i'm an apple user, but came across a free HP Pavilion dv7-3162nr Entertainment Notebook PC Product. lots of inputs/outputs, blue ray disc player, 17" screen, 500 gb hdd, etc. never upgraded from the original Windows 7 home. apparently microsoft has stopped supporting it. windows 11 is out, and was looking at possibly upgrading. believe i would have to do 10 first, then 11. not sure if there is a free method available. or, maybe i should just run it in 7. thoughts and suggestions?
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Should I upgrade from Windows 7 Home to 11?
- Thread starter rwh63
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Yep, they dropped support 2 years ago.
Normally, I'd say no, but I think if you want to upgrade the existing system and keep your files, you may need to go to windows 10 first.
Windows 11 Specs and System Requirements | Microsoft
Find an overview of Windows 11 specs and features from Microsoft. Learn about the device specifications, versions and languages available for Windows 11
www.microsoft.com
Otherwise I believe you can just do a clean install to windows 11
At the bottom of this link, there's a pc health app - it will check to see if your PC can even run windows 11
Meet Windows 11: Features, Look, Benefits & More | Microsoft
Meet Windows 11, the newest Windows version from Microsoft. Upgrade your PC to Windows 11, or explore which devices come equipped with Windows 11 features.
www.microsoft.com
MS included a baffling requirement of TPM 2.0, if you machine has it, you should be all set, but the pc health app will tell you
Believe there's a way to upgrade Windows 7 to 10 for free. Then Windows 10 to 11 is free.
Depending on how important it is to you to revert to 7 if the upgrade doesn't complete you may want to make a backup image of the current drive. Or, worst case install Linux as a last resort.
Also a good idea to update your BIOS to the latest version while still on 7 to avoid issues with executable not running on newer Windows versions then enable TPM in BIOS if you decide to try 11.
Depending on how important it is to you to revert to 7 if the upgrade doesn't complete you may want to make a backup image of the current drive. Or, worst case install Linux as a last resort.
Also a good idea to update your BIOS to the latest version while still on 7 to avoid issues with executable not running on newer Windows versions then enable TPM in BIOS if you decide to try 11.
Doesn't hurt to try upgrading to 10 Home to see if it's still free. Worst case you'll just get an activation watermark nag in the lower right corner of screen but it's functional. Make sure you're not connected to the internet when booting into 10/11 for the first time to use local account vs having to use Microsoft cloud account and to personalize Windows for dark mode, wallpaper, etc.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10
I keep hearing people say 'Buy a new system'. Nothing I have will run 11, so I guess I'm out. Not really crying about it...
I have 11 running on a 2008 device. Have you tried the official requirement bypass?
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us...ndows-11-e0edbbfb-cfc5-4011-868b-2ce77ac7c70e
No TPM, or it was an earlier version, can't remember which. I may just get a cheap SFF box to have around. *shrug* It's not a dire need as it has been before.
Windows 7 FREE extended support ended on January 14 2020 and the edition on the computer you purchased is Home which is not eligible for Extended Security Updates [paid support per machine for Professional and Enterprise editions]...
Even though Microsoft officially stated they have ended the free Windows 10 upgrade for eligible Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 editions back in 2016, there are others that do a clean install of Windows 10 and use the corresponding product key of their Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 install and it worked, provided that you use Windows 7 Home Basic/Home Premium for Windows 10 Home and Windows 7 Professional for Windows 10 Pro, and Windows 8.1 Core/Single Language for Windows 10 Home and Windows 8.1 Pro [as well as the Pro with Media Center] for Windows 10 Pro...
Free upgrade to Windows 11 is only available to Windows 10 so you need to upgrade first from Windows 7... Also, whether you clean install Windows 11 or upgrade to Windows 11, assuming the computer is not compatible with the set requirements by Microsoft, you will need to do some workarounds for the install to be successful...
If the installed version of Windows 7 is 32bit, you will need to install the 64bit version first [if you're going to upgrade Windows 7 to Windows 10 then to Windows 11] since Windows 11 is only 64bit, assuming the computer has 4GB RAM or more...
If your main consideration is compatibility with the latest software versions, go with Windows 10 since it is still supported until 2025... If you are adventurous and can handle the workarounds and is okay to keep up/live with bugs/incomplete features, go with Windows 11...
If you no longer want Windows on the computer and want to try something else, you can go with a Linux distribution and I recommend you start with Linux Mint 20.3
If you want another macOS device and has the know-how, you can convert that into a Hackintosh build...
Even though Microsoft officially stated they have ended the free Windows 10 upgrade for eligible Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 editions back in 2016, there are others that do a clean install of Windows 10 and use the corresponding product key of their Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 install and it worked, provided that you use Windows 7 Home Basic/Home Premium for Windows 10 Home and Windows 7 Professional for Windows 10 Pro, and Windows 8.1 Core/Single Language for Windows 10 Home and Windows 8.1 Pro [as well as the Pro with Media Center] for Windows 10 Pro...
