Upgrade Windows 7 to 10 for free (still works)

CoBo55 · 06-01-2020 1:43pm

glasso wrote: »

A clean install of Windows 10 is preferable to an update really

Be careful with this, you need to upgrade first to activate cleanly then do a clean install afterwards, it is more time consuming obviously but you won't get activation problems.

styron · 06-01-2020 2:04pm

The upgrade option is free as you're meant to be retiring a 7 for a 10. A compromise avoiding potential data issues and a cleaner upgrade
is to shrink and create a second partition, do a fresh validated install of 7 and upgrade that to win 10 - effectively dual booting win 10 alongside your original 7 OS, migrating data at your leisure.

[Deleted User] · 06-01-2020 2:45pm

CoBo55 wrote: »

Be careful with this, you need to upgrade first to activate cleanly then do a clean install afterwards, it is more time consuming obviously but you won't get activation problems.

You can use your existing win 7 key so no need to upgrade first.

muffler · 06-01-2020 7:29pm

Going to have a go at this but first stupid question is how do I find my Windows 7 key?

irishgeo · 06-01-2020 8:01pm

muffler wrote: »

Going to have a go at this but first stupid question is how do I find my Windows 7 key?

Jellybean key finder

ColdTurkey · 06-01-2020 10:54pm

The PC was going in the bin, had my heart broke with freezes. Clean install this evening and its flat out since. Thanks for the heads up Op.

Esel · 07-01-2020 12:23am

muffler wrote: »

Going to have a go at this but first stupid question is how do I find my Windows 7 key?

Possibly on a sticker at rear of PC or underneath of laptop.

irishproduce · 07-01-2020 12:48am

Will 10 upgrade onto a Vostro all in one desktop?

MacDanger · 07-01-2020 9:21am

muffler wrote: »

Going to have a go at this but first stupid question is how do I find my Windows 7 key?

Download this:

Solaris10 wrote: »

https://www.magicaljellybean.com/keyfinder/

download Free Version...

I did it last night and it worked perfectly

CoBo55 · 07-01-2020 10:23am

glasso wrote: »

You can use your existing win 7 key so no need to upgrade first.

Sometimes it won't accept the key saying it's the incorrect type etc.

m8 · 07-01-2020 4:30pm

Mine updated no issues, thanks OP.

mrtom · 07-01-2020 6:11pm

CoBo55 wrote: »

Sometimes it won't accept the key saying it's the incorrect type etc.

I have an illegible smudged W 7 sticker / key on the base of my Sony laptop.
So I used 3 key retrieval tools; Balarc Advisor, Magic Jelly Bean & Product key finder, all of which gave me an identical key value which doesn't match parts of the smudged sticker that I can read. The retrieved key was rejected during my W 10 clean install.

The Sony has the original W7 OS preinstalled.
What is the Irish phone number for Windows support ?
solutions anyone ?

CoBo55 · 07-01-2020 7:11pm

mrtom wrote: »

I have an illegible smudged W 7 sticker / key on the base of my Sony laptop.
So I used 3 key retrieval tools; Balarc Advisor, Magic Jelly Bean & Product key finder, all of which gave me an identical key value which doesn't match parts of the smudged sticker that I can read. The retrieved key was rejected during my W 10 clean install.

The Sony has the original W7 OS preinstalled.
What is the Irish phone number for Windows support ?
solutions anyone ?

Is W7 still working? If so, upgrade from within W7, once W10 is up and running you can clean install it. If W7 is gone you can try one of those eBay windows key sellers.

Riesen_Meal · 07-01-2020 7:38pm

mrtom wrote: »

I have an illegible smudged W 7 sticker / key on the base of my Sony laptop.
So I used 3 key retrieval tools; Balarc Advisor, Magic Jelly Bean & Product key finder, all of which gave me an identical key value which doesn't match parts of the smudged sticker that I can read. The retrieved key was rejected during my W 10 clean install.

The Sony has the original W7 OS preinstalled.
What is the Irish phone number for Windows support ?
solutions anyone ?

Sounds like your lacking space on that laptop, copy over all your important files onto an external USB key or HDD first, delete all your old programs to have about 40gb free and then try it and see how you get on...

CoBo55 · 07-01-2020 7:51pm

Fieldog wrote: »

Sounds like your lacking space on that laptop, copy over all your important files onto an external USB key or HDD first, delete all your old programs to have about 40gb free and then try it and see how you get on...

His W7 key was rejected during activation as an OEM key I'd imagine, Dell's are the worst for this caper.

Riesen_Meal · 07-01-2020 8:15pm

CoBo55 wrote: »

His W7 key was rejected during activation as an OEM key I'd imagine, Dell's are the worst for this caper.

Still up to their old trick's?

I remember they used to do something similar back in the XP days!

Tamsta · 07-01-2020 9:16pm

mrtom wrote: »

I have an illegible smudged W 7 sticker / key (…)
solutions anyone ?

Use a crack to activate Win7 :P No win7 files are used during upgrade so even in an unlikely case of crack been' not the nicest piece of software it will not be able to survive upgrade (delete windows.old folder after upgrade is done). Or, if you want to be 100 percent sure, simply clean install win10 later.

mrtom · 07-01-2020 9:32pm

CoBo55 wrote: »

His W7 key was rejected during activation as an OEM key I'd imagine, Dell's are the worst for this caper.

So does the OEM status bar me from upgrade / reinstall of W 10? Most consumers have OEM products.

mrtom · 07-01-2020 9:57pm

Tamsta wrote: »

Use a crack to activate Win7 :P No win7 files are used during upgrade so even in an unlikely case of crack been' not the nicest piece of software it will not be able to survive upgrade (delete windows.old folder after upgrade is done). Or, if you want to be 100 percent sure, simply clean install win10 later.

