Win 7 to Win 10 upgrade questions

[danhulud]

So I'm considering upgrading my copy of win 7 to win 10; before I do should I delete drivers and programs?

 

Also, and more importantly, once I've upgraded do a get a serial key or some like? Once upgraded I'd consider doing a clean install, with Win OS in the past you've needed a serial key to fully activate it; I assume win 10 is the same?

[aajjeee]

you dont have to delete anything, everything will run fine, as for the serial key, you shouldnt need any new serial.

[danhulud]

Just now, aajjeee said:

you dont have to delete anything, everything will run fine, as for the serial key, you shouldnt need any new serial.

Cool thanks, so what happens if I ever need to do a clean install/change mobo? No need for a serial?

[aajjeee]

if you change the motherboard i cant guaranty it will work, windows will probably see it as a new computer and you might have to buy a key 

[paddy-stone]

With windows 10 there shouldn't be a need to run a fresh install... you can do a "refresh" where it will basically delete everything apart from the windows OS, so then you just need to add the drivers that windows doesn't have and you're set.

 

If you have a new mobo, then you'd need a new serial as the key is basically fixed to that mobo now.

[aajjeee]

well if you email windows support they might just activate it for you, but this isnt certain

[danhulud]

Thanks for the answers / input @aajjeee and @paddy-stone

 

Marking as solved. Mods you may lock if you like.

[GoodBytes]

No.

1- Just make sure you have the latest drivers software for all your hardware (if they are old, some of them in some popular hardware were known to cause issues during the upgrade process due to issues in not following Microsoft documentation properly).

 

2- Uninstall any security software you have, including Microsoft security essential (MSE) if you have it, and restart your computer after removing everything, before starting the upgrade process. MSE is not needed as it is built-in Windows 10 already. As for other security software, they might cause conflict.

 

3- If you previously had a virus or malware in your system, even though it is remove, it could have modified system files. Your A/V doesn't fixed system files, it just removes viruses. This might cause issues during the upgrade process, so you are looking more at a clean install. Just a heads up.

 

4- Backup your stuff before starting any OS upgrade. This is just for precaution, in the case you have some bad luck, and your drive decides that it would be an excellent time to fail on you, as it would be under intense load for the upgrade. So don't take chances, backup your stuff before starting the process.

 

5- If your system is UEFI ready, and you want Windows 10 to use your UEFI, you are looking at doing possibly a  clean install of Windows 10 (depending on your configuration) instead of an upgrade. Most likely your UEFI is set to "legacy mode" (BIOS), for Windows 7. In such case, if you care, prepare a Windows 10 on USB flash drive or disk using Microsoft Windows 10 Media Creation Tool (select "for another computer" in the wizard), go to your UEFI settings, than refer to your motherboard manual to disable compatibility mode, so that you use UEFI mode (of course, be sure your computer is UEFI ready first), and boot to the disk or USB flash drive. If you have the boot option where you have twice your drive, one with "EFI" in the name, and the other without, pick the one with "EFI". Be sure to do all this now before install Windows 10, and not after... you can't change it after. You will need to do a FULL disk format as well in the setup, as Windows 10 will need to convert your entire drive from MBR to GPT. So be sure to backup ALL your stuff. It can't mix and match. So if you have multiple partitions, they all need to be formatted and deleted, and re-created. If you do this #5 step, during Windows 10 setup, it will ask you for Windows 10 product key, click on "I don't have one" or "Skip" on the screen, and Windows 10 will install as trial mode. IN Windows 10, go to Start > Settings > Update & Security > Activation, and there you can put your Windows 7 product key. It should activate fine. Keep in mind that this whole thing (point 5), is not a requirement, and will depends if your your hardware also is UEFI ready. This is only if you want Windows 10 to take advantages of UEFI for faster boot time, and increase security of the system. This might be setup correctly since day 1, in which case you might not care. Check your UEFI configuration to see if it is setup correctly before starting this step, so that you don't waste your time doing something that is already done.

 

6- After Windows 10 is installed, check for updates (Start > Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update), once done, open up the Store app, and click on your profile picture (next to the search box), a menu will popup, click on "Downloads and Updates", click on "Check for updates", and install them. This process should be done automatically, unless you disable it. This will update all Windows built-in apps, and any of your installed apps. I strongly suggest to keep these apps updated for the best Windows 10 experience.

 

7- Once all done, Check Device Manager (Right-click on the Start button, and select Device Manager), make sure that all your hardware is detected, if not, install its drivers. If they are no Windows 10 drivers, use Windows 8 drivers or Windows 7 drivers. If the setup of the drivers complains about Windows version, simply right-click on the setup executable, select Properties, go under the Compatibility tab, and run it as Windows 8 compatibility mode (or Windows 7 if the drivers are from Windows 7). Feel free to update your other drivers if you think Windows didn't get the latest and greatest drivers or you face issues.

 

And that is all

 

[SilicateWielder]

1 hour ago, danhulud said:

So I'm considering upgrading my copy of win 7 to win 10; before I do should I delete drivers and programs?

 

Also, and more importantly, once I've upgraded do a get a serial key or some like? Once upgraded I'd consider doing a clean install, with Win OS in the past you've needed a serial key to fully activate it; I assume win 10 is the same?

From my understanding your hardware will be registered with Microsoft's servers upon upgrading. This was the case with my sister's laptop.