Technique Posted August 19, 2019 Share Posted August 19, 2019 I've had Windows 7 since about 2010. Never interested in Windows 8. Not particularly interested in Windows 10 although it looked a million times better than 8. I've recently learned support for Win7 will be ending soon enough so thought perhaps it may be time to make the move, if not now then somewhere in the near future. At least for the machine that i keep connected to the internet anyway. I've read mixed things about whether you can or cannot use your Win7 licence to get a free copy of Win10. If you can then which Win10 version would a Windows 7 Pro 64bit licence get me? Also, 'upgrading' from Win98SE to WinXP back in the day was a painful experience yet a clean install of WinXP was much better. How would i clean install Windows 10? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon H Supervisor Posted August 19, 2019 Supervisor Share Posted August 19, 2019 you can still use your key if you boot into the installation media for a clean install edit: clean installs have gotten a LOT easier since back then; the installation media will basically walk you through it now when you boot into it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ndoggfromhell Posted August 19, 2019 Share Posted August 19, 2019 Just did this last week. Download the ISO from MS, use their tool to create a bootable flash drive installer. Install and select Windows 10 pro (since you're using Windows 7 Pro) After install, go to activation and enter your Windows 7 key... it should activate just fine. It will create a digital license, and any future installs will automatically update. Technique and Brandon H 2 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Technique Posted August 19, 2019 Author Share Posted August 19, 2019 2 things... 1) What size flash drive would i need? 2) I'm guessing i'll need to get Windows 10 drivers in advance for my hardware? Since there was no such thing as Windows 10 when I built my PC i don't actually have any Windows 10 divers for anything, so i guess i wouldn't be able to actually get on the internet otherwise. I'm pretty sure i've tried making a bootable USB drive in the past and didn't have any joy. It was that long ago i can't remember if i ever got round the problem or just ended up having to give up in the end as nothing worked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon H Supervisor Posted August 19, 2019 Supervisor Share Posted August 19, 2019 Just now, Technique said: 2 things... 1) What size flash drive would i need? 2) I'm guessing i'll need to get Windows 10 drivers in advance for my hardware? Since there was no such thing as Windows 10 when I built my PC i don't actually have any Windows 10 divers for anything, so i guess i wouldn't be able to actually get on the internet otherwise. I'm pretty sure i've tried making a bootable USB drive in the past and didn't have any joy. It was that long ago i can't remember if i ever got round the problem or just ended up having to give up in the end as nothing worked. a 4gb flashdrive may work but I think the ISO image is a little larger than that now with 10 so you may want at least an 8gb drive (or a 6gb if you can find one; it's a less common size though) Windows 10 is great about its out of box driver support; you may find most devices on your PC will work right away with the generic drivers and then Windows 10 will install the specific drivers through Windows Update if needed. as long as your flash drive is large enough the Media Creation Tool on Microsoft's website will format the flash drive and move the files for you without issue https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10 Technique 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goretsky Supervisor Posted August 20, 2019 Supervisor Share Posted August 20, 2019 Hello, Although the free offer to upgrade from Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 is over, Microsoft seems to still be honoring upgrades. That said, if the Windows 7 license key does not work, you will want to either reinstall Windows 7, or purchase a Windows 10 license key from a reputable seller (direct from Microsoft, Amazon, Newegg, Micro Center, and so forth). Avoid key reselling sites that offer licenses which seem "too good to be true," as these are often pirated VLK (volume license) or MSDN (developer) licenses being re-sold. You would want to use an 8GB USB flash drive to make the installation media. The size of the 32-bit installation media is about 3.5GB, and the size of the 64-bit installation media is about 4.6GB. If you choose to make a combined 32-bit/64-bit installer (which the Windows 10 ISO downloader/USB creator will allow you to do), then that is about 6.7GB. These sizes increase over time as Microsoft refreshes the media images with updates added to the installers for the operating system. Regards, Aryeh Goretsky Technique 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Technique Posted August 20, 2019 Author Share Posted August 20, 2019 I had a look and Windows 10 would have to be able to have drivers for my motherboard since the manufacturer (ASUS) website only runs up to Windows 8.1 for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ve7878 Posted August 20, 2019 Share Posted August 20, 2019 8 hours ago, Technique said: I had a look and Windows 10 would have to be able to have drivers for my motherboard since the manufacturer (ASUS) website only runs up to Windows 8.1 for it. That may not be an issue. Which motherboard do you have? