After thinking about it for a long time and after hearing comments and opinions from friends and relatives, finally you too, like many other users, have decided to install Windows 10 , the latest operating system from Microsoft. Excellent choice, no doubt about it. However, if you are here now and you are reading this guide, it is most likely because you have not yet been able to understand exactly what steps to take in order to succeed in this “enterprise”. If this is the case, however, you don’t have to worry. In fact, I can explain to you, in detail, everything that needs to be done to be able to install Windows 10 on your computer.
Before you can get alarmed and think about the worst I want to reassure you right away about one thing: even if it may seem complicated, installing Windows 10 is actually very simple. All it takes is a minimum of concentration and attention as well as a few hours of free time and that’s it, you have to believe me.
So if you are really willing to find out what steps you need to take in order to install Windows 10, I suggest you focus on reading this guide and follow, step by step, all my instructions. I am sure that in the end you will be able to tell yourself more than satisfied and that you will also be ready to brag to all your friends that you have managed to install the new Redmond 10 home OS all by yourself (or almost). Ready? Yup? Very well, then let’s ban the chatter and proceed.
Costs

To be able to install Windows 10 it is essential to have a regular license to use the operating system. For a limited time, the license for owners of genuine copies of Windows 7 and Windows 8.x was free; now, at least officially, it isn’t anymore (some say they managed to get the free upgrade even after Microsoft’s promotion expired, but these are isolated cases).
Normally, the price of Windows 10 Home is 145.00 euros while that of Windows 10 Pro is 259.00 euros . The purchase of the operating system can be made directly from the official Microsoft store, in electronics stores and online stores.
There are also sites that allow you to purchase 100% original Microsoft licenses with considerable savings compared to traditional channels, for example Mr Key Shop , a site managed by a company with offices in Italy and England that allows you to purchase original licenses 100% for Windows and Microsoft Office at very affordable prices, with instant e-mail shipments of licenses and related activation instructions (thus also avoiding the environmental impact deriving from the shipment of physical goods), free Italian specialized assistance ( which is rare for sites of this type, which are almost all foreign), money- back guarantee and support for all majorsafer payment methods .
In case you ask yourself, the licenses are sold at lower prices than traditional stores due to the fact that they are unused licenses from companies and companies that have switched to the cloud or subscription services and that Mr Key Shop buys in large quantities to then resell (perfectly legal practice throughout Europe).
To purchase a license on Mr Key Shop, connected to the page of the site dedicated to Windows 10, select the product of your interest, click on the button to add it to the cart and choose whether to go to the checkout or continue with the purchases. In this regard, I suggest you also take a look at the licenses for Office 2019, sold at equally interesting prices, in order to have a complete software package that you can take advantage of after the activation of the new operating system.
Once the purchases have been completed, access the cart (by clicking on the appropriate icon located at the top right), go to the cashier and choose whether to complete the transaction as a guest or by creating an account , by entering the requested data.
Requirements
Before installing Windows 10, make sure your computer meets all relevant technical requirements. Below you will find the features necessary for your computer to be able to support the installation and subsequent running of Windows 10 without problems.
- At least 2 GB of RAM;
- 20 GB of free disk space;
- A processor of at least 1 GHz with support for PAE, NX and SSE2;
- A graphics card with Microsoft DirectX 9 support and WDDM driver.
To easily check that all the components of the computer on which you want to install Windows 10 are compatible with the new operating system, you can click here to download and use the free Assistant application (which is dedicated to Windows 8.1 but considering that the minimum requirements required for use Windows 10 are the same also works with the new operating system).
To install Windows 10 you also need a “physical” copy (ie on diskette or USB stick) or virtual (ie in the form of software that can be run directly from your computer) of the operating system. If you have purchased Windows 10 you should already have a copy of the operating system in the form of a USB key or an ISO image to run and / or burn to disk. If not, you can deal with this by resorting to the use of a special tool made available directly by Microsoft.
To do this, click here in order to connect to the appropriate section of the Microsoft website through which to download the tool to obtain the ISO image of Windows 10 and click on the Download the tool button . Once the download is complete, you will get Media Creation Tool , a small free program through which you can download any version of Windows 10, install it on your PC, copy it to a stick or save it as an ISO image.
Note: If you visit the Microsoft website using an operating system other than Windows, instead of the Media Creation Tool software you will be directly offered the Windows 10 ISO image in 32-bit or 64-bit version.
Installation
Depending on what your needs and preferences are, you can choose whether to install Windows 10 by updating the computer in use (without losing data, applications and so on but also bringing with you any software problems) or whether to format the PC and perform a fresh installation of the operating system (in this way you will lose your data but you will be sure that you have put an end to any previous software problems). The choice, of course, is up to you, based on your needs and preferences.
Note: In both cases (and in particular in the second way, I suggest you make a backup copy of your data on your computer so that you can always and in any case access it in case of need. my guide on how to make backups.
