You can upgrade to Windows 11 or Windows 10 from Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 even now for free! Microsoft offers you a simple method to upgrade from the previous version ...

Microsoft has confirmed that Windows 7 and 8 keys can no longer activate any Windows 11 edition or version, not just Canary builds, as reported in September. However, Windows 10 keys are still valid.

As one option, you can enable File History in Windows 8.1 to back up key folders and files to external media. Alternatively, you can turn to a third-party backup software or a cloud storage service.