 data is downloaded, the tool will update your Windows 7/8/8.1 PC automatically to Windows 10. And that’s it, you’re done.

Clean Install

Now, if you want a clean installation of the OS, all you need to do is go into your Settings on your shiny new Windows 10 installation and choose “Reset PC”. This will remove all programs and data and give you a nice, clean installation of Windows 10 to work with.

Once Windows has been reset, you’ll be taken through an initial setup process during which you’ll be asked for your product key, which you won’t have since you’re taking Microsoft up on its free upgrade offer.

To get past this, simply click “Skip” every time you’re asked, and your PC will activate itself automatically once it goes online.

Here’s official word from Microsoft on it:

“If you upgraded to Windows 10 on this PC by taking advantage of the free upgrade offer and successfully activated Windows 10 on this PC in the past, you won’t have a Windows 10 product key, and you can skip the product key page by selecting the Skip button. Your PC will activate online automatically so long as the same edition of Windows 10 was successfully activated on this PC by using the free Windows 10 upgrade offer.”

Single download, multiple upgrades

If you like the idea of upgrading to Windows 10 manually but you have several PCs you want to do it on and you don’t want to have to download 4GB of data for every one, there’s a way to download Windows 10’s files once, and use it to upgrade as many qualifying PCs as you have.

To do that grab the download tool from the link above and run it, but instead of Upgrade this PC, click “Create installation media for another PC”.

You’ll need to have an 8GB USB drive handy for this, or the ability to create a DVD using an ISO file. I recommend the USB drive route as it’s a lot easier, plus it caters for laptops and tablets that don’t have DVD drives.

Win10_Downloading 97 percent_2

Once you’ve made your selection, the files will download and the tool will create the installation media automatically once it’s down. All you need to do now is insert your USB drive into the PCs you want to upgrade, run the Setup file and wait for the process to complete.

And that’s it, no more waiting for Microsoft to notify you that your reserved copy of Windows 10 is available!

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