Microsoft is retiring Windows Vista on April 11, which means that if you're using a computer with the decade-old version of the OS, the time has come to upgrade. However, this is not to say that Windows Vista will stop working after its life support cycle ends. After April 11, 2017, your device will no longer receive any more maintenance, including security and performance updates, and Microsoft won't provide any kind of support.If you want to avoid your computer quickly becoming vulnerable to viruses and other security risks, you should start planning to upgrade. Unfortunately, Microsoft doesn't provide a direct path to upgrade to, but you can still make the jump and leave behind Windows Vista for good. However, it's a process that requires that you do a full backup of your data and perform a clean installation of Windows 10. We've got you covered with all the steps.
Windows Vista Download Free
In this, we walk you through the steps to upgrade Windows Vista to Windows 10 using a clean installation.Before you beginIf you're still using Windows Vista, it's likely that your computer has low hardware specifications, considering today's standards. Before going through the upgrade process, you have to make sure your device meets the minimum hardware requirements to install Windows 10.These are the official minimum system requirements to run Windows 10:. Processor: 1GHz or faster processor or SoC.
Memory: 1GB for 32-bit OS or 2GB for 64-bit OS. Storage: 16GB for 32-bit OS 20GB for 64-bit OS.
Graphics card: DirectX 9 or later with WDDM 1.0 driver. Display: 800 x 600.Once you know that your device can handle the new OS, you'll need to purchase a genuine copy of Windows 10. You can get a copy of Windows 10 Home or Windows 10 Pro at the.Additionally, you'll need a USB flash drive with 8GB of storage to create a bootable media.How to create a full backup on Windows VistaUpgrading Windows Vista to Windows 10 requires a clean installation, which means that everything on your computer will be erased. As such, it's a good idea to make a full backup of your data and the entire computer.To make a backup of your personal files, you can simply connect a removable storage and copy the files over.
Once you complete backing up your files, make sure you have the installation files and product keys to reinstall any applications you're currently using.You can also connect an external hard drive with enough free space and use the Windows Vista backup utility to create and restore a system image, which is a form of backup that includes a copy of everything on your computer. If you want to use this tool, do the following:. Open Control Panel.Under 'System and Maintenance,' click the Back up your computer link.Click the Back up computer button. If prompted for permission, click the Continue button.Select the hard drive you want to use to make the backup, and click Next.Click the Start backup button to begin the process.Click Close.Once the full backup is complete, disconnect the removable storage, and you can proceed with the upgrade process. In case you need to restore the previous version, remember that you'll need a bootable media with the Windows Vista files to use the recovery option.How to upgrade Windows Vista to Windows 10While there is not a direct path to upgrade a decade-old OS, it's possible to upgrade Windows Vista to Windows 7, and then to Windows 10. But that's not an ideal approach, as you'll be wasting time and additional licenses.The best way to upgrade Windows Vista to Windows 10 is to start fresh with a clean installation, which you can do with the following steps:. Note that if you're using an older version of Internet Explorer, you'll probably need to use Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox to load the download page.Under 'Select edition,' choose Windows 10 and click Confirm.
Windows Vista Emulator
Select your product language from the drop-down menu and click Confirm.Click the 64-bit Download or 32-bit Download button depending on your hardware. Quick Tip: Use the Windows key + R keyboard shortcut to open the Run command, type the msinfo32 command and press Enter. If your system type is x64-based PC and the amount of RAM is higher than 4GB, you can install the 64-bit version of Windows 10.