Computer Shopper - UK (2020-01)

ISSUE 383|COMPUTER SHOPPER|JANUARY2020 95

Windows10onpages97–98hasmore
informationonhowtodealwiththisissue.
Forsafety,ifyourroutersupportsit,
youcanblockinternetaccesstoyour
Windows7computer. You’llstillbeable
toaccessthecomputeroveryourhome
network,butWindows7willnotbeonline.
Howyoudothisdiffersfromrouterto
router.Forexample,withmanyNetgear
routers,yougotothewebmanagement
pageandtheAccessControlsection.
Youcanthenturnoffinternetaccessfora
computer. Remember,ifyouneedto
downloadanythingtoyourWindows7
computer, you’llneedtoturnoninternet
accessagain.

INSTALL WINDOWS 10

PROS

Youget thelatestoperating

systemand security updates

CONS

Old hardwareand software

may not work

Youmay have to pay fora

new licence

Windows10isaverygoodoperating
systemthathasbeenthroughseveral
revisions,eachoneaddingnewfeatures.
Thegoodnewsisthatthesoftwareis
largelycompatiblewithWindows7
hardware,soyoushouldbeableto
upgrade.Microsoftliststheofficial
requirementsasa1GHzorfasterprocessor,
1GBofRAMfor32-bitWindows(2GBfor
64-bit),16GBofharddiskspacefor32-bit
Windows(20GBfor64-bit),andaDirectX9
orlatergraphicscard.
First,youshouldcheckcompatibility
withyourcomputer.Thebestwaytodo
thisistodownloadtheWindows10
DownloadToolfromMicrosoft’swebsite
(tinyurl.com/383windows4).Onceyou’ve
downloadedthetool,runitandchoose
theoptiontoupgradeyourcomputer.
YourPCwillbecheckedforany
compatibilityissues,suchasnothaving
enoughharddiskspaceorsomehardware
beingincompatible.Thisgivesyoua
chancetofixorrepairissuesifyoucan.
Ifyourcomputerhasthego-aheadfor
upgrading,you’llneedaWindows10
licencekey,whichyoucanbuyfrom
Microsoft’sonlinestore.Windows10
Homecosts£120foralicence,andyou’ll
needthiskeyforyourcomputer.
However,youmaybeabletoupgrade
forfreeifyou’repreparedtodoaclean
installation.Makesurethatyou’vetakena
backupofyourWindows7PCanditsfiles,
thenyoucanruntheDownloadTool,but
selecttheoptiontocreateinstallation

media.