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#21
Thank you! Great information!It is a good idea to first try the repair install. As you say, you can always do a clean install later.
It is getting hard to find a retail version of Windows 7 from a legitimate dealer. However, you can get a retail version of Windows 8.1. The three types of Windows 8.1 that are available are: "8.1"; "8.1 Pro"; and "8.1 Enterprise". "Pro" will have everything you need. The version I linked to at Newegg is "Pro".
What version of Word and Excel do you have? You can probably get them to work; but keep in mind that anything older than 2010 is no longer receiving security patches from Microsoft. Another option is to use Microsoft Office Online, which is free, and which is a stripped down version of the latest Microsoft Office. (Does not include Outlook.) You can find it here:
https://products.office.com/en-us/of...-office-online
You can turn off automatic updates both in 7 and in 8.1. Then do your research; and when the experts say it is safe to update, update your computer. As long as you do that, you don't need to have automatic updates turned on.