Your advice, tips and recommendations requested concerning Windows 10

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Saz
Posts: 531
Joined: Mon Aug 30, 2004 11:44 am

Your advice, tips and recommendations requested concerning Windows 10

Post by Saz »

Hey Guys

With the support for Windows 7 coming to an end in January, looks like I'll be building another desktop PC (running Windows 10) for my bedroom studio soon.

I would appreciate any advice, tips, recommendations, etc. from members here who have Windows 10 systems that work well with MTS.

I would like to stay with an Intel Core processor and Asus motherboard because of good past experiences, but all other components are fair game. Also, there's a good chance my trusty old beloved Audiophile 2496 PCI card won't work with Windows 10 (no drivers). I've read yeas and nays about it working ok with Win 7 drivers, so I'll probably need to replace it.

So, what's been working well for you? Thank you in advance!

PS - if Black Friday/Cyber Monday throws out a great deal on a pre-built desktop, I might get lazy. :)
André Giroux
Posts: 290
Joined: Mon Mar 21, 2005 3:45 pm

Re: Your advice, tips and recommendations requested

Post by André Giroux »

I’m in the same boat but I’ll be running Windows 7 for while yet. I have to upgrade 2 desktops and a laptop but my studio desktop will remain with windows 7 for as long as I can keep it going. In the meantime I’ll be shopping for good deals computer components as well as new interface for a future build.
Saz
Posts: 531
Joined: Mon Aug 30, 2004 11:44 am

Re: Your advice, tips and recommendations requested concerning Windows 10

Post by Saz »

If you're suffering from Windows 10 upgrade anxiety, read on, there may be some comfort...

After hours of research I've come up with a plan to try for migrating to Windows 10 from Windows 7, for my two homemade PC's - hopefully for very little money. It may work for you too.

It came together after I read advice from several sources, about updating to Windows 10 with older Windows 7 hardware (8 years in my case, but everything still works great). Instead of replacing everything in the PC, it was suggested just replacing the old "system HD" with a 256 gb SSD and install Windows 10 on that. The thought being that if your current system is working OK, not too ancient* and you have adequate RAM (4 to 8 gb), your system will actually run better with Windows 10. *the definition of ancient is the wild card here. Kinda looks like the only way to know is to try - plus you have to match the SSD with the motherboard.

Also, I still may be able to upgrade to Windows 10 free, since I still have my Windows 7 licenses. If not, there's a legitimate, legal, cheaper way to acquire a Windows 10 Home license(about $20). Full info about all that is available here... https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ge ... ,5717.html

So, best-case scenario, I may be able to have a "new" Windows 10 PC for about $30 (the approx. cost of a 256gb SSD) Worst case, I'll have about $50 in a new SSD plus a Windows 10 license, to go toward a new PC build. I'll be shopping Cyber Monday for SSD's. I'll pick up extra ones (500 gb) for storage if the price is right.

I realize of course that somewhere down the road, hardware will fail and need to be replaced, but hopefully that's a ways down the road. And I've read on the Microsoft site that you can "reactivate" your Windows 10 license for new hardware, so might as well try and get my money's worth out of what is working for now. BTW - a tip that's served me well over the years - don't update hardware drivers just for the sake of updating. Do so only if you have a specific issue that will be solved.

That seems to be a cause of a lot of Windows 10 update issues - drivers getting updated automatically. I've read that you can set Windows 10 to not update drivers automatically, but still update Windows itself. The place to do that is supposed to be here... "Control Panel\System and Security\System\Advanced System Settings\Hardware" and then click on "Device Installation Settings"

Hope this is of some help to others. When I complete the process above (sometime in the next 6 weeks) I'll report back. Can't wait to tweak and re-install all my software - NOT

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Saz
Posts: 531
Joined: Mon Aug 30, 2004 11:44 am

Re: Your advice, tips and recommendations requested concerning Windows 10

Post by Saz »

As promised, here's an update on my Windows 7 to Windows 10 migration.

I have/had 2 pc's to update(both with legit Win7 Home 64bit licenses) and just finished one. It was a Windows 7 machine I built about 8 years ago and mainly used for Graphic Design/Office/Shopping/Email etc. It has been working fine and I was dreading making the change, but it went a little better than expected.

I downloaded the Windows 10 install file from Microsoft for free and transferred it to a USB stick. With the machine off, I plugged in the USB stick, unplugged everything but the keyboard, mouse and monitor, installed a new SSD and hit the on button and F8(which is a one time boot from USB on my machine). In 20 minutes - after a few "select options" screens, Windows 10 was installed. As advised in some online postings, I waited until this time to "activate" my license, choosing to "ignore" previous prompts during installation. System info shows I have an official Windows 10 Home 64bit license.

Then the "fun" part began - all the program installations, tweaking and personalization I like to do. It's taken the better part of 3 days, but I have this old machine in a comfortable, familiar state and it's a lot faster than what it was. It boots to desktop in 30 seconds(including login) and shuts down in 5 seconds. As they say - I'm pleased as punch. :)

After all this and thinking down the road though - licensing music, etc. - I've decided to build a whole new pc for music instead of upgrading/updating my current music pc. Life is good.
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