Let me know how it goes. I read online the same thing you just said, so you're probably right. My understanding was the official upgrade tools didn't run gatherosstate.exe anymore to create the token used by Windows 10 to activate a Windows 7-updated machine.
Like I said, you're probably right according to what I'm also reading. Regarding your test machine, it obviously has never been updated to Windows 10 before, right?
The first option: Keep personal files and applications.
If you haven't already done so, do the following things before trying again:
You can do a normal clean install of Windows 10, assuming you are okay with all of your files and programs being deleted. Then, when the clean installation is complete, you can use the aforementioned tool to activate Windows 10 as if you had done an upgrade from Windows 7 before 2016.
When you're asked what to keep, choose to keep only your personal files or nothing at all.
so i did a clean install (kept nothing) and now neither the integrated mousepad nor the keyboard are responding, but my usb mouse works perfectly. but still, i cant type my password to log in so i am stuck in the lock screen. does this mean i have to buy a usb keyboard to fix the drivers?
No, it just means you need to install the proper drivers. If you haven't already done so, you should run Windows Update and see if it catches them. If Windows Update doesn't find those drivers, then you should go to the computer manufacturer's website and download those drivers there.
i figured out how to use the keyboard, so now everything is fixed! thanks for all of your help
