Microsoft plans to release Windows 10 during the summer, but it seems the company wants to start early preparing Windows 7 and Windows 8 PCs to receive the free update.
On March 27, a new recommended update described as KB3035583 has emerged in Windows Update, which it seems prepares any computer running Windows 8.1 or Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1) and notifies users when Windows 10 becomes available.
According to the Microsoft’s support page, “This update enables additional capabilities for Windows Update notifications when new updates are available to the user.” Technically, the description does not mention Windows 10 anywhere, but looking closely, the update installs a few files in the “System 32” folder and one of the executables “GWXUXWorker.exe” makes a mention of Windows 10 in the file description.
Additionally, after installing KB3035583, users will find a “config.xml” file that describes how the software will interact with users once Windows 10 is available. Those users installing the update before the official release won’t see any type of notifications, but when Microsoft is ready users will may start to see a Live Tile on the Start screen, taskbar notifications, and other sort of notifications alerting users of Windows 10.
We have seen the company trying to sell its operating system with many marketing campaigns, but we have not seen something like this before. It clearly shows that Microsoft is serious on making Windows 10, the next best operating system, and serious on making Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 users move to Windows 10 as quickly as possible. This is all part of the strategy, Windows 10 will be a free update for the first year, which gives Microsoft some time to get users to upgrade.
Update (June 1st, 2015): Microsoft is now pushing update KB3035583 as recommended update, and the update is responsible for the “Get Windows 10” app. If you want to wait longer to upgrade to Windows 10, you can uninstall this update from Control Panel / Programs and Features / Installed updates. To cancel your upgrade reservation, simply open the “Get Windows 10” app, right-clicking the icon from the system tray, selecting Check your upgrade status, click the menu button from the top-left corner of the screen, click View information, and finally click Cancel reservation.
Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert and founder of Pureinfotech (est. 2010). With over 21 years as a technology writer and IT Specialist, Mauro specializes in Windows, software, and cross-platform systems such as Linux, Android, and macOS.
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