Yeah, i know been available for months/yrs but finally i need to swap the "home" laptop to win10 from win7.

But, i also want to go ssd. So... whats the best way, now all the kinks etc have surely been nicely ironed out..

 

Should i image the drive to an external, as win7, then swap to ssd and "recover win7" onto the ssd then upgrade to 10...

Or..

install 10 on drive, then image to an external and recover win10 onto the ssd...

Or just back up 7, stick in the ssd, clean install 10, and then do the jiggery pokery to get our stuff out of win7 backup...

 

Ive put it off due to the faff its likely to be....

 

If you have Windows 7 Service pack 1 ... I think, it shouldn't be a problem to install it for free. We did this last weekend, after my wife wanted to buy a new laptop as W7 was "going to stop working" 😂😂 after hearing all the bad things about W10, I am impressed with its trouble-free software installation and operation. 

reminds me - I must do our XP machine...   any top tips for that one?

Leave it as is, its probably safer now than most units

 

up to about 5 yrs ago in work i know there were a few desktops around still running NT until they finally got upgraded...

Edited 19 January, 20206 yr by mac11irl

13 hours ago, Redboy said:

If you have Windows 7 Service pack 1 ... I think, it shouldn't be a problem to install it for free. We did this last weekend, after my wife wanted to buy a new laptop as W7 was "going to stop working" 😂😂 after hearing all the bad things about W10, I am impressed with its trouble-free software installation and operation. 

+1

 

Decided to take the plunge and "upgrade" SWMBO's PC which was running W7 Ultimate SP1 to W10 last week, so I did a complete HDD image (just in case...) and then did the free W10 download and upgrade. Despite the low PC spec (dual core processor, 4GB RAM) it only took about 4 hours and every program still worked fine and no data was lost. I then installed Classic Shell so the W10 menus look much like W7 did.

 

Cost £0, time 4 hours, stress almost zero.

16 hours ago, mac11irl said:

Yeah, i know been available for months/yrs but finally i need to swap the "home" laptop to win10 from win7.

But, i also want to go ssd. So... whats the best way, now all the kinks etc have surely been nicely ironed out..

 

Should i image the drive to an external, as win7, then swap to ssd and "recover win7" onto the ssd then upgrade to 10...

Or..

install 10 on drive, then image to an external and recover win10 onto the ssd...

Or just back up 7, stick in the ssd, clean install 10, and then do the jiggery pokery to get our stuff out of win7 backup...

 

Ive put it off due to the faff its likely to be....

 

 

If you're installing a new drive anyway, the best way would be to create a USB installer and then do a clean install on the brand new SSD, no?

Copy any personal files to a spare flash drive or something beforehand and you're good to go.

You have to be careful to make sure Windows activates properly. I'd be tempted to update the current drive to win 10 and make sure that you link the install to your MS account. Then remove that drive and install a fresh install (via USB) to the new SSD and link that when asked to your MS account.  

1 hour ago, io1901 said:

You have to be careful to make sure Windows activates properly. I'd be tempted to update the current drive to win 10 and make sure that you link the install to your MS account. Then remove that drive and install a fresh install (via USB) to the new SSD and link that when asked to your MS account.  

 

Can I move a Win10 licence from one PC to another this way or does it only work for upgrades "in place"?

 

I just wish I understood what you all are talking about doing.

I have just purchased (Purchasing new laptop thread) new Hp laptop and what a headache just starting to get it set up......for some reason Hp service has forced a Bios update (whatever that is), before anything even really got going.

I am starting to wish I had purchased the Asus instead but suspect would still not have found it any easier.

 

I have read, and was considering updating my (this) Win 7 laptop to Win 10, as it seems it may still be possible to upgrade for free.........but think i would not find it easy so I may leave this as Win 7 at least for now and just make sure I do any banking on my new machine......if that makes sense?

21 hours ago, mac11irl said:

Yeah, i know been available for months/yrs but finally i need to swap the "home" laptop to win10 from win7.

But, i also want to go ssd. So... whats the best way, now all the kinks etc have surely been nicely ironed out..

 

Should i image the drive to an external, as win7, then swap to ssd and "recover win7" onto the ssd then upgrade to 10...

Or..

install 10 on drive, then image to an external and recover win10 onto the ssd...

