Windows 10 Pre-install questions

Hello everyone. I just became a member here after being a loyal member of Seven Forums.

I'm almost ready to install the Windows 10 upgrade into my current Windows 7 (64bit) Ultimate SP1 system. My 2009 1TB Western Digital HDD checks out fine still. About a year ago my system was becoming unstable and I learned about creating the Elevated Command Prompt and running SFC to Verify the OS and Scannow to fix any issues. It revealed there were many issues, so I performed a system re-install successfully and continued running SFC regularly to check that the OS was ok. It was ok for several months thereafter, then a couple issues developed which SFC couldn't fix, however my system and HDD continued to work fine.

If I go ahead with the Windows 10 upgrade now, will doing that automatically correct the existing issues, thereby bringing the OS to a new "clean slate"? If not, should I do another system re-install or does Windows 10 allow such issues to be fixed more reliably?

Also, does Windows 10 allow that longer file names/paths, over the current 256 characters, be created? I think there's a workaround now for Windows 7 to allow more than 256 character file names but Windows Explorer is still limited to 256. So ideally Windows 10 would need to both allow more than 256 characters, plus have upgraded Windows Explorer to search for them.

Thank you

sn00ker said:

Once you have upgraded to 10 make sure your system is activated with 10 before doing anything else . Once it is then I would do a clean installation of windows 10 with either a usb flash stick or disc . Now you can download and create this windows 10 from the website below also . Just make sure you download the correct bit for your system 32 or 64 bit . Once you have the windows 10 just perform a clean installation . It would be your best bet from having issues to and it will be a clean slate .

You can combine the steps of doing an upgrade and clean install using this method:
Clean Install Windows 10 Directly without having to Upgrade First - Windows 10 Forums

This makes it look like there is still the same path length limitation, and the same workaround:
Naming Files, Paths, and Namespaces (Windows)

Thanks for the information. It's taken me a while to go through it and come back to this. I downloaded both the 32 bit and 64 bit Pro versions, as recommended, to my C: drive, then I burned the 64 bit ISO to DVD. I also want to swap in a new HDD. I don't want to screw this up so I really appreciate your support here. A few more questions:

1- I don't know why it was recommended to also download the 32 bit version since it doesn't apply to my system. Can I delete it to save space? Can I delete the 64 bit version too now that I've burned the ISO to DVD or is it a good idea to keep it for some possible future repair?

2- My file organization has been lacking and I need to sort through years of files from my current C: drive, plus old external backup drives. Does Windows 10's Window Explorer offer any advantages over the Windows 7 version which would recommend I wait to do this sorting until after I do the upgrade? Also, will old backups done with software used at that time be accessible with new software today even if from a different manufacturer, such as the factory Seagate software of old with today's AOMEI or Commodo?

3- I also plan to swap in a new HDD by cloning the one I have now with the exact same model (Western Digital WD10EADS 1TB). Should I do the swap before or after the upgrade to Win 10?

4- I had to do a Repair Re-Install of my current Win. 7 (64bit) Ultimate about a year ago, which worked out fine. One thing the SevenForum missed in the instructions was to turn off the logon before started the repair. Since it automatically rebooted the PC several times during the processs, I had to be there to enter the logon each time, which slowed down the process and I couldn't leave. Will the upgrade to Win. 10 do a similar thing of automatically rebooting and so merit turning off the logon?

Thank you

1. It was not recommended that you download both 32-bit AND 64-bit. It was recommended that you download the correct architecture for what you need - 32-bit OR 64-bit. So, yes, you can delete the 32-bit version. I would keep the 64-bit ISO file until at least you have a successful upgrade - DVDs are not the reliable.

2. No advantage of Windows 10 file explorer over Windows 7/8 file explorer. However the less files present on the system when you start the upgrade will make for a faster upgrade because there will be less files to copy into Windows.old. As far as backups go - you need the same software to retrieve the backup that you created it with. Seagate software only works with Seagate backups. AOMEI software only works with AOMEI backups. About the only exception to this is if the backup image is a .vhd or .vhdx file which can just be mounted in Windows.

3. I would clone first and then upgrade. Reason being - if the upgrade goes bad you have something already in existence to fall back on - the old hard drive!

4. Windows 10 upgrade will restart a couple times, but you won't be asked to log in again until the final restart when it is ready to start the upgraded Windows 10. However - you should make sure that your computer is set to only boot from the DVD the first time you tell it to and not automatically thereafter - although with a DVD the "press any key to boot from CD or DVD" should allow it to continue after the first restart anyway.

Ok. Thanks.

About downloading both 32 and 64 bit versions it says here Windows 10 ISO Download - Windows 10 Forums " 6. Select the Language, Edition, and 32-bit (x86), 64-bit (x64), or both (32-bit and 64-bit in same ISO) Architecture you want for the ISO file, and click/tap on Next. (see screenshot below) " which confused me.

At Windows 10 - Upgrade Installation - Windows 10 Forums can you clarify about the license key? It seems to suggest Microsoft reads my key during the upgrade to Ok it then the same key will apply to the upgrade. Is this correct?

It also lists some things the upgrade will eliminate and add, as well as some updates I have to go back and do - which I think is clear. Regarding "To install a 64-bit OS on a 64-bit PC, your processor needs to support CMPXCHG16b, PrefetchW, and LAHF/SAHF. " I have a circa 2009 Gateway DX4831 with an Intel i5 CPU, 650 @ 3.20 GHz. Where exactly are those and what do I do if I don't have them?

During the upgrade, Windows 10 will use the previous operating system license to obtain an activation. Windows 10 will get a generic product that every upgrade to that particular version gets. A digital entitle will also be stored on Microsoft activation servers for that version of Windows 10 on that particular computer. In the future if you clean install Windows 10, you will skip entering a product key and Windows 10 will send your computer's identification to Microsoft activation servers which will retrieve the digital entitlement stored there and activate. During the upgrade, as long as you are upgrading to the correct version of Windows 10, you will not be asked to enter a product key.

Your CPU capabilities should be just fine or running Windows 10 64-bit.

Bretman since you omit to give your specs, particularly the processor manufacturer, model and number, there may be unforseen problems with running 64-bit Windows 10 on your machine. For instance, 64-bit processors without the instruction for CMPXCHG16B will run Windows x64 up to 8, but not 8.1 and 10.
So I would not dispose of the 32-bit version yet, until you can confirm that your CPU is capable.
Search coreinfo for a Microsoft program that will check the capabilities of your processor.

Checking you out on Sevenforums, you should be fine :)