Microsoft gives away the Windows ISO for free on its own website — no account, no payment, no third party. This page walks the real screens: which section to use, what multi-edition means, and what to do when the download link expires.
Any search for a Windows ISO returns hundreds of pages, and most of them are not Microsoft. The irony: Microsoft's own page is the easiest one — once you open the right section. There are two official routes, the direct ISO download and the Media Creation Tool. Both are free, both come from Microsoft's own servers, and both are covered below.
👆 The ISO hides in the third section of Microsoft's page. Layout shown as an illustration of the real page.
Start at microsoft.com and navigate to Software Download, then Windows 11 or Windows 10. Type the address yourself rather than clicking the first search result — the top results for ISO searches are often ads and copycat blogs.
There is no separate Home ISO and Pro ISO. One multi-edition file carries both, and the licence decides at install time — the case page on editions in this set explains that fully.
The Media Creation Tool is Microsoft's small official program on the same page. It downloads the genuine image and can either build a bootable USB stick or save the ISO file to disk.
On the Windows 10 page, this tool is the main offer when you visit from a Windows PC, and its ISO option gives you the same multi-edition file.
Microsoft generates your ISO link personally, and it stays valid only for a limited time — roughly a day. If the link fails or a resumed download errors out, nothing is wrong with your PC.
Never pay a site that offers to restore an expired link, and never accept ISO links over forums or messaging apps.
Two quick habits turn a finished download into a trusted one. First, verify the file's SHA256 hash with certutil as shown in this set's hash guide — a two-minute check that the file is untouched. Second, keep the ISO; it is your free, genuine repair and reinstall media for as long as that Windows version is supported.
Picking a Windows version, edition, language and architecture on screen — the full download flow shown live.
▶️ Watch Full VideoThere is nothing to select. The ISO is multi-edition: one file contains Home and Pro. During installation, the product key you enter — or the licence built into the PC — decides which edition gets installed.
Microsoft's ISO links are time-limited and expire after about a day. Return to the same official page, repeat the three clicks, and a fresh link is generated. Never pay a site that offers to restore the link.
Yes. The Windows 10 page on microsoft.com offers the Media Creation Tool, which can save the multi-edition ISO to your disk. Visited from a non-Windows system, the same page offers the ISO directly.