So I'll be upgrading to Windows 10 after all

[the_randomizer]

But, before I go into that, I wish to explain the reasoning behind it. It all began from seeing a post on Facebook, my older brother is getting a new PC that he's building, and I casually commented "I wish I could get an upgrade lol" Well, to my surprise he commented back saying he was going to give me his Broadwell (or was it Haswell, I forgot), either way, the CPU is from 2015, whereas my current CPU is from 2012, and also his motherboard, DDR4 SDRAM RAM, etc. I was taken aback, because I didn't even have to ask Anyways, getting to the point of my query, so obviously, there's no way I can keep Windows 7, what with the impending upgrade and all, naturally I need to move to Windows 10. There are a few concerns about this, things that worry me tremendously.

1 - The apps I have installed will have to be reinstalled, taking up even more HDD space, which I don't have a terribly large amount of.

2 - Apps like Source Filmmaker having to be reinstalled alongside the Source SDK for functionality, will I be able to still point the program to the usermod directory where all my maps, models, etc are despite being on Win 10?

3 - The games themselves, they're installed on both 1st and 2nd HDDs, but will I have to reinstall them, taking up more space?

4 - If all else fails, it is possible to "keep" Windows 7, reactivate it somehow with the new CPU/mobo, and install the drivers, etc to get it working condition?


The biggest thing I'm not looking forward to is having to resintall apps, logging back into the various websites, Steam, Skype, etc. Surely, there's a way I can upgrade without breaking every single thing in Windows, right? I know when there was the free upgrade from 7 to 10, you can keep all your stuff, but I missed that boat. Failing that, is there anything I can do at all? I don't want to stress myself over going from 7 to 10, and yes, while I did back up a huge majority of my data on my external 2 TB HDD, I still have reservations. If I can keep 7 somehow, I'd like to, even if I have to reactivate it somehow. Thanks

 

[Lacius]

You can still do a free upgrade if you know what you're doing.

 

[EthanAddict]

NO DON'T UPDATE, ITS A SCAM

 

[the_randomizer]

You can still do a free upgrade if you know what you're doing.

Right, I've followed tutorials, but I'm more concerned on what I'll actually be able to retain program/app wise, like games, Source Filmmaker, etc. I don't want to take up more space as it is with having to reinstall them. Is there no way to retain installed apps if they're on the HDD that Win 10 isn't on?

NO DON'T UPDATE, ITS A SCAM

What am I supposed to do then? Windows freaks out when there's a new CPU, forcing me to reactivate. Pretty sure there's no easy way to reactivate Windows 7 anymore, despite having a legit key. And no, I'm not turning down my brother's offer for better hardware, so yeah.

 

[Lacius]

Right, I've followed tutorials, but I'm more concerned on what I'll actually be able to retain program/app wise, like games, Source Filmmaker, etc. I don't want to take up more space as it is with having to reinstall them.

Assuming everything's compatible and you don't run into any glitches, there's no reason to reinstall anything. The upgrade should keep everything.

 

[the_randomizer]

Assuming everything's compatible and you don't run into any glitches, there's no reason to reinstall anything. The upgrade should keep everything.

I see, even if I install 10 on another HDD partition? I did see a certain guide that I can't mention here on how to upgrade without having to well, but I still didn't see an option to retain all apps, etc, especially if I choose to tell Windows where to install. If I let it do its thing, it would take over my Win 7 HDD, which I don't want.

What I want - To install to a second HDD, retaining all Win 7 installed apps.
What I don't want - To have to format and/or reinstall everything

 

[Lacius]

If you install to a second HDD, then you're not doing an upgrade install.

What you could do is clone your HDD to the second one. After that, you can do an upgrade install on the second HDD, using the gatherosstate.exe method to get a free Windows 10 license during the upgrade.

 

[DeoNaught]

it will make a backup of windows 7 before it installs windows 10, i believe

 

[the_randomizer]

If you install to a second HDD, then you're not doing an upgrade install.

What you could do is clone your HDD to the second one. After that, you can do an upgrade install on the second HDD, using the gatherosstate.exe method to get a free Windows 10 license during the upgrade.

