OS Question

[dling]

Im have a new MSI laptop delivered today. It has Win10 64 Pro. I have a copy on Win7 64 that has no bloat ware on it . The win7 OS ,that was upgraded for free to Win10 was used on the LP that died and is being replaced by the MSI.

If the MSI has too much garbage on it can I just format and use the Win7 and expect to still get Win10 upgrade free?

[Braegnok]

If it's a retail Win7 COA you can install it on new laptop,.. and join the Windows Insiders Program to install latest W10 preview build,.. but if it's an OEM COA your out of luck.  https://insider.windows.com/en-us/get-insider-builds/

Edited July 28, 2017 by Braegnok

[dling]

Thanks. It says on the disk that its a back up disk. But it does not have anything about Gateway,which is the dead LT.

This disk came as a free upgrade from Vista when I purchased the Gateway laptop new.

[SpikeSoprano]

If it already has w10 pro it would be easier to just uninstall any crapware that comes with it, do it before you even connect it online, should be fine and not hard to do.

[dling]

That's a good idea. Thanks.

[AkakmanH]

Also, once you have all of the 'crap' deleted,

you need to download and install Spybot Anti-Beacon - https://www.safer-networking.org/spybot-anti-beacon/

It get rid of a lot of extraneous Win10 features that you do not need

You might also ant to watch Barnacules on youTube - do a search for Barnacules win 10.

Some very good videos on stopping Win10 backdoor peeking

and how to turn off Win 10 functions

[cchalogamer]

For reference if you want a clean OS install of Windows 10 and the PC is booting to the OS it's VERY easy to do, just open the start menu, type "reset" and choose the option to Reset this PC.  In the settings window that opens choose Get Started under Reset this PC, select the appropriate options to delete everything for a PC you plan to keep and let it do it's thing.  In about 10 mins-2 hours depending on the PC you'll have a fresh clean windows install and USUALLY all the needed drivers.  Though tools for things like advanced sound settings, keyboard LED controls, newest video drivers etc you'll want to grab for the appropriate places.

 

I know MSI has been known to bloat the crap out of their newer laptops with "helpful" "tools" so I could see going this route vs the uninstall option, My Aorus thankfully wasn't too bad with only things that actually do something installed (Like the software to control the RGB keyboard) and very easy one click ways to disable stupid features like their own custom on screen display for things like volume and screen brightness.

[dling]

Thats interesting. Ive never heard of that. Thanks.

 

For reference if you want a clean OS install of Windows 10 and the PC is booting to the OS it's VERY easy to do, just open the start menu, type "reset" and choose the option to Reset this PC.  In the settings window that opens choose Get Started under Reset this PC, select the appropriate options to delete everything for a PC you plan to keep and let it do it's thing.  In about 10 mins-2 hours depending on the PC you'll have a fresh clean windows install and USUALLY all the needed drivers.  Though tools for things like advanced sound settings, keyboard LED controls, newest video drivers etc you'll want to grab for the appropriate places.

 

I know MSI has been known to bloat the crap out of their newer laptops with "helpful" "tools" so I could see going this route vs the uninstall option, My Aorus thankfully wasn't too bad with only things that actually do something installed (Like the software to control the RGB keyboard) and very easy one click ways to disable stupid features like their own custom on screen display for things like volume and screen brightness.

[Coors]

Also just an FYI I was still able to upgrade to Win10 for free with my OEM Win 7 CD key just last week.  It's as if the supposedly expired free upgrade is still active.

[wevsspot]

Not that it matters much....... but I was able to roll back to my original Windows 7 Pro and activate months after having installed the Windows 10 Pro free upgrade.  The Creators Edition update totally screwed up my older laptop.  The original W10 release and the Anniversary Edition update was working flawlessly up until that point.

[cchalogamer]

Seeing as it seems to be a topic another note of what I can confirm so far from my business experiences:

 

You can still upgrade ANY windows 7 or 8 machine that currently has an activated (even non legit) copy of Windows to 10 if you use the original Windows 10 release ISO with internet disconnected.  I have not seen a single scenario across hundreds of systems where it doesn't work.  Once the Windows 10 installer updates get it online and let it activate and from then on you can just install whatever version of 10 you want (of course matching Pro or Home based on your upgrade) or just install the creators update from there.  You will no have a Windows 10 OEM key for that hardware even if you revert back to 7 or 8. If you try this method with internet active it will usually tell you your key is invalid or that that upgrade has expired.

 

An easier method if you have your windows product key and Microsoft's activation servers don't hate you is to just put in you windows 7/8 key when you install 10 and it will validate based off that.  It SHOULD work every time, but I have had some bad luck here and there with the 10 installer not recognizing the older key properly or other issues. Something like 20% of the time it's a pain. 

 

As usual it's DRM and it can be a mess but it's far better than some of my past dealings with Windows activation.