If we do a quick search we can find ISO images of this operating system very easily. Most of them are about modified versions with different features (pre-installed programs, activators, etc.), as well as force-installed updates. Some may even have removed libraries and other elements from the system to make it lighter. A serious mistake.
Modified versions of Windows in the long run often give many problems. They can even pose a security risk since we don’t really know what changes have been made. Nor if the person who is sharing the Windows 10 ISO image has hidden some kind of Trojan or spyware in it. Something much more common than we think.
The Windows 10 official ISO images they are totally safe. These form the operating system as designed by Microsoft and allow us to have the best user experience, without unnecessary risks. The only downside to these versions is that they don’t come with the latest security patches. Although thanks to the cumulative updates in a few minutes, and with one last download, we can have the latest version of Windows 10 installed on our PC.
Do I need a license key?
To download older versions of the operating system, up to Windows 7, it was necessary to have a license key. What’s more, for many versions, especially in the development stage, we even had to be subscribers to a now-defunct program called MDSN. That is why many users downloaded old versions of Windows XP, Vista or 7 from dubious websites, often endangering their security.
However, since the arrival of 8, and especially with Windows 10, this requirement has disappeared. Right now it is not necessary to have a license key to be able to download the operating system from the Microsoft website. It is enough to enter the page and choose the edition that we want to download, nothing more. It is not even necessary to have a license key to install the system, since, by default, we can use it without restrictions for a while. And, at the end of that time, we can activate it or continue using the trial version with some limitations.
But as we mentioned before, in order to have a fully legal and functional version of the Microsoft operating system, it is best to see this downloaded ISO image here with its corresponding license number. This can be purchased directly from the firm’s website or through one of its many providers and they can even sell it to us a little cheaper. Next, we will show you in detail the easiest way to download these official operating system images.
Requirements to download Windows 10
We can download Windows 10 on any computer and operating system when it comes to the image in ISO format, an image with which, later, we must create an installation medium using a USB. However, if we want to download Windows 10 using the official Microsoft method, we can only do it on a computer managed by Windows, starting with Windows 7.
Another thing is the minimum requirements necessary to be able to install Windows 10 on compatible computers. Windows requirements are practically the same as Windows 7 already had, which is why it is compatible with all the computers that once came to market with this successful version of Windows. The hardware requirements to be able to install Windows 10 are:
- Processor: 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster processor or SoC
- 1 GB of RAM for the 32-bit version / 2 GB of RAM for the 64-bit version.
- 16 GB of hard disk space for 32-bit operating system or 20 GB for 64-bit operating system
- Graphics card: DirectX 9 or later with WDDM 1.0 driver
- Screen: 800 x 600
How to download Windows 10
Microsoft allows any user to download the official image of its operating system. This ISO image was updated every 6 months. The last version of Windows that Microsoft released before Windows 11 is number 22H2.
Last version
To do this, we simply have to go to the Microsoft download website, and from there we must click on “Download the tool now» to download the media creation tool that will allow us to force an update or download the latest ISO.
Once this tool is downloaded, we run it. Media Creation Tool it will analyze our computer to verify that everything is correct and it will ask us what we want to do. We can choose between updating Windows (if we want to install the latest version) or downloading an installation medium. Choosing this second option we can lower the ISO.
Once downloaded the ISO image We can do whatever we want with it. We can install Windows 10 in a virtual machine, or record it to a USB to install it on any computer. Media Creation Tool will download the latest available ISO.
As Microsoft has already confirmed that 22H2 is going to be the last update of this operating system, if we have already downloaded this image we will not have to worry about anything else.
Of course, although the latest stable version has already seen the light of day, as confirmed by the software giant itself, that does not mean that this specific version of Windows will be without official support from the company. Basically this means that the operating system will continue to receive security-related patches to keep its hundreds of millions of users protected against the latest vulnerabilities. In fact, there are still many months left until this version of the system is out of support.
It must be taken into account that Microsoft itself is currently focusing on improving its new Windows 11 and at the same time it is working on other more current operating systems that will probably see the light of day in the future. Therefore, downloading and installing Windows 10 right now is not at all risky, even if we take into account that Microsoft no longer officially sells this version of the software in its stores.
32-bit version
By default, Microsoft will offer us to download a Windows for 64-bit computers. We remember that this is the recommended option, and the one that will work best. But what happens if what we want is to install it on a somewhat old computer, and we need the 32-bit version?
Although with Windows 11 this is no longer possible, if we are still using Windows 10 we will be able to download a 32-bit version. Although we will have to do it manually. To do this, we must follow the previous steps until, in the wizard, we reach the following window:
At the bottom we can see a box called «Use the recommended options for this computer«. We must uncheck this box to be able to modify the previous options. And, when we have them unlocked, we can change the box “Architecture” by “32-bit (x86)«.
We continue with the wizard and, when the download of the Windows 10 ISO begins, it will be for 32 bits instead of 64 bits. And, in addition, it will be an official version and without modifications, something very important, as we have explained, that we must always take into account.
Without the Microsoft tool
When we enter the page to download Windows, Microsoft only allows us to do it through its Media Creation Tool, the media creation tool. And this, really, does not make much sense. why don’t you leave us lower the ISO Just like we can download, for example, the latest Insider build?
Luckily, there is a little trick (100% legal) that will allow us to download this image directly from Microsoft’s servers without having to go through this program’s hoops. This trick is found in that, when we enter the Microsoft website from a mobile, we directly find the iso, without the intermediate tool. But when entering from the PC, this tool appears again. Therefore, what we must do is impersonate the device from which we visit the page.
If we use Google Chrome, we can do this very easily from the developer console. We enter the Microsoft download website, and press F12 to open this console. Next, we press the keyboard shortcut “Ctrl + Shift + M” and we will open the device toolbar. In this we can choose the device that we want to simulate. For example, we can choose an iPhone, in the upper left, to see the following.
As we can see, the list appears to directly download the ISO image of the latest version of Windows 10 available to date. We select it, indicate the language and architecture we want, and that’s it. So we can download the Windows 10 ISO without going through the media creation tool.
old versions
Microsoft only allows us to download the media creation tool for the latest version of the operating system from its website. Downgrading a previous version doesn’t make much sense, since why would we want to install an old version of Windows? It is not recommended to download and install an old version of Windows 10. The first reason not to do so is that we are not going to get better performance on old computers by installing an older version than the latest one that is currently available, since the specifications of the operating system are exactly the same.
Furthermore, the second reason why it is not advisable to download old versions is that our computer will be vulnerable to all the bugs and security problems that Microsoft has patched in previous versions. Unless we intend not to connect the computer where we are going to install the old version of Windows to the Internet, it makes no sense, and even so, since the most modern versions include performance improvements, improvements that mainly affect computers older.
If you really want to improve the performance of your old computer, you will not only achieve it with an outdated version of Windows 10, you will achieve it by expanding both the RAM memory and replacing the HDD storage unit with an SSD and installing the latest version of Windows 10 available on that moment.
MediaCreationTool
In we are going to find a simple script, in batch, that will allow us precisely that, to download any old version of the Microsoft media creation tool. We will be able to download from version 1507 of Windows 10 (the RTM) to the latest available from Microsoft, including Windows 11.
To do this, we simply have to download the script, which is in .bat format, and run it. If we have problems, we can run it with Administrator permissions.
We will select the version we want to download, and the script will take care of everything else. When you finish downloading the corresponding media creation tool, it will open automatically. We must follow it, as we have explained in the previous step, to download the corresponding Windows 10 version ISO. Or, if we prefer, to directly create a USB with this version of…
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