Giveaway of the Day Forums

1. 

   Controlled Chaos
   Member

   Hi guys, I am in the situation that I would like to upgrade my 64 bit pc to win10 using a key bought from sdkey or G2A and am not sure which version to get.

   I intend to install it on a new HD for now that has not been used. Is there any real reason to get the Pro version over the Home one? AFAICS it wouldn't make a lot of difference to me as I don't think I need the extra options available in the Pro version.

   My current system is home built a few years ago and is compatible with this but if I upgrade hardware later will this cause any problems?

   Another thing is could I move the win7 install from the ssd to the new HD and the upgrade from that so that some of my full sw will still be ok? The other option I see is get a new ssd and use that instead but upgrade rather than clean install.

   Thanks for any help I will for now use separate drives for both version ATM.

   Posted 4 years ago #
2. 

   mikiem2
   Moderator

   I bought the Pro key from SCDKey because 1) it was only a couple of dollars more, & 2) at the time you could not delay updates with the Home version. I also use VirtualBox VM software -- if you think you might want to use Hyper-V, for VMs or the new sandbox, that's another reason to go Pro.

   Google on upgrading win10 Home to Pro, and you'll get several hits telling you that you just need to input the new number & update the existing copy, so you could use Home now, Pro later. Upgrading win7 to win10 is better than it used to be, now that 10's been out several years, but you're still better off with a fresh install *If* there are win10 drivers for all of your current hardware components.

   You won't get the same license from some place like SCDKey as you would if you paid ~$130 retail. Microsoft tracks hardware changes for every activated copy of Windows, and you'll get fewer hardware changes before the license is no good. You probably don't want to activate win10 on one drive, then change drives, since that will count against you -- activate win10 only when it's where you want to keep it. IF/when you upgrade hardware, expect to buy a new key.

   Posted 4 years ago #
3. 

   Controlled Chaos
   Member

   Thanks mikiem2 this has given me something to think about, on the current self built setup I have had to replace the mb, upgraded to a better GFX card, and added SSD as boot device and the OEM version license is still valid. Looks like I 'May' have to get a full licenced copy eventually when/if I go ahead with a new build then.

   BTW thanks for all you contribute to this forum, I read them all even if it doesn't directly link to something I would need to or want to do, I often find something that might be useful later.

   Posted 4 years ago #
4. 

   Controlled Chaos
   Member

   Hi again guys and guyes's ?

   Well I've made the move from Win7 Home to Win10 Home, not without 'some' problems brought about by my age I think :)

   I decided in the end that if I tried to stay with my current hardware I will probably not be able to do this at all, mainly because the motherboard in use needed replacing with what I had in mind. I wanted to make the pc a bit more useful for general use and the gaming that I like to play, some work ok, others struggle.

   First task choose a new motherboard, when I did I then realise that I would not be able to install before the upgrade as it didn't support win7 afaics so would probably not boot anyway.

   Next am I going with this new mobo, if yes I want a new cpu, so what will that be. After searching, reading reviews for and against, I settled on a Ryzen 2700x, that would do nicely because my old Phenom Black unlocked was making the gfx card run slower that in could, it is a GForce 1050 TI 4G. Now one of the things I found out was this cpu runs quite hot, even with the Wraith Prism RGB LED cooler that is bundled with it, so more research pointed me to a cooler I hadn't heard of, the Scythe Fuma 2 CPU Heatsink Twin-Tower Design. The various tests I looked at suggested that this copes very well and reduces the Ryzen temp to a nice comfortable one in most review. So that was the next to add to my list.

   Now that mobo and cpu would not like the memory sticks that I had in my current case, so again research, and selected a Cosair Vengance 2 x 8GB kit.

   My Win7 system boots (booted) from a WD SSD that I I bought recently, and other hard drives of 2TB each so thats good.

   All ordered from Amazon Thursday last week, and delivered Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

   On Sunday I booted up Win7 Home OEM and opted to upgrade to Win10, and kept my fingers etc crossed. Now because I have a slow net connection it took quite a while to download and install, but it got there in the end. So installed and rebooted into the new version still on my old hardware and had a very confused first step into the beyond.

