
This article is going to take a look at some of its troubleshooting mechanisms.įix 1: Run Windows Media Creation Tool As Administrator So, if Media Creation tool not working or opening, don’t worry. But users have often reported an error message while trying to run the tool preventing the same from being loaded. 14.Windows Media Creation tool comes to our immediate rescue while trying to repair operating system errors or upgrading to Windows 10. If not, then type your valid Windows 7 (or Windows 8/8.1) product key manually. But just in case it didn't, check it by going to Settings -> Update & Security -> Activation and see if it says that the license is active.

The Media Creation Tool should grab the license key from the machine during the upgrade. Your PC will reboot several times during the upgrade process, which could take as long as an hour. To be safe, reboot the machine after uninstalling all the incompatible applications and go back to Step 2 above. Right-click on the offending application and select "Uninstall." In most cases, you'll need administrative privileges to do this.

Uninstall them by going to Control Panel -> Programs and Features. The upgrade tool will scan your PC for applications that don't work in Windows 10. We'd advise erring on the side of caution and taking Bleeping Computer's advice. The Microsoft user forums say you just need the existing Windows 7 license key. Select 'Keep all apps and files' when prompted.īleeping Computer says you need to opt to keep all files and applications to get the free upgrade. The other option is to create installation media on a burnable DVD or a bootable USB drive, which may be useful in the future but won't help you now. Launch the Media Creation Tool and select 'Upgrade this PC now'. Most people won't know how to update the BIOS, and we're not sure you need to uninstall the AV (especially if it's on our list of the best antivirus software), so do this only if you run into problems in the following steps.

Ignore the "Update now" button - that's for machines that already have Windows 10 - and instead click "Download tool now." 1.5 (optional): You may want to update your BIOS and deactivate antivirus software.Įd Bott over at ZDNet, who has been tracking this stealth upgrade process for years (opens in new tab), recommends updating the PC's BIOS/UEFI firmware if the PC was built before 2015, and also uninstalling the antivirus software, just to be safe.

Download Microsoft's Windows 10 Media Creation tool.Īs mentioned above, you need to download and install Microsoft's own installation tool from this page (opens in new tab). Likewise, Windows 7 Professional maps to Windows 10 Pro. So if you have Windows 7 Home Premium, you'll be getting Windows 10 Home. One caveat: You can upgrade only to the Windows 10 version that corresponds to your build of Windows 7 or Windows 8.1.
