Upgrading Win 7 to Win 10 on a dual boot computer

[alphab1]

I just checked and found I cannot boot from a USB. So I am doing what you also suggested, that is, creating an iso file on a DVD from which I can boot the PC.

Do I still need to 'activate it with a GenuineTicket.xml' made on my current Windows 7 before I wipe it? I have located a OEM DVD with Win 10 Home and would buy and use it if I do not have to make the GenuineTicket.xml.

In case I do need to make this .xml file (whether I use the home made iso DVD or use a OEM DVD) how do I do it? I have no idea and would have to google to find what it is and how to do it.

[Breelander]

I just checked and found I cannot boot from a USB. So I am doing what you also suggested, that is, creating an iso file on a DVD from which I can boot the PC.

You don't copy the ISO file onto the DVD, what you do is burn it to the DVD. The ISO is an image from which the bootable optical disk can be made. You can do this in Windows 7, right-click on the ISO file and select Open with >Windows Disk Image Burner.

Do I still need to 'activate it with a GenuineTicket.xml' made on my current Windows 7 before I wipe it? I have located a OEM DVD with Win 10 Home and would buy and use it if I do not have to make the GenuineTicket.xml.

If you buy a W10 OEM DVD it should come with a 25-digit key. That should activate it. This is of course assuming that the dvd is genuine, there are scammers out there - particularly on eBay.

If you make your own DVD you'll need to use the Genuine Ticket method to transfer the activation from your W7 to the new W10 install.

In case I do need to make this .xml file (whether I use the home made iso DVD or use a OEM DVD) how do I do it? I have no idea and would have to google to find what it is and how to do it.

Seems you missed seeing that I gave you a link to a tutorial with full instructions quite a few posts ago. Here it is again:

https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/233 ... first.html

[alphab1]

Excellent, this is all I wanted to hear. I just ordered this DVD. I hope it will work.

Meanwhile I am updating my more powerful Lenovo (Thinkcenter) which has only Win 7 pro (64 bit) on it, using the MCT. This is a relatively easy task that I can manage. If this free upgrade does not work I will buy a genuine Win 10 installation program on a USB which is readily available and should work with this computer.

Cheers.

[GrahamPlatt]

I have been using Win 7 of my old Vostro computer which also has XP in dual boot, which I have not used for years. Once I tried to remove the XP but could not do it for some reasons I do not remember.

I understand there is a way to upgrade (for free) Win 7 to Win 10 even now (see below) but I am not sure how to do this on a dual boot computer. If I do wish to continue using this old computer (it is a spare) but only with Win 10 and the free upgrade is not possible, then I have to use a Win 10 CD. Do I format all the partitions before trying to install? Is the only place to buy this CD is Microsoft official site?

I would appreciate any help and advice for this task.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/heres-how ... 0-upgrade/

Thanks.
alpha

Just put Ubuntu on it. Really. It’s old, it’s spare, you’re already going to upgrade your more powerful computer to W10..
Go on. You can thank me later.

[alphab1]

"Just put Ubuntu on it. Really. It’s old, it’s spare, you’re already going to upgrade your more powerful computer to W10..
Go on. You can thank me later."

I can thank you in advance.

However, I know nothing of Ubuntu and have no idea of the way to install Win 10, ubuntu version (?) if that's what you are suggesting. Even if I am not able to learn and implement it right now (due to both lack of time and limited expertise) I can have a go later. I have in fact two other Dell laptops (Inspiron and Mini) not touched for many years. I have not given them yet to charity as I need to wipe the hard disks clean before doing so, but have not managed to do that yet. Maybe, I can try it on the Inspiron.

Cheers.

[ReformedCharacter]

I have not given them yet to charity as I need to wipe the hard disks clean before doing so, but have not managed to do that yet. Maybe, I can try it on the Inspiron.

Cheers.

