Microsoft's $39.99 Windows 8 upgrade special ends Thursday, so you may want to buy it now even if you don't plan to install it yet.
(Credit: Screenshot by Lance Whitney/CNET)
Anyone even considering Windows 8 should grab the upgrade special now before it expires this week.
Users of Windows 7, Vista, and XP can purchase the upgrade to the new operating system for just $39.99 per PC. Those of you who bought Windows 7 after June 2 last year can scoreWindows 8 for just $14.99. And that's for the Pro version.
After January 31, the upgrade price skyrockets to $119.99 for the regular edition and $199.99 for the Pro version.
OK, that's fine, you say, but I don't want to upgrade to Windows 8, at least not right now. Well, you can buy the upgrade this week, but you don't have to use it. You can install it anytime in the future and on any computer you want.
Here's how:
Windows 7, XP, and Vista owners should head over to the Upgrade now and save page to grab the $39.99 offer. Windows 7 users who qualify for the $14.99 price can surf to the Welcome to the Windows Upgrade Offer page instead.
After asking for your region and country, the $14.99 offer page requires you to enter your name, e-mail address, and details on your Windows 7 PC purchase. Microsoft may also ask for your Windows 7 license key for confirmation. You'll then receive an e-mail with a promo code and a link to download the upgrade.
From that point, both the $39.99 and $14.99 offer work the same. Clicking on the Windows 8 upgrade link downloads the Windows 8 Upgrade Assistant in the form of a file named Windows8-UpgradeAssistant.exe. Running that file checks your current PC for Windows 8 compatibility issues and eventually takes you to an online purchase page where you can buy the upgrade.
The order confirmation page will ask for a promo code, which qualifying Windows 7 buyers can enter to receive the $25 discount. The rest of you will leave that field blank to keep the price $39.99. After you've sealed the deal, the Windows 8 installation downloads.
After a good 15 minutes or so, you'll see a screen with three options: 1) Install now; 2) Install by creating media; 3) Install later from your desktop. Options 1 and 3 are geared for those of you who want to upgrade your current PC. But if you don't, simply choose option 2.
The option to install by creating media saves the Windows 8 installation onto a USB drive or as an ISO file. You can burn that ISO file onto a DVD. Once the Windows 8 upgrade is stored on your USB stick or DVD, you can install the OS anytime in the future. Only the cheap upgrade price expires this week, not the actual installation. So you can install Windows 8 a year or two years from now, if you wish.
Further, you can install the Windows 8 upgrade on any computer you choose. It doesn't have to be the one onto which you downloaded the upgrade file.
Or you can tell it not to keep anything if you want to do a clean install and start fresh.Prior to the installation, you can also tell Windows 8 to keep your existing settings, personal files, and apps, an option that varies depending on your current version of Windows.
Windows 8 has certainly garnered mixed reviews at best, especially among PC users. Many people might want to steer clear of Microsoft's latest OS. But you never know what the future may hold.
At some point, you may decide you want Windows 8. And then you'll be happy you spent only $14.99 or $39.99 for the upgrade rather having to cough up a hefty $119.99 or $199.99.
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