Windows 8 has reached end of support, which means Windows 8 devices no longer receive important security updates. We recommend making the free upgrade to Windows 8.1 to continue receiving security updates and support.
Beginning in July 2019, the Windows 8 Store is officially closed. While you can no longer install or update applications from the Windows 8 Store, you can continue using those already installed. However, since Windows 8 has been out of support since January 2016, we encourage you to update to Windows 8.1 for free.
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Make sure you have enough free disk space. If you're currently running Windows 8, you need 3,000 MB of available space to install the 32-bit version of Windows 8.1 and 3,850 MB of available space to install the 64-bit version of Windows 8.1. On a Windows RT device, you need 2,250 MB of available disk space to install Windows RT 8.1.
This error might mean that your PC couldn't connect to the Windows Update servers. If you're using a VPN connection to connect to a work network, disconnect from the network and turn off the VPN software (if applicable) and then try to install the update again.The error could also mean there isn't enough free space in the System Reserved partition. You might be able to fix this problem by using third-party software to increase the size of the System Reserved partition.
Microsoft's free upgrade offer for Windows 10 ended more than six 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 officially ending 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. In 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.
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 five-plus years, I have repeated those steps on test PCs at regular intervals and confirmed that the free upgrade tool still works. I continue to receive email messages regularly from readers offering firsthand reports that their free upgrades were successful, with no purchase or product key required.
A small number of readers have reported that the upgrade fails because of a Setup error or a compatibility block. For details on how to troubleshoot these errors, see "This free Windows 10 upgrade offer still works. Here's why - and how to get it." For help decoding setup errors, see "Windows 10: Use setup log files to troubleshoot installation problems."
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 doesn't say a word about licensing.
Anyway, the free upgrade offer was extended briefly, at least for people who use assistive technologies. The FAQ on a separate page even called it a "free upgrade offer extension" and pointedly noted that it was not limited to specific assistive technologies. (I regularly use the Magnifier utility in Windows, which is indisputably an assistive technology.)
And a note from the author: After nearly 17 years at ZDNET, I'm leaving at the end of 2022. You can stay in touch by signing up for my newsletter, Ed Bott's READ.ME. It's free (for now) and I'll be doing a lot of the same things I've done here at ZDNET and in my books. To sign up, go to
Windows 8 users can free upgrade to Windows 8.1 full version without going to the Windows Store. You can download Windows 8.1 ISO (DVD) From MSDN with the Windows 8 product key. Download Windows 8.1 Pro ISO from their Official Microsoft website.
The Windows 8.1 upgrade is available as a free option from Windows Store to those currently running Windows 8 (retail copy). Head over to the official Microsoft link to download Windows 8.1 ISO to get started. More about Windows 8.1 at Wikipedia.
Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 have been popular in the free product key scene. If you don't want to spend money on purchasing an adequately licensed product key, you can use a free one and try one of the latest Windows systems at no cost. However, there are some risks you need to take into account when trying this method.
Free product keys have been around for decades. Some people want to try the system to its fullest before making a purchase. Others want to get around the costs and acquire Windows 8 and 8.1 for free. Windows is a licensed product, there are some legal risks to using free product keys you find online.
You won't be sued for using a free product key unless you're running a business and audited for licensing. Software Licensing Audit of all software your business utilizes is necessary for many states and countries.
The following product keys are all valid, free product keys you can use to activate Windows 8.1 systems. Check our instructions below if you're unsure how to activate your Copy of the operating system.
We recommend purchasing to acquire a legal license if you like the operating system after activating it with your free product key. Here at SoftwareKeep, we sell systems at an affordable low price, with reliable support and step-by-step instructions on how to activate your new OS.
"As a technology consultant and application developer, I rely on virtualization software a lot. I like to create a new virtual machine for each of my projects. This way I can keep the machine clutter free; and only install the tools I need for that project. As I do not like the Metro screen in Windows 8, I like to use a start menu replacement solution to get my Windows 7 look and feel back. I have struggled for the last few years with several different solutions, both paid and free. Sometimes they work well, sometimes not. Since I started using Start Menu 8, I have had NO issues with the start menu. It is a clean implementation and very easy to use and configure. "
Driver issues will bring painful inconveniences to your life. Crashing, freezing, no sound, keyboard stuck, or frequent network drops, you name it. Driver booster provides free built-in tools to resolve these common Windows issues such as sound, video, graphic, and Wi-Fi connectivity issues once and for all, as well as speed up browsing and downloading for smoother system performance.
A few years back, Microsoft offered Windows 7 and Windows 8 users to upgrade to Windows 10 for free. The upgrade program allowed users with genuine license keys to upgrade to the latest operating system at no extra cost. While the free update program ended in 2016, it seems that the offer continues to remain valid.
Windows 8.1 is a personal computer operating system that was produced by Microsoft and released as part of the Windows NT family of operating systems. It was released to manufacturing on August 27, 2013, and reached general availability on October 17, 2013, about a year after the retail release of its predecessor. Windows 8.1 was made available as a free upgrade for retail copies of Windows 8 and Windows RT users via the Windows Store.
Computers running on Windows 8 can get a free update to Windows 8.1. You simply have to go to the Windows store and follow the steps to upgrade manually. Windows 8.1 requires your machine to have at least a 1 GHz processor or faster with support for PAE, NX, and SSE2. You will also need at least 1 GB of RAM if you're running on a 32-bit processor or 2 GB RAM for those on 64-bit, and hard disk space of 16 GB or 20 GB respectively. For optimal performance, Windows requires a Microsoft DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM driver.
Microsoft initially let you upgrade from Windows 8.1 to Windows 10 for free. Technically, that offer has since expired, but if you sign into Windows with a Microsoft account, a license should be linked to your account. This will then remain in effect after you move from Windows 8.1 to 10.
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\t \t \tIn addition to being a universal media player, this app is open source, which means you can find people who create new add-ons and builds for it, as well as create your own version. The basic version of the program is anything but, featuring playlist and streaming support in addition to the ability to play just about any video on your PC. It gives you plenty of screen real estate by placing all of the buttons on its menu at the bottom and making them small enough to be ignored. VLC Media Player (64-bit) lets you add audio and video effects as you're watching a video for extra fun -- and supports more playlist formats for easy, hands-free viewing. It even lets you create playlists on the fly and edit them from inside the app. The app supports extensions and add-ons from all over the Web if you can find them.
In addition to being a universal media player, this app is open source, which means you can find people who create new add-ons and builds for it, as well as create your own version. The basic version of the program is anything but, featuring playlist and streaming support in addition to the ability to play just about any video on your PC. It gives you plenty of screen real estate by placing all of the buttons on its menu at the bottom and making them small enough to be ignored. VLC Media Player (64-bit) lets you add audio and video effects as you're watching a video for extra fun -- and supports more playlist formats for easy, hands-free viewing. It even lets you create playlists on the fly and edit them from inside the app. The app supports extensions and add-ons from all over the Web if you can find them. 2ff7e9595c
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