Microsoft don't advertise this fact, but Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 will still upgrade for free to Windows 10. Home editions upgrade to 10 Home; Pro editions upgrade to 10 Pro, as long as the previously installed OS is properly licensed and activated.
These machines came out about the time they started putting an electronic copy of the OS license key in the computer's firmware. If it is there, you can run a script to read, decode, and display it. (Give me a few minutes and I will find you a script) Once you confirm the key is present and readable, you can perform a clean install after booting from the install medium, which allows you to repartition and select where to install the OS. The Windows 10 installer checks the firmware key at install time, and if the version (Home vs Pro) matches what you told it to install then it will automatically activate with a digital license. It has nothing to do with the brand (Dell, HP, whatever) on the install medium.
Even if the license key is not stored in firmware, you can still do an upgrade install. Boot the original OS, insert the install medium for Windows 10, and run the installer from there. You will not be able to repartition the disk or change where the OS gets installed using this method, but you do get a choice whether to keep your files. I'm not sure about keeping your programs.
After you have booted the newly installed Windows 10 and it has completed activation, you can blow it away and reinstall from bare metal if you want, because Microsoft will have a record of your hardware's fingerprint and the fact that Win 10 is properly licensed to run on it. |
