Windows 10 Upgrade Tool From Windows 7

[Mickie Bottiglieri]

Ichecked Windows Update and it has not been updating since March. When I tell Windows to check for updates, it acts like it is checking, but it seems to say that for hours. If I attempt to restart the windows update service, it seems to never be able to shut down. My only remedy seems to be rebooting to get back to the point where I can tell Windows Update to check for new updates.

To disable IE enhanced security in windows server 2012 R2, launch the Server Manager, on the left hand side click on Local Server. On the right hand side click on the On link next to IE Enhanced Security Configuration. You will now see the Internet Explorer Enhanced Security Configuration box.

I've had been playing around with a 2012 VM and I had this issue. My solution (quick, insecure, etc etc) was to disable the IE Enhanced security on the server and it happily started talking to MS Windows Update. Not a solution for a real server, but it's a toy dev server and I'm ok with that.

I have recently have the same issues on my Server 2012 and all I did was disabled the Malwarebytes Service and updates downloaded right away. Try disabling any malware or anti-virus software you have because that could be the root caused.

We had this issue on some virtual servers migrated from a "cloud" provider back to our internal data center. The root cause was permissions to the %SystemRoot%\System32\catroot2 folder. There were a number of differences between the permissions on that folder on a healthy server vs those on the migrated server. I believe the key one was that TrustedInstaller didn't have full access.

Note: This article was originally published in January 2017. It has been updated multiple times since then to reflect the most current information. The most recent update was on May 15, 2024.

When Microsoft released Windows 10 in 2015, it offered the new operating system as a free, no-strings-attached upgrade for anyone still running a supported, fully activated previous version of Windows. That offer was only supposed to last for one year, but Microsoft quietly kept its activation servers running for more than eight years, granting free digital licenses to Windows 10 on hardware originally licensed for use with Windows 7 and Windows 8.1.

That loophole officially closed on September 20, 2023, 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".)

Since that announcement, I've heard from multiple readers who confirmed that their Windows 7 and Windows 8.x systems are not properly activated after an upgrade to Windows 10. (Systems that were previously activated still continue to work properly, though.) Surprisingly, I've also heard from a handful of correspondents who had been successful in activating their PCs after upgrading an old Windows version to Windows 10.

I'm not surprised by those sporadic reports of success. Microsoft's activation servers work in mysterious ways, and they're often generous in terms of granting digital licenses even when an installation doesn't follow the letter of the licensing rules. Given that uncertainty, there's probably no harm in trying to upgrade an old PC to Windows 10, as long as you're prepared to deal with activation issues.

Most hardware that originally shipped with Windows 7 or Windows 8.x is perfectly capable of running Windows 10. Under most circumstances, the upgrade succeeds, even if the system fails the activation check at the end. You can still install apps, play games, run productivity software, and install security updates on a PC running an unactivated copy of Windows 10; you won't be able to personalize the Windows interface, though, and some optional updates won't be available.

In this post, I cover the basics of how to install Windows 10 as an upgrade on older hardware. I'll also talk about the licensing issues involved, which are (as always) confusing. And, of course, there's the looming end-of-support deadline for Windows 10. As of October 14, 2025, Microsoft will no longer offer updates to Windows 10 PCs unless you've paid for Extended Security Updates. (For details, see "When Windows 10 support runs out, you have 5 options but only 2 are worth considering.")

Every technique I describe in this article works the same for Windows 11 as well, although most older PCs will be blocked from upgrading to Microsoft's newest operating system by the stringent Windows 11 hardware compatibility requirements. For those PCs, Windows 10 remains a viable option until at least October 2025.

With those preliminaries out of the way, go to the Download Windows 10 webpage and click the "Download Now" button. After the download completes, double-click the executable file to run the Media Creation Tool.

If you've downloaded the Media Creation Tool on the machine you plan to upgrade, and you plan to upgrade that PC and only that PC, you can choose "Upgrade this PC now." That option installs the most recent version of Windows 10. It typically takes about an hour, depending on your hardware. (Having an SSD as your system drive is the best way to speed up the process.)

If you know you'll want to install Windows 10 (as an upgrade or as a clean install) on more than one PC, or if you just want more flexibility in the event that the instant upgrade fails, choose the second option and save the installation files to a USB drive or as an ISO file. The download takes a little time, but when it's complete, you can run the Windows Setup program manually to install Windows 10 on any PC running any supported Windows version. (Sorry, this won't work with PCs running Windows Vista or Windows XP, but those PCs are probably so old that you'll encounter other issues anyway and maybe you should consider retiring them.)

Then, just follow the prompts to complete the upgrade to Windows 10. You will not be asked for a product key during the upgrade process. When the upgrade is complete and you've connected to the internet, all your apps and data files will be available. To check the system's activation status, go to Settings > Update & security > Activation. If you're lucky, you'll have a digital license that is valid for the most recent Windows 10 version. More likely, you'll see a message telling you Windows isn't activated and asking you to enter a valid product key.

A Windows 10 digital license is associated with a specific device, which means you can reformat the disk and perform a clean installation of the same edition of Windows 10 anytime. (If you're thinking of upgrading your old system drive to an SSD, I recommend you perform the upgrade to Windows 10 on the old hardware; after confirming that the new Windows 10 version is properly activated, install the SSD and then either restore from a backup image or boot from the USB flash drive to do a clean install. You won't need a product key, and activation is automatic.)

The entire "free upgrade" offer was always accompanied by language that was, to put it politely, a bit squishy. And the language around the end of that offer was similarly vague. For example, see the answers I've highlighted here on Microsoft's Windows 10 Upgrade FAQ:

That's very odd language. The free upgrade through the Get Windows 10 app ended on July 29, 2016. Likewise, the discussion of product keys says a key will be necessary "for this tool to work" (not true), but it doesn't say a word about licensing.

Of course, I'm not a lawyer, and this column isn't legal advice. But I will say that I am personally confident in the activation status of any PC that upgraded to Windows 10 and was granted a digital license using the Media Creation Tool.

So why did Microsoft keep making these free upgrades available even after the original offer had officially expired? That was, I think, a very obvious nod and a wink, designed to make it easy for those who wanted a Windows 10 upgrade to still get it while placating the OEM partners who were none too happy about Microsoft's emphasis on upgrades rather than new PC sales during the original upgrade offer.

Note: The question is specifically asking how to upgrade npm, not Node.js. If you want to update Node.js over a CLI on windows, I recommend running winget upgrade -q NodeJS or use chocolatey for that.

If you get `wget : Could not find a part of the path .... "**, see below ...scroll down. Reading Web Response... It's at least punching through the firewall /proxy (if you have one or have already ran the code get through ...

The previous answers will work installing a new version of Node.js (probably the best option), but if you have a dependency on a specific Node.js version then the following will work: "npm install npm -g". Verify by running npm -v before and after the command.

The new installation added the new directory into my path variable after the old one. So the old installation was still the active one in the path. After removing C:\Program Files\nodejs\ from system path and C:\Users\...\AppData\Roaming\npm from user path and restarting the command line the new installation was active.

Maybe the least path was a local problem that has nothing to do with the new installation. I had two links to AppData\Roaming\npm in it. And maybe this can also be fixed by first uninstalling Node.js and installing the new version afterwards.

For the best way to update Node.js (at least for me), go to Then download the last version and install it in same folder you installed the previous version in - 1 min and it's done. You don't need to remove any old files.

Step 1: First, ensure that you already have Chocolatey installed. If not, use an administrative shell to install chocolatey through cmd.exe or PowerShell.exe. For more information, visit:

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