We have already said when Microsoft made it easy to update Windows 7 and 8.1 to Windows 10, so that we can bring each PC to the latest version of the operating system without having to do a clean installation from scratch. The speech changes instead for those who have a computer with Windows XP or Windows Vista installed, because they cannot make a quick update to Windows 7, Windows 8.1 or Windows 10 and must necessarily delete everything and install the operating system from scratch.
For these computers with Windows XP or Vista there is also to check the hardware compatibility with the new operating systems, which are not said to work on too old PCs.
Anyone wishing to switch from XP or Vista to a more recent version of Windows which can be Windows 7, 8.1 or Windows 10, before doing any operation or test, can check the compatibility .
Generally speaking, those who have Windows XP or Vista should switch to Windows 7 because there are many more chances that this system will work on that computer than the latest versions.
From the Microsoft website you can download the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor program to check the compatibility of the PC with Windows 7 .
In addition to providing information on the probabilities of a correct installation of the system, the compatibility report will warn the user about any replacements of hardware components, such as RAM or CPU, which will have to be carried out before proceeding.
Without automatic tool you can also check the list of system requirements for Windows 7 .
Always before installing Windows 7 it is advisable to make sure that the drivers for that computer supplied by the hardware manufacturers are downloadable from the internet.
As explained in the guide to download drivers safely, you must first find all the information on the hardware specifications of the computer (with the Speccy program that also works on XP and Vista) and then go to the websites of the various manufacturers to look for the drivers for the system that you are going to install.
READ ALSO THE GUIDES:
- Switch from Vista to Windows 7 with update
- How to install Windows 7 from XP
The same can be said if, instead of going to Windows 7, you wanted to install Windows 8.1 .
Also in this case there is the tool for checking hardware compatibility with Windows 8.1 .
On the Microsoft website you will also find the system requirements table for Windows 8 and 8.1.
Personally I see no reason to switch to Windows 8 since, if anything and if it were possible, it would be better to go directly to Windows 10 and since while the update from Vista to 7 is automatic, so it is not the transition to Windows 8
If, on the other hand, you want to check whether it is possible to install Windows 10 on the PC with Vista or Windows XP, even if the compatibility program for Windows 10 will not work, you can still use the Upgrade assistant tool for Windows 8.1.
If you can install Windows 8.1 on a PC, Windows 10 will certainly be fine and there should not be too many exceptions.
The Windows 10 system requirements and the Windows 8.1 system requirements are practically the same.
The only additional check that is required in case you want to install Windows 10 64 bit is on the processor, which must support the CMPXCHG16b, PrefetchW, and LAHF / SAHF technologies .
It should be necessary (for Windows 10 32 bit and 64 bit) that the processor supports SSE2, NX and PAE, which was also a requirement for Windows 8.1.
For this, if the Windows 8.1 compatibility tool says it's okay, you can also choose to install Windows 10.
Note that if there was Windows Vista on the computer, it is possible to update it first to Windows 7 and then to Windows 10 keeping all the data, without ever installing from scratch.
License issue
While the upgrade from Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 to Windows 10 is free, at least until July 27, 2016 (one year after its release), so it is not for those who want to replace Windows XP or Vista.
Those who have XP or Vista, if they want to install another operating system, must necessarily buy the license to use it.
To find cheap Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 licenses you can search Amazon.
Once you have purchased the Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 license, at least until July 2016, you can also use it to install Windows 10 at no additional cost.
If you are ready, you can start from this page to download each version of Windows for free and legally .
