Can windows 7 be installed for free?

a friend of mine told me I could get a free upgrade as I have been using XP for such a long time..

He is completely incorrect. No version of Windows is Free. About the only time you can get an upgrade from one version to another is when you buy a new computer Just Before a New Version of Windows comes out. And that is all up to the manufacturer of the computer. Some do and some don't do this.

In your case the simple answer is No you can't get it for free.

hmm..well there was a site that had a download for the 32 bit version of ultimate service pack 1.

i was wondering, is it worth it to buy windows 7 at all today now that windows 8 is out? does windows 8 work for gaming?

i am thinking about just buying windows 7, but i have a question...do you need to buy the cd, or can you buy it online and then install it? because i want to be able to install it more than once if i should need to

What you would download is an ISO file that you would burn to a DVD or use a special program that would expand the ISO onto a USB thumb drive. As long as you keep the ISO, Back It Up, or the DVD or thumb drive you make from the ISO file you can install it as many times as you like.

giroux28 said:

hmm..well there was a site that had a download for the 32 bit version of ultimate service pack 1.

i was wondering, is it worth it to buy windows 7 at all today now that windows 8 is out? does windows 8 work for gaming?

i am thinking about just buying windows 7, but i have a question...do you need to buy the cd, or can you buy it online and then install it? because i want to be able to install it more than once if i should need to

You can download and install Win7 for free.

If you wish to activate it (required to actually run it for more than a 30 days), you'd have to buy a key. Anything else would involve piracy. (AKA theft.)

It used to be possible to purchase Win7 from store.microsoft.com for download, but it looks like they now will only sell you Windows 8.

Microsoft will sell you a downloaded Win8 Pro upgrade copy for $40 until 1/31/2013, if you're in one of 140 countries where they offer the deal (such as the US). XP is qualified for the upgrade.

Buy Windows - Microsoft Windows

The link above is to the Upgrade Assistant, which will check for compatibility with your hardware and software and allow you to purchase and download the upgrade.

Most stuff that will run on Windows 7 will run on Windows 8. There's a larger compatibility break between XP and 7 than between 7 and 8 (in my not particularly expert opinion). The addition of the interface formerly know as Metro is mostly an annoyance on a desktop PC, but it doesn't really kill the usefulness of Win 8. (I admit to using a third party Start Menu restoring tool.)