Windows 10 Upgrade

[Jennifer]

Hi everyone! So I know I'm verrrrry late, but I'm looking to upgrade my rigs from Windows 7 to Windows 10 (through the Accessibility Site) now before I have to pay to do that and Microsoft no longer supports Windows 7. I know these are questions I should have asked long ago, but it's because I'm currently in college and cannot physically reach my PCs for the most part, and I didn't want to rapidly update my parents' rigs just after I got them used to Windows 7; I only convinced them to abandon XP a few years ago, and they think new a new OS always entails a new learning curve, which I understand considering their age.

 

Anyways, there are a couple things I'm concerned about.

1) My system and my mom's both use the classic SDD + HDD combination where the OS and important programs live on the SDD while files and generally unimportant programs live on the HDD. Would updating require me to reconfigure these settings?

2) Most of my programs have been updated since Windows 10 rolled out, but obviously I installed the Windows 7 packages. What kind of program-level compatability issues should I anticipate?

 

I know these are really simple questions, but I'm a bit out of touch with everything and seeing how Microsoft's free upgrade offer is ending within a matter of days (and I just got back home last night, leaving in three days) I don't want to take any chances.

Thank you!

[TheGlenlivet]

6 minutes ago, Jennifer said:

Hi everyone! So i know I'm verrrrry late, but I'm looking to upgrade my rigs from Windows 7 to Windows 10 (through the Accessibility Site) now before I have to pay to do that and Microsoft no longer supports Windows 7. I know these are questions I should have asked long ago, but it's because I'm currently in college and cannot physically reach my PCs for the most part, and I didn't want to rapidly update my parents' rigs just after I got them used to Windows 7; I only convinced them to abandon XP a few years ago, and they think new a new OS always entails a new learning curve, which I understand considering their age.

 

Anyways, there are a couple things I'm concerned about.

1) My system and my mom's both use the classic SDD + HDD combination where the OS and important programs live on the SDD while files and generally unimportant programs live on the HDD. Would updating require me to reconfigure these settings?

2) Most of my programs have been updated since Windows 10 rolled out, but obviously I installed the Windows 7 packages. What kind of program-level compatability issues should I anticipate?

 

I know these are really simple questions, but I'm a bit out of touch with everything and seeing how Microsoft's free upgrade offer is ending within a matter of days (and I just got back home last night, leaving in three days) I don't want to take any chances.

Thank you!

1.  No you should be good.  This ties into the second question but by and large everything will just work.

2.  Like above, sometimes windows is windows.  In the systems I have upgraded from 7-10 or 8.1-10 things have gone very smoothly.

[Snipergod87]

The Accessibility upgrade expired December 31st 2017

[Jennifer]

3 minutes ago, Snipergod87 said:

The Accessibility upgrade expired December 31st 2017

They actually extended it until January 16th if I'm not wrong, and the page is still open. 

[Jennifer]

5 minutes ago, TheGlenlivet said:

1.  No you should be good.  This ties into the second question but by and large everything will just work.

2.  Like above, sometimes windows is windows.  In the systems I have upgraded from 7-10 or 8.1-10 things have gone very smoothly.

Thank you very much! I know I seem a bit paranoid, but I just have a few days to make sure everything is up and running smoothly. Your response is really appreciated!

[AlTech]

21 minutes ago, Jennifer said:

Hi everyone! So i know I'm verrrrry late, but I'm looking to upgrade my rigs from Windows 7 to Windows 10 (through the Accessibility Site) now before I have to pay to do that and Microsoft no longer supports Windows 7. I know these are questions I should have asked long ago, but it's because I'm currently in college and cannot physically reach my PCs for the most part, and I didn't want to rapidly update my parents' rigs just after I got them used to Windows 7; I only convinced them to abandon XP a few years ago, and they think new a new OS always entails a new learning curve, which I understand considering their age.

 

Anyways, there are a couple things I'm concerned about.

1) My system and my mom's both use the classic SDD + HDD combination where the OS and important programs live on the SDD while files and generally unimportant programs live on the HDD. Would updating require me to reconfigure these settings?

You'll probably want to switch from MBR to GPT for your SSDs. MBR is really antiquated and GPT is the "new" standard.

