Windows 10 ISO File and GWX Control Panel

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I need to upgrade my Win 7 Pro (64-bit) to Win 10 Pro (64-bit). I’ve downloaded the Microsoft Media Creation Tool, but it doesn’t seem to work.

I think the program I’m running – GWX Control Panel ( http://ultimateoutsider.com/downloads/ ) is causing the media creation tool to fail.

What does the GWX Control Panel do? Here’s the explanation from the developer: “This is a free tool that can remove and disable the ‘Get Windows 10’ notification area icon on Windows 7 and Windows 8. Recent versions can also disable ‘Upgrade to Windows 10’ behavior in the Windows Update control panel and do much more.”

I am willing to disable (or maybe uninstall? ) the program, but not sure that won’t mess up my current Windows 7.

Anyone else have this issue?

Thanks.

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Information on uninstalling GWX Control Panel here.

Microsoft has discontinued the free upgrade to Win10 from Win7 and Win8.1. It no longer works.

You will need to to do a clean install of Win10 using a legal Win10 license key.

2 users thanked author for this post.

TechTango, Kirsty

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PKCano wrote:

Information on uninstalling GWX Control Panel here.

Microsoft has discontinued the free upgrade to Win10 from Win7 and Win8.1. It no longer works.

You will need to to do a clean install of Win10 using a legal Win10 license key.

Uninstalling GWX Control Panel is not a problem. I always do a “clean” install when moving from one version of Windows to another version. I know that means reinstalling all my programs/app, but at least I know I’ll have a (hopefully) clean installation with no bits and pieces from the old Windows.

So do I have to purchase a Win 10 license? If so, where do I do that and after doing so where can I find  a downloadable Windows ISO file?

I was looking in my Windows  10 downloads folder and found a copy of an ISO file. I downloaded on Dec 26, 2021. Could I use that? I know if I did since it is almost 2 years old once I have a clean installation I’d have to update it – which may take quite a while due to all the patches done since Dec 2021.

 

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This site which I first learned about from the MUO website and from which I have purchased 2 Win 10 Pro upgrade keys, are still offering Win 10 product keys. They are based in the UK and Europe.

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https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/windows

Microsoft stopped selling Win10 licenses on Jan. 1, 2023. You can download the ISO, but you will need to have legal license. If you don’t have one, maybe someone you know has an extra one. The Win7 license will no longer work.

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PKCano wrote:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/windows

Microsoft stopped selling Win10 licenses on Jan. 1, 2023. You can download the ISO, but you will need to have legal license. If you don’t have one, maybe someone you know has an extra one. The Win7 license will no longer work.

I found a couple of online places that still sell Windows 10 licenses.

But as Pres. Ronald Reagan always said “trust, but verify”. While they do say they can be activated with Microsoft and you can get a file from them, I need to check them out before spending the few dollars they want.

 

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If you forgot, but in the past accidentally or experimentally upgraded that computer to windows 10 and then rolled back or reinstalled windows 7, the computer will be on record as valid for windows 10 (digital license), and when installing windows 10 just pick skip on the key page and when connected online it will be activated.  Installing from an old ISO is fine, but if you want newer and you can’t get the current download page to work this is the trick:

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/microsoft/how-to-download-a-windows-10-iso-by-impersonating-other-devices/

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Well yes. You can’t upgrade for free anymore, but you can still upgrade. And basically you can’t obtain an iso other than by having the MCT create it, even for clean installing.

Enable the TLS 1.2 protocol. Running the Media Creation Tool requires TLS 1.2 enabled.

Update to enable TLS 1.1 and TLS 1.2 as default secure protocols in WinHTTP in Windows

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I was able to find a way to download from Microsoft an ISO file.

So now I have 2 different ISO files (I’ll use the larger one because I’m guessing it has more updates than the smaller one). Both came from Microsoft.com.

I see I can buy a Windows 1o Pro license online (don’t worry, I’m checking and verifying any sources before buying). Several do guarantee they are a lifetime 100% guaranteed license or my money back.

It looks like I can do a “clean” install of Windows 10 and not activate until later.

After the “clean” install completes, can I first try to use my Windows 7 Pro 64-bit 25-digit key to upgrade? If that fails, purchase a new Windows 10 Pro key and activate with that?

 

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paulp575 wrote:

can I first try to use my Windows 7 Pro 64-bit 25-digit key to upgrade?

No, it will not work.

Burn the ISO to USB (Rufus is best).
With W7 running, run setup.exe form the USB to upgrade W7 to W10.
If it works but then asks for a license key you know where to get one.
If it doesn’t work you can restore your image backup or install from scratch.

cheers, Paul

p.s. don’t forget to make a full image backup before you do anything.

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Since you’re upgrading from Windows 7 to Windows 10, I guess you’re no longer concerned about this issue:

https://github.com/LesFerch/WinSetView/discussions/79

Yes, that dates back to July 31. I was on vacation then and accidentally archived the notification without seeing your post. I would really like to get some idea why that error occurred, so, before you upgrade to Windows 10, if you have a moment to check the files I mention in the discussion linked above, I’d much appreciate it. Thanks!

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