[SOLVED] Upgrading to Win10, but keeping the software

[gordonfreemanjr]

I have an older Thinkpad T540p laptop running Windows 7, whom I like very much. It works very well and has never failed on me. I'd like to upgrade the OS to Win 10.
The problem is, I have tons of data and software there: programs, Steam games, GOG games, other stuff. I really, really wouldn't like to make notes and the reinstall everything, entry by entry.
Is there any way to upgrade to Win10 from Win7 without clearing the software?
Last but not least, the laptop is a dual boot with Ubuntu 18.04.

 

[Colif]

yes

put win 10 USB into pc with win 7 now
go to file explorer
navigate to usb
click setup

it should offer to upgrade current PC, all it does is replaces windows, keeps all files
run through the wizard
it should restart and upgrade PC to win 10.

 

[gordonfreemanjr]

I see. I've just read that as a legal Win7 owner I might still be able to upgrade to Win10 for free via the Media Creation Tool. I went to https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10ISO and guess what, my Win10 ISO file is being downloaded as I'm writing this.

So, if I'm getting this right: when the ISO is down, I should burn it to a USB device and upgrade from there? At which point is it going to ask me for the license key?

 

[sizzling]

I would clone your current drive first and make sure the clone works before starting this. There is a chance that if the upgrade does not go as planned you end up formatting the drive and needing to reinstall. At least if you have a clone of the original drive you can fall back to that if this doesn’t go as planned.

I would also make sure Lenovo have Win 10 drivers available for your laptop model. If there are none this can lead to problems. You can still try but again having a clone you can fall back to is a good idea.

 

[USAFRet]

Also, be prepared for a full reinstall anyway.
An inplace upgrade may go OK...or it may go wrong.

 

[Colif]

So, if I'm getting this right: when the ISO is down, I should burn it to a USB device and upgrade from there? At which point is it going to ask me for the license key?

it won't

its an upgrade, it will use your win 7 key as the licence. Its how many people updated to win 10 originally. None of us had keys. That is if you run it from inside windows.

 

[ItsGamingTube]

I have an older Thinkpad T540p laptop running Windows 7, whom I like very much. It works very well and has never failed on me. I'd like to upgrade the OS to Win 10.
The problem is, I have tons of data and software there: programs, Steam games, GOG games, other stuff. I really, really wouldn't like to make notes and the reinstall everything, entry by entry.
Is there any way to upgrade to Win10 from Win7 without clearing the software?
Last but not least, the laptop is a dual boot with Ubuntu 18.04.

DO NOT UPGRADE TO WINDOWS 10.
YOU WAS WARNED
Windows 10 is unstable on old laptops/computer and even on newer laptops/computers.
I suggest downgrading to windows 7.
I have I9 and i still use windows 7

 

[Rogue Leader]

DO NOT UPGRADE TO WINDOWS 10.
YOU WAS WARNED
Windows 10 is unstable on old laptops/computer and even on newer laptops/computers.
I suggest downgrading to windows 7.
I have I9 and i still use windows 7

This is the most incorrect and clueless statement ever made on this site. You should not be replying to threads if you are this misinformed.