After the in-place upgrade is completed, your free Windows 10 license is guaranteed for the life of the machine.

Performing an in-place upgrade will ensure you retain your free license to Windows 10. Remember, you can only perform an in-place upgrade to the same architecture that you are currently running (example: from Windows 7 or 8 32-bit to Windows 10 32-bit).

Perform an in-place upgrade of Windows 10 using the 'Get Windows 10' app or use the Windows 10 Media Tool.

Only disk image backups can allow you to revert back to your previous operating system at any time, and beyond Microsoft's limit of 30 day time limit.

Before proceeding with the upgrade, use Acronis True Image to create a disk image backup of your operating system.

Ensure your computer meets all the prerequisites so that you can obtain a free upgrade to Windows 10.

Here are the steps required to perform such an upgrade: How to Upgrade from Windows 7 or 8 32-bit to Windows 10 64-bit As such, I recommend that you perform a disk image backup of your existing operating system before you perform the upgrade so that you can retrieve your files later, plus you can revert your operating system to the previous installation if you need to. That is the only way you can 'leap' from Windows 7 32-bit to Windows 10 64-bit, but you will have to reinstall all your programs and user files. You can then reboot the computer and insert Windows 10 media and do a clean install of Windows 10 64-bit.

Once that is done you will have your free Windows 10 license for the life of the machine. It is, however, possible to 'upgrade' to Windows 10 64-bit if and only if you perform the in-place upgrade from Windows 7-32 bit to Windows 10 32-bit, first. In other words, you cannot do an in-place upgrade from 32-bit Windows to 64-bit Windows and maintain all your installed programs, plus a Windows 10 license. You can only upgrade to Windows 10 using the same architecture - for example, from Windows 7 32-bit to Windows 10 32-bit. How can I upgrade from Windows 7 32-bit to Windows 10 64-bit? ' I have a question right now I'm running Windows 7 32-bit, but I want to upgrade to Windows 10 64-bit and still maintain my free license for Windows 10. Thanks for your ongoing and excellent articles on Windows 10.

Upgrade to 64 bit windows 10