Upgrading from Windows 7 to Windows 10.

5 February 2020

Microsoft has stopped providing technical support from 14 January 2020.

But, it is still safe to use Windows 7. Microsoft will still provide patches if they found any security threat. However, they will not update their software when there is new feature. For example, they will not provide any new drivers for the new hardware coming out after 14 January 2020.

Is it Free?

The upgrading from Window 7 to Windows 10 was free of charge when it was first announced in 2015. This upgrading work is still free today. No one knows how long I will last. Therefore, it is better to grab it before it is too late

How about Performance?

In 2015, many have tested Windows 10. They did not like it because it was quite baggy and running slower than Windows 7. Some have difficulties navigating around. They have to install a software call "start is back" to change the menu screen to look like Windows 7. These problems have been improved after so many years. The menu screen is  now friendlier. The new menu screen will look a bit like Windows 7 with added Windows 10 features. One would find the desktop mode easier to navigate. As for the speed, some claimed that it would run faster than Windows 7. Windows 10 is no longer as baggy as compare to Windows 7 if one has a SSD drive to run it.

How difficult to Upgrade?

They have made it so easy to upgrade. Just copy the windows files into a CD ROM; or memory stick,  then click set up after booting up the Windows 7. Everything will run smoothly. The installation is much faster than installing a new Windows

Losing existing files, user data and applications?

The files, data and applications will be copied over just like re-installing a new windows. Some existing data and files that cannot be transferred will be savedin a folder called "old window". One can always recover back these data and files

Will all existing Applications of Windows 7 work?

Some applications from Windows 7 might not run properly. But this can be fixed by changing the compatibility settings. There might be some very old applications such as games which will not work. These are the exceptions rather than the norms.

What needed to upgrade?

No special tools or software needed except the followings

a) About 16 GB to 20 GB free hard disk space for the working files, depending on whether the existing Windows is 32 bits or 64 bits;

b) Prepare an USB stick with at least 6 GB of space if one wants also to upgrade other PCs in the house;

c) 7-Zip compression software if one is using USB or CDROM copies and of course,

d) A stable Internet connection to update the Windows

After that, download a file called"Media Creation Tool" from this Microsoft web page. There will be an option to choose if one wants to upgrade the PC straightaway or have the installation software extracted and copied to an USB or a CD ROM.

What Version After the Upgrade?

If the existing Windows 7 is an Ultimate or Professional version, the upgraded version will be Windows 10 Pro. For others, only Windows Home edition.

What are the Possible Issues?

a) Windows Slow Start up

One might experience slow startup even when one has a SSD to run Windows 10. “Insufficient memory” allocated for running Windows startup programs could be the cause. The Windows could take 40 seconds instead of less than 20 seconds to start the Windows. This problem was solved when the maximum size of the virtual memory was changed to 8 GB.

b) Some Applications cannot work properly

This could be the compatibility issues. A change in the compatibility setting will normallysolve this problem. It involves running the applications under compatible Windows 7. Setting it to "run as Administrator" will usually fix this problem. 

Here is the video presentation for this article.