Upgrade to Windows 10 now.
Upgrade to Windows 10 now.
Hey there! I understand you're feeling a bit pressed for time. Upgrading from Windows 7 to Windows 10 through the Accessibility Site is a smart move—especially since your PCs won’t get support anymore. I know these topics should have been on your radar earlier, but life gets busy, especially when you’re juggling college and family responsibilities. Your parents’ systems are still running smoothly, so you’ll want to make sure the transition is smooth.
You mentioned two main concerns:
1) Your setup uses a standard SDD + HDD setup—OS on the SDD and important apps on the HDD. Would changing this affect your upgrade?
2) Many of your programs were installed with Windows 7, but you’re now using Windows 10. What compatibility issues might arise?
It’s great that you’re thinking ahead. Microsoft’s free upgrade option is a good sign, but it’s wise to double-check how the new OS interacts with older software. Let me know if you’d like help planning the steps or troubleshooting potential problems!
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.
They actually pushed it forward to January 16th, and the page remains accessible.
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!
You’ll likely need to move from MBR to GPT for your SSDs. MBR is outdated while GPT represents the current standard. If any software you installed was tailored for Windows 7, you might encounter problems. Those who switch from Windows 7 to Windows 10 should first upgrade and then perform a clean install of Windows 10. Be sure to back up your data, record which programs you wish to add, etc. Windows 10 will handle most drivers during the reinstall. For Nvidia GPUs, GeForce Experience is recommended; otherwise it should work fine. If you don’t have a Microsoft account yet, you’ll need to create one. When installing Windows 10, your license ties to your Microsoft Account via a Digital Entitlement, so you won’t need a product key again (hopefully). Each user upgrading should have a Microsoft account ready. Once the clean install is complete, update your system promptly because by default it won’t be running the latest patches. This should take only a short time since Windows 10 uses cumulative updates. Remove unnecessary components from fresh installs, but keep essential system applications. If you rely on apps from the Windows Store, using them can be beneficial as they don’t slow down your system or impact performance as much as installing software from scratch. It’s tempting to turn off updates, but it’s better to stay enabled and set “Active Hours” so updates don’t occur when you need access to your PC.
You’re welcome on the detailed advice. I’m still relieved you’re aware of these steps. I plan to switch from MBR to GPT and use the upgrade utility to move to Windows 10. I’ll stick with a clean install since I recall how much time it took to set up Windows 7 on older systems. Some thoughts: 1) Should I wait until around May before doing a clean install, assuming I’ll get the necessary license? 2) Does changing from MBR to GPT affect the contents of my SSDs? Thanks again! *For clarification, I’m choosing the clean install not out of laziness but because I rushed home and left my drive at school, making a backup uncertain.*
Edited January 11, 2018 by Jennifer
Thank you for your detailed feedback. I understand your concerns about the steps ahead. I plan to switch from MBR to GPT on my SSDs and use the upgrade tool to install Windows 10. I’m considering a clean installation because I recall how much time it took to adjust everything when moving from Windows 7 to older systems. Regarding your questions: 1) Upgrading and then doing a clean install around May makes sense if you’ll have access to a license for that process. 2) Changing from MBR to GPT won’t affect the data stored on your SSDs—it only changes how the operating system handles file systems. Let me know if you need more details!
The primary goal of a clean installation is to resolve any problems that occur after a direct upgrade. If you're facing many issues post-upgrade, consider performing a clean install beforehand. On the other hand, if everything runs smoothly, you can delay it until May, which will also allow you to receive the next Windows 10 release. I should have mentioned this sooner. Windows 10 offers two update types: Quality Updates and Feature Updates. Feature Updates are released roughly twice a year and include bug fixes and security patches. They arrive monthly, so missing one won't be a big issue—just installing the latest will cover everything. To stay supported, simply install updates as they come. If you run into problems with updates, you can use Feedback Hub, a Windows 10 app for reporting issues. I don’t think it’s necessary to wait until then unless you decide to clean install.
I doubt you can perform an online conversion of MBR to GPT with the Windows disk tool (I've attempted this before), so I had to use third-party programs. I don't need to worry about changing from MBR to GPT, as GPT is only required for drives or arrays exceeding 2TB.