Windows 10 isn’t supposed to launch for several hours but Microsoft has apparently already started pre-downloading the new operating system onto devices which pre-ordered it. While this doesn’t mean you can install Windows 10 early, it does mean that there’s a chance that the installation files have been pre-loaded onto your computer which means you won’t have to spend as much time downloading them when the time comes to actually install Windows 10.
In less than 24 hours, Microsoft will start upgrading Windows 7 and Windows 8 machines to Windows 10. The software giant is preparing for this big release, at 12AM ET on July 29th (9PM PST on July 28th), by pre-loading the final version of Windows 10 on PCs eligible for the upgrade. A number of Windows 7 and Windows 8 users who have registered for the upgrade have started noticing that the full installer files for Windows 10 have been downloaded to C:\$windows.~BT as Microsoft gets ready for release. Microsoft will unlock and activate the Windows 10 install at midnight tonight, allowing some Windows 7 and Windows 8 users to upgrade. Not everyone will get access to the Windows 10 upgrade initially, though. Microsoft is rolling the upgrade out gradually to compatible systems, and the company is creating a queue to distribute the update in waves. Windows 10 testers have already been testing the final bits and they will be the first to receive a Day One patch that Microsoft is developing. The software maker has also been rolling out daily hotfixes to existing testers, fixing issues just days and hours before the final release.