21 minutes ago, Jennifer said:

2) Most of my programs have been updated since Windows 10 rolled out, but obviously I installed the Windows 7 packages. What kind of program-level compatability issues should I anticipate?

If any programs you installed were specifically for Windows 7 then you may have issues.

 

Most people who upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 10 should first upgrade and then clean install Windows 10.

 

Of course, back up your files, take notes of what programs you want to install afterwards etc.

 

Windows 10 will take care of most drivers when you re-install. If you have an Nvidia GPU then you'll probably want GeForce Experience.

 

Otherwise you should be fine.

 

If you don't have a Microsoft Account now, you'll want to make one. When you install Windows 10, your license is linked to your Microsoft Account by a Digital Entitlement and thus you'll never need a Windows product key ever again (hopefully).

 

Each person you plan on upgrading will want a Microsoft Account.

21 minutes ago, Jennifer said:

I know these are really simple questions, but I'm a bit out of touch with everything and seeing how Microsoft's free upgrade offer is ending within a matter of days (and I just got back home last night, leaving in three days) I don't want to take any chances.

Make sure that as soon as you finish the clean install that you update Windows because by default after you upgrade, your Windows won't be on the latest patch. That shouldn't take too long since Windows 10 uses Cumulative Updates.

 

You'll want to remove the junk that comes with Windows 10 fresh installs. Don't get rid of system apps. And make sure.

 

If you currently use apps which have a Windows Store version then it may be worthwhile using that since doesn't slow down your system or affect your system nearly as much as downloading and installing regular apps.

 

As tempting as it may be to disable updates, you should keep them enabled but enable "Active Hours" so that it doesn't install updates when you need to use your PC.

[Jennifer]

Thank you for the comprehensive response. As much as I hate hearing about all the precautions I have to take, I am still glad that I've heard them. I think what I'm going to do now is convert my SSDs from MBR to GPT as you have stated and use the upgrade tool to upgrade to Windows 10. I think I'm going to hold on the clean install because I remember how long I had to fiddle with everything when I clean installed Windows 7 onto older computers. Some questions then:

1) Is it a good idea to upgrade and then hold on the clean install until ~May (I'm assuming I will have a corresponding license for a clean install with the upgrade)

2) Will converting from MBR to GPT change any of the data on my SSDs?

Thanks again!

 

*For clarification, I'm holding on the clean install not because I'm lazy, but because I came home in haste and left my portable hard drive at school so I have no means of confidently backing up all my data.

Edited January 11, 2018 by Jennifer

[Jennifer]

22 minutes ago, AluminiumTech said:

You'll probably want to switch from MBR to GPT for your SSDs. MBR is really antiquated and GPT is the "new" standard.

If any programs you installed were specifically for Windows 7 then you may have issues.

 

Most people who upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 10 should first upgrade and then clean install Windows 10.

 

Of course, back up your files, take notes of what programs you want to install afterwards etc.

 

Windows 10 will take care of most drivers when you re-install. If you have an Nvidia GPU then you'll probably want GeForce Experience.

 

Otherwise you should be fine.

 

If you don't have a Microsoft Account now, you'll want to make one. When you install Windows 10, your license is linked to your Microsoft Account by a Digital Entitlement and thus you'll never need a Windows product key ever again (hopefully).

 

Each person you plan on upgrading will want a Microsoft Account.

Make sure that as soon as you finish the clean install that you update Windows because by default after you upgrade, your Windows won't be on the latest patch. That shouldn't take too long since Windows 10 uses Cumulative Updates.

 

You'll want to remove the junk that comes with Windows 10 fresh installs. Don't get rid of system apps. And make sure.

 

If you currently use apps which have a Windows Store version then it may be worthwhile using that since doesn't slow down your system or affect your system nearly as much as downloading and installing regular apps.

 

As tempting as it may be to disable updates, you should keep them enabled but enable "Active Hours" so that it doesn't install updates when you need to use your PC.

Thank you for the comprehensive response. As much as I hate hearing about all the precautions I have to take, I am still glad that I've heard them. I think what I'm going to do now is convert my SSDs from MBR to GPT as you have stated and use the upgrade tool to upgrade to Windows 10. I think I'm going to hold on the clean install because I remember how long I had to fiddle with everything when I clean installed Windows 7 onto older computers. Some questions then:

1) Is it a good idea to upgrade and then hold on the clean install until ~May (I'm assuming I will have a corresponding license for a clean install with the upgrade)

2) Will converting from MBR to GPT change any of the data on my SSDs?

