Most Windows 10 devices are upgraded to the latest versions of the operating system using Windows Update automatically.
Although most machines follow this procedure, some administrators may prefer other upgrade methods. In cases where you have to upgrade 10-20 machines in a company or in an internet cafe, the usual scenario is to download the upgrade to a computer and install it on all computers, via a USB or local network.
Especially if you do not want to connect local machines to the internet, or because you get a lot of errors when trying to upgrade using Windows Update, then the solution to update via a local file is one way.
Microsoft gives you options for creating Windows 10 installation media. You can burn the data to a USB Flash drive or DVD, or install directly from an ISO image.
The following guide guides you through the steps of installing or upgrading Windows 10 using these methods.
Step 1: Create the installation media or ISO image
You can use Microsoft Media Creation Tool to build Windows 10 installation media.
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- Visit her Microsoft official website and download the Media Creation Tool to your system. Click the "Download Tool Now" button to begin the process.
- Run the program as soon as it is downloaded to your local system. Note that you can only run it on Windows systems.
- On the first screen that appears, say "Yes" to allow the program to make changes to your device. On the second screen, accept the Software License Terms to continue below.
- On the next screen, select "create installation media". While you can use it to "instantly upgrade this computer", it is best to use Setup Installer because it gives you more control and options if something goes wrong.
- Maintain recognized language, version, and architecture settings, or change them if you need a different setting.
- Select the media you want: USB flash drive or ISO file.
- USB Flash Drive: requires at least 8 gigabytes of space. Note that all data on the usb drive will be deleted.
- ISO: no requirement, but you need a blank DVD if you want to burn it to DVD (you may need a double layer DVD).
- The tool downloads the latest available Windows 10 installation from Microsoft.
- If you select the USB option, the data is stored on the USB drive and is ready for you to boot from.
- If you select ISO, you can burn them to a DVD. Otherwise, the ISO is stored in the local system.
Step 2: Using the Windows 10 installation media to upgrade
The installation process depends on the installation medium.
Option 1: Use installation media with USB or DVD.
This is probably the most common upgrade option for a Windows 10 system. You must have the installer available to perform the upgrade.
- Connect the USB Flash Drive to the computer you want to upgrade to, or insert the DVD into the drive.
- Restart the computer or restart it.
- Some systems automatically take the installation media and start from it.
- If this does not happen to you, you will need to change the boot order (from the default hard drive to the installation media). This is done through the computer BIOS. Check your computer for instructions on how to enter the BIOS (usually using ESC, DEL, F1 or one of these keys).
- In the BIOS, change the boot priority so that the computer first checks the USB or DVD boot media before using the hard drives.
- Make sure you select "Save files and applications" in the setup dialog box if you want to upgrade and do not do a clean install.
- Follow the instructions to install the Windows 10 upgrade on your device.
Option 2: instant installation using an ISO image
If you do not want to upgrade from USB or DVD or if you can not, then you can perform the installation directly from the ISO image. Note that you must select ISO when creating in Step 1.
- Open File Explorer.
- Navigate to the folder where the ISO image is saved (eg Downloads folder). Of course if you have a local network you can always get the image online from your local server.
- Right-click the ISO image and select Open with> Windows Explorer. This way Windows connects the ISO image to a virtual disk so you can browse it and run its files instantly.
- Open the ISO image and start the setup.exe file located in the root folder of the image. The setup and therefore the system upgrade will start.
- If you are asked if you want to "get important updates", select "not now".
- Make sure you select the "Keep personal files and apps" option if you want to keep your programs, settings and files.
- Follow the screens to upgrade the device using the ISO image.