   Went to bed.

   Monday I stripped out everything from the case and set about installing the new system. Well motherboard went in quite easy, it wasn't quite as wide as the old one so that gave me a bit of adjustment later. Install of CPU of course was as simple as always, now to the cooler, because it has 2 fans and 2 sections to the cooler part it was a bit of a forwards, backwards task, it didn;t help that I kept putting the wire clips on the wrong way, and at time using the wrong wire clips, because the 2 fans are not the same thickness. Back to YouTube on tv and watch how it should be done, got there eventually. Put GFX card back, tested cable connections in the back, and S**t can't plug the net cable in something wrong with the socket?

   Later on my brain woke up and told me to check the IO shield, no nothing wrong. Checked again, one of the sprung clips had ended up obstructing the socket. OK release all mobo screws and carefully move away from it. Just managed to fettle the shield, put it all back and can now attach to the unreal world. Ill leave it there for now, and will tell you how I got on with the new desktop and things that went missing.

   Sorry if it a long ramble but perhaps folks would find it interesting.

   Now to play .........

   Posted 4 years ago #
5. 

   mikiem2
   Moderator

   “First task choose a new motherboard, when I did I then realise that I would not be able to install before the upgrade as it didn't support win7 afaics so would probably not boot anyway.”

   There are ways to accomplish this, purely FWIW, again in case anyone’s interested. Several board makers offer a utility that will patch the win7 setup files to include the new USB drivers, which is what’s missing – win7 will start up on the new board, but without mouse or keyboard good luck – or there are several work-a-rounds you can find on-line with varying success rates. You might be able for example to add a Bluetooth dongle, and use a Bluetooth keyboard & mouse in win7, at least until you get the correct USB drivers installed. Using something like that Bluetooth method, an existing copy of win7 would work in theory, providing you used a migration app while running WinPE from a USB stick, e.g. using the USB stick you can create using Paragon’s HDM Advanced; that would remove those registry entries for must-have hardware drivers so win7 would look for & use new ones. Afterward there’s something called wufuc that when run will mod the win7 files necessary to unblock Windows Update, though of course that won’t matter come February.

   “I settled on a Ryzen 2700x … one of the things I found out was this cpu runs quite hot, even with the Wraith Prism RGB LED cooler that is bundled with it,”

   For anyone thinking of going with a 2nd gen Ryzen, which are quite a good value nowadays [e.g. the 2700s are roughly $100 less than the best deal when they were new], AMD offered a non-X version with a lower TDP that managed quite well with the stock cooler, yet could achieve the same overclock if you went that route. They've dropped that choice with their 3rd gen.

   1st steps, I’d suggest visiting the motherboard manufacturer’s site to check on new BIOS availability. There’s a very slight chance of bricking the board when you update the BIOS firmware, so I like to do that ASAP just in case the worst happens, since I can then exchange the board. After that initial return period I’m much more cautious about BIOS updates. Next I’d visit AMD’s site for motherboard chipset drivers – win10 will add & update some, but the full package is better – noting that afterward check the minimum CPU setting in the Control Panel -> Power -> Advanced Power settings, since AMD sometimes set’s the minimum rather high [e.g. 90%]. 3rd I’d check for the latest graphics driver, and USB drivers if your board uses an add-on chip for additional USB ports. Note that if it does [it probably does], the ports connected to the CPU & those connected to the add-on chip Will behave differently & have different device compatibility.

   Otherwise have fun – you’ll find that CPU is a beast – and remember that win10’s compatibility troubleshooter can be your friend when you’re using apps installed in win7. *Once you get comfortable*, win7 was usually set up to boot Legacy to MBR disks – it worked *maybe* OK with UEFI, but only years after it was originally released – but since you’re booting from an SSD make sure you’re using AHCI, & maybe consider a switch to UEFI booting.

   Posted 4 years ago #

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