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon H Supervisor Posted August 20, 2019 Supervisor Share Posted August 20, 2019 9 hours ago, Technique said: I had a look and Windows 10 would have to be able to have drivers for my motherboard since the manufacturer (ASUS) website only runs up to Windows 8.1 for it. not unusual for an OEM; generic Windows 10 drivers should usually still work without issue for your though Windows 10 has excellent out of the box hardware support Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erpster3 Posted August 20, 2019 Share Posted August 20, 2019 (edited) 9 hours ago, goretsky said: You would want to use an 8GB USB flash drive to make the installation media. The size of the 32-bit installation media is about 3.5GB, and the size of the 64-bit installation media is about 4.6GB. If you choose to make a combined 32-bit/64-bit installer (which the Windows 10 ISO downloader/USB creator will allow you to do), then that is about 6.7GB. These sizes increase over time as Microsoft refreshes the media images with updates added to the installers for the operating system. Regards, Aryeh Goretsky goretsky: maybe it's better to use a 16Gb usb flash drive to create a combined x86 + x64 Win10 installer, than using an 8Gb drive. anyways, 8Gb & 16Gb flash drives are very cheap and are easy to find btw, @Brandon H, my friend's ASUS M5A78L-M/LE USB3 motherboard does have some Win10 compatible drivers available from the ASUS support site since that board was made in early 2015, upgraded his computer from Win7 Ultimate to Win10 Pro near the end of 2015. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helpifIcan Posted August 20, 2019 Share Posted August 20, 2019 FYI my ASUS Z97 MB worked just fine, 5 years old. Was on win7 prior. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Technique Posted August 20, 2019 Author Share Posted August 20, 2019 Out of interest, why would you want a 32 & 64 bit install on a flash drive (or any media for that matter)? Ever since i first installed Win7 i've only ever used the 64bit version. Wouldn't i just use the 64bit version of Windows 10? 5 hours ago, Vince800 said: That may not be an issue. Which motherboard do you have? ASUS M4A88TD-V EVO/USB3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fusi0n Posted August 20, 2019 Share Posted August 20, 2019 5 minutes ago, Technique said: Out of interest, why would you want a 32 & 64 bit install on a flash drive (or any media for that matter)? Ever since i first installed Win7 i've only ever used the 64bit version. Wouldn't i just use the 64bit version of Windows 10? ASUS M4A88TD-V EVO/USB3 Yes, use the 64-Bit install.. The reason for both is to make it easier on customers if they didn't know which one to download. Also, when 10 was released, there were still a good bit of 32-bit CPUs out there and it made installing from the same thumb drive pretty easy.. Persicca Bloomfree 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Warwagon MVC Posted August 20, 2019 MVC Share Posted August 20, 2019 On 8/19/2019 at 3:37 PM, Brandon H said: you can still use your key if you boot into the installation media for a clean install edit: clean installs have gotten a LOT easier since back then; the installation media will basically walk you through it now when you boot into it You can also run the setup from inside windows and do an in place upgrade too Brandon H 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ve7878 Posted August 21, 2019 Share Posted August 21, 2019 12 hours ago, Technique said: Out of interest, why would you want a 32 & 64 bit install on a flash drive (or any media for that matter)? Ever since i first installed Win7 i've only ever used the 64bit version. Wouldn't i just use the 64bit version of Windows 10? ASUS M4A88TD-V EVO/USB3 Shouldn't be an issue there. The Motherboard has an AMD 880G chipset which should work out of the box in Windows 10 but if you still want to install chipset drivers, you can get them for Windows 10 from here: https://www.amd.com/en/support/chipsets/amd-8-series-chipsets/880g Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peresvet Posted August 21, 2019 Share Posted August 21, 2019 (edited) Just did it the other day with an old MSDN subscription key for Win7. No problemo. On 8/19/2019 at 11:55 PM, Technique said: 2 things... 1) What size flash drive would i need? You would need a 8Gb flash drive at the minimum. Quote 2) I'm guessing i'll need to get Windows 10 drivers in advance for my hardware? Since there was no such thing as Windows 10 when I built my PC i don't actually have any Windows 10 divers for anything, so i guess i wouldn't be able to actually get on the internet otherwise. If you are going to install it on a regular SATA drive or m.2 NVME drive, you needn't worry about drivers. Win10's driver library is practically "all-inclusive". If you are going to install it on a RAID controller or PCI-E SSD, you should have your drivers ready on a separate flash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goretsky Supervisor Posted August 22, 2019 Supervisor Share Posted August 22, 2019 Hello, It does not make any difference as to whether you use an 8GB or a 16GB USB flash drive to install Windows 10; just get one from a well-known reputable brand (Kingston, Lexar, PNY, Samsung, SanDisk, etc.). Keep in mind that when it comes to older hardware, Windows 10 usually has what Microsoft calls "inbox" support for these, e.g., the installation media's default drivers work right out of the box, so to speak (well, if you are used to distributing your operating system as retail boxed product). And, many times, newer drivers are available through Windows Update, and will be downloaded automatically once the computer is connected to the internet. Regards, Aryeh Goretsky Brandon H 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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