DescentBB

Have a comp with win 7. Problem is it was a extra comp and get the "not genuine" watermark but worked fine for last 10 or more years. Now I want to to get win 10 on it but I think I'll need one to install over it (tried the free win 10 route but didn't recognize the win 7). So where is cheapest place to get a win 10 copy to do so and will be able to transfer to another hd when I need to?

We have a couple of computers that originally came with Win 7. Once Microsoft stop supporting Win 7. I just threw Linux Mint on them with the MATE desktop and called it a day. I didn't see the point spending money on two older computers that are used for basic needs.

Just format the computer and install windows 10 without a key, windows 10 will work forever without a product key. The only thing it does is disable some stuff in personalize settings like changing the desktop background.

It sounds like you want to upgrade while saving all your programs and data? Your best bet is to install Win10 on a new hard drive then copy your files over from the old one. I suspect you don't want to do this because you don't have the installers for some of your programs?

While not so easy to do on a laptop, this is the model most computers are using these days:
Do your best to keep the operating system drive separate from your data, and always save program installers.

Also, if you are just using your computer to play music, watch movies, and roam the Internet there is no reason you couldn't use Linux Mint. There are two things that stop people from using Linux these days: Proprietary programs like Office365 (though all of that is in the cloud now) and games (this is much less of an issue as time goes by).

OK, got it fixed. For 17.00 I bought a good copy of win 7 which got rid of of activation message. All I had to do was enter the new product code number. Then I started the ms edge proggy for win 10 I already had downloaded but wouldn't recognize the old win 7 but now would recognize the new product code. From there on everything was straight forward. So for 17.00 I got upgraded to win 10. Otherwise I might of took a stab at loading the linux program. Thanks for the input.

Glad you got it fixed! I try to save money on software and hardware whenever possible, but sometimes you just have to pony-up and buy a thing to save yourself a headache. Spending too much time to save money is foolish.