Upgrading from Windows 7 (or 8.1) to Windows 10

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Hello All,

I need some advice.

I still have a few PCs running Windows 7 Home and I would like to upgrade to Windows 10 (for hardware reasons) WITHOUT losing the data and settings in Windows 7 Home.

But is this still possible?

And how should I do it?

I am unable to find an explanation on how to upgrade without losing data. All information I find says to wipe your drive and install it on a blank drive.

Do you have any suggestions? Which Windows 10 should be used?

If possible, I would like to not use a Microsoft account, but a local account.

Cheers

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It’s official: No more free Windows 10 upgrades

The bad news is that you now need to purchase a license for Windows 10 to upgrade from 7/8.1

The good news is if your hardware supports the requirements for Windows 11, you can upgrade for free from Windows 10.

To do the upgrade, and preserve data and settings, you would do an in-place upgrade.

How to Do a Repair Install of Windows 10 with an In-place Upgrade

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If your computers were accidentally upgraded to Windows 10 in the past and rolled back, that would have them in the system as valid for Windows 10.  If Windows 10 is installed without a license it will work indefinitely, eventually not allowing you to change from a plain background and putting a watermark in the corner.  Windows 10 will get (free) security patches until October 2025.  After that point, ESU or 0patch are your main options.

First do a full image backup of the computers, then you can attempt an upgrade (especially if you have a plan in place for dealing with the license issue).  A clean install should not be necessary.  To upgrade, you do not boot from a Windows 10 USB drive, instead you mount the ISO and run setup.exe or run setup.exe from the USB drive.  One way to download the ISO is choose create installation media from here:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

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OldGuyForum wrote:

The bad news is that you now need to purchase a license for Windows 10

Microsoft stopped selling Windows 10 licenses.

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PKCano wrote:

And there is a very good chance that any Win10 license you find for sale on the Internet now is not legit/will not activate.

There are some resellers that are legit.

Check sources such as Tom’s Hardware and Laptop Magazine for recommendations.

 

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And there is a very good chance that any Win10 license you find for sale on the Internet now is not legit/will not activate.

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Alex5723 wrote:

Microsoft stopped selling Windows 10 licenses.

Microsoft did.

There are still resellers (legit) who do.

 

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ableinc wrote:

If Windows 10 is installed without a license it will work indefinitely

Which is a violation of the license agreement…

Some folks still respect those.

 

 

 

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OldGuyForum wrote:

Alex5723 wrote:

Microsoft stopped selling Windows 10 licenses.

Microsoft did.

There are still resellers (legit) who do.

 

Woot! is selling Win10 Pro for $21 free shipping (not that there aren’t reports of some receiving invalid licenses, but they are returnable).

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PL1 wrote:

Woot!

Doesn’t look good…

https://www.trustpilot.com/review/www.woot.com

I wouldn’t personally recommend a specific reseller unless I had personal experience with them, or they had been reviewed by a legit site like Tom’s or LaptopMag.

 

 

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Woot! is owned by Amazon. So, there’s that.

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Folks looking for product keys need to do their due diligence.

I don’t know what the Ask Woody policy is on posting “cheap keys”, but Tom’s Hardware does not allow it…for obvious reasons.

Moderator decision.

 

 

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There is so much not-legit stuff sold by third-party sellers on Amazon that it isn’t funny. Amazon doesn’t care if it’s legit or not. Been bit several times.

If it’s too good to be true, it probably is.

1 user thanked author for this post.

OldGuyForum

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PKCano wrote:

There is so much not-legit stuff sold by third-party sellers on Amazon that it isn’t funny. Amazon doesn’t care if it’s legit or not. Been bit several times.

ALWAYS returnable if that happens.

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Not necessarily. Some third-party sellers don’t allow.

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So, stick to Amazon purchases or Amazon A-Z guaranteed purchases. That’s what I do.

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Also, Woot! has a 30 day money back guarantee, except when they have a closeout sale and they specifically state that there are no returns.  One time I had a return for an MP3 player and they told me to keep it. They gave me a full refund. This was before Amazon bought them.

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So I’m going to throw something else out… if a machine was bought with 7, was happy with 7, let it die with 7.  How old is that hardware?

Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

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Thanks for all of your advice.

Regarding the hardware question: Yeah, I know it is old, but it is working perfectly fine. I am totally opposed to throw working stuff into the garbage bin just because Microsoft doesn’t care about our environment. I wouldn’t have thought I would ever say that, because I love innovation, but these days we are throwing out stuff just because Microsoft says so.

