Win10 guru needed (upgrade or not)

[bubsnews]

I've never upgraded to Win10, still running Win7 64bit.

I've got a 970 vid card, but my 1070 will be here shortly.  How important will DirectX 12 be for VR, now and in the future?
Is it 'safe' to let Win10 update on my Win7 machine?
My Win7 machine is my main use computer, and VR.

[Fazz]

I would update and then do a fresh install of windows 10. I had endless problems with my PC after I updated, like having invisible folders ect. I keep my PC's in tip top condition, but I still had problems after the Windows 10 update. Do a fresh install of Windows 10 and you won't have any problems.

[DaftnDirect]

+1 for @danknugz advice on imaging the hard drive, I make a back-up image of mine every few months in case something nasty happens that Windows can't put right, but a necessity before upgrading

[nalex66]

I would definitely upgrade to Win10 while you can still do it for free. I've upgraded from 7 or 8 on four PCs and done a fresh install on one. No major issues on any of them, but a few small oddities... Luckily, Win10 has been in the wild long enough now that people have mostly figured out how to fix the little things that can go wrong with it.

[bubsnews]

Thanks for all the input guys, really appreciate it.

Hey, is it possible to dual boot, current install of Win7 and upgrade Win10 on the other partition?

I have 512GB SSD with one partition of Win7 (plenty of room for another partition with Win10 on it)...

[DaftnDirect]

At the time I upgraded, Microsoft forced people to do the upgrade rather than clean install so I had to clone my hard drive for backup purposes (I wanted to see how well it upgraded 7 and keep all my programs running anyway even though I later decided to clean install).

but they've now changed it so you can clean install Windows 10 straight away onto a separate partition (or hard drive) and use your Window 7 product key to activate Window 10 during the install, then you'll be able to dual boot between the two.

Edit. I'd still be tempted to backup you Window 7 though

[bubsnews]

Thanks DD, hey are there walkthroughs posted somewhere on the steps involved to clean install Win 10 and keep Win 7 on a separate partition (on the same drive).  If you know, that would be great.  I can do a search as well.

[DaftnDirect]

This page from PC Advisor seems to be well written, if you don't mind a lot of adverts!

http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/how-to/windows/how-dual-boot-windows-7-or-8-with-windows-10-3633084/

[bubsnews]

Thanks again DD.  I've read that article and that one thing it doesn't do is tell you how to use your current Win7 installation as the license for the Win10 install.  You mentioned in your earlier post the MS allows this, do you know how?

[DaftnDirect]

Badly worded on my part... what I mean is Microsoft now allow clean installs onto a drive or partition of your choice without having to go through the upgrade process, officially I believe you'll need a separate licence if you want to keep dual booting after the 30 day trial period has ended and use your Window 7 key as the activator.

That at least would give you time to decide if Window 10 is for you before the free upgrade deadline hits on the 20th July

Somewhere I have my Window 7 backup, so if I get time I'll temporarily reinstate it and check whether the licence is still active or not.. unless anyone else has already tried this?

[Anonymous]

Here is a good tip, I've installed windows 10 on all the computers in my house. Perform the upgrade and then install magic jellybean key finder to get the free 10 key and then perform a clean install. Without that key your SOL if you need to reload 10 after a crash.