Old IT guy needs advice on win 7 to 10 upgrade for laptop

[BonzaiDuck]

When it comes to keeping my systems running, I go forth very deliberately with patience and even a turtle's pace, just to avoid unnecessary drastic solutions.

I don't have the OEM install disc for my old laptop, but I have the product key (I think . . . I hope . . . ).

As many know, Windows 7 systems have had a lot of troubles with Windows Update since last fall. There are two KB patches that may fix these problems, and there's Fix-It and update troubleshooter. I've also cleared the Update cache.

On one desktop system that has this problem, I was able to fix it and it stayed fixed.

The laptop apparently has a dying wafer battery, which I hope is the standard 3032 wafer battery we use in our desktops -- I have a few still in shrink-wrap. But as long as I keep the system turned on and plugged in, I can save the replacement operation for later. This has made the computer's clock speed-up, which also becomes a problem for Windows Updates.

I finally decided that since I have enough Win 7 systems used in my serious work, I could afford to upgrade the laptop with the freebie 10 and the hardware check shows all green checkmarks for Win 10 success.

In the meantime, I tried two things: I turned Windows Update back on, and attempted to download the 10-upgrade through the little windows icon flag in the system tray. No cigar. It just keeps running like my Windows update "check for updates" keeps running.

Then I turned Windows Update off and tried the same thing. No dice.

I'm wondering if I can simply download the ISO creator on another system, and then use the DVD or USB thumb drive to install it on a laptop.

Will this work?

 

[Elixer]

Yes, you can get the win 10 ISO, and upgrade it that way as well.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Yes, you can get the win 10 ISO, and upgrade it that way as well.

It could almost be unnecessary for me to ask for confirmation, but just to clarify -- you're saying I can download the ISO on one machine with its own Win 7 license, make the DVD or USB, and then install it on the laptop such that there appears a choice to upgrade or clean-install?

If I can, I would upgrade. But I would also hope that the win-update problems I've had would disappear.

 

[vailr]

Onto which machine the ISO is downloaded makes no difference. It could be downloaded to an Ubuntu machine for example, if that were the only option. Obtain the official ISO file direct from Microsoft. After that, you'd then need a Windows machine to convert the ISO file to create the bootable USB thumb drive (or DVD) Windows 10 installation media. I recommend using the free software "Rufus" instead of the Microsoft tool, for that step in the process.

Note: for fixing Windows Update, there's a free program that includes a "module" designed for exactly that function:
http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/tweaking_com_windows_repair.html

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Onto which machine the ISO is downloaded makes no difference. It could be downloaded to an Ubuntu machine for example, if that were the only option. Obtain the official ISO file direct from Microsoft. After that, you'd then need a Windows machine to convert the ISO file to create the bootable USB thumb drive (or DVD) Windows 10 installation media. I recommend using the free software "Rufus" instead of the Microsoft tool, for that step in the process.

Note: for fixing Windows Update, there's a free program that includes a "module" designed for exactly that function:
http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/tweaking_com_windows_repair.html

That's exactly what I thought about the ISO, but given what I'd heard about Wijndows 10, I wanted to make sure. Otherwise, it would only stand to reason . .

Thanks for the link. I had followed through with the recommendations in this long "how-to" article:

https://www.winhelp.us/reinstall-windows-update.html

This had helped on my fastest desktop machine which had failed to download updates since last October, and there were parts of it which helped the laptop a month ago when I had to fix it the first time. But this time, no success. So I'll try that utility and X my fingers.

The laptop is a dual-core Centrino from around 2006. I think I'd much rather fix the updates problem, but if I can't, then either a complete reinstall of Win 7 (if I can find the product key) or an upgrade for Windows 10 are two paths I can follow.

 

[blackangst1]

Bonzai...you can also download and run MagicJellyBean to extract your product ID

 

[Elixer]

It could almost be unnecessary for me to ask for confirmation, but just to clarify -- you're saying I can download the ISO on one machine with its own Win 7 license, make the DVD or USB, and then install it on the laptop such that there appears a choice to upgrade or clean-install?

If I can, I would upgrade. But I would also hope that the win-update problems I've had would disappear.

Right, it will ask if you want to upgrade, if it detects another OS on it, then will ask you if you want to keep files, and all that good stuff.

For what it is worth, the 3 laptops I tried, it automatically found everything it needed, no need to input new keys or anything.

 

[kitfox]

Your in luck, I do this at work every day

- First thing to do is: BACKUP YOUR FILES!

- If it's an HP laptop, upgrade the BIOS before you install 10. Otherwise, there's a very good chance your pc won't be bootable afterwards

- Don't use the spam advert to upgrade. Download the media creation tool from microsoft's site: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=691209

- It's best to do a clean install (if that's an option) but you can also upgrade with the media creation tool. Incompatible apps will automatically be removed (since your coming from 7, there will probably be a few - mostly oem crap)
'
- You won't need to type/write down any product keys. Windows 10 will automatically grab them from your BIOS

 

[Underclocked]

An old Windows 7 machine probably is not bios coded wth the key. Best to have that key in hand for when needed. Produkey will display it easily.

