Downloading W10, but not installing it. Questions

[ILoveW7]

I'm currently running W7 and still loving it. But with the "free download for w10" ending soon. I was wondering if I could download w10 now, not install it (save it on my exthd?) and still be able to install/activate it after the 7/29 cut off date. (If I ever do decide to try it again)
I tried asking Microsoft, guess how well that went... lol.

Any help on the subject is greatly appreciated. I know some stuff about Pc's, but I'm no expert.

 

[pbcopter]

Hi and welcome.

No you must upgrade before July 29, 2016 to get it free. You will receive Digital entitlement on Microsoft's servers and from then on, you may reinstall on that computer without a key and it will remain activated.

 

[ThrashZone]

Hi,
Even if you upgrade to 10
If you use the same win-7 and activation key you upgraded you will be reverting back to 7 and rejecting the free offer
It is only free till July 29th in that you have to still be using 10 after that and not win-7

Digital entitlement is also limited but nobody may notice it yet being it's still during the free upgrade period.
But I believe even if you upgraded during the free period and you reverted or reactivated the win-7 activation key you will not be able to activate win-10 after the free upgrade expires.

 

[ILoveW7]

Great...lol.
I have downloaded it and tried it before. But I really did not like it.

Guess I'm sticking with 7 till it's no longer supported.

 

[AddRAM]

So then why bother, if you want Windows 10 in the future, just buy it.

It`s just an operating system, just stick with Windows 7, it`s the best.

And as far as support, you do not need support to run an OS. 2020 is a long ways away.

The only updates I install are for MSE, I rarely install any other updates they release because they are really not even needed.

 

[ILoveW7]

Well, I mostly use my PC for gaming. Nothing major or anything. It's all pleasure, no business.


But I keep hearing this will be "The last OS" and will only get updates. Seems like eventually I will have no choice but to switch to W10.

I haven't tried W10 since it came out (was very buggy, did not like the UI, particularity "Settings").

I would try it again but last time it decided to erase my W7 copy and I had to do a clean install of W7 which meant I lost everything (programs). And it left a very sour taste in my mouth.

I would ask how everyone feels about W10, but pretty sure noone here is running W7 cause they don't want to. lol

 

[AddRAM]

You should never wipe out your 7 install just to try 10.

Just install 10 on another drive.

If you want to talk about 10 then ya go to tenforums, I have no issues with 10, but I only use it once in a while on another machine entirely.

As I said, it`s just another OS, once you know your way around. At least it`s better then 8/8.1

Windows 10 Forums

Windows 10 does not get updates as much as Windows 7, it gets an entire new build model installed, which I think is great.

If you haven`t already, you can download a windows 10 iso file from here and create an install dvd or usb stick anytime you want for later use.

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

 

[ILoveW7]

I never deleted it. It clearly stated I could go back if I didn't like it. 2 weeks later I tried to go back to w7 and it said it was no longer there. No idea what happened.

 

[AddRAM]

Never deleted what ? When I said you should never wipe out your 7 install I said you should never have attempted the 10 upgrade on the same drive, try it before you buy it.

Did you not say this in post #6 ?

"I would try it again but last time it decided to erase my W7 copy and I had to do a clean install of W7 which meant I lost everything (programs). And it left a very sour taste in my mouth."

Why would it wipe out Windows 7, all you do is upgrade to 10, THEN, if you don`t like it you have 30 days to go back to 7.

You probably deleted your windows.old folder.

 

[ILoveW7]

I did say in post 1 I wasn't a expert. lol

I wouldn't even know how to install it onto a different hard drive (all I have is the hard drive the PC came with and my 4tb exthd) and boot from it. I'm sure I can learn... I did figure out how to go from w8 to w7 and change BIOS settings.

 

[AddRAM]

And you don`t have to be an expert, my daughter can install windows in her sleep, it`s so easy.

That`s what we`re here for, to help you If you have a question just ask, but keep them simple and to the point

Read some of the tutorials, here`s one to start, and hey, Have fun

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/1649-clean-install-windows-7-a.html

 

[TrustMe]

You say you tried Windows 10 for 2 weeks. Did it activate? If yes, then you can install Windows 10 any time you want for the life of that computer and it will activate. The computer's hardware ID gets stored on Microsoft's activation servers.

If you decide to try Windows 10 again, when it asks for a product key just hit "skip". Do not enter one. It will activate automatically once you connect to the Internet. Just make sure you install the exact version you installed the first time. (Home or Pro).

One more thing. If you make big changes to your computer's hardware, like replace the motherboard, it will NOT activate after the replacement. Or If you make to many small changes to the hardware, it will break activation. No one knows for sure exactly how many hardware changes are needed to break activation, but you can definitely break it.

 

[ILoveW7]

I honestly do not remember if I activated it.

Guess I could download / install and activate it now and just switch back to w7, yes?

 

[AddRAM]

It doesn`t work like that, you can`t keep going back and forth with your 7 key, once you activate 10 and go past 30 days, your 7 key is obsolete, or so I`ve read, others can confirm that.

If you don`t go 30 days and go back to 7 then you`re ok with 7, so what`s the point of going to 10 if you didn`t like it.

Windows 7 will be supported for 4 more years, if you want 10 by then just buy it.

Windows 10 is not worth giving up a Windows 7 key for, not no way, not no how.

 

[ILoveW7]

Well, there is always the possibility that they will make it decent. And the little "Jew" in me is screaming "Find a way to keep your free copy". lol
I don't want to use it, but I don't want to loose it if there is a way to keep it for later use either.

 

[AddRAM]

It`s not a free copy because you are giving up Windows 7, so there is nothing free about it.

You can not do what you want without loosing your windows 7 license.

If you had Windows 8.1 installed then I`d say "What are you waiting for, do it" LOL

That`s what I did. I hate 8

 

[ILoveW7]

100% agreed about w8. My PC came with it preinstalled (w10 wasn't out yet). I gave it a honest 3 months. It was so bad. By the end of the 3rd month I realized I hadn't powered on the pc in over a week and I was only using my laptop with w7 on it. Did a ton of research, bought a copy of w7 Ultimate, figured out how to change the BIOS, pre-downloaded all the drivers I needed and went for it. Went pretty smooth too considering how nervous I was messing with BIOS.

I guess a part of me just wants w10 to be as good as they claim. I will be checking out the "performance" section here... See if I can learn a few things to make this PC run a little smoother on some games.

Thanks for the information everyone.

 

[ThrashZone]

Hi,
Yea I haven't seen anything 10 is better at other than tracking and changing my personal settings so yea it is better at those two items

 

[TrustMe]

I don't see why you can't do it again. I have never heard or read anything that said you can't do it twice.

Make a backup your Windows 7 activation before you tried it. That way if you run into a problem you can always reinstall Windows 7 and activate. I have used the first 2 programs a number of times and they work. I would download all 3 and make a backup with each. Keep them in a safe place. You never know when you need it.l

Or better yet, make a complete image of your hard drive using Macrium Reflect Free before you start the upgrade. If something goes south, it will only take you 20 minutes or less to restore your hard drive. Make sure to make a recovery USB or DVD. You will need it to restore your image.

 

[Brink]

Hello TrustMe,

If you upgraded to the free W10 from the activated W7 key, then you can't have both Windows 10 and 7 installed and activated with the same key at the same time since it violates the EULA. If one tries, both will eventually be deactivated when they check in next with Microsoft's activation servers.