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#1031
Upgrade old laptop to Windows 10?
I first posted this a week ago. I decide to repeat the computer specs and correct changes to make it easier to follow.
Here is an update...
I just fixed this old laptop by replacing its hard drive and installing Windows 7 Home Premium 32-bit on it. I have since upgraded that to Windows 7 Professional 32-bit by taking advantage of Anytime Upgrade.
Today I decided to take the plunge and try to upgrade to Windows 10 Pro 32-bit from within Windows 7 Pro. To my surprise the upgrade went without a problem.
Note back in 2012 I upgraded the RAM from 1GB to 4GB which is the max RAM the specs indicate. I am glad I did that.
I could have installed Windows 10 Pro 64-bit but that would have required me to do a clean install. I will leave it the way it is because I can't justify changing from 32-bit to 64-bit.
Checking the specs I find I only have the wireless options:
- 2.4GHz 802.11g
- 5.0GHz 802.11a
I couldn't get any WiFi to work at first but discovered that was because the computer only supports WPA2. I changed the 2.4GHz band on the router from WPA3 to WPA2 to allow the router to connect to it. For now I am sticking with 2.4GHz 802.11g. I could try 5.0GHz 802.11a but that would require me to reduce the security on it from WPA3 to WPA2 also.
As a final comment I am surprised that this laptop is able to run Windows 10 22H2. It was first purchase in June 2006 which means it was probably built a year before Windows Vista was released. Toshiba did provide drivers for Windows Vista so that may have helped with compatibility with Windows 7 and 10.
What a difference between this laptop and my older laptop which was bought in October 2004. It was a bust in trying to install Windows 10 on it. It never had drivers for Windows Vista so that what may have made the difference. The other computer had an Athlon64 and a dedicated GPU so would have been better for games. Now it doesn't matter because the other computers video chip failed.
UPDATE:
I liked Windows 10 on this laptop but it was annoying slow. A few months ago I pulled the hard drive and installed a different one. I installed Windows 7 Pro on it. It is still slow but at least tolerable.
Note I originally did the free upgraded from Windows 7 Pro to Windows 10 Pro in July 2023. I kept the drive with Windows 10 intact because the free upgrade is no longer allowed.
Original Specs
Toshiba Tecra M7-S7331 laptop/tablet
Chipset: Mobile Intel 945GM Express
CPU: Intel Core Duo T2400
RAM: 1024MB (2x512MB) DDR2-533
GPU: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950 with 8MB-128M shared RAM
DSP: 14.1-inch 1440x900 (WXGA+) (16:10)
Network:
Wired: Intel PRO/1000 VE (10/100/1000Mbps)
Wireless: Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG (802.11a/b/g)
HDD: Hitachi Travelstar 5K100 HTS541010G9SA00 100GB 5400RPM 2.5-inch SATA-150
ODD: MATSHITA DVD-RAM UJ-841S PATA
PEN: Toshiba Tablet PC Pen II
O/S: Windows XP Tablet Edition 2005 *
* Windows Vista Premium Ready
Upgrades
RAM: 4096MB (2x2048) DDR2-667
HDD: Western Digital Scorpio WD2500BEVT-75ZCT2 250GB 5400RPM 2.5-inch SATA-300
O/S: Windows 10 Professional (upgrade from Windows 7)
Last edited by MisterEd; 2 Weeks Ago at 10:13.