If you have Windows installed on your computer, then you already know that you can get a free upgrade for Windows 10. You know that because you’ve been getting pop-ups about it for ages, or possibly your computer has already installed Windows 10 without you even asking it to do so. Well, today’s the last day that you can install the upgrade for free. So should you do it?
First of all, if you accidentally (or intentionally) upgraded to Windows 10, and you miss your old operating system, you can roll back your operating system to Windows 7. So even if you install Windows 10 and you hate it, you can still take back the changes while retaining ownership of your free upgrade license. After tomorrow, your free upgrade opportunity will disappear, and then if you want to get Windows 10, you’ll have to actually pay some money.
There are plenty of reasons not to want Windows 10, though. A lot of people like Windows 7 just fine, including yours truly. However, Microsoft will stop providing updates to Windows 7 after 2020, so after that point, you’ll find it harder and harder to keep all your programs running smoothly.
The free upgrade for Windows 10 will be tied to your computer’s motherboard, so if you’re planning on replacing that part of your PC soon, you might need to buy a new copy of Windows 10. So, basically, if you have a computer that will probably not last until 2020, and you like Windows 7 just fine, then there may not be any point in upgrading it to Windows 10. You will have to buy Windows 10 again once you get a new PC.
Buying a Windows 10 license will cost you $119.99 after the free upgrade expires, by the way. If you have to buy a new PC later, then that price will be inescapable. But perhaps it’s worth upgrading to Windows 10 just for the sake of getting used to it, even if you know you’re going to have to replace your PC later and buy a new copy of the OS, since Microsoft will be retiring all sales of Windows 7 and Windows 8 at the end of this year (even though updates for existing users will continue through 2020).
So, really, you may as well hop on the wave and install this thing, assuming you’re planning to continue to use Windows in the future. At least it’s free? But only for the next 24 hours!
(via Quartz, image via Windows)
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