Darik's Boot and Nuke

https://dban.org/

RC

[alphab1]

I have finally been able to 'upgrade' Windows software on my dual boot 12 yr old Vostro to Win 10 Home. I had to spend many hours and made a number of failed attempts. Briefly, I created a Windows 10 ISO image on a DVD (of 4.7gb capacity) using the Media Creation Tool. I did create the file GenuineTicket.xml as advised and copied it on a USB drive, but did not need to use it. I booted the PC from the ISO disc and followed the steps as presented on the screen.

There were two locations where the correct choice had to be made.
(1) Choosing "I don't have a Product Key" Option and
(2) Choosing "Customs upgrade" and not the other option appearing above it.
Choosing this other option led to "Compatibility" problem, the message being, "The upgrade option is not available if you start your computer using Windows installation media. If a copy of Windows is already installed on this computer and you want to upgrade, remove the installation media and restart your computer. After Windows has started normally install the media and run Windows setup." I think this is what I have been doing (again and again) and always ending up with the error message "OX8007001F-OX20006" etc with the Tool (thankfully) recovering for me the original Windows software I had on the computer.

I had to choose on which partition I wanted the Win 10 software installed. First I tried on the partition with Win 7 as it had lots of space but for some reason the process failed (or I ended it, not sure). Next time I installed on the partition with Win XP and it was successful but took very long time with intervals when one would think the computer is in a loop. When I start the computer it presents Win 10 final version in Vol 1, Win 10 incomplete version in Vol 2 and Win 7 option. Only the final version works when chosen. I have further work to do to remove all unnecessary folders but this offer of three options is perhaps because of some change I made when adding Win 7 to XP many years ago. I dare not try to correct it.

Just to add, I find Windows 10 far too complex with lots of choices cluttering up the screen. I would have kept and happily used Win 7 (more than adequate for my purpose) for ever if there were not the safety issues. Also some programs I need to use do not seem anymore to work properly with Win 7 as they are developed for Win 10. There will be many more of such programs in the future, so a computer with Win 10 is essential. As a compromise I intend to retain Win 7 on my Lenovo, at least for the time being. I just had to share this view having started this topic.

Cheers.

[Breelander]

I have finally been able to 'upgrade' Windows software on my dual boot 12 yr old Vostro to Win 10 Home....

Congratulations, got there in the end....

When I start the computer it presents Win 10 final version in Vol 1, Win 10 incomplete version in Vol 2 and Win 7 option. Only the final version works when chosen. I have further work to do to remove all unnecessary folders but this offer of three options is perhaps because of some change I made when adding Win 7 to XP many years ago. I dare not try to correct it.

Does your Windows 10 say 'Windows is activated with a digital licence' in Settings > Update & Security > Activation? If so, the simplest way to correct this is to do (yet) another clean install, wipe out everything currently there (XP and W7) and install just the one fresh copy of Windows 10.

You can click 'I don't have a Product Key' again, your digital licence is stored on Microsoft's activation servers and linked to the hardware ID of your PC. A clean install of the same edition (Home in your case) will activate automatically from this digital licence.

This time in Custom Install select each existing partition in turn and delete it. You should end up with the entire hard drive marked as unallocated space. Select that as the location to install Windows.

Just to add, I find Windows 10 far too complex with lots of choices cluttering up the screen. I would have kept and happily used Win 7 (more than adequate for my purpose) for ever if there were not the safety issues....

It's culture shock. Stick with it, when I got the upgrade from W7 to W10 in August 2015 it took me two weeks before I felt as at home in W10 as I had been in W7.

Some just can't make the transition. I'd advise you to try, it's worth it in the long run. But if you really can't adapt then there's Open-Shell, an open source continuation of the Classic Shell project after it's author stopped development.

[GrahamPlatt]

Congratulations on that, alphab1.
Given you managed that, installing Linux should be a breeze!
I’m no longer the committed evangelist I once was, but when you’re talking of older hardware, the general rule is it’ll run better with Linux than Windows.
Take a look here; viewtopic.php?f=39&t=237&start=340#p313230

[alphab1]

Thank you both for your congratulatory comment . I have made a note of your suggestions and would attend to them when I get the opportunity.

