Move from Win 7 to Win 10, installation on older PC.

TheOwner · 02 Jul 2021

Hello,
it is good idea now move from Win 7 to Win 10? I have heard that Win 10 21H2 will be last build before Win 11, so make sense wait until it come? I dont want reinstall my OS every 6 months, that is why i stuck on Win 7. There is no hurry for me leave Win 7, i only move to Win 10 because new games no longer support Win 7.

If is good idea install Win 10, then i have 2 questions:

I have old motherboard (Asus Maximus VII Ranger) and my motherboard vendor offers Win 10 drivers, but they are from year 2015. So should i install those official but old drivers for my motherboard or should i get drivers somewhere else? Windows update, Intel Driver Support Assistant, and etc?

I have SSD and HDD for data. So if i install Win 10 to my SSD in UEFI mode (GPT), should be my HDD for data also formatted to GPT or should stay MBR?

Thank you.

Windows 7 64bit SP1

NavyLCDR · 02 Jul 2021

First, it is false that Windows 10 21H2 will be the last build before Windows 11. Windows 10 is supported until 2025.

When I upgrade 7 to 10, or clean install Windows 10, I first let Windows Update find all the drivers it can. Then go to Intel or AMD for any chipset and graphics drivers. Then to the graphics card's manufacturer site for graphics drivers. Then if there is anything left over go to the manufacturer of the computer system or motherboard.

You can leave the existing HDD as MBR, that won't hurt anything.

TheOwner · 02 Jul 2021

I know Win 10 will be supported until 2025, but probably gets only security updates after 21H2, but of course this is only presumption.

Drivers become very confusing for me. I always heard install drivers form your vendor site and not from WU. When i let WU install all drivers how can i know what else should i install? It is better use Intel driver support assistant before WU? Or just WU is superior on Win 10? Anyway Thank you for help.

AddRAM · 02 Jul 2021

You don`t have to reinstall your OS every 6 months.

You can stay with the version of W10 you`re using for as long as you want

And as an example, to update from 20H2 to 21H1, all you have to do is install 1 single update to unlock some minor features.

dalchina · 03 Jul 2021

First, before attempting to upgrade, create a full disk image so whatever happens, you can restore your current state. E.g. Macrium Reflect (free) + external storage for your image files. (Routine use of disk imaging is constantly recommended).

Then uninstall any security software you use.

Note that upgrading can fail and need repeated attempts with assistance to try to resolve problems. Many proceed successfully.

Win 10 is somewhat more similar to Win 7 than Win 11, although there are significant differences. There are ways to make Win 10 more user-friendly in particular by using Open Shell (free) as your start menu - excellent program used by many here.

Drivers: if after upgrading to Win 10 everything works- job done. Don't get wound up about upgrading drivers. More problems are introoduced by later drivers than benefits.

Only if your hardware has special features needing dedicated support from your manufacturer e.g. backlit keyboard, special hot keys... or if you need to downgrade a particular driver should you need to refer to manufacturer downloads.

After upgrading and before tweaking like crazy, start a new regular disk imaging routine.

There's no guarantee that your PC will meet Win 11's detailed hardware requirements, although these are being reviewed to some extent. Win 11 might not be released until early next year- we don't know.

Unlike Win 7, which pretty much kept to the same specification, Win 10's has been evolving- so its periodic upgrades have meant MS makes changes, sometimes introducing significant bugs. I have two laptops- it's been some years since I did a clean install. Mostly I delay upgrading because of the problems or potential problems introduced, and wait until these have been resolved. There are multiple ways of taking control.

AddRAM · 03 Jul 2021

Yes, always create a backup image.

Use Macrium Reflect 7 Free.

Macrium Software | Reflect Free Edition

Megahertz · 03 Jul 2021

I still use win 7 as my main OS, although I do have Win 10 on a separate drive.
Have seen many issues and bugs on Win 10, specially on new releases. If I were you I wold keep using Win 7. If you worried about Win 7 updates, use Simplix
For what I've read about Win 11, it will only run with TPM 2.0 and new CPUs (8gen up) so most of today hardware won't run Win 11. But all required win 11 specs are all unofficial. We have to wait till Win 11 release.

SIW2 · 03 Jul 2021

ThrashZone · 03 Jul 2021

Hi,
Yep daily driver win-7

TheOwner · 03 Jul 2021

Thank you guys for answers. If I install Win 10 i will do clean install with format both my drives. I have all my data backed up on external drive. My Win 7 installation is very old (6 years) and still runs perfectly and i doubt Win 10 after too many upgrades will be in same condition. I need stable and reliable system so Win 10 is not probably for me which is so sad. I know I have to move on one day....