Free upgrade to Windows 11 is only available to Windows 10 so you need to upgrade first from Windows 7... Also, whether you clean install Windows 11 or upgrade to Windows 11, assuming the computer is not compatible with the set requirements by Microsoft, you will need to do some workarounds for the install to be successful...
If the installed version of Windows 7 is 32bit, you will need to install the 64bit version first [if you're going to upgrade Windows 7 to Windows 10 then to Windows 11] since Windows 11 is only 64bit, assuming the computer has 4GB RAM or more...
If your main consideration is compatibility with the latest software versions, go with Windows 10 since it is still supported until 2025... If you are adventurous and can handle the workarounds and is okay to keep up/live with bugs/incomplete features, go with Windows 11...
If you no longer want Windows on the computer and want to try something else, you can go with a Linux distribution and I recommend you start with Linux Mint 20.3
If you want another macOS device and has the know-how, you can convert that into a Hackintosh build...
ok, for a non-techy, that is a little to digest. since this is a free computer, and i don't have anything of mine on it, would a hd wipe allow a windows 10 install? i could also put a new hd in it (apparently there are two bays for them for expansion).
If the computer has the Windows 7 license sticker intact, you can go ahead and disk wipe to either re-install Windows 7 from scratch, or fresh install Windows 10 then upgrade to Windows 11 or go straight to Windows 11... If you don't have the Windows 7 product key, you can still proceed with the fresh install however you will need to shell out for a Windows 10 or Windows 11 product key since you will not be able to do a free upgrade...
I have the know-how on how to deal with your situation, however I don't think I can easily translate the steps into something a non-tech savvy or someone with little to no Windows repair/reinstall knowledge can easily understand... But if I was your friend or at least a neighbor, I would do it for you for free and maybe teach you along the way/as we go through the steps...
You can also watch some YouTube videos as a starting point before you proceed with working on the computer...
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If there is no sticker. You can grab the product key fairly easily with the free version of Produkey.
No, Windows 11 doesn't support that hardware. Your option is only Windows 10, and Windows 10 for consumers will stop being supported by 2025.
Personally, just keep Windows 7 on it, and use 3rd party browsers like Firefox/Brave to get an upto-date browser. What are you using it for?
With Windows 7 you may get the experience of an intuitive friendly OS and with a purchase of Win. 10 will be able to transfer it for use on a Mac and thus have a superior OS - as well as retaining Mac OS which apparently has some advantages in specialized areas.
I'd say no, unless you really want some of the new features. Windows 7 is not supported anymore but if you'll behave responsibly you have nothing to fear. And as a bonus you'll get the nicest looking operating system from Microsoft with rock solid stability.
I have to disagree, there's been too many security patches released to protect windows since MS dropped windows 7 that you're playing with fire even when you behave responsible.
Why using Windows 7 in 2021 is so dangerous
My vote is to upgrade to Win10 and stay there. When support ends in 2025, you can decide what steps to take, assuming the machine is still viable at that time.
thx for all of the suggestions everyone.
i just picked this up on Saturday (dump find). came with a like new carry case, several usb sticks, two power cords, and two dead batteries.
i gave it a light cleaning, checked its input functions, deleted any misc. stuff from PO, did some recommended software updates, changed the admin/password.
its a pretty heavy and large laptop, more of a desktop. possible i'll gift it, or keep it to experiment with. i do everything with my Apples (recently had a long thread concerning a 2009 iMac dump find that is now up and running).
i'll probably keep it at 7 for now. look into 10. 11 may not work on this machine. never done an OS onto PC.
i just picked this up on Saturday (dump find). came with a like new carry case, several usb sticks, two power cords, and two dead batteries.
i gave it a light cleaning, checked its input functions, deleted any misc. stuff from PO, did some recommended software updates, changed the admin/password.
its a pretty heavy and large laptop, more of a desktop. possible i'll gift it, or keep it to experiment with. i do everything with my Apples (recently had a long thread concerning a 2009 iMac dump find that is now up and running).
i'll probably keep it at 7 for now. look into 10. 11 may not work on this machine. never done an OS onto PC.
Give me me an example of somethin that you should worry about if you don't click on weird websites or i you use common sense.
Sounds like you're moving the goalposts
We have a very bad vulnerability that I provided that shows that just using common sense or avoiding sketchy sites is insufficient. Why are you pushing a narrative that a long EOL'd OS is fine and the OP has nothing to worry when that goes against the grain of common sense.
Oh and there's the wannacry Which will infect someone's PC even if that person wasn't clicking on a sketchy site or not using common sense as you say
Seems incredibly foolish to say that the OP will be fine as long as he doesn't go to sketchy sites and use common sense when clicking on links. Yes, we all should use common sense when clicking on links, but that common sense should also extend to patching the operating system and ensuring that our PCs are well protected against malware.