5 Things to Do Before Upgrading to Windows 10

Guides: This page offers comprehensive guides to help you prepare for installing the latest Windows updates, such as Windows 10 (1607), Creators Update (1703), Fall Creators Update (1709), April Update (1803), October Update (1809), and Windows 8.1/8/7.

Use the following five steps to prepare for a Windows Update:

1. Create a Recovery Drive for Windows Updates

Before you proceed with the Windows update, it's recommended that you create a Windows Recovery Drive on your computer. This can be a USB drive or a bootable CD/DVD. In case you encounter issues while upgrading your operating system, the Windows Recovery Drive will help you quickly restore your OS to a working state.

Here's how to do it:
Step 1: Insert the USB drive with enough free space into your computer.

Step 2 Type "Create a recovery drive" into the search bar. Click on the option and open it.

Step 3: Check the box next to “Back up system files to the recovery drive,” and then click Next.

Before updating Windows, create a recovery drive:

1. Step 4: Wait for the wizard to prepare to copy the files to your flash drive.
2. Step 5: Select your USB flash drive, then click Next.
3. Step 6: Confirm the warning message, "All content on the drive will be deleted. If the drive contains personal files, make sure you have backed up these files," then click Create.
4. Step 7: When you see the final message "Recovery drive ready," click Finish.

If you're using Windows 7 or Windows 8, you can also create a recovery drive by following the guide above. If you'd rather create a system image to back everything up instead, get help doing that from Create a System Image on a USB Drive.

2. Back up your data

Numerous users have experienced file loss or deletion errors when installing new Windows 10 updates, and those upgrading to the latest October 2018 Update for Windows 10 are running into the same issue.

It's highly recommended to back up important data and valuable files to an external storage device before updating Windows 10 or any other Windows operating system.

Instead of copying and pasting files one by one to an external storage device, you need a smart backup software – Todo Backup.

3. Verify that you have enough disk space available

Sometimes, users might encounter a Windows Update failure error when the system drive doesn't have enough space to install a new Windows OS.

To ensure the Windows update process goes well, it's also important to make sure there is enough disk space on the system drive. If you have no idea how to do it, you can refer to the guide on how to extend system C drive.

Also: If you have unallocated space following your C: drive, you can use Disk Management to increase the size of your system drive.

4. Decide whether to upgrade or do a clean install of the new Windows release

In most cases, you can find the latest cumulative Windows update under Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update.

There, you can choose how to install new Windows updates – either automatically install this update or download it from the Microsoft website for a clean installation. If there's a new update available in Windows Update, you can click on "Restart now" or "Install now" to install the new operating system right away. If there are no updates available, you can choose to wait for a wider release, or download the new update from Microsoft and perform a clean installation of Windows 10/8/7.

Step 5: Save your Windows product key and Microsoft account information

Before you proceed with installing the latest Windows updates on your computer, don't rush things.

After you finish installing the Windows operating system, a window will prompt you to reactivate using a product key or Microsoft account.

If you don't have a key, purchase a new one or contact Microsoft Support for assistance.