(You can’t accuse people of not being environmentally friendly in talkshows like MS and so does, and then force them to throw away stuff that does it’s job. But I am going to stop, as this is getting into political topics.)

And oh, buying a license key is cheaper than a whole new PC. But see the next point.

Regarding the license key: I have an unused System Builder license key for Windows 10 Pro that could be used.

Thing is, I wan’t to keep all of my stuff, programs and files.

And my MS Office 2010 still works flawless. I don’t need OneDrive and a Cloud, I have my own NAS.

I know this all sounds old-fashioned. I guess I am getting old.

Thanks for your great feedback.

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1.Create a full image backup of your PC to external HDD.
2.Download an ISO copy of Windows 10 22H2 to your desktop (Using the attached .bat file)
3.Disconnect from the Internet (pull the plug/disable wi-fi..). This will keep from installing updates, drivers.. during setup
4.Double click on the ISO file and run setup.exe keeping apps and data
5.Go over privacy, data harvesting, preview install, Drivers install, Windows 11 blocking…settings / GPEdit.

6. Reconnect to the Internet, Activate your Pro copy, and update missing updates up to Feb. 2024 (WUmgr is recommended so you can block unwanted updates) .

https://www.askwoody.com/forums/topic/2000016-guide-for-windows-update-settings-for-windows-10/

https://www.askwoody.com/forums/topic/60002-guide-to-using-wumgr-for-windows-10-updates/

https://www.askwoody.com/forums/topic/9000001-blocking-copilot-in-windows-10-and-11-home-sku/

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This breaches the MS license. W7/8 to W10 upgrade is no longer legal.
You may find your machine stops one day, or you get a visit…

cheers, Paul

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Paul T wrote:

W7/8 to W10 upgrade is no longer legal.

While MS has specifically indicated the free Windows 7/8/8.1 upgrade is no longer supported/legal, nowhere in the Windows 10 license terms is there anything indicating “upgrading” existing Windows 7/8/8.1 to Windows 10 using a purchased Windows 10 license isn’t allowed!

Please provide a website link and/or written MS license terms that specifically state you can’t do that?

1 user thanked author for this post.

PL1

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“Purchased” being a retail copy.
The bat file in Alex’ post downloads an ISO, no purchase there.

Definitely not kosher.

cheers, Paul

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As long as the install is using an official Window 10 ISO downloaded from Microsoft, and activated with a valid Windows 10 product key, it’s fine.

 

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You missed the following crucial step in Alex’s instructions.

Alex5723 wrote:

6. Reconnect to the Internet, Activate your Pro copy

So, as Alex and @OldNavyGuy and pointed out, if the ISO is activated using an “official” Microsoft Windows 10 license key, it won’t violate Microsoft’s licensing terms!

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A few months after MS stopped activating Win10 via a Win7 & Win8.1 product keys I found myself in need of a few more Win10 Pro keys in preparation for potential future upgrades to Win11 should I choose to do so.

A close friend of mine working in the IT industry suggested I try MrKey Shop based out of the UK.

After some preliminary online research, I purchased 1 Win10 Pro key mainly for testing purposes. That was in Jan of this year. The key I received (within seconds of purchase via email) was an OEM license for Win10 Pro.

As Win10 Pro had been previously installed & running perfectly to my satisfaction on one of the test laptops, the received product key activated successfully with the MS activation servers without any hesitation or issues what-so-ever.

Though I don’t represent MrKey Shop in any way, shape or form & cannot attest to whether or not all MS product keys purchased from this reseller will always be legit, the one key I purchased so far seems to be. And their current price seems to be reasonable (if key’s are indeed legit) now that you can’t get them from MS directly.

In any event, links to MrKey Shop are posted below & always … “caveat emptor” 🤞

https://mrkeyshop.com/en/

https://mrkeyshop.com/en//4-about-us

Win7 - PRO & Ultimate, x64 & x86
Win8.1 - PRO, x64 & x86
Groups A, B & ABS

2 users thanked author for this post.

Techtalk, PL1

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Paul T wrote:

W7/8 to W10 upgrade is no longer legal

It is if you purchase a valid Windows 10 license, or have a previously unused Windows 10 license.

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Why put yourself through all the hassle of Windows 10 or 11. They are horrible!  Stay with Windows 7 as long as you can!

RobB

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They aren’t horrible.

Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

1 user thanked author for this post.

OldGuyForum

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Robb wrote:

Why put yourself through all the hassle of Windows 10 or 11. They are horrible! Stay with Windows 7 as long as you can!

This advice is horrible…

 

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