Windows 7 - free/cheap upgrade to Windows 10?

DIYhelp76

UPDATE: That was surprisingly painless...Have got both Gatherossstate and the Genuine Ticket on the desktop.

Also now copied the "Genuine Ticket" to the same USB stick that has the Windows 10 installation on it (I don't have a spare USB).

Just a note, the "Genuine Ticket" on the desktop is just a blank white looking piece of paper style tile which says "Genuine Ticket" underneath. Does this sound right or should it have some kind of graphic?

EveryWhere

DIYhelp76 wrote: »

Hello Everywhere,

Many thanks.

I will try to take the steps above, so that stage of the procedure is ready.

The laptop is a "Hewlett Packard HP G72 Notebook PC".

It was running Windows 7 Home, but now has Windows 7 Professional;).

My new drive is the Crucial MX500 per your recommendation.

You previously sent me the video for how to change the drives over and I think this is clear.

I'm just unclear at what stage I should do things re the installation...

Many thx for your help.

Did you purchase the RAM? You should really have at least 4 GB. I'm sure it has been mentioned many times.

EveryWhere

DIYhelp76 wrote: »

UPDATE: That was surprisingly painless...Have got both Gatherossstate and the Genuine Ticket on the desktop.

Also now copied the "Genuine Ticket" to the same USB stick that has the Windows 10 installation on it (I don't have a spare USB).

Just a note, the "Genuine Ticket" on the desktop is just a blank white looking piece of paper style tile which says "Genuine Ticket" underneath. Does this sound right or should it have some kind of graphic?

Keep a copy on the laptop too. Since you won't be doing anything with the original drive, it will be safe there.

Do you have another device on which to view the forum, in case you get stuck during the installation?

DIYhelp76

Hi

I didn't buy the RAM, I thought I would try the drive first to see if that fixed things and then get the RAM afterwards if necessary:o

Thank you - I've now also copied the "Genuine Ticket" to the laptop drive as well as the desktop and USB, so I have it everywhere!

Yes, I have a tablet I can use to get onto the forum if things go pear-shaped!

DIYhelp76

Sorry, meant to say it has 3GB RAM already.

EveryWhere

DIYhelp76 wrote: »

Sorry, meant to say it has 3GB RAM already.

We covered that ages ago and you were advised to take it either to 4GB or 8GB....

DIYhelp76

I know, sorry I just hoped it might be an option to try it with the existing 3GB and just see how it runs?

If not, then I could always buy the the RAM today online somewhere and postpone this until the weekend when I have received the RAM?

Would the RAM have to be put in before anything else is done?

EveryWhere

When you are ready to install after fitting the Crucial drive. Plug the USB drive in to the HP and then:

Turn on the computer and immediately press the Escape key repeatedly, about once every second, until the Startup Menu opens. ...
Press F9 to open the Boot Device Options menu.
Use the up or down arrow key to select the USB Flash drive.
Press Enter to save the change.
Press F10 to select Save Changes and Exit, then press Enter to select Yes.

Once you get to the point of the installation starting, you can use this as a guide to installation; https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/insider/forum/insider_wintp-insider_install-insiderplat_pc/how-to-perform-a-clean-install-or-reinstall-of/aef0ae63-2117-41ee-a8ea-4a3181625b08

Choose skip when asked for a Product key. Choose Windows 10 Pro x64

You can use this to help you to decide which choices to make; https://fdossena.com/?p=w10debotnet/index_1903.frag

Once done, you can refer to Aidanmc's link on how to utilise the GenuineTicket.xml file..

DIYhelp76

Many thanks EveryWhere that's really helpful.

I have to go to work soon so probably won't have time to set this up now - I will try to do it tomorrow and post back with how I get on.

DIYhelp76

Hi,

A huge thank you to everyone, especially Everywhere for all your advice and help on this thread.

I'm amazed to say it all seems to have worked and already seems incredibly faster. Will monitor it and then decide whether to add RAM later.

Just a few more queries please and then I can leave everyone in peace!

1. It comes with Edge as a browser. I used to use Chrome. Is Edge good/okay or should I download Chrome and Mozilla as I had before (Mozilla as a back up really, never used).

2. Office Professional 2013 - I bought this through work under the Home User Programme in 2014. Still work for same employer. I have my key and have re-downloaded it from my site. However, it is asking me to "Activate Office" before a certain date to continue using it. For this, it asks me to enter the email address associated with the subscription. I put in my work email address but then it asks for a password - I have no idea what this is and it won't let me re-set - says "contact your administrator". Is there a way to fix this? It also gives the option of "entering your key instead" but that doesn't seem to work.

3. Mindful that I don't want to start re-clogging the system up - what should I download in terms of anti-virus, ad blockers etc?

4. I have the old hard drive still with all my stuff on it - I think it's possible to buy something so I can still use this as a storage back up - pls can someone advise how/what else I'd need to buy - some kind of housing and a USB cable?

5. Skype - it seems to have this built in - not sure if built into Windows 10 or part of Office Professional. Can I just rely on this without downloading Skype App itself?

Again, thanks for everyone's time and patience!