Hello, I read that the offer will end on July 29. I have been using Windows 7 Professional 64-bit via Bootcamp for over 10 years. Not sure if there will be compatibility issues between Windows 10 and software of over 10 years old. I guess the upcoming 2016 rMBP may not support Windows 7. What suggestion do you have? Can I get a free update disk and license before July 29 and then decide what to do when Apple releases a new rMBP later this year?
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What to do for last chance of windows 10 free upgrade?
- Thread starter hajime
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Bootcamp support for WIndows 7 stops with the 2014 models. No official W7 bootcamp support for 2015 and newer Macs.
Hell, even Microsoft don't want you to install W7 on newer PCs with Skylake processors.
So for users using Skylake processors, they will be locked out of Windows 7 forever unless using virtual machine?
There is a rumor that MS has asked motherboard manufacturers not to support W7 on Skylake and newer chips starting in 2017.So for users using Skylake processors, they will be locked out of Windows 7 forever unless using virtual machine?
So they really think Windows 10 is good enough and users should all go to Windows 10, abandon Windows 7 entirely?
I doubt it. Plus enterprise users would not be happy to see this.
Yes, they really want everyone on W10. That's why they have been so aggressive on pushing people to upgrade. It's all about money. It costs them money to support so many OSes. If everyone was on the same version of Windows, they would save a lot of money.
Use virtual machine to install Windows XP and use your old developer software. Oracle virtualbox and VMware workstation are two viable choices.
"XP mode" you have mentioned is just a Microsoft customised virtual PC VHD install. You can try to get it elsewhere, and use it alongside with VMware workstation.
You should be able to upgrade your current Windows 7 to Windows 10 for free.
When you do Microsoft will take a "snapshot" of your hardware configuration which will be linked to that Windows 10 license. Assuming the upgrade goes smoothly you could then downgrade back to Windows 7. The downgrade option only lasts for one month I believe.
If you ever wanted to return to Windows 10 in the future on that same hardware, you would only have to reinstall. Your Windows 10 license should remain valid.
The short answer to your question is no.
The reason as mentioned in at least one post preceding mine here it that the free upgrade is tied to the hardware it is used on. You can't save it for later somehow and install it on a different system.
Considering how aggressive Microsoft has been in promoting Windows 10 and the fact that both macOS and Linux are free, I am not convinced they will ever charge for Windows 10 as adoption would suddenly take a nosedive aside of new OEM installations on new hardware. The last push to get people to upgrade by July 29th is for now just more marketing to get as many users on Windows 10 as possible.
It will be interesting to see what Microsoft does after July 29th with Windows 10. Maybe they will resume charging for Windows and maybe they won't. Maybe they will for a time and maybe they will then simply make it free.
In any event, for a future Mac there's nothing you can do about it but wait and see what it costs and decide then if it is worth it to you.
Enterprise Windows is switching to a subscription model. The consumer version will be $100 I believe.
In any case, I think the OP might be able to upgrade to Windows 10 on the current machine and then save the installation file onto a USB drive, or use WinClone to make a copy of the Boot Camp partition to transfer it to a new Mac in the future. Microsoft does allow a limited number of hardware changes. It could "reactivate" on the new Mac and deactivate on the old one if it works. I haven't tried it, though.
Microsoft will charge $7/month for the enterprise version of Windows 10. That's what employers generally install on their computers since it gives them remote access, administrator tools, etc.
Gosh.....
But does that mean conventional users can also use enterprise Windows 10, rather than Home or Pro version?
Since as someone mentioned, enterprise version is not sold through retail, you may end up buying Japanese version of Windows 10.
Ok I will use my own way to continue using it then. This is not a super huge problem.
I downloaded VirtualBox, installed Windows 8.1 and then upgraded to Windows 10. This is the easiest and quickest method.
You just need to get your machine activated with Windows 10, and your good.
Recently when having time, I upgraded my bootcamp Windows 8.1 to Windows 10... prior to doing so, I deactivated the Windows 10 installation in VirtualBox and the Bootcamp Windows 10 installation activated with no issues.
When Macbook Pro 2016 is released I fully intend to replace my 2011 Macbook Pro. Hopefully Windows 10 will transfer to that machine... Microsoft policy regarding free Windows 10 updates with Retail Windows 8 is contradictory.