I have a Window 7 computer. Some of the programs on it (most notably, Steam games) are starting to not work on it. I want to make them work. From what I understand, this means that I need to upgrade to Windows 10 (the computer almost certainly can’t run Windows 11). But everywhere I look to try to find information on upgrading leads me eventually to a Microsoft site, and the only information Microsoft offers on how to upgrade is “Buy a new computer with Windows 11”.
What you have is a computer with a Windows 7 operating system. What make and model is your computer? It may be that it won’t be able to run Windows 10.
Probably back it up first because who knows what parts of the upgrade would still work, this many years later. Or just give it a shot if you don’t mind losing your stuff.
But the price of a Windows 10 license is probably going to cost nearly as much as a low-end laptop ($100+), unless you get a license from… questionable sources.
If you’re primarily interested in Steam games and don’t want to upgrade to a newer version of Windows, you can also consider:
Putting SteamOS on there and using Proton to play your games: SteamOS (free)
GeForce Now, which lets you stream some (not all) Steam games from Nvidia’s cloud (free to $20/mo for a RTX 4080)
Can I buy the license through the media creation tool? Because that’s one of the pages I saw, and when went looking for a license, it just redirected me again to the “buy a new computer instead” pages.
Alternately, where can I find out about Proton? I assume that’s a Wine-like Windows emulator? How well does it work, and how can I tell what games it does and does not support?
Reply covered everything while I was reading up on some things that have changed. So I’ll just add this additional info:
It seems that the free upgrade path has finally been closed off as of September 2023. Before then, any activated version of Windows 7 would automatically be activated on Windows 10. But now people are reporting this is no longer the case.*
That said, unactivated Windows isn’t that limited. It just prevents some customization options (basically setting colors of windows and stuff), makes it a bit more tricky to change your wallpaper, and will display a white watermark in the lower left corner if you leave Windows on for a certain period of time.
*I haven’t read anyone trying another option: actually using the Windows 7 code on the side of your computer to activate after installing Windows 10. I wouldn’t count on it working, but I guess it’s still a possibility.
I don’t believe so, but it seems like you can buy a license AFTER Windows 10 is already installed (by trying to activate it). But I am not sure about this.
Yeah, it actually works in conjunction with Wine to make Windows games playable on Linux.
Or on Steam, you can look for Steam Deck verified status: Steam Deck :: Deck Verified (but this is a superset of Proton status, because it also includes things like controller support).
If you don’t want to risk wiping everything on your laptop quite yet, I think you can also install (or live boot) some Linux non-destructively and try Proton there first? How to Play Windows-only Games on Linux with Steam Proton
I upgraded my old computer from Win7 to 10 a ew years ago. It was an HP, so should have used the OEM license. Instead, it has a bit on the bottom corner of the screen telling me to Activate Windows which I ignore.
FYI, a lot of these are semi-pirated keys (like resold enterprise or educational licenses). Not that Microsoft is hurting for money, and they probably rely on these, er, “alternative purchase paths” to keep people on Windows instead of moving to Linux anyway… but just so you know.
That said, they’ve always worked fine for me my, uh, ethically and financially challenged friends.
[Moderating]
Just to be clear, pirated options are not on the table, here. If I go the upgrade route, it’ll be with a legit license, and if that’s not possible, I’ll find some other legitimate option that is.
I found Windows 10 to be hungrier than 7 in respect to RAM so that’s something to look at before upgrading. You might be able to buy a used Windows 10 computer and find one with the amount of memory you require.
He never mentioned what hardware. If properly configured, the performance of a VM should be basically the same as that of the host. However, you are right that there may not be much of a case here to run Windows within Windows; if he wants Windows just upgrade it. I was thinking more along the lines of keeping the windows VM around under Linux just in case some games will not run under Linux (seems to be around 70% compatibility).
There’s probably a memory consideration here, too, especially on an older laptop. Running two operating systems at the same time might be fine on beefy new machines, but older computers can struggle with that, especially while also trying to play a game.
Strict performance aside, you’d also have to deal with things like trying to translate DirectX calls, video drivers, mouse acceleration, etc. between the guest and host, as well as properly configuring CPU and GPU allocation for the guest. It all gets pretty messy pretty quickly.
Unless something has drastically changed in the last few months, you can definitely buy a license direct from Microsoft after installation of Windows 10 using the media creation tool. I built six or so computers last year and used that option.
The sites in question (which I won’t link to) are not (typically) piracy. They’re selling legitimate licenses–neither stolen nor counterfeit. Ethically, they occupy the same space as buying a candy bar labeled “not for resale” because it originally came in a 12-pack. Maybe that still crosses a line for some.
-Download W10 (with the media creation tool).
-Backup everything, make a backup of that.
-install w10
-check everything works (a computer sold with W7 is eligible to vote)
-maybe the license (on your hardware) transfers
-If you are really happy and the license didn’t transfer consider buying a W10 license.