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Just before Microsoft officially announced that Windows 10 will launch on July 29th, Windows 7 and 8.1 users began to notice a new icon in their Notification Area. This Get Windows 10 notification is the tool for reserving your free upgrade for the new operating system and according to the Windows 10 FAQ page there is an advantage to clicking the icon and reserving your copy today if you intend to upgrade.
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If you reserve your copy through this system in the notification tray, Microsoft will preload your device with the upgrade before July 29th so when the day comes you won’t have to waste any time downloading it. The preload will require 3GB download at some point before July 29th, so you will just have to make sure you have the storage space if you plan to upgrade.
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If you are planning to upgrade this guide will show you the quick and easy process for reserving it and additionally explain how to get the Get Windows 10 notification if it isn’t showing up for you, how to get rid of it if you don’t want it, or how to cancel your reservation.
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Free upgrade to Windows 10
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For the first year after the launch of Windows 10 on July 29th, all copies of Windows 7 with the SP1 update and Windows 8.1 updated devices are eligible for a free upgrade to the new operating system.
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Windows 10 comes with a variety of new features that will offer a more seamless experience between devices, use on the go, and a touch screen experience, all the while bringing back familiar features in a fresh way, like the new Start Menu with Live Tiles. To read about all of the many features, such as Cortana and Microsoft Edge, that would be too long to list here, head over to Microsoft’s website for Windows 10 for more details or WinBeta’s Windows 10 section for our coverage of the announced and anticipated features.
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What’s required for the upgrade
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Microsoft has also detailed the system requirements for Windows 10 and a much longer list of requirements for specific features such as Cortana and Windows Hello. The full list of requirements can be read in our coverage from yesterday but below is the system hardware requirements for running Windows 10.
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- Latest OS: Make sure you are running the latest version either Windows 7 SP1 or Windows 8.1 Update.
- Processor: 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster processor or SoC
- RAM: 1 gigabyte (GB) for 32-bit or 2 GB for 64-bit
- Hard disk space: 16 GB for 32-bit OS 20 GB for 64-bit OS
- Graphics card: DirectX 9 or later with WDDM 1.0 driver
- Display: 1024×600
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Finally, as mentioned earlier, the pre-install will take up 3 GB of storage space on your device.
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How to reserve your upgrade
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First, find the ‘Get Windows 10’ icon in the Notification Area of your device. Right click the icon and left click ‘Reserve your free upgrade.’
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At this point, the ‘Get Windows 10’ app will open and give you the option to enter an email address for a confirmation message.
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After you have reserved your free upgrade, the ‘Get Windows 10’ app will still be accessible by left click the same ‘Get Windows 10’ icon in the Notification Area.
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From the hamburger menu in this App, you can access a quick intro to features of Windows 10, a tool that assesses if your device is ready for the upgrade, and an option to view the confirmation of your upgrade. It is from this last part of the hamburger menu that you cancel your reservation.
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How to cancel a reservation
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First open the ‘Get Windows 10’ app from you the Notification Area. Next click the hamburger menu button and select ‘View Confirmation’ under the ‘Getting the upgrade section.’ Next, click ‘Cancel reservation.’ Then click the option to confirm your choice.
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After you have canceled your reservation, the ‘Get Windows 10’ icon will remain in your Notification Area in case you change your mind. But if you are sure you don’t want to upgrade and want to get rid of that Get Windows 10 notification, read on to the next section.
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How to get rid of the ‘Get Windows 10’ icon
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The ‘Get Windows 10’ app was installed as part of the recommended Windows update KB3035583. To get rid of the notification simply uninstall that update.
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To do this first open your ‘Control Panel’ by right clicking the start menu and selecting ‘Control Panel.’ Next, from your ‘Control Panel’ select ‘Programs and Features.’
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Then select ‘View installed updates’ from the top left of the window. Once you are viewing installed updates, search for KB3035583.
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Select ‘Update for Microsoft Windows (KB3035583)’ and click Uninstall button directly above the listing of the update.
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How to install the Get Windows 10 app
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If you don’t see the ‘Get Windows 10’ icon in your notification area and want to reserve your copy, or you just went through the uninstall process listed above but have since changed your mind, all you need to do is install the KB3035583 update for Windows.
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Go to ‘Control Panel.’ Open ‘Windows Update.’ Click ‘Show all available updates.’
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Search under the list of ‘Recommended’ updates for ‘Update for Microsoft Windows (KB3035583)’ and click Install. If ‘Update for Microsoft Windows (KB3035583)’ is not listed you can also try clicking ‘Check for updates.’
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So there you have it. Windows 10 is set to be released on July 29th, so now is the time to prepare your systems!
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