Meanwhile, without wishing to prolong this thread, may I ask if you know of any forum (or similar) where one can get help and advice for writing apps for smart phones. I have some experience in writing programs in (old) Fortran, and am prepared to take appropriate online course(s) (if necessary) to build on this expertise rather than start from scratch. I want to do it for fun.

Cheers.

[Breelander]

Meanwhile, without wishing to prolong this thread, may I ask if you know of any forum (or similar) where one can get help and advice for writing apps for smart phones. I have some experience in writing programs in (old) Fortran, and am prepared to take appropriate online course(s) (if necessary) to build on this expertise rather than start from scratch. I want to do it for fun.

Gosh, that takes me back. Fortran was the first programming language I was formally taught back in my Uni days. Well, the only one actually - the rest of my programming career was self taught (machine code, C, C++, etc).

Not an area I am familliar with, all my programming work was for mini-computers, and then for PCs. For apps Python would seem to be the most appropriate language to learn.

Appypie.com | 25 Best Programming Languages for Mobile Apps & Top Mobile App Development Tools & Frameworks

But you don't even need to learn a language, there are app building apps available, apparently.

[alphab1]

I think my jubilation was premature. The screen said 'go to settings for activation' and I (very carefully) copied the 25 digits for Win 7 I installed before and which was confirmed by Belarc. The key was found to be incorrect and I am asked to go to store to buy a genuine copy of Windows. Troubleshooting did not help. My guess is that this happened because I chose the 'custom' option. If this is so, then it is a dead end as the other (common option?) will give the error message I found repeatedly before.

Unless there is a simple solution I have to do what most people do, namely, buy a Windows 10 installation media. As this old computer cannot boot from a USB, and only OEM versions are available on DVDs I have to take the risk of trying a OEM version. The seller has good score and the DVD can be returned within 30 days postage being paid by the seller.

[Breelander]

I think my jubilation was premature. The screen said 'go to settings for activation' ...

Unless there is a simple solution I have to do what most people do, namely, buy a Windows 10 installation media....

The simple solution is to use the GenuineTicket.xml you saved earlier. Start at Step 8 in the tutorial.

https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/233 ... first.html

[alphab1]

"Bree:
The simple solution is to use the GenuineTicket.xml you saved earlier. Start at Step 8 in the tutorial.
https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/233 ... first.html"

Success at last. Many thanks.

Activation failed when I used the GenuineTicket.xml I created before and stored on a USB, even after a number of restarts. Then I used the ISO DVD again to run gatherosstate.exe to generate a new GenuineTicket.xml. This time it worked at first go. I don't know (or care) why the original .xml did not work.

The (sweet) message is, "Windows is activated with a digital license linked to your Microsoft account" with a nudge to upgrade it to Windows 10 Pro.

I checked "system" going through Control Panel as shown in the Tutorial and found details of the computer (4GB RAM, 3.25 usable) and the Product ID which is four groups of 5 characters. There may be a way to print this page but I could not find it, nor did I have ready access to the snipping tool I had with Win 7. So I took pictures on my iPhone for record as I may need it later.

One further query. When I restart after the page with DELL LOGO I get a message, "Diskette Drive 0 seek failure" and "Press F1 to continue or F2 for set up". I used to have it before as well. I press F1 and all's okay. I can live with it but just curious to know the reason.

Cheers.
PS. Thanks for the Appypie blog which is only a few days old - fresh from the oven .

[Breelander]

Success at last. Many thanks...

Finally, your perseverance paid off - thank goodness

One further query. When I restart after the page with DELL LOGO I get a message, "Diskette Drive 0 seek failure" and "Press F1 to continue or F2 for set up". I used to have it before as well. I press F1 and all's okay. I can live with it but just curious to know the reason.

