Microsoft Windows 7’s end of support is fast-approaching. The Windows 7 support will officially end on January 14, 2020, which is just a few months away from now.
Even though we are just a few months away from the end of support, millions of PCs around the world are still running the decade-old Windows 7 operating system. It still has close to 30% of the PC market share!
While it’s true that one can use Windows 7 even after January 14, 2020, Microsoft recommends users to upgrade to the latest Windows 10 version before that.
PC users running Windows 7 don’t have an option but to upgrade to the latest Windows 10 as Windows 7 will not receive any security update after the end of support date. But what many users want to know is if it’s possible to upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 10 without losing files and installed programs.
How to upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 10 without losing data?
Well, you can upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 10 without losing your files. You just need to use the official Windows 10 Media Creation Tool to perform an in-place upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 10. The Media Creation Tool has a provision to keep personal files during the upgrade.
Coming to installed programs, you might or might not be able to retain installed programs while upgrading to Windows 10 depending on the Windows 10 edition you are upgrading to. That is, you cannot keep installed programs and settings when you upgrade from Windows 7 Professional and Ultimate editions to Windows 10 Home. When you upgrade from Windows 7 Professional or Ultimate to Windows 10 Home edition, you are also performing edition downgrade, and hence you cannot keep installed programs and settings. However, your personal data is maintained.
One can upgrade from Windows 7 Starter, Home Basic and Home Premium editions to Windows 10 Home by keeping personal data, settings, and applications. Likewise, you can keep everything when you upgrade from Windows 7 Pro and Ultimate editions to Windows 10 Pro.
In short, you can upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 10 without losing data if you use the official Media Creation Tool.
You might want to know the difference between Windows 10 Home And Pro editions.
