There are two approaches you can take for installing Windows 10 in your computer: Upgrade or a Clean Install.

Typically, when you upgrade your operating system, all your documents and applications remain unchanged, whereas with a clean install you would be starting again from scratch. But one important thing to verify first is if your computer has the necessary hardware to support Windows 10.

System Requirements

Although most computers nowadays probably have the necessary requirements for Windows 10. It will certainly be useful to know them in case you want to upgrade from an older system.

The main requirements are −

• A processor (CPU) with a clock rate of at least 1GHz.
• At least 1 to 2GB of memory (RAM), but Microsoft recommends 4GB.
• At least 16GB space in your hard disk.

One important thing to note is that the installation process itself will verify your computer hardware and let you know if it qualifies for a Windows 10 upgrade or not. If not, then you will need to upgrade your hardware.

Upgrade

If your computer qualifies for a Windows 10 upgrade, then you can follow these steps to perform the upgrade −

Step 1 − Look for the Windows 10 notification in the lower-right corner of the screen. This is a one-year-only offer that Microsoft is extending to valid users of Windows 7 and Windows 8.1.

Step 2 − By clicking on the notification, it will start the download and installation process of Windows 10 in your system.

The download required for the upgrade is quite large, so make sure you have a stable Internet connection and continuous power for your computer to avoid interruptions during the process.

Step 3 − After the download is complete, it will prompt you to accept Microsoft’s license terms.

Step 4 − After agreeing to the terms, it will ask if you want to install the upgrade at that moment or schedule it for later.

Since the upgrade process can take approximately 2 hours, it will be helpful to schedule it for a time, that will be more suitable to you.

Step 5 − Once the upgrade starts, the system will perform a series of tasks, during which you will see the following screen.

During this time, your computer will reboot a couple of times, so don’t worry. The process itself will take you through the steps to complete the upgrade.

Step 6 − As the upgrade approaches its end, it will ask you to configure some basic Windows settings. You can choose to use Express settings, which will apply the most common or recommended settings, or you can choose to customize the settings as you please.

Step 7 − After the upgrade finishes, you’ll see the Windows welcome screen.

Clean Install

If your computer has an older operating system like Windows XP or Vista, you won’t be able to upgrade for free. In these cases, you’ll need to buy a boxed copy of Windows 10 to have a valid license for the installation. Windows 10 will have a starting price of $119.

But take in consideration that old computers that have either XP or Vista installed might have obsolete hardware components and might not be suitable for Windows 10. In this case, make sure you review the system requirements listed at the beginning of this chapter to check if your computer is qualified for a Windows 10 upgrade.

If you choose this type of an installation, just insert the disc in your computer and turn it on. Most computers will ask you to press a specific key to boot from the CD/DVD, but most systems use the F12 key. After accessing the disc, you just have to follow the steps which are very similar to the ones from the upgrade.