You have an old machine with bios support for a floppy drive (which it looks for, but either there isn't one there or if there is then it's broken). You should be able to go into the bios and disable the floppy drive to get rid of this message. It says to press F2 to enter the bios setup.

PS. Thanks for the Appypie blog which is only a few days old - fresh from the oven .

You're welcome. That's as far as I can help with writing apps for android, it's outside my skill set. But if you start another thread on the subject maybe others can help.

[alphab1]

I am in no hurry to clean up the HDD to retain only the partition containing Win 10. I can use the installed program and learn Win 10 first.

However, at a later date, as an alternative to your suggestion for another clean install can I not reformat the other partitions while in Win 10 to wipe them clean? I can then use a partitioning program to resize them if necessary. I don't have any programs or data in these partitions that I want to keep.

I am just hesitant to go through another long installation process with the possibility (however small) of making a mistake.

[Breelander]

I am in no hurry to clean up the HDD to retain only the partition containing Win 10. I can use the installed program and learn Win 10 first.

However, at a later date, as an alternative to your suggestion for another clean install can I not reformat the other partitions while in Win 10 to wipe them clean? I can then use a partitioning program to resize them if necessary. I don't have any programs or data in these partitions that I want to keep.

Yes, that would work too, maybe not quite so neat/convenient partition layout though. You don't want to remove a partition without a drive letter called System Reserved though, that's part of your Windows install. You may also find a partition you need to keep is in the way of expanding your C: partition. You can only expand a partition into space that is immediately next to it. Disk Management can't fix that, but tools like Minitool Partition Wizard can.

I am just hesitant to go through another long installation process with the possibility (however small) of making a mistake.

There's no rush, familiarise yourself with Windows 10 first. What you should do before trying any changes (or even a clean install) is make a system image of the drive as it stands now. Then you can go ahead, safe in the knowledge that you can restore it should thing go badly wrong. I'd recommend Macrium Reflect Free for that. You'll need an external HDD (or a second internal one) to put the image on, and make the bootable usb (or CD) Macrium Rescue Media, you'll need to boot from this to do the restore.

[alphab1]

Excellent. I have a Hard Disk of the same physical size as the current one (but of a larger capacity) and I have used Macrium Reflect before a few times to make a clone of the HDD. I will do the same with the changed HDD now. Thanks for reminding. Really, this should be my first task.

[Breelander]

Excellent. I have a Hard Disk of the same physical size as the current one (but of a larger capacity) and I have used Macrium Reflect before a few times to make a clone of the HDD. I will do the same with the changed HDD now. Thanks for reminding. Really, this should be my first task.

Good to hear you already use Macrium. I usually make an image rather than a clone. It can be smaller, so you may be able to keep several of varying ages. If you set the imaging up a backup definition file you can also run it again as a differential backup, making a much smaller additional image that just contains the differences since you made the full image. Then you have a choice of which date to restore back to. Restore the differential and you restore the full plus all the changes, or choose the full to go back to the original state.

[alphab1]

I, in fact, do both cloning and imaging.

I have created a rescue media (ISO) on a DVD but have not had the occasion to check it out restoring after a failure situation. I clone on a replacement HDD so that if the disc fails I can just change it and not worry about the certainty of being able to restore images from a back up. For an old computer I felt it prudent to invest on a spare disc and keep it ready. However, I don't clone very often.

I do the usual back up only for the C: drive as I keep copies of data files on an external Seagate USB drive. So far I have not used differential back up, again because of my (unfounded) fear that the differential images may get messed up. A 'full' image of the C: drive is more reassuring to have, but then the b/u sizes are small in my case. Yesterday it took about 15 minutes to back up the entire HDD (including two almost empty data partitions, D: and E:) and verify the image. I managed to resize the partitions and expand the C: drive to provide about 100 GB of space, before backing up. So far so good.