Should I upgrade to Windows 10 from Win7 Pro or from Windows 8.1 Core?


  1. bluegreen1
    Posts : 21
    Windows 7 Professional, SP 1, 32 bit; Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU T7300
       New #1

    Should I upgrade to Windows 10 from Win7 Pro or from Windows 8.1 Core?


    I have a new Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus notebook with Windows 8.1 Core. I also have Windows 7 Professional from my old laptop which died a few weeks ago.

    I'm thinking it could be a good idea to install Windows 7 Professional in the new Samsung so that it will give me a better upgrade to Windows 10 when it becomes available? I don't have experience upgrading operating systems, so I just want to be sure I'm thinking correctly about this. (I really don't care about not being able to use the touch screen until Windows 10 is available.)

    Thanks for any advice.

    (I also just looked at the thread: Why Upgrade to Windows 10?, and I see the frustration, but eventually there will be no support for 7... It took a lot of time to set up this new 8.1 laptop, including making it look more like 7 (with Classic Shell among many other tweaks), but now I'm pretty happy with it. The things that would bother me most about 10 would be no Windows Media Center and the possibility of it ever being a subscription service. (I don't do subscriptions or contracts - only prepaid cell phones and no pay TV, ever.))

    But that's all beside the point - I'll get Win 10, but will also keep my Win 7 Pro disks, and hopefully learn how to keep Win 8.1 (no disk came w/ PC). I just need to know if it would be better to upgrade from Win 7 Pro or from Win 8.1 Core.

    Thanks for reading.
    Last edited by bluegreen1; 09 Jun 2015 at 14:47. Reason: paragraph break
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  3. ignatzatsonic
    Posts : 12,012
    Windows 7 Home Premium SP1, 64-bit
       New #2

    As far as I know:

    Win 7 Pro will free upgrade to Win 10 Pro

    Win 8.1 core will free upgrade to Win 10 Home.

    For a garden variety home user, the most significant distinction between 10 Pro and 10 Home may be the way in which "Windows Updates" will be handled. The former will have more control than the latter in at least some circumstances, but the details are unclear as yet. It may be a distinction without a practical difference.

    Or you may be an unusual case and need some of the other features offered by 10 Pro.
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  4. AddRAM
    Posts : 13,576
    Windows 10 Pro x64
       New #3

    No way would I waste my Windows 7 license on 10, upgrade Windows 8.1
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  6. bluegreen1
    Posts : 21
    Windows 7 Professional, SP 1, 32 bit; Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU T7300
    Thread Starter
       New #4

    Thanks to both of you. I actually have two Win 7 Pro licenses (and disks); the 2nd one is from an old netbook. But from what ignatzatsonic is saying, it maybe doesn't make much difference which version of 10 I get. I did have Vista Home Premium before I had Windows 7 Pro, and I didn't really see much effective difference between having Home Premium (with Vista) and having Pro (7) later on with newer machines. So, since I have an extra 7 license, is there any reason at all that I should consider upgrading from 7? It seems that there isn't, unless I'm missing something?

    Thanks again.
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  7. fireberd
    Posts : 8,135
    Windows 10 64 bit
       New #5

    On Windows 7 one of the main differences between Home and Pro is how much memory you can use. But, that may not be an issue for you either.

    But, FWIW, I'll be upgrading my Win 8.1 Pro systems to Win 10. I won't be upgrading my Win 7 system because of an RS232C interface application (my Wife's Singer Embroidery Machine) that won't run on Win 8/8.1. I have Win 10 Preview installed on a separate hard drive and my recording studio software (Sonar) and hardware has tested out on Win 10, which was my main concern.
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  8. groze
    Posts : 1,167
    W10 32 bit, XUbuntu 18.xx 64 bit
       New #6

    fireberd said:
    On Windows 7 one of the main differences between Home and Pro is how much memory you can use. But, that may not be an issue for you either.

    But, FWIW, I'll be upgrading my Win 8.1 Pro systems to Win 10. I won't be upgrading my Win 7 system because of an RS232C interface application (my Wife's Singer Embroidery Machine) that won't run on Win 8/8.1. I have Win 10 Preview installed on a separate hard drive and my recording studio software (Sonar) and hardware has tested out on Win 10, which was my main concern.
    Fireberd, How can Pro use more memory than Home? I thought that was determined by the architecture x86 (sometimes called 32 bit) and 64 bit.
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  10. ignatzatsonic
    Posts : 12,012
    Windows 7 Home Premium SP1, 64-bit
       New #7

    groze said:

    Fireberd, How can Pro use more memory than Home? I thought that was determined by the architecture x86 (sometimes called 32 bit) and 64 bit.
    Win 7 Home Premium can use a maximum of 16 GB.

    Win 7 Pro can use a maximum 128 GB if I recall correctly.

    That's an OS limit, irrespective of 32/64 bit.

    I think Win 10 Home has a higher limit; haven't checked lately.
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  11. fireberd
    Posts : 8,135
    Windows 10 64 bit
       New #8

    Thanks for clarifying the RAM. I should have done that.

    Jack
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