Couple of questions on installing an older build of W10

Mooly · 29 Mar 2019

My old laptop (Acer Aspire 9301 from 2006) will not even install the latest builds, and 1803 ran very badly. At the moment I'm back to Vista and Google Chrome.

I feel I would like to have a last ditch attempt at running an older build such as 1703 or 1709 (whcih I have used in the past on the Acer) but have a couple of questions.

1/ Where would I get an ISO for these. A brief search throws up offerings but are there any known reputable sources that I should head for.

2/ Assuming I did install one of these old builds, how do I stop it from just automatically trying to update to a newer build.

Neemobeer · 29 Mar 2019

Well 1703 is EOL this year and 1709 early next year. You'd be putting yourself at risk for unpatched vulnerabilities going beyond those dates. You'd be much better off installing a Linux distribution such as Mint. This would A continue to receive updates and B it would run a lot better on such an old computer.

lx07 · 29 Mar 2019

Various MVPs on MS forums recommend this as a safe source : TechBench by WZT and it is safe.

As for blocking upgrades, try it and see - it may not upgrade further if your hardware isn't up to it. Just make the occasional backup in case it does.

If not there are numerous scripts that try to block updates but you may not need them.

EdTittel · 29 Mar 2019

The Windows and Office ISO Downloader from HeiDoc.net has proven itself to be a reliable source for older ISOs. Find the latest version at Microsoft Windows and Office ISO Download Tool.
HTH,
--Ed--

This screencap from the pulldown "select edition" menu shows those ISOs go all the way back to July 2015 (1507 release):

Couple of questions on installing an older build of W10-image.png

Try3 · 30 Mar 2019

One of the frequent contributors to this forum recommended this - it links to MS server locations so you are directly downloading what MS created.

UUP dump - Windows 10 ISO direct download tool

Denis

Steve C · 30 Mar 2019

The heidoc.net tool mentioned above is fine. I recommend installing a cheap SSD in that old laptop which should drastically improve its speed.

Mooly · 30 Mar 2019

Thanks for all the suggestions folks, that's certainly given me something to look into and play with. I think 1709 would probably be the one to go for initially and see how that pans out.

The HDD unfortunately isn't SATA, its an older E-IDE type:
HHD question on replacing EIDE with a SATA. Solved - Windows 10 Forums

Lol, now 12.5 years old and counting.

Try3 · 30 Mar 2019

If it's any encouragement, my 2005 laptop {also IDE} was fine up to and including Version 1709.

Versions 1803, 1809 will neither update nor clean install. I found some posts that said that new Versions often dropped older CPUs/BIOSes without there being any documentation to let us know.

Best of luck,
Denis

PS I also played around with trying to get an IDE-SATA convertor so I could use a larger HDD or an SSD in it [I read your other thread]. I bought a couple but they could not fit in the space available. I recently considered an IDE-M.2 enclosure, which would fit, I think~~, but the supplier failed to answer my question about which M.2 drives it was compatible with so I dropped the idea~~ - Docooler M.2 NGFF SATA SSD to 2.5 IDE 44pin Adapter £6.99 - and now that the old computer is stuck on Version 1709 I don't really feel like spending tuppence on it. [added 3 April 2019] But I have gone ahead and ordered one anyway {delivery early May} so if this idea is of any interest post back and I'll tell you how I get on with it.