How to Get Free Windows 10 Today.

[Geek-9pm]

So did Microsoft just make a new offer? No, this is about something has been offering for quite awhile. You just have to know what to look for.
You can still get your hands on a no-cost upgrade to Windows 10 by turning to a page for people who use assistive technologies.
Here is the page you want:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/accessibility/windows10upgrade
They use the term' 'assistive technologies' defined here:
Assistive technology is an umbrella term that includes assistive, adaptive, and rehabilitative devices for people with disabilities and also includes the process used in selecting, locating, and using them.

So this has a very broad range. I could include family member with a condition that would benefit ma technology that helps or rehabilitates. Also, Microsoft not putting down hard rules and proo0f of need or use. Until further notice,  you will use your own good judgement.

Side note. Rather than install Windows 10 as an upgrade to anything, just install it as fresh install on a new disk or a clean partition. A upgrade have fail due to software compatibly issues.

[BC_Programmer]

I'm sure there is a subset of people who were resistant to upgrading to Windows 10 only until Microsoft said "OK the free upgrade offer is over now" when they decided "Oh yes it is".

Allegedly it requires a call to MS support at a certain point in the process now, as it was subject to abuse.

[patio]

To qualify you had to be an Assistive Technology subscriber...whatever that means...

[strollin]

There really is no qualification other than agreeing with this statement "Yes, I use assistive technologies and I am ready for my free upgrade to Windows 10.".  MS does nothing to followup or police who installs Windows 10 this way.

[Geek-9pm]

I just did a fresh install of Windows 7 32 bit on a 80 GB SATA drive. I did his on my Dell GX520, which is rather old. I set it up for the kind of assistance technology I use in my case. So It was a clean but conventional windows 7 32 bit system. Only 2 GB of memory.

Then I got the file I had downloaded earlier. I transported it to the 520 machine with a USB  stick  because I did not year have the network working for the new install of Windows 7. But I got the network up before starting the Windows 10 free upgrade.

The file is not the same as the regular Windows 10 install. A screen shot is attached. You can see it is a different file. When it got going, it did a download of Windows 10 and no questionnaire asked about what  assertive technology. I far as I can tell, the test of qualification was either not extensive, or it w as not apparent to me what it was finding on my system. (It did take a very long time looking as my system.)

Based on the first-hand test, I would say that anybody that uses assistive technology should try for a free upgrade to Windows 10 from windows 7 0r 8.1 system. Yes, it has to be upgrade. no option for a dual boot.

BTW, I already have installs of Windows 10 I got  by other legal methods. I have no way of knowing if that played any part of the fee upgrade.

An yes, I still have the other installs. Each on a n separate HDD.     

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[strollin]

As I said in my earlier post, there is no test or questionnaire, if you click on the link for the download, you are stating that you use Assistive Technologies.  There is no further qualification.

[Salmon Trout]

There is an article on Betanews, no date, just says "published 4 months ago" (i.e. round about the end of free upgrades) which says that Microsoft were planning to close the assistive technology loophole. The author had written in some earlier article:

If the offer was abused by able-bodied customers, Microsoft might choose to end the free extension early, or the company might just keep it running for a while and allow people who were aware of the loophole to upgrade for free, and rack up some additional users.

He now (4 months ago) says:

Well, it turns out that the software giant is planning to opt for the former option and end the free extension sooner rather than later. That doesn’t mean those who use assistive technologies will lose out, simply that they’ll need to request an upgrade from Microsoft’s Disability Answer Desk rather than just clicking a button.

Apparently some web sites are/were informing readers that if they use keyboard shortcuts (e.g. CTRL-C for copy) that counts as assistive technology and means they aren't lying if they click the link. Microsoft says that is definitely not true. If the link is still open after "4 months" then it is a matter for speculation what "sooner rather than later" means. http://betanews.com/2016/08/03/microsoft-to-close-free-windows-10-loophole/