Microsoft has finally begun rolling out Windows 10 Anniversary Update to the masses. It’s a major update which makes a smarter Cortana available on the lock screen, brings Calendar integration to the taskbar, a native Bash command line, better Smart Menu and Task View, new Dark theme, and more.

Your PC might have offered to install the update already, but there’s no need to wait– you can also start the process yourself.

The simplest and safest option is probably to use Windows Update. Go to Settings > Updates & Security > Windows Update, click Check for Updates and wait.

If all goes well the Windows 10 Upgrade Assistant will appear to walk you through the update.

(We’ve seen a problem where the Upgrade Assistant gets stuck in a loop, saying it’s looking for a new version of itself, then restarting, checking, restarting again, and so on. If this happens for more than a couple of minutes on your system, don’t wait, reboot your PC and try again.)

Build your Windows 10 installer on an ISO image or USB key

If the Check for Updates option tells you there’s nothing available, click the “Learn more” link further down the page. You’ll be taken to a web page with a “Get the Anniversary Update now” button which downloads an update tool.

As with previous builds, you can also use the Windows 10 Media Creation Tool to build a bootable installer on an ISO image or USB key, for easier updates to another system.

This isn’t the same as a “real” Windows setup disc. You must choose the Windows 10 edition, language and architecture (32 or 64-bit), for example– it won’t support them all.

If you’re installing Windows 10 for the first time, you’ll probably also need a product key.

The update proved quick and easy for us, but we’ve had our share of issues with Windows Update, so be careful. Back up your system before you start, and give yourself plenty of spare time to investigate any problems.

Windows 10 Media Creation Tool is available for Windows 7, 8.1 and 10.