How to upgrade (a pirated version of) Windows 7 to Windows 8 Pro

Microsoft allows to upgrade your Windows 7 to Windows 8 Pro for $14.99 only. The offer is valid until December the 31st 2012 or earlier. The most interesting thing is that there is a paradox when some legal customers of desktops and notebooks with Windows 7 pre-installed fail to get an upgrade to Windows 8 while some users of pirated versions of Windows 7 were able to get the upgrade for only $14.99. Microsoft will probably close the loophole unless it is interested at legalizing pirated versions of Windows 7 by any mean.

How to upgrade (a pirated version of) Windows 7 to Windows 8 Pro

1. Navigate to the Windows Upgrade page and select your region. Let's assume you have chosen "United States - English".


2. Hit the "Continue" button.


3. The "Register for the Windows Upgrade Offer" page will load. Enter your name, cell phone number, e-mail, CAPTCHA. Agree with the terms of use and the privacy statement. Obviously you have bought your Windows 7 computer 2-5 weeks ago from one of major retailers and your computer model is very popular ;) Enter the details of your purchase including the date of your purchase, retailer and computer model (Remeber that the upgrade offer is available for recent purchases only). Hit the "Continue" button.


4. On the next page enter your name, phone number and your e-mail.  Hit the "Continue" button.


5. Microsoft trusts its customers and will send you a coupon code by e-mail. This coupon code will allow you to buy Windows 8 Pro (a downloadable version) for only $14.99. All further instructions are included into the e-mail.


6. Download the Upgrade Assistant and launch it.


7. If you decide to skip the compatibility check, make sure your hardware is indeed compatible with Windows 8.


8. Choose a payment method (like credit card), enter your billing address. Make sure to use the coupon code which is sent by e-mail. It will cut the price down to $14.99.


9. Also make sure not to order a backup disc. The setup wizard allows you to save the downloaded copy of Windows 8 Pro as an .ISO image file (you may burn it onto a DVD disc using freeware software like ImageBurn). Also it allows you to create a bootable flash drive with Windows 8 Pro.


10. Hit the "Buy" button.


11. After paying for your order you will receive a Windows 8 Pro licence key.


12. Enjoy!

Note that PCs purchased with Windows 7 between June 2, 2012 and January 31, 2013 are eligible for the Upgrade Offer. Eligible PCs are new PCs with a valid Windows 7 OEM Certificate of Authenticity and product key. Windows 7 Home Basic, Windows 7 Home Premium, Windows 7 Professional, Windows 7 Ultimate versions are eligible, while Windows 7 Starter Edition is not eligible for this offer.

System requirements to use Windows 8:

• Processor: 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster with support for PAE, NX, and SSE2


• RAM: 1 gigabyte (GB) (32-bit) or 2 GB (64-bit)


• Hard disk space: 16 GB (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)


• Graphics card: Microsoft DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM driver

More details can be found on the Microsoft web-site.