How to upgrade Windows 7 to Windows 8: Windows 10 has been available on the market for some time however the new Microsoft operating system still does not convince you and you are continuing undaunted to use your PC with Windows 7 installed. Talking to a friend, however, you have heard of Windows 8, the its features have convinced you much more than the current champion and now you would like to understand how to be able to update your copy of Seven to the latest OS. What can I say, if you don’t have the faintest idea how to do it, know that you can count on me once again. In the following lines I will go in fact to illustrated, by thread and by sign, all that must be done to be able to update Windows 7 to Windows 8 .
Before you can scare you and think about the worst, I want to clarify right away that contrary to appearances, updating Windows 7 to Windows 8 is not complicated at all. You just need to have some free time and a minimum of patience and attention and you’re done, really.
So if you are actually interested in finding out how to be able to update Windows 7 to Windows 8, I suggest you get comfortable in front of your computer and concentrate on reading this tutorial. We bet you will eventually be ready to claim that upgrading Windows 7 to Windows 8 was actually a no-brainer?
Before explaining how to proceed to update Windows 7 to Windows 8 there is one thing you need to know. Depending on what are the “means” in your possession and your preferences, you can upgrade the operating system either using the Windows 8 installation DVD or using a USB stick designed for this purpose. The final result is practically identical but the procedure that must be carried out to update Windows 7 to Windows 8 obviously changes, depending on the solution you have adopted.
Before upgrading Windows 7 to Windows 8 I also suggest that you check that your computer is actually compatible with the most updated version of the Microsoft operating system you intend to install. So keep in mind that in order to run Windows 8 without problems your PC must have a CPU of at least 1 GHz, at least 20 GB of free space on hard disk and 2 GB of RAM. The compatibility of the individual components can be tested by clicking here and by downloading the Microsoft update assistant which analyzes the characteristics of the computer and provides detailed information on their compatibility with Windows 8. Once you have ascertained the perfect compatibility of your computer with the most recent operating system, follow the instructions below.
Note: The operations to be performed to update Windows 7 to Windows 8 could irretrievably delete all the data on the computer therefore I suggest you make a backup of what you think is most appropriate before proceeding. If you don’t know how to do it and want to know more about it, I suggest you read my guide on how to make backups .
Update Windows 7 to Windows 8 using the installation DVD
If you want to update Windows 7 to Windows 8 and you have the installation DVD of the latest operating system, the first thing you need to do is insert it into the PC and restart the system.
When the computer is restarted, wait for the writing to appear on the screen. Press a key to start from the CD-ROM or DVD-ROM and press any key on the PC keyboard to start the Windows 8 setup. If you cannot start the DVD for the installation of the operating system you probably need to set the BIOS to see it as the reference drive for booting the computer’s DVD drive. To know how to do it, read my guide on how to set up the BIOS .
Once the installation procedure of Windows 8 has started, select Italian from the drop-down menu relating to the item Language to install attached to the window that is shown on the screen, then set Italian (Italy) from the drop-down menu relating to the item Format hours and currency and then select Italian from the Keyboard layout or input method pull-down menu . Then click first on the Next button located at the bottom right and then on Install .
Now type the product key of your copy of Windows 8 in the appropriate text field and then click on Next again . Then accept the conditions of use of the operating system by placing a check mark next to the item I accept the license terms , and click once more on Next .
Then click on the Update button , select the partition or disk on which the version of Windows is installed to be updated and click Next to start the Windows 8 installation process.
If the Update button is not available, click on Custom , select the drive on which you want to install the system, select the option Drive options (advanced) and then press on Format to format the selected partition. Then click on the Next button to start copying the Windows files to your PC. After a few minutes the PC will reboot itself.
When the computer restarts, wait for the initial configuration of the devices to be carried out, then follow the initial configuration procedure of Windows 8 that displays on the screen. Then choose the name you want to assign to the computer, the color you want to use as the background of the Start Screen, the settings referring to updates, those relating to file sharing and all the other settings. If you prefer to use the default settings, click the Use quick settings button .
To complete the procedure by which to update Windows 7 to Windows 8 via installation DVD, you will then have to enter your Microsoft e-mail address (Live, Hotmail or Outlook). The Microsoft e-mail address is essential in order to use the cloud features of the operating system. If you are not interested in synchronizing data and apps between multiple PCs via Microsoft cloud services, you can decide to use a standard local user account by clicking first on Log in without a Microsoft account and then on Local account .
Finally, enter the username and password you want to use for your user account on the PC. Keep in mind that if you entered your Microsoft e-mail address in the previous step, the username and password for the account on the PC will be the same as the access data of the e-mail address. To conclude the procedure, click on the Finish button .
You will finally be able to start using the system after a brief presentation of its new features.
Update Windows 7 to Windows 8 via USB stick
If you prefer to update Windows 7 to Windows 8 via USB stick, the first thing you need to do is to get a pendrive of at least 4 GB (empty or otherwise without important files inside since it will be formatted!). You also need a special free utility distributed directly by Microsoft thanks to which you can create USB sticks to install the famous operating system. Then get a USB stick as I have already indicated, then click here to connect to the Microsoft website to download the program I was talking about. When the download is complete open, double clicking on it, the file you just downloaded and type in the product key of your copy of Windows 8.
At this point, connect the USB stick to the computer, indicate that you want to create a USB drive for the installation of the operating system and then follow the instructions on the screen to complete the procedure. Then wait for the files to finish copying.
Keep in mind that the process of creating the USB stick by which to update Windows 8 to Windows 8 could take quite a while. It all depends on the speed of your Internet connection. Once the process is over, you can use the key you got to boot and to update your PC to Windows 8 through the pendrive.
To update Windows 7 to Windows 8 via USB stick, then close the Microsoft utility window that you used to create the pendrive with the operating system and restart the computer without removing the stick. Proceeding in this way should automatically start the procedure by which you can install Windows 8 from USB. In the unfortunate event that the procedure to update Windows 7 to Windows 8 via USB stick did not start automatically and the copy of the operating system already installed on the PC started normally, it enters the BIOS and changes the boot order by setting the first device as the USB port following the instructions in my guide on how to set the BIOS. that I indicated to you in the previous lines.
Started the installation procedure of Windows 8 select Italian from the drop-down menu relating to the item Language to be installed attached to the window that is shown on the screen, then set Italian (Italy) from the drop-down menu relating to the item Format hours and currency and then select English from the Keyboard Layout pull-down menu or input method . Then click first on the Next button located at the bottom right and then on Install .
Proceed now following the instructions I have already given you in the previous lines, when I explained how to update Windows 7 to Windows 8 using the installation DVD. From now on the steps to follow are practically identical.
At the end of the procedure to update Windows 7 to Windows 8 and once the operating system is installed again, you can finally start using it immediately.