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Windows10Feature

For over a year, Microsoft's "Get Windows ten" promotion was included as function of the updates served to Windows seven and 8.1. The GWX.exe application didn't consume much memory or crusade outright bug, but it had a habit of "suggesting" yous update that users oft found annoying. As the yr of complimentary Windows 10 upgrades progressed, the number of people with an axe to grind grew. The app started acting more than like malware, and the blowback was bad plenty that Microsoft eventually walked back some of its changes.

Now, with the Windows ten upgrade period officially over, Microsoft is removing the GWX.exe application altogether. A new, optional update (KB3184143) is available to "Remove software related to the Windows 10 free upgrade offer." The KB article notes that it removes the Get Windows 10 application. The listing of removed / updated files is as follows:

  • KB 3035583: Update installs Get Windows x app in Windows 8.1 and Windows 7 SP1
  • KB 3064683: Windows viii.1 OOBE modifications to reserve Windows 10
  • KB 3072318: Update for Windows 8.i OOBE to upgrade to Windows 10
  • KB 3090045: Windows Update for reserved devices in Windows 8.ane or Windows 7 SP1
  • KB 3123862: Updated capabilities to upgrade Windows viii.1 and Windows 7
  • KB 3173040: Windows viii.one and Windows seven SP1 end of free upgrade offering notification
  • KB 3146449: Updated Internet Explorer 11 capabilities to upgrade Windows 8.1 and Windows 7

All of these previous updates are removed and replaced by KB3184143.

Windows 10 is nonetheless free — for now

Officially, Windows 10 stopped existence gratis on July 29, 2022. Unofficially, it's still available. Various sites, including Paul Thurrott's, have reported Windows vii and 8.1 keys are all the same accepted for update in Windows 10 installations, and the Os remains bachelor to anyone who uses a screen reader or has whatever type of disability.

GWX-New

This was the GWX.exe screen that got the company attacked for malware-similar behavior.

Microsoft has steadfastly refused to comment on this unusual loophole, beyond noting that the formal giveaway period has ended. I doubtable that's on purpose — and the ongoing availability is Microsoft's fashion of quietly allowing people to upgrade if they want to, without appearing to back off on their one-year delivery.

Microsoft bungled its giveaway past being too aggressive and pushing the operating arrangement at people who undoubtedly didn't want it. But the company was trying to solve a genuine problem. The PC market place has been in decline now for the past five years. No one knows when or if that's going to alter — and Microsoft's previous business model relied on the idea that people bought new hardware (and were therefore running new versions of Windows) every 3-four years at most. That's no longer the case.

PCSales

PC sales — data by Statista

Windows eight was Microsoft'due south showtime attempt to solve this problem. The company attempted to build an OS that would capitalize on the tablet market and provide an upgrade path for the computer users who were moving away from desktops and laptops, simply withal wanted a familiar Microsoft operating system to take along the way. When Windows viii failed to spark much interest from the PC users who were otherwise ownership Android and iOS devices, it left Redmond facing a grim future. A declining PC marketplace meant fewer and fewer people would be exposed to new products running the latest Microsoft operating system.

Back when Windows XP was new, I upgraded some friends and family unit to the new operating system specifically as a way of solving incompatibility and instability bug they'd experienced on Win9x operating systems. Contrast with a hypothetical future, circa 2022, in which an end user with an old Windows seven PC sees iOS 14 or Android 11 with features their desktop or laptop reckoner lacks. Our hypothetical user "upgrades" to an iOS or Android device without e'er realizing Microsoft has offered its own implementation of that feature for the past four years, all because the user was never exposed to that Bone in the first place.

I can't say how much this motivated Microsoft'southward decision to requite Windows ten away. But I'd be quite surprised if it didn't play a role. It may also explain the visitor'due south conclusion to royally piss off a lot of people with forced updates, equally bad an idea as that was. Pushing 350 million devices to Windows 10 helped Microsoft stave off an incipient upgrade problem. Now, with those same millions of people using the aforementioned OS with the same update cycle, Microsoft can guarantee features, bug fixes, security updates, and other improvements (and "improvements") coil out in a more timely and effective way — that is, once it wins back the goodwill it lost in the process.

At present read: Windows 10: The best hidden features, tips, and tricks