Thanks again!

 

*For clarification, I'm holding on the clean install not because I'm lazy, but because I came home in haste and left my portable hard drive at school so I have no means of confidently backing up all my data.

[AlTech]

Just now, Jennifer said:

Thank you for the comprehensive response. As much as I hate hearing about all the precautions I have to take, I am still glad that I've heard them. I think what I'm going to do now is convert my SSDs from MBR to GPT as you have stated and use the upgrade tool to upgrade to Windows 10. I think I'm going to hold on the clean install because I remember how long I had to fiddle with everything when I clean installed Windows 7 onto older computers. Some questions then:

1) Is it a good idea to upgrade and then hold on the clean install until ~May (I'm assuming I will have a corresponding license for a clean install with the upgrade)

 

the main reason for doing a clean install is to iron out any issues that arise out of doing a straight upgrade.

 

So if you find yourself experiencing a lot of issues from the upgrade then you may want o clean install before. Alternatively if you aren't experiencing any issues from the upgrade, you can hold it off until May.

 

By which point btw, you'd receive the next upcoming Windows 10 Version.

 

I should have pointed out this earlier. Windows 10 has 2 types of updates, "Quality Updates" and "Feature Updates". Feature Updates come out usually twice per year. There's nothing you need to do except install it whenever your machine gets the update The older a machine is (probably determined by CPU age), the later your system will get it.

 

"Quality Updates" are bug fix and security updates that come out once a month usually and are cumulative so if you miss a single update it's fine cos installing the latest will give you all the ones you need.

 

To remain supported on Windows 10, you just need to install updates as they're provided to you. If you encounter any issues with updates you can use Feedback Hub (A Windows 10 system app) to report them.

Just now, Jennifer said:

 

2) Will converting from MBR to GPT change any of the data on my SSDs?

 

I don't think so. You may want to hold off doing that until you clean install Windows 10 though.

[Snipergod87]

I don't think you can do an online conversion of MBR to GPT using the Windows disk utility (I have tried this in the past), and had to resort to 3rd party software.

I wouldn't worry about swapping from MBR to GPT, GPT is only ever fully needed to drives or arrays larger than 2TB.

[Jennifer]

21 minutes ago, AluminiumTech said:

the main reason for doing a clean install is to iron out any issues that arise out of doing a straight upgrade.

 

So if you find yourself experiencing a lot of issues from the upgrade then you may want o clean install before. Alternatively if you aren't experiencing any issues from the upgrade, you can hold it off until May.

 

By which point btw, you'd receive the next upcoming Windows 10 Version.

 

I should have pointed out this earlier. Windows 10 has 2 types of updates, "Quality Updates" and "Feature Updates". Feature Updates come out usually twice per year. There's nothing you need to do except install it whenever your machine gets the update The older a machine is (probably determined by CPU age), the later your system will get it.

 

"Quality Updates" are bug fix and security updates that come out once a month usually and are cumulative so if you miss a single update it's fine cos installing the latest will give you all the ones you need.

 

To remain supported on Windows 10, you just need to install updates as they're provided to you. If you encounter any issues with updates you can use Feedback Hub (A Windows 10 system app) to report them.

I don't think so. You may want to hold off doing that until you clean install Windows 10 though.

Will do, thank you again!

[Jennifer]

3 minutes ago, Snipergod87 said:

I don't think you can do an online conversion of MBR to GPT using the Windows disk utility (I have tried this in the past), and had to resort to 3rd party software.

I wouldn't worry about swapping from MBR to GPT, GPT is only ever fully needed to drives or arrays larger than 2TB.

That's good to hear. I'm just trying to make this as easy on myself (and my parents) as possible since I'll be gone for months. Thanks for letting me know!

[AlTech]

1 minute ago, Jennifer said:

Will do, thank you again!

and don't forget to subscribe mark as solved.

[AlTech]

Just now, Jennifer said:

That's good to hear. I'm just trying to make this as easy on myself (and my parents) as possible since I'll be gone for months. Thanks for letting me know!

You can convert SSDs from MBR to GPT just using the Windows Disk Management. No 3rd party software required.