Download Upgrade Windows 11
Bente Coker
After you upgrade to Windows 10, you can reinstall or do a clean installation on the same device. You won't need a product key to reactivate Windows 10 on the same hardware. For more info on how to create your own Windows 10 installation media, see the Microsoft software download website.
During the upgrade, you might be asked to free up space on your device or attach an external drive with sufficient space to continue with the upgrade. If you attach an external drive, make sure to keep it in a safe place after the upgrade in case you need it for recovery options.
now that CVAD 2003 no longer support Windows 2012 R2 I was wondering how to move from 2012 R2 to 2016/2019. Can I simply run OS upgrade on our Delivery Controllers, StoreFronts etc. which are Windows 2012 R2 instances, or does this break them?
I have never done a Windows Server OS upgrade, and in general I would recommend it. If you don't have any other options, if might be worth a shot, but be sure to have a fall-back plan in place.
My approach would be:
As the Delivery Controllers are communicating with an SQL database, all of the essential configuration is in there, this makes it pretty easy to just create 2 new Delivery Controllers, make them a member of the existing site, switch the VDAs to communicate with the new Delivery Controllers, test that everything is working (use the "test site" feature), and then decommission the old Delivery Controllers.
With the StoreFront servers it's almost the same, however to be able to connect new 2019 servers to the existing StoreFront Server Group, you'll have to make sure to use the same StoreFront version on the 2019 servers as you running in your current setup. If you have a Netscaler Load-Balancing IP, make sure to make the necessary changes to accommodate the new servers. Stop the IIS service on the old StoreFront servers, and test logon on the new servers, when logon is working, decommission the old servers.
Provisioning is again almost the same. Create new 2019 servers, make sure to configure the disk setup exactly as it is in the current PVS setup. Install PVS and make them a member of the existing PVS site, make sure boot information, PXE/TFTP is configured and vDisks are copied to the new PVS servers, test that targets are able to boot from the new PVS servers. When targets are able to boot from the new PVS servers, decommission the old servers.
Before any of this, make sure to have backups of at least the databases for the CVAD site and PVS Site, and snapshots of the StoreFront Servers.
Thank you for this post. I am also reviewing requirements to upgrade our Citrix infrastructure servers OS from 2012 R2 to 2019. Do you have any feedback from your contacts if the process you described worked for them? I am still weighing whether we should upgrade or build everything from scratch in parallel. Thanks again and best regards!
If your windows are in good condition, taking steps to improve their efficiency may be the most cost-effective option to increase the comfort of your home and save money on energy costs. There are several things you can do to improve the efficiency of your existing windows:
First look for the ENERGY STAR label when buying new windows. Then review ratings on the energy performance label from the National Fenestration Rating Council (NFRC) to find the most efficient windows for your needs.
Microsoft's free upgrade offer for Windows 10 / 11 ended July 29, 2016. The installation path to obtain the Windows 7 / 8 free upgrade is now removed as well. Upgrades to Windows 11 from Windows 10 are still free.
To upgrade to Windows 11, devices must meet the Windows 11 minimum system requirements. Some Windows 10 features aren't available in Windows 11. System requirements to experience some Windows 11 features and apps will exceed the Windows 11 minimum system requirements. Find Windows 11 specs, features, and computer requirements.
For seven years after its free upgrade offer supposedly ended, Microsoft kept the activation servers online, faithfully processing free upgrades to Windows 10 on hardware originally licensed for use with Windows 7 and Windows 8.1.
That loophole officially closed on September 20, when Microsoft posted an inconspicuous announcement on a website for its hardware partners. (For details, see "It's official: No more free Windows 10 upgrades".)
In the past few weeks, I've received multiple reports from readers who confirm that their Windows 7 and Windows 8.x systems are not activated after an upgrade to Windows 10. (Systems that were previously activated still continue to work properly, though.)
Microsoft's free upgrade offer for Windows 10 ended nearly seven years ago, but no one told the people who run the Windows activation servers. As a result, you can still upgrade to Windows 10 from Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 and claim a free digital license for the latest Windows 10 version, without being forced to jump through any hoops.
That upgrade is more important than ever with support for previous Windows versions having officially ended in January 2023. And it turned out to be a great relief to household budgets when the pandemic made working from home (or going to school via remote sessions) suddenly popular. During the past three years, millions of people have taken old PCs out of storage and gotten up to speed quickly, thanks to these free upgrades.
You can also still upgrade Windows 10 Home to Windows 10 Pro by using a product key from a previous business edition of Windows 7, 8, or 8.1 (Pro/Ultimate). That upgrade can save you as much as $100 in OEM upgrade charges if you buy a new PC with Windows 10 Home preinstalled. (For details, see "How to upgrade from Windows 10 Home to Pro without hassles".)
I wrote and published the first version of this post in early 2017, shortly after Microsoft's initial free upgrade offer ended. When I downloaded the Windows 10 upgrade tool and ran it on an old Windows 7 PC, I fully expected that the upgrade would fail activation and I'd be asked for a product key.
For the past six-plus years, I have repeated those steps on test PCs at regular intervals and confirmed that the free upgrade tool still works. Throughout my six-month sabbatical at the beginning of 2023, I continued to receive email messages from readers offering first-hand reports that their free upgrades were successful, with no purchase or product key required.
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