From windows 7 to windows 10

[Wazawaza]

Greetings,

I have been using windows 7 for a long long time and aquired a windows 10 installation cd with a key.
I must admit that I'm a little hesitant in changing OS, being so used to win7. My first question is: having my current OS been installed for 1 and a half years ago (no particular issues noted), is it better to upgrade from one to another or simply perform a clean install?
I ignore many aspects of win10, I heard that you need an account so it could work, is it a regular outlook account or do I need to create a new one?
I also heard that it came with a built-in antivirus (MS essentials I believe), is it any good?
Will I be able to re-install to the same pc with the same key, or is it 1 time usage only?

As you can see, I have many questions about details that may be a set back to me. If you believe that I'm unaware of more info, I'd appreciate it if you let me know.

Thank you for reading and hope to this message finds you well,

Cheers


My rig:
cpu: i7 6700k (no OC)
mobo: MSI z170A gaming pro m7
gpu: MSI gtx 970
ram: 16gb Kingston fury x 2400mhz
ssd: kingston v300 240gb
psu: antec eco 620w

 

[Math Geek]

if you have win 10 with a key, then it is not an upgrade but a separate license. so you can run both. that would be my suggestion to you. create a second partition on your hdd or get a second one and install win 10 to that drive. it'll see win 7 and set up dual booting for you automatically.

this way you can leave win 7 installed as is and test out win 10 to see if you like it. if you don't then it is simple to get rid of and you won't have to go through reinstalling win 7 again and getting it back the way you want it.

and yes win 10 has AV built in. it's basically the same as the optional one for win 7, they just force it on you now. it is basic and works for basic protection but a separate AV solution is suggested and preferred over this one.

you should be able to use the win 10 key on a different pc if you decide you don't like it and uninstall it. it will only activate on one pc at a time but can be moved from pc to pc.

as for MS account, it is not required but heavily pushed on you. you do need it to download from the MS store or to link to the Xbox app and services. basically the same as google account links all the google services to you. not a big deal but if you chose to avoid it, then you just can't get anything from the MS store but can still install any other programs you wish no problem.

i personally do not like all the forced crap/bloatware in win 10 but found it overall easy to work with unless you're a true windows guru. then it'll drive you batty (just like all other upgrades did when they moved everything around for no reason)

dual boot for a while and see how you like it. then remove win 7 if you decide to stay with win 10. also keep in mind if you're a gamer, directx 12 is only available in win 10. so kinda forces you to upgrade if you wish to play games built on it.

 

[Colif]

I would fresh install win 10 as it will remove the potential problems associated with it using win 7 drivers. Fresh install also blows cob webs away. Unless win 7 is 64 bit already, it will also want to format the drive as GPT instead of MBR

Since you have a licence key it will also mean it uses that rather than possibly using your win 7 key (even though the official upgrade period is over, you can still upgrade from 7 to 10 using 7 keys)

Account.. you don't have to make one, you can set up win 10 using a local account not linked to any email - see step 22 of this really helpful guide I suggest you use: https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/1950-clean-install-windows-10-a.html

Defender is okay but I still prefer 3rd party AV like Bitdefender Free as they more likely to find things before installed

Once win 10 is installed on a PC it can always be reinstalled on it again. Only licences that are short lived are for Educational version or from dodgy sources.

 

[Wazawaza]

Thank you so much for your swift reply, you really gave me exactly the info I needed to make a decision.

Math Geek, I would have never thought about dual booting, actually makes things easier to me and the fact that I can use the key in more than one pc brings some relief (I tend to overthink small problems like this one), it's the best of both worlds (to anyone fan of tng hehe).
I agree with you about the things win10 forces you to install, it's my idea from the start and I really dislike that (my biggest hesitation comes from that).
By the way, I am a gamer and got win10 because of that, I tried both COD:WWII and battlefront 2 betas, and they simply won't launch, no fixes yet, I guess it's a power move to force win7 users to go win 10... it's actually causing the opposite effect on me, I simply don't want to buy those games :S

Colif, thank you for your guide, I will read it. I don't really trust built-in software like AV, I'd rather have a complement if possible (right now I have Avast, Malwarebytes, Spybot and Ccleaner for security, do you think it's ok?).

Thank you again, your input was incredibly helpful,
Cheers

 

[Math Geek]

glad we could help. perhaps only using it for those few directx 12 games and using win 7 for everything else might be a solution for you for now.

enjoy playing with win 10