Upgrading from Win7 to Win10 without losing drivers?

[Deleted User]

is there a way to update the os without losing my drivers? i dont have anything intereting on it but if i lose the drivers, i would have to install them again.

 

[Hayato213]

Windows 10 should be able to pick up most of the drivers by it self.

 

[Lacius]

is there a way to update the os without losing my drivers? i dont have anything intereting on it but if i lose the drivers, i would have to install them again.

• An update installation will preserve all compatible drivers, updating the ones it can.
• A clean installation will remove all of the drivers before attempting to install what it can.

If there isn't a specific driver compatibility issue that you've been dealing with, you probably don't need to worry about preserving any drivers. On modern hardware, Windows 10 does a good job installing necessary drivers, and Windows Update does a good job updating them.

 

[Deleted User]

Windows 10 should be able to pick up most of the drivers by it self.

so if i upgrade, all of the drivers would be erased, but at the same time, they would be reinstalled?

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

• An update installation will preserve all compatible drivers, updating the ones it can.
• A clean installation will remove all of the drivers before attempting to install what it can.

If there isn't a specific driver compatibility issue that you've been dealing with, you probably don't need to worry about preserving any drivers. On modern hardware, Windows 10 does a good job installing necessary drivers, and Windows Update does a good job updating them.

so i can just pick up the https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10 installer and update without worrying?

 

[Hayato213]

so if i upgrade, all of the drivers would be erased, but at the same time, they would be reinstalled?

Most of the drivers should just work , it is pretty much plug and play on windows 10, as for your files and programs if you want to keep them you need to do the upgrade not clean install.

 

[Lacius]

so if i upgrade, all of the drivers would be erased, but at the same time, they would be reinstalled?

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------


so i can just pick up the https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10 installer and update without worrying?

If you do an update install, you probably won't run into any issues. If you do a clean install, you also probably won't run into any issues, but there's a small chance Windows 10 won't find a driver for one or more of your devices. Even if that happens, installing drivers is a piece of cake. If there's nothing else important on the computer (programs, files, etc.), do a clean install. If you have programs/files you don't want to worry about restoring, do an update install.

Off topic, but do you already know how you will be activating Windows 10 after the update?

 

[Deleted User]

If you do an update install, you probably won't run into any issues. If you do a clean install, you also probably won't run into any issues, but there's a small chance Windows 10 won't find a driver for one or more of your devices. Even if that happens, installing drivers is a piece of cake. If there's nothing else important on the computer (programs, files, etc.), do a clean install. If you have programs/files you don't want to worry about restoring, do an update install.

Off topic, but do you already know how you will be activating Windows 10 after the update?

activate it?

 

[GreatCrippler]

Drivers between Windows 7 and 10 are not generally the same, and things like video cards, and sound cards should be specifically removed, and reinstalled after the update. Beyond that, Windows 10 will cover most of them except on very old and/or unique hardware.

 

[Lacius]

activate it?

To be able to fully use Windows, it has to be activated. If you update from Windows 7 to Windows 10, you either need to a.) buy a license, or b.) use a certain method out there to get a legitimate license for free.

However, if Windows 10 is unlicensed, the only real restrictions are cosmetic. The operating system still largely works.

 

[Deleted User]

To be able to fully use Windows, it has to be activated. If you update from Windows 7 to Windows 10, you either need to a.) buy a license, or b.) use a certain method out there to get a legitimate license for free.

However, if Windows 10 is unlicensed, the only real restrictions are cosmetic. The operating system still largely works.

my windows 7 is genuine, so the license should be somewhere in my pc, right?

 

[JavaScribe]

my windows 7 is genuine, so the license should be somewhere in my pc, right?

Did Windows come with the device? (Is it OEM?)

 

[Lacius]

my windows 7 is genuine, so the license should be somewhere in my pc, right?

A Windows 7 license is not the same thing as a Windows 10 license. When Windows 10 first came out, you could get a free Windows 10 license by updating from Windows 7, but that's technically no longer the case. If you update now, your Windows 7 license is useless.

It is possible, however, to trick your Windows 10 into thinking you did the upgrade back then.

 

[Deleted User]

Did Windows come with the device? (Is it OEM?)

yes, it was pre installed

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

A Windows 7 license is not the same thing as a Windows 10 license. When Windows 10 first came out, you could get a free Windows 10 license by updating from Windows 7, but that's technically no longer the case. If you update now, your Windows 7 license is useless.

It is possible, however, to trick your Windows 10 into thinking you did the upgrade back then.

how do i trick it?

 

[GreatCrippler]

As far as I know you cans still use the Windows 10 upgrade tool for free. If 7 is activated, then 10 will remain activated. Unless that has changed in the last 6 months. The upgrade is no longer available via Windows Update, but the upgrade software has always worked.

 

[JavaScribe]

Make sure you do get it directly from microsoft.com, because you can do that.

It still works, I used it not even a week ago on someone's Win8 device.

 

[Lacius]

how do i trick it?

In a nutshell, there's an application you can run after you install Windows 10 that will run through the old Windows 7 to Windows 10 activation process.

 

[GreatCrippler]

Make sure you do get it directly from microsoft.com, because you can do that.

It still works, I used it not even a week ago on someone's Win8 device.

Yea, I didn't think it was going anywhere. The limited window of time was to get people to upgrade via Windows Update. That said, the ability shouldn't go away.

 

[Lacius]

As far as I know you cans still use the Windows 10 upgrade tool for free. If 7 is activated, then 10 will remain activated. Unless that has changed in the last 6 months. The upgrade is no longer available via Windows Update, but the upgrade software has always worked.

You can use the upgrade tool for free, but if you're updating from Windows 7, activations stopped back in 2016 or so.

Nevermind.

 

[GreatCrippler]

You can use the upgrade tool for free, but if you're updating from Windows 7, activations stopped back in 2016 or so.

I've definitely used it more recently than that. If it's activated, it'll stay activated. I'm running it on a Windows 7 unit I had sitting at the office now just to test.

 

[tech3475]

I would advise to make a full backup before upgrading, using something like Macrium Reflect Free.

I've only done 8.1 to 10 so I can't say specifically for w7, but I didn't have any driver issues that I noticed.

You can use the upgrade tool for free, but if you're updating from Windows 7, activations stopped back in 2016 or so.

Does the disability method still work?