Where is my Windows 10 update?

Q. I’m still waiting for Microsoft to upgrade my Win8.1 box to Win10.
“I registered for the update, and the Win10 icon is in the lower right of the screen. But there’s no indication when the update will occur. What’s going on?

A. It sounds like something went wrong with your upgrade request.

On both Win7 and Win8, you can check the upgrade status in Windows Update (Control Panel/System and Security/Windows Update). It’ll be totally obvious when Win10 is ready to install (see Figure 1).

Figure 1. The Win7/8 Windows Update applet (Win7 shown) clearly tells you when Win10 is ready to install.

If you’re not seeing that after months of waiting, it’s likely that the automated system for downloading the upgrade failed. You can easily trigger a manual upgrade with just a few clicks. Here’s how.

When you and your system are ready for the upgrade (i.e., your system is running well, and you’ve made a full backup), download the free Win10 Windows Media Creation Tool. Be sure to choose the version that matches the bittedness (x32 or x64) of the system you’re about to upgrade.

Run the tool and select the Upgrade this PC now option (Figure 2) when offered; then follow the on-screen prompts.

Figure 2. The free Win10 Media Creation Tool lets you upgrade any eligible Win7/8 system on demand.

That’s all it takes! Your Win10 upgrade will be exactly the same as if you’d used the Windows Update method.

(Originally published on Windows Secrets on Thursday, September 24 2015.)

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Editor's note: We feature an abridged Q&A from Fred Langa's LANGALIST, a column available exclusively to paid subscribers of the Windows Secrets newsletter, on Wednesdays. What you see here is just a small sampling of what Langa's writing for the newsletter — go here for more information on how to subscribe.