Or just back up 7, stick in the ssd, clean install 10, and then do the jiggery pokery to get our stuff out of win7 backup...

 

Ive put it off due to the faff its likely to be....

 

With regard to the SSD have a look at the Crucial site, they scan your machine, make a recommendation. If you buy their SSD you then get full instructions how to do the job. Done 2 PCs with no hassle.. I would do the 10 upgrade first.

5 hours ago, Ttaskmaster said:

 

If you're installing a new drive anyway, the best way would be to create a USB installer and then do a clean install on the brand new SSD, no?

Copy any personal files to a spare flash drive or something beforehand and you're good to go.

 

This is the best way. You should be able to pick up a Win10 license online somewhere pretty cheaply (like £10 cheap) if the free option doesn't work. MS isn't fussy about enforcing OEM licenses.

 

I've upgraded Win7 > Win10 a few times. I've about a 50% success rate.

 

Clean upgrade is by far the easiest way to go in the long run.

13 minutes ago, Tilt said:

Bios

Basic Input-Output System. For more details see Wikipedia...

/\ BIOS is the initial fre screens of "random " coding etc you see when starting up a computer. 

It controls the coding for the processor, memory, drives connected, modem all that jazz.

You can use it for "overclocking" amhing other things, and asking the computer to look on a cd or external drive for a operating system before defaulting to the hard drive and windows.

Can be handy...

Having just done this my suggestion would be - 

 

1. Purchase an SSD of at least 480 Gbyte - you'll find good ones on Amazon from Kingston, Western Digital, Crucial or PNY for less than £50.

2. Purchase a 3.5 inch adaptor so you can fit the smaller SSD in a standard drive slot - again Amazon for less than £5

3. Install all Windows 7 updates, and check the system is running as good as possible

4. Download Macrium Reflect Home edition (free) and install this under Windows 7 - you don't need to register it  https://www.macrium.com/reflectfree

5. Connect the SSD to your PC - either internally using a spare SATA connection, or externally via a USB adaptor

6. Clone the Windows 7 drive to the SSD

 

7. Remove the original hard drive and install the SSD

8. Start up as normal and everything should be as before - but faster.

9. Now uninstall any antivirus software from the SSD version of Windows 7 (Windows 10 has it's own so you won't need it). Also remove any apps or user profiles you don't need to make the upgrade simpler. 

 

Now you have a working copy of the Windows 7 installation on the original hard drive that you can always revert to if there are any problems.

 

10. With the system working from the SSD visit the Microsoft site  https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/software-download/windows10 and download the installation media tool

11. Run the tool

12. Try doing an upgrade with all you apps and user data in place - it will take a while

13. If that all works then you're ready to go.

14. Check activation -  open  Settings -> Update & Security -> Activation  if all is well it will say "Windows is activated with a digital license"

 

Possible Problems - 

 

Cloning the disk to SSD can be a little more complex if the disk sizes are different. It can still be done but you'll need to find out how to to do on the Macrium forums (it involves change the "Properties" of the partitions on the SSD).

 

If Windows isn't activated automatically then you can sometimes activate using the Windows 7 license key from the label on the PC case.

 

If it won't install then you can try creating an installation DVD at step 10 and installing from that.

 

If the Windows 7 installation is messed up in some way then it might have issues. A fresh installation from an installation DVD should work but check the activation.

 

 

And you can always go back to the Windows 7 hard disk if you need some time to figure stuff out.

Edited 20 January, 20206 yr by BOD20
add an important step

1 hour ago, Tilt said:

I just wish I understood what you all are talking about doing.

I have just purchased (Purchasing new laptop thread) new Hp laptop and what a headache just starting to get it set up......for some reason Hp service has forced a Bios update (whatever that is), before anything even really got going.

I am starting to wish I had purchased the Asus instead but suspect would still not have found it any easier.

 

I have read, and was considering updating my (this) Win 7 laptop to Win 10, as it seems it may still be possible to upgrade for free.........but think i would not find it easy so I may leave this as Win 7 at least for now and just make sure I do any banking on my new machine......if that makes sense?

Read this article for a simple explanation of how to still get a free in-place upgrade to W10 from W7 (or W8 or W8.1).

 

I followed this last week on SMWBOs PC and it worked like clockwork, no hassle at all.