 

[kitfox]

All 7 oem machines will have it stored in the bios. You'd have to go back to 98/xp to find ones that stored them in a config file. It doesn't hurt to write it down, but it's not necessary.

Also, be sure to run windows update right afterwards. Windows 10 is vastly superior at finding drivers for proprietary oem hardware. It makes the driver hunt so much quicker, especially if your doing a clean install.

 

[JackMDS]

All 7 oem machines will have it stored in the bios. You'd have to go back to 98/xp to find ones that stored them in a config file. It doesn't hurt to write it down, but it's not necessary.

This Might be partially ture for the last 3-4 Years. It absolutely Not true for Computer that are older than 4-5 years.

That said, it takes 30 Sec. to download this Free Portable App. Another 12 sec. to Run it and get the list of the Keys on Win7 computer. Add another 10 Sec, to save the list.

Wow, 52 sec. and Big Problem Gone. :thumbsup: - - -

http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/produkey.html

 

[Underclocked]

Bad information is worse that no information, kitfox.

 

[xgsound]

Here is a suggestion I find prudent:
Use a HDD caddy in place of the DVD and clone the existing drive to another HDD with your favorite program before you install Win10. You can recreate the original Win7, data, and programs at will then. This will mean you'll probably never need it.

Caddy: http://www.amazon.com/9-5mm-SATA-Dr...&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00

Aomei Partition free: http://www.disk-partition.com/download-home.html

Macrium Reflect free: http://www.macrium.com/reflectfree.aspx

Jim

 

[kitfox]

Bad information is worse that no information, kitfox.

Sorry, you two guys are the only ones spreading misinformation. I have upgraded close to a 1000 systems since Windows 10 since was released (and tons to Windows 8 before that). There are no 7 (OEM) systems that do not have the product key in the bios. This has been the industry standard since the mid 2000s. Windows 7 came out waaayy after that. Like I said, there's no harm in writing it down, but it's only a ritual. Its already permanently backed up.

 

[Underclocked]

You've been told.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Well, disagreements notwithstanding, I appreciate the replies that my post spawned.

Before going forward with this, I wanted everything working perfectly on the old laptop.

I had a spare, legitimate and unused Win 7 64 OS, so I cloned the old installation to a USB HDD and installed it, followed by the SP1 ISO download.

Something terrible seems to have happened with Windows Upgrade -- on my laptop, on a lot of machines for which I see recent forum posts everywhere. People at sites like "Winhelp" have written lengthy troubleshooting and repair articles for it.

I think I need to start a new thread on this, even though the best possibility would be to simply go forward with the Win 10 upgrade. But I've got a month to pursue this with another month before the freebie is no longer offered.

 

[nerp]

Even if there is no key coded in the BIOS, Windows 10 will generate a key based on your hardware profile including some unique identifiers in your BIOS and your motherboard. AS a result, it's essentially the same as an OEM key and Windows 10 will detect that unique profile and automatically activate on a machine WITHOUT a "windows key coded in the bios."

Done and done.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Even if there is no key coded in the BIOS, Windows 10 will generate a key based on your hardware profile including some unique identifiers in your BIOS and your motherboard. AS a result, it's essentially the same as an OEM key and Windows 10 will detect that unique profile and automatically activate on a machine WITHOUT a "windows key coded in the bios."

Done and done.

Good to know.

 

[Ketchup]

Sorry, you two guys are the only ones spreading misinformation. I have upgraded close to a 1000 systems since Windows 10 since was released (and tons to Windows 8 before that). There are no 7 (OEM) systems that do not have the product key in the bios. This has been the industry standard since the mid 2000s.

Please stop spreading misinformation. This practice wasn't started intil Windows 8.
http://www.cnet.com/news/windows-8-moves-to-bios-based-product-keys/

 

[BonzaiDuck]

This is what I'll do.

I believe I have finally resolved an ACPI Event ID 13 error, that had been running on this laptop since I acquired it in 2014.

I THINK it is related to storage/disk storage selections in the device tree. the Laptop can be provisioned with a docking station that powers more than one HDD. The controller for that is an IDE ATA controller defined as "multi-bay" device. The same controller is used for the ATAPI DVD-RW drive -- which we must have mustn't we? Of course.

I replaced all the Intel drivers with the MSAHCI MS version, and use the "Standard IDE ATA controller" driver. Then I "Disabled" the yellow-bang storage-controller node that appears. Turns out Device Mgr Help refers to it -- the choice to disable -- per laptops with docking stations.

I've got an $81 MX200 drive on the way, so I can do a clean install for Windows 10, using either the old USB clone of the earlier W7-64 license -- or the new license.

I'm going to set this up so I can access either of those disks with a USB drive and choice of boot-order or multi-boot to the init files for Whatever Windows version. Why wouldn't that work?