Having clarified this, regardless of the decision you made, in order to install Windows 10 on your computer you must first connect the USB key for installing the operating system to it. Alternatively, insert the OS installation disk into the appropriate CD / DVD drive. Alternatively, start the tool previously downloaded from the Microsoft website by simply clicking on it. Then press Accept and then, if you are using the tool downloaded from the Microsoft website, it indicates that you intend to install Windows 10 by acting on the PC in use and wait a few moments for all the necessary files to be downloaded from the Internet.
Then choose to update the PC immediately and then click on the Next button located at the bottom right, wait for the complete download of all the components necessary for the installation of the operating system and follow the appropriate wizard that is shown on the screen.
Proceed indicating whether you prefer to download the latest updates available for the new operating system before installing Windows 10 on your computer, then click Accept to accept the terms of use of the product and indicate if you want to install the operating system again while keeping personal files, apps and settings, whether to do it keeping only your personal files or not to keep anything by carrying out a real formatting. Then click on Next and confirm your selection by clicking on Yes .
Now wait for the procedure to install Windows 10 to start, then choose the language and keyboard layout and then press the Install button . If asked, click Ignore in response to the request to enter the product key (you will enter it once you have completed the procedure to format Windows 10), indicate the edition of Windows 10 to install on the PC, accept the conditions use of the software and choose whether to upgrade the copy of Windows already on your computer or to perform a custom installation.
The computer will restart and the initial operating system setup procedure will start during which you can adjust various operating system settings. If you prefer to speed things up, you can click Use Quick Settings to use the default settings.
Then specify if the PC belongs to you and is therefore intended for personal use or if it belongs to the company for which you work or to your educational institution and click on Next then enter your Microsoft e-mail address (Live, Hotmail or Outlook). The Microsoft e-mail address is essential to be able to use the cloud features of the operating system. Please note that in this case the username and password for the account on the PC will be the same as the login data of the email address.
If, on the other hand, you are not interested in synchronizing data and apps between multiple PCs via Microsoft cloud services, you can decide to use a standard local user account by clicking on Ignore this step , filling in the fields that are proposed to you on the screen in order to create a local account and clicking Next .
After performing these steps, wait a few moments for the Windows 10 desktop to be visible, indicate whether or not you want to allow your PC to be discoverable by other computers and devices and… have fun!
If you have been asked, do not forget to activate your copy of the OS by providing the product key of the same in your possession. To do this, go to the Settings section of the operating system, click on Activation and then select the option on the right to provide your product key and to activate your copy of Windows 10. When the procedure is completed you will see the entry Windows is activated in the Activation field .
In case of problems

Are you having problems in carrying out the procedure that I have indicated in the previous lines? Windows 10 installation won’t start or freezes? If so, try installing the operating system when the computer starts.
To do this, first connect the Windows 10 pendrive to the computer or insert the OS installation disk into the appropriate CD / DVD drive on the PC. If you do not have the Windows 10 pendrive or DVD, create the OS installation media yourself by starting Media Creation Tool, choose the option Create installation media for another PC and follow the simple wizard that is shown to you on the screen.
Keep in mind that if you have chosen to install Windows 10 by creating a special USB key, the pendrive in question must have a capacity of at least 8 GB. Also considering that the key will be formatted, I suggest you use an empty one or in any case on which files that you have already stored elsewhere are saved. If instead of the UBS stick you have chosen to install Windows 10 via ISO file, I suggest you read my guide on how to burn ISO files to find out how to create an operating system installation DVD.
Then restart the computer leaving the USB key connected with Windows 1o or leaving the OS installation DVD inserted in the appropriate reader. Doing so, the installation procedure of the OS should start automatically when the PC starts:
In the event that the procedure to install Windows does not start automatically and if the copy of Windows already installed on the PC is performed normally, enter the BIOS and change the boot order by setting the USB port or the support for DVD by following the instructions in my guide on how to set the BIOS.
Once the Windows 10 installation procedure has started, follow the instructions I have already given you in the previous lines. The procedure to follow is practically identical in all respects.
Other useful info
If you have installed Windows 10 by updating your computer for free, you have 30 days to retrace your steps and restore Windows 7 SP1 or Windows 8.x. By going to the PC Settings menu , clicking on the Update and security icon and selecting the Restore item from the left sidebar, you can return to Windows 7 or return to Windows 8 by clicking on a convenient button. All data will be preserved. For more details, click here.
Also keep in mind that if you make the free upgrade to Windows 10 from Windows 7 SP1 or Windows 8.x you do not have to enter any product key, the system will be activated through a hardware fingerprint that Microsoft will register on its servers. In a nutshell, after upgrading to Windows 10 you can reinstall the operating system on your PC (even with a clean installation) and it will activate automatically.