@PetrolDave I read  that earlier today bud, believe it or not...amongst other articles.

 

My main problem would be that without having another computer talking me through the swap, I fear I wouldn't have a Scooby Doo.

 

Thanks though to everyone for their input both here and in my post........

 

 

21 hours ago, Tilt said:

My main problem would be that without having another computer talking me through the swap, I fear I wouldn't have a Scooby Doo.

Just do what I did, print the article and read it the old fashioned way!

Do a clean install every time.  Make a boot  Win 10 usb stick and do a fresh installation do not upgrade.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

Use your old WIN 7 COA license to make your copy MS legal it still works OK

On 20/01/2020 at 16:19, Tilt said:

I just wish I understood what you all are talking about doing.

I have just purchased (Purchasing new laptop thread) new Hp laptop and what a headache just starting to get it set up......for some reason Hp service has forced a Bios update (whatever that is), before anything even really got going.

I am starting to wish I had purchased the Asus instead but suspect would still not have found it any easier.

 

I have read, and was considering updating my (this) Win 7 laptop to Win 10, as it seems it may still be possible to upgrade for free.........but think i would not find it easy so I may leave this as Win 7 at least for now and just make sure I do any banking on my new machine......if that makes sense?

Just did a Win 7-10 free upgrade. Easiest upgrade ever to Install and works great. Just Google it for links, did the official Microsoft free upgrade 3 weeks ago even though it was supposed to have been withdrawn ages back.

Working on the presumption that ALL computer mags are honeytraps , I have a decent browse before I buy. So when I spotted PC PRO mentioning that MS still offer the W7-10 FREE upgrade, I spent some time checking the article out. And in same edition, there's information on W7 SECURITY. I don't use W7 any more as I've found version 1903 is as user friendly as W7.

But last time I did an install ,which means I have to install W7 on a blank partition and then upgrade to W10. After installing W7, I have to authenticate windows. But first I install Avast, which sends me off to windows security to download security patches. With Avast running, I feel safe to let any W7-10 install look for upgrade downloads.

I also run W XP, ( installed first and also authenticated ) ,and Avast still points me to Wxp security patches. ( OK- I could ditch XP, but I've still got some hardware which only runs under XP. )

Banking and other money stuff -i only do on my Android phone tablet with a bank /credit card company provided app.

As for installs today- if you have got a self boot disc then all is easy- sit back and let the PC  help you. Gone are the days ( even with XP- I used to use a W98 disc), that you had to have a boot disc ( either on floppy or CD) that let you multi partition a hard drive / make one partition and format it as a self booting partition etc. Then you might have to install CD software to run a CD/dvd PLAYER TO INSTALL FROM cd/DVD.

True- XP does need a formatted partition to download the instal material, but not the later versions. So all that is needed is a small ( i use 10GB) partition which takes little time to format. Then XP install. I do use the admin tolls on the XP install to set a new partition on the rest of the hard drive, but this can be done on W7 install using tools on the install. ( i only do this to set and name the partition as my W7 one, so as not to delete/overwrite the wrong partition).

On 19/01/2020 at 21:22, mac11irl said:

Leave it as is, its probably safer now than most units

 

up to about 5 yrs ago in work i know there were a few desktops around still running NT until they finally got upgraded...

Bit of a revival ,but for external CPU run stuff,  some firms insisted that all data backups were done to W95 laptops   .Thinking was that nobody would get on line and hence no virus on   thir external kit. Well that was the reason NR gave me on an axle counting course months before they pulled the plug on us. No need for fancy fast laptops as the interface was slow. Mac wll appreciate the chaos if someone managed to sneak a virus into train operating systems .

all our tampers run win95 for the ALC programming. due to age mostly

40 minutes ago, mac11irl said:

all our tampers run win95 for the ALC programming. due to age mostly

 

SWR class 444/450 use Windows for workgroups 3.1.

On 08/03/2020 at 19:37, mac11irl said:

all our tampers run win95 for the ALC programming. due to age mostly

Is that the tampers with kennels in ( for the guide dogs of the operators) , or those with racks for the operators white sticks?  🤪

Current PC is about 13 years old bought with just Ubuntu on it for under £200. 2 days later put a free download of XP on, years later a free download of Win 7, just done the free official upgrade to 10 and it all works.

 

Moral: Don't pay for Windows 10.