Damn, I was afraid of that, so I do indeed have to overtake my Win 7 installation and have the Windows 10 upgrade overwrite that, in order to retain all installed apps. Ugh. Cloning would take far too long, 1 TB to 1 TB would take hours.

Is there no way at all to keep Windows 7 as a fail safe? Even if I have to reactivate?

it will make a backup of windows 7 before it installs windows 10, i believe

Even if I'm past the "free upgrade" period? Because I was too pusillanimous to upgrade, so I didn't when I had the chance ><

 

[Kioku]

Assuming everything's compatible and you don't run into any glitches, there's no reason to reinstall anything. The upgrade should keep everything.

Upgrading to a major OS revision should mean a clean install. Upgrading from 7 to 8.1 caused problems. Going from 8.1 to 10 caused compatibility issues.

It's just best to do it clean.

 

[DeoNaught]

Damn, I was afraid of that, so I do indeed have to overtake my Win 7 installation and have the Windows 10 upgrade overwrite that, in order to retain all installed apps. Ugh.

Is there no way at all to keep Windows 7 as a fail safe?



Even if I'm past the "free upgrade" period? Because I was too pusillanimous to upgrade, so I didn't when I had the chance ><

try to make a system back up, before you upgrade. i will look into it more

 

[the_randomizer]

Upgrading to a major OS revision should mean a clean install. Upgrading from 7 to 8.1 caused problems. Going from 8.1 to 10 caused compatibility issues.

It's just best to do it clean.

Dammit, so I'm screwed then, just great, the news I wanted to hear. Good bye all installed apps, hello taking up unnecessary HDD space.

Why can't I just keep Windows 7 and simply reactivate it and install new drivers?

 

[DeoNaught]

Dammit, so I'm screwed then, just great, the news I wanted to hear. Good bye all installed apps, hello taking up unnecessary HDD space.

https://www.howtogeek.com/223139/how-to-create-an-image-of-your-pc-before-upgrading-to-windows-10/

something like this

 

[the_randomizer]

https://www.howtogeek.com/223139/how-to-create-an-image-of-your-pc-before-upgrading-to-windows-10/

something like this

I have a 1 TB HDD, that's going to take an eternity over USB 3. Besides, that doesn't retain installations either AFAIK.

 

[PrincessLillie]

NO DON'T UPDATE, ITS A SCAM

IT ISN'T A SCAM. WHY ARE WE TYPING IN CAPS?
Windows 10 is great, having used it for a few months. Your apps and games won't need to be reinstalled unless you're getting an entirely new PC. You can roll back to Windows 7 at any time within the first month in the Settings. About Source Filmmaker, IDK.

 

[DeoNaught]

get

I have a 1 TB HDD, that's going to take an eternity over USB 3.

some more cables? you can make a windows 7 backup disk, but i dont think it will save any programs

 

[EthanAddict]

IT ISN'T A SCAM. WHY ARE WE TYPING IN CAPS?
Windows 10 is great, having used it for a few months. Your apps and games won't need to be reinstalled unless you're getting an entirely new PC. You can roll back to Windows 7 at any time in the Settings. About Source Filmmaker, IDK.

No you can't after a month...
Also, http://itvision.altervista.org/why-windows-10-sucks.html

 

[the_randomizer]

get

some more cables? you can make a windows 7 backup disk, but i dont think it will save any programs

More cables? What? I have an external 2 TB USB HDD and the PC has two 1 TB HDDs (one with Windows 7, the other with backed up data, sporadically). Is there absolutely no way I can keep Windows 7 instead of going through this? Wouldn't a clone be better than
an image?

No you can't after a month...
Also, http://itvision.altervista.org/why-windows-10-sucks.html

I'm not here to debate with others on why Windows 10 etc etc, I'm here for advice.

 

[Kioku]

Dammit, so I'm screwed then, just great, the news I wanted to hear. Good bye all installed apps, hello taking up unnecessary HDD space.

Why can't I just keep Windows 7 and simply reactivate it and install new drivers?

Incompatibilities. It's actually a lot more in depth than I have time to explain. I mean, YOU CAN. Just never recommended due to possible long term issues.

Edit... I am so sick of autocorrect...

 

[PrincessLillie]

No you can't after a month...
Also, http://itvision.altervista.org/why-windows-10-sucks.html

Thanks. I'll correct my post.