We know that Windows 10 will be available as a free upgrade for the first year to users currently running Windows 7 SP1 and Windows 8.1. We also know that the official release date for Windows 10 is July 29, 2015. Microsoft is hoping to get as many of its customers on the same operating system with a view to having as many people as possible using its universal apps. We’ve talked quite a lot about various features of the new OS, and the editions available, but we haven’t said much about actually getting the OS onto your computer.

First of all, if you aren’t running Windows 7 SP1 or Windows 8.1 (if you’re running Windows 7 or Windows 8 you’ll have to upgrade first from the Windows Store app) then you will have to pay $119 for Windows 10 Home and $199 for Windows 10 Pro. If you somehow miss out on the free upgrade and sleep through the year, then you will have to pay, unless of course Microsoft decides to extend its largesse a little longer.

How do I upgrade?

If you’re running Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 you should have already noticed a Get Windows 10 app icon in your system tray. By clicking on this icon lots of information will be made available to you concerning how great Microsoft thinks its new OS is, but it will also help you to determine if you are eligible for the free upgrade and then let you proceed to reserve a copy (by selecting Check your PC in the app you should know if your computer is compatible for the upgrade). You will then be asked to enter your email address and confirm.

If you have a change of mind and want to cancel your reservation you will need to click on the Get Windows 10 icon again, hit Check your upgrade status and cancel your reservation.

It seems that some folks using pirated versions of Windows are seeing the Get Windows 10 app, but no one it seems right now is sure how this will pan out. It’s likely that people using pirated versions of Windows will be led to the Windows Store to buy a legal version of Windows 10.

If you haven’t seen this app you can run Windows Update and look for KB3035583.

What if I don’t want it?

If you’re not interested and the reminders to upgrade are bugging you go into Properties from the Start menu, select the Get Windows 10 app, and find Hide icon and notifications in the drop-down menu. You can also look at your update history and uninstall KB3035583.

And if I change my mind?

Re-install it.

What if I don’t want Windows 10 after I’ve upgraded?

If you have upgraded from Windows 7 or later you have a roll-back option. Go to Update and Recovery in the Settings menu, click on Recovery, Get Started, and select Go back to a previous version of Windows. Microsoft will ask you some questions about why you want to go back, you can select what you want and then press Next. It will tell you what you might lose while working in Windows 10, and after a series of Nexts your computer will restart. When you restart you will be running your previous version of Windows. One thing to bear in mind is that this option is not available if you custom installed from an older version of Windows such as Windows Vista.

What version of Windows 10 will I get?

It’s fairly simple, if you’re running Windows 7 Home Basic, Windows 7 Home Premium, or Windows 7 Starter your upgrade will be to Windows 10 Home. You’ll be upgraded to Windows 10 Pro if you’re currently running Windows 7 Pro or Windows 7 Ultimate. The same rationality stands with Windows 8.1. If you have two PCs and a laptop running various versions of Windows they can all be upgraded for free accordingly.

What about system requirements?

There’s a lot Microsoft has to say about this, but the basic is 1 GB of RAM for a 32-bit OS or 2 GB for a 64-bit OS. A 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster processor, with 16 GB of hard disk space for 32-bit OS and 20 GB for a 64-bit OS. As we stated earlier if you’re upgrading from Windows 7 SP1 or Windows 8.1 you can go to Check my PC in the Get Windows 10 app. Any issues or incompatibilities will be reported to you.

For a full list of what some people can use and can’t use in Windows 10 due to location or system requirements, such as who can use Cortana or Windows Hello, we suggest you look here.

Photo credit: CoCreatr via Flickr