• Can you “reserve” a free copy of Windows 10, yet continue to use Win7 or 8.1?

    Posted on May 9, 2016 at 12:23 CDT by • Comment in the Forums

    Chris Hoffman – who’s one of my favorite Windows writers – has an article in How to Geek explaining how you can install Windows 10 now, then roll back to Windows 7, thereby locking in your free upgrade to Windows 10, even if Microsoft pulls the free upgrade offer after July 29.

    The steps he gives are clear and accurate. It’s just that… I’m not sure Microsoft will let you do that.

    Technically, physically, yes it’s possible. Today. But I don’t think anybody knows if Microsoft will throw a monkeywrench (er, a spanner) into the works in late July.

    If you want to take a chance on rolling back to Win7 (which is by no means a cakewalk), and you really want a free Win10, you can certainly give it a try. But I wouldn’t recommend it for two reasons.

    First, as I said, Microsoft may frown on the procedure, and back up the frown with a game-altering glitch around July 29.

    Second, I’m not at all convinced that Microsoft will get rid of the free upgrades after July 29. Paul Thurrott has a well-reasoned analysis on petri.com this morning. He doesn’t have any definitive answer, either.

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