During clean install of W 10, the first few minutes say "Preparing ......", its at this point it detects the embedded key.

mrcheez · 07-01-2020 10:17pm

How long until the windows.old folder is deleted automagically?

It's about 30 GB.. if I delete it I get 60GB free space, but before I installed Windows 10, Windows 7 only gave me 38GB free space even after Disk Cleanup.

wtf, was Windows 7 just full of junk?

Tamsta · 07-01-2020 11:07pm

mrtom wrote: »

During clean install of W 10, the first few minutes say "Preparing ......", its at this point it detects the embedded key.

Embedded key, just as TV licence inspector's magic watch, does not exist

But this is completely different story that has nothing to do with this discussion; all we need to know here is that Microsoft doesn't care if your windows are "legal" or not. All they want is you to use Windows 10 so they let you upgrade your old computer even if it is running cracked win7

styron · 08-01-2020 2:04am

mrtom wrote: »

I have an illegible smudged W 7 sticker / key on the base of my Sony laptop.
So I used 3 key retrieval tools; Balarc Advisor, Magic Jelly Bean & Product key finder, all of which gave me an identical key value which doesn't match parts of the smudged sticker that I can read. The retrieved key was rejected during my W 10 clean install.

The Sony has the original W7 OS preinstalled.
What is the Irish phone number for Windows support ?
solutions anyone ?

Showkeyplus usually gives both the OEM and installed keys, but the free install applies only to upgrading (ie. retiring) a valid Win7.

The upgraded 10 can be cleanly reinstalled once automatically activated (digital license from MS servers) or by using the Win7 key

CoBo55 · 08-01-2020 9:51am

mrtom wrote: »

So does the OEM status bar me from upgrade / reinstall of W 10? Most consumers have OEM products.

No, upgrade first then clean install if needed afterwards just don't clean install first.

mrtom · 08-01-2020 1:22pm

CoBo55 wrote: »

No, upgrade first then clean install if needed afterwards just don't clean install first.

Ah, if only this was the case! My W7 wont update; Error: 0x8007001f-0x20006
I attempted to upgrade my Sony Viao pcg-71911m to W 10.
Late in the process after downloading & processing, it flagged error :

w 10 upgrade failed
0x8007001f-0x20006
the installation failed in the SAFE_OS phase with an error during REPLICATE_OC operation

I have followed all the steps in guide:
https://www.thewindowsclub.com/windows-10-update-keeps-failing-0x8007001f-0x20006

Ran the Win online update repair tool, SFC etc etc

So my research tells me this error related to update issue in my case is an ehco of a deeper malaise.

The attch show upgrade error & my smugged Win sticker.
As my key retrival tools produce a mismatch with the sticker this is becoming the perfect storm !
intriguing stuff altogether

mrtom · 08-01-2020 1:43pm

styron wrote: »

Showkeyplus usually gives both the OEM and installed keys, but the free install applies only to upgrading (ie. retiring) a valid Win7.

The upgraded 10 can be cleanly reinstalled once automatically activated (digital license from MS servers) or by using the Win7 key

thanks for your time.
Show key plus reveals the key that the clean install rejected & states OEM Key "Windows 7 OEM marker present in firmware".

Quackster · 08-01-2020 1:51pm

Had an issue with a partly-unreadable product key in the past myself. Found this solution online and it worked for me:

Simple yet very effective solution. I used a blunt pencil to dap blobs of acrylic paint onto the label 5 chracters at a time, let it dry about 30 seconds to a minute then dab with a dry tissue. Finally used a damp peice of tissue to VERY lightly wipe away the paint. Some paint sticks to the chracters because they are embossed and so you can read them. Took me 45-60 mins of blobbing and wiping.

mrtom · 08-01-2020 2:45pm

Quackster wrote: »

Had an issue with a partly-unreadable product key in the past myself. Found this solution online and it worked for me:

Simple yet very effective solution. I used a blunt pencil to dap blobs of acrylic paint onto the label 5 chracters at a time, let it dry about 30 seconds to a minute then dab with a dry tissue. Finally used a damp peice of tissue to VERY lightly wipe away the paint. Some paint sticks to the chracters because they are embossed and so you can read them. Took me 45-60 mins of blobbing and wiping.

Ah, the ultimate analog approach !

styron · 08-01-2020 4:48pm

Looks like the Sony CoA Key might be a red herring according to Blencogo.

This tallies with my Dell OEM SLP (System Locked Protection) licence experience: an originally supplied disc reinstall or factory reset automatically (re)activates Win 7 - by matching a SLP product key "stored in the bios" automatically during the install. It's a volume licence key picked up by key finders, but cannot be manually inputted during the install.

mrtom · 08-01-2020 5:19pm

styron wrote: »

Looks like the Sony CoA Key might be a red herring according to Blencogo.

This tallies with my Dell OEM SLP (System Locked Protection) licence experience: an originally supplied disc reinstall or factory reset automatically (re)activates Win 7 - by matching a SLP product key "stored in the bios" automatically during the install. It's a volume licence key picked up by key finders, but cannot be manually inputted during the install.

Clear item on Sony & Win stickers, good read & nice find.

[Deleted User] · 08-01-2020 6:52pm

mrcheez wrote: »

How long until the windows.old folder is deleted automagically?

It's about 30 GB.. if I delete it I get 60GB free space, but before I installed Windows 10, Windows 7 only gave me 38GB free space even after Disk Cleanup.

wtf, was Windows 7 just full of junk?

you can delete is straightaway.

an accumulation of updates over years on the old windows 7 means that the clean install takes up less space than the old one

https://www.cnet.com/how-to/how-to-delete-the-windows-old-folder-from-windows-10/

Upgrade Windows 7 to 10 for free (still works)

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