Well, here it is. You’ve finally decided to leave the Windows 7 or Windows 8 operating systems for good. And all we have to do is congratulate you.
After all, the Windows 7 operating system disappeared into the abyss of history more than two years ago, and the Windows 8 operating system will meet the same fate next year. The current Windows 10 and Windows 11 operating systems are clearly far more secure than the older ones, offer a whole range of great new features and provide better support for new hardware and software.
If you are one of those regular users, then you will probably perform a free, so-called in-place upgrade of your current Windows operating system to Windows 10. This is an upgrade that will keep all your files and applications on your computer.
Basically, this upgrade method is very simple – first you create a backup of your computer (this operation is performed by all prudent users who do not want to lose their data unnecessarily if something goes wrong), you click a few buttons during the upgrade process, and then you sit back and let computer to perform the upgrade.
Which version of Windows do you prefer?
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If you are running Windows 11 then this upgrade process will need to be done twice as the correct way to upgrade from Windows 7 or Windows 8 to Windows 11 is to upgrade to Windows 10 first and then upgrade to Windows 11.
During the transition to a new version of the operating system, it may happen that the Windows operating system loses track of the activation status. If you have a non-activated version of the Windows operating system on your computer, you will not break the computer in any way, but you will have limited customization options and access to some services, applications and system updates.
But there is no reason to have a new version of the Windows operating system on your computer in an unactivated state. In any case, be sure to note down the product key of the old version of the Windows operating system before starting the upgrade.
Neat users are sure to have their product keys stored somewhere, and the rest of us who are a bit sloppy with order are a bit lucky in misfortune, because if they don’t know where their product keys are hidden, they can help themselves with a tool Magical Jelly Bean Keyfinder, which can detect product keys. So you just need to download the program, install it, run it and then just find the required keys in the program window. You will be interested in the key listed on the order CD Key.
This is a 25 character string that you describe – write it down or take a screenshot that will contain this key. (And if you’re going to take a screenshot, it doesn’t hurt to take a screenshot of the other information found in this window as well—especially useful if you ever need to contact support.) So if the update deletes the information about the license, then it is enough to enter the Windows activation key you found.
After upgrading to Windows 10, you can further minimize activation problems by linking your license to a Microsoft account. It’s very simple – disable signing in with a local account and instead enable signing in with a Microsoft account.
If at some point in the future there is a hardware change (for example, if the motherboard goes away), or if the next upgrade does not recognize your digital license for the operating system, then just run the activation troubleshooter and reactivate Windows.
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So you won’t have to search anywhere for a product key for your operating system, and you won’t even have to deal with performing a clean installation of the Windows 11 operating system, which unfortunately does not always correctly recognize the license keys of the Windows 7 or Windows 8 operating systems.
Printscreens in the text are taken with permission from the US version of PCWorld.com
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