What will windows 8 run on

Apps on the Start screen. Live tiles. Hot corners. The Charms bar. Signing in with a Microsoft account. The People app. The Desktop. An app that has access to your location and internet connection. Updating Windows 8 to Windows 8.

But why? There are a large number of pros but also some significant cons, including a few potential deal breakers. Cost - While some Windows 7 and Windows 8 users will not get Windows 10 free , for the vast majority there is no cost to upgrading whatsoever.

Consequently even if you revert back to Windows 7 or Windows 8 in time, it would seem to make sense to take your free Windows 10 upgrade while it lasts. Longer Support - Another key reason for getting the latest edition of Windows is Microsoft will support it for longer than both Windows 7 and Windows 8. The Windows Lifecycle page screen grab below breaks this down into two sections: Mainstream Support and Extended Support.

Mainstream Support is the deadline for adding new features and functionality which makes it less crucial, but Extended Support is when Microsoft will stop supporting the platform with security updates. As you will see Windows 10 gives five more years Extended Support over Windows 7 and two more years over Windows Flexibility And Universal Apps - Where Microsoft deserves a lot of credit with Windows 10 is its ambition because the OS will run across all future Microsoft devices from desktops and laptops, to hybrids, tablets and smartphones.

Read more- Windows Should You Upgrade? Gaming - Windows 10 brings with it DirectX 12 and for serious gamers this is a must have. Windows 7 and Windows 8 will never get access to DX In addition Windows 10 supports streaming games from an Xbox One.

Controllers for the Xbox One are compatible with Windows 10 PCs and you can be playing The Witcher 3 on your desktop or laptop in minutes. Best of all, Xbox One streaming is fast and responsive and again it will not come to Windows 7 or Windows 8 at a later date.

Windows 10 is the single operating system working across all Microsoft desktops, laptops, tablets The secret to its success is Cortana, a voice assistant ported over from Windows Phone and whose name comes from the Halo video game franchise. Like Siri on iOS and Google Voice Search on Android, Cortana can respond to voice commands and perform everything from quick Internet searches to core tasks around Windows 10 like opening a new email, creating calendar entries and much more.

Edge works significantly faster than Internet Explorer and is only available on Windows These allow users without multi-monitor setups to create multiple virtual desktops which are handy for splitting usage between work and leisure, work into projects or whatever you require. Those specifications:. I suspect a major motivator for Microsoft here was that Windows 10 needs to run smoothly on both phones and tablets as well as PCs.

That should make it efficient enough to run on most PCs these days, with the exception of some very old Windows XP machines. Security - While both Windows 7 and Windows 8 do a pretty good job of keeping users secure, Windows 10 ups its game with several new features.

However, since Windows 8 has been out of support since January , we encourage you to update to Windows 8. The system requirements for Windows 8. Before you begin, here are some things to keep in mind. Your files, desktop apps, user accounts, and settings come with you. Windows 8. Your existing Windows Store apps don't come with you, but once the update is complete, you can reinstall all of these apps at once—or just the ones you want.

We'll check your desktop apps and devices for you. As part of the update, we check your current desktop apps and connected devices. We'll let you know what you'll need to do to get them ready for the update or to get them working again after the update.

In most cases, you won't need to do anything—most desktop apps, devices like printers , and network connections will work normally after the update. Consider using a Microsoft account to sign in to your PC. If you already have an account you use with Outlook.

You can keep working while the update is installing. Download and installation times vary from about 30 minutes to several hours, depending on your internet connection speed and the speed and configuration of your PC, but you can still use your PC while the update is installing in the background. After it restarts, you won't be able to use your PC for a little while from about 20 minutes to an hour while the updates are being applied.

After that phase is complete, we'll walk you through choosing a few basic settings and then Windows will finish applying any final updates that are needed. Back up your files. Although your files and apps come with you when you update to Windows 8.

Make sure you have enough free disk space. If you're currently running Windows 8, you need 3, MB of available space to install the bit version of Windows 8. Plug in your laptop or tablet. It's important to keep your PC plugged in throughout the update process, because if you lose power before it's done, the update might not install properly. Connect to the internet. It's best to stay connected until the update is done.

Get the latest critical and important updates. There are some updates you might need before you can install Windows 8. In most cases, the latest updates will be installed automatically using Windows Update.

Temporarily turn off your antivirus program. Some antivirus software might interfere with the installation. After you install Windows 8. The Store is no longer open for Windows 8, so you'll need to download Windows 8. Go to the Windows 8.

Select Confirm and follow the remaining prompts to begin the download.