New Win 8.1 laptop to Win 10

abibee

I'm getting a new laptop off Amazon, which comes with Windows 8.1, and is apparently Windows 10 compatible.

I want to upgrade to Windows 10 right away, but do I need to install the tonne of Windows 8.1 updates first, or can I jump straight to 10?

I_have_spoken

Download the media creation tool to put Windows 10 on a USB and you can upgrade 8.1 right away. To use Windows Update you'll need to get 8.1 fully patched.

Jivesinger

I_have_spoken wrote: »

Download the media creation tool to put Windows 10 on a USB and you can upgrade 8.1 right away. To use Windows Update you'll need to get 8.1 fully patched.

I agree with this.

The only things I'd add are:

• Make a backup of the disk before you start, in case there are problems and you need to get back to Windows 8.1, and
• If you use the Media Creation tool as suggested, *don't* boot from the USB for the initial upgrade. Instead, run "Setup.exe" on the USB (or wherever you store it) from within Windows 8.1

enfield_freddy

I_have_spoken wrote: »

Download the media creation tool to put Windows 10 on a USB and you can upgrade 8.1 right away. To use Windows Update you'll need to get 8.1 fully patched.

no you cannot!


you need to run the windows 10 upgrade to register the machine with the Microsoft server , THEN you can create a usb pen and do a format/clean install and simply skip the ser No requests


and as the answer to the OP , the basic upgrades req by win 8.1 will not take long to run , then goto https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10 and run the upgrade (32 or 64 dependent on your setup) and the same version as your win 8.1

Jivesinger

enfield_freddy wrote: »

no you cannot!


you need to run the windows 10 upgrade to register the machine with the Microsoft server

... which you can do from the USB drive created by the Media Creation tool.

As long as you run setup.exe from within Windows 8.1 (in the case of the OP) and don't try to boot from the USB, it should work fine. It has done for me so far.

Edit: here's Microsoft's instructions on how to do it.
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows-10/media-creation-tool-install

enfield_freddy

yes but a lot easier to just let the files d/load and run , as its d/loading it will get JUST the req files needed and do the setup quicker


your way will work but its long winded

abibee

I've downloaded the media creation tool, and put it on a usb stick, and can paste it to the new laptop and run that?

If that works, it would seem pointless doing all the updates for 8.1 if it's going to be skipped.

BlueEyedGirl

Just be wary if it's a HP Pavilion or Envy... they are not yet compatible with Windows 10!

enfield_freddy

I have just set up 2 machines on a basic win 8.1 and then upgrade to win 10 , my copy of win 8.1 is over 2 yrsa old so it needed about 80 updates , that took about 45 mins


as soon as the upgrade went on , I went into control panel/system to check if it had been registered , then rebooted with the pendrive , deleted and reloaded.


the tech reason I did this was


my version of win 8.1 was not compatible with the latest UEFI bios , and did not create a boot manager partition , neither does the win 10 creation tool ,


IF your NEW machine uses UEFI (it will if its new) the you will have to create a boot pen using the ISO and a proggy called rufus