Worth It?: Windows 7 Ultimate to Windows 8

[Storx]

I own a desktop that i bought from a military roommate a few years ago due to my PC at the time dieing, well it already had windows 7 ultimate installed but lately i have been wanting to upgrade the internal primary 64gb Barricuda HDD because its making noise and hanging up on me from time to time, but i was never given the actual disk for the windows copy on the computer, so i dont know how to transfer it to the new SSD i plan to install and have no way of contacting the guy i bought the computer from. So i was thinking of buying a copy of Windows 8 since noone seems to sell windows 7 anymore... Is it worth it?

 

[ahnilated]

You can purchase an SSD and most of them come with software to move the OS from a HDD to the SSD.

 

[Saberus]

After adjusting to the aesthetic changes, 8.1 has been a good OS to me, solid, stable, and fairly fast. There are third-part options to bring back the start button, and the start button is coming back in 10, but it's also easy to pin programs to the taskbar, especially if what you use is only a handful of programs.

 

[ahnilated]

"After adjusting to the aesthetic changes, 8.1 has been a good OS to me, solid, stable, and fairly fast. There are third-part options to bring back the start button, and the start button is coming back in 10, but it's also easy to pin programs to the taskbar, especially if what you use is only a handful of programs. "

What he's saying, is after making it look more like Windows 7 it is not a bad OS anymore.

 

[Saberus]

I was only mentioning the ability to put back a start button. I don't use those utilities. Don't put words in my mouth.

 

[USAFRet]

I own a desktop that i bought from a military roommate a few years ago due to my PC at the time dieing, well it already had windows 7 ultimate installed but lately i have been wanting to upgrade the internal primary 64gb Barricuda HDD because its making noise and hanging up on me from time to time, but i was never given the actual disk for the windows copy on the computer, so i dont know how to transfer it to the new SSD i plan to install and have no way of contacting the guy i bought the computer from. So i was thinking of buying a copy of Windows 8 since noone seems to sell windows 7 anymore... Is it worth it?

Given your conditions:
1. the age of the install
2. the unknown source or legality of the install
3. you are apparently having 'issues' (drive, messed up installation? Unknown)

I would not recommend cloning from your old drive to the new drive. At all.

You have 2 options:
Option 1. Try to obtain a valid ISO file from MS. Go here, and enter your license key:
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-recovery
See if it works to download an ISO file.

Ahh...but you don't have the license key:
Go here and install this: Belarc Advisor
Run it, and it should find the license key (if any)

Option 2: Buy your own OS. Win 8.1.
If you're going to go with Win 7, you do NOT need Ultimate. Complete waste of money.

For future reference, with any used PC your first move should be to do a full wipe and reinstall of the OS. For your protection as well as theirs. You have no idea what the previous owner, or the owner before them, had in there.
I've seen very scary and highly illegal stuff on used PC's.

 

[Storx]

I own a desktop that i bought from a military roommate a few years ago due to my PC at the time dieing, well it already had windows 7 ultimate installed but lately i have been wanting to upgrade the internal primary 64gb Barricuda HDD because its making noise and hanging up on me from time to time, but i was never given the actual disk for the windows copy on the computer, so i dont know how to transfer it to the new SSD i plan to install and have no way of contacting the guy i bought the computer from. So i was thinking of buying a copy of Windows 8 since noone seems to sell windows 7 anymore... Is it worth it?

Given your conditions:
1. the age of the install
2. the unknown source or legality of the install
3. you are apparently having 'issues' (drive, messed up installation? Unknown)

I would not recommend cloning from your old drive to the new drive. At all.

You have 2 options:
Option 1. Try to obtain a valid ISO file from MS. Go here, and enter your license key:
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-recovery
See if it works to download an ISO file.

Ahh...but you don't have the license key:
Go here and install this: Belarc Advisor
Run it, and it should find the license key (if any)

Option 2: Buy your own OS. Win 8.1.
If you're going to go with Win 7, you do NOT need Ultimate. Complete waste of money.

For future reference, with any used PC your first move should be to do a full wipe and reinstall of the OS. For your protection as well as theirs. You have no idea what the previous owner, or the owner before them, had in there.
I've seen very scary and highly illegal stuff on used PC's.

I really appreciate your detailed response, i am going to try this out when i get home later.. I am pretty sure when he sold it to me he gave me the Windows OS disk, but over the years i have misplaced it if he did, i found the motherboard disc he gave me along with the sound card disc.. but there was no windows disc in the package.. so either i lost it or he never gave it to me.

 

[Storx]

You can purchase an SSD and most of them come with software to move the OS from a HDD to the SSD.

I actually bought the SSD already and tried to use the clone software and after 5 attempts it froze up/hanged up during the process every time.. so i think im in need of fresh install.