You download an ISO image, write it to a DVD or USB drive, boot from it, and install.
Sigh. I guess I need to be more explicit.
Can someone please explain, for the non-IT types among us, what all of that means, in plain English?
One way is that little button that suddenly appeared on your computer for this Free Upgrade. That is a new advertising delivery method that Microsoft has just installed on Windows 7 & 8 machines. And it’s been tested – from the responses, they know where it worked, and which machines it didn’t work on. And Ad-blocker, etc. don’t work to stop it now.
Sometime in the future, that’s going to bring money into Microsoft.
An .iso file is a single file that’s a complete image of the disc to be burned. You can use it to create and exact replica of the install DVD you want. You can also use it to create a bootable USB drive. Which you want to do sort of depends on what you have available for use with your system.
You can do a search along the lines of
- burn iso to dvd windows 7
- use iso USB windows 8
Those both give you links with pretty detailed instructions to follow.
Actually, it’ll be downloaded in pieces when your computer is idle so that you won’t have to wait on a massive all at once download. Also, the upgrade (via update) will be July 29.
Holy CRAP do I love build 10130!
I had reservations but if MS keeps going down this path I envision being very happy.
I asked about this at the Microsoft Store on Saturday, and was told that I would be able to do a clean install on a new drive. (Although the guy was really pushing me to bring in the computer and let them do it. Presumably some people will have problems with the upgrade, but I think I can handle it.)
My entire data bandwidth is 5gb per month, so the idea that 3gb is not a large download just frustrates.
And I suppose this thing will want to be ‘always connected’ so that it can reach the ‘cloud’ thus wasting more bandwidth.
I installed some updates this weekend (I don’t let Windows Update do automatic installs anymore), and I got the button!
Now you can start getting annoyed by the icon sitting there even if you reserve! 
If you get tired of the button (it doesn’t go away if you reserve) the installed application is GWX.exe (aka Get Windows 10) in your task list. It can be removed from your applications that auto-start or if you don’t reboot often you can just shut it down from the task manager.
I had never even considered this! XD Haven’t clicked the button yet…thanks for the tip!
I keep turning off the flipping icon but every time I re-boot, there it is again. 
I joined the MS Insider Program way back and did an in-place upgrade over WIFI from my Windows 7 laptop fully expecting to re-format and install LINUX.
Running Technical Preview Build 10130 at this moment. I am impressed.
I understand the shyness of updating any Microsoft product. As an IT consultant for many years, I would get the Heebie-Jeebies when updating ANY software, but I have to give KUDOS to the development team on this one.
YMMV.
Yes, by default, modern desktop OSes seem to want to be online all the time. Windows 8 (and presumably 10) has cloud integration; OSX has been doing it for a while, and ChromeOS is nearly all-cloud.
In the case of Windows, probably OSX, but probably not Chrome OS, it ought to be possible to configure the thing to minimise the bandwidth it uses and its dependency on cloud stuff.
See, the fact that Windows 10 reportedly forces you to keep updates on is part of why I’m reluctant to get involved. I have to shut updates off or one of my cores gets maxed out, and I don’t know if an upgrade will fix that. Following all the advice from Microsoft sure hasn’t.
Plus, I still don’t trust them not to hose my computer like they did that one time when they decided to edit the root certificate and fucked it up. I’d love to believe their new ring system (where alpha and beta testers will see the bad updates first) will prevent that, but I really need to see it in action before I believe it.
I STILL don’t have the upgrade button. M$ has forgotten about me, apparently.
(Win7 Pro x64, installed from a purchased DVD onto a bare hard drive a few years ago. No idea where my button is. Is there some other way to upgrade?)
It was delivered via the Windows Update method so for some reason taht update didn’t come. Here’s a description to skip adding the scheduler just to do the update.
I got the notification, signed up and told myself I wasn’t going to be a super-early adopter, but when the queue-skipping method was revealed, I plumped for it.
Win10 seems to have done the Start Menu reintegration pretty well. I miss the Win8.1 full start screen a bit though. (You can switch on full screen start in win10, but it scrolls vertically. None of the layout of my tiles survived the upgrade even though it was not a bare metal install)
I upgraded today -
Like the new music player
Other than that - nothing to say (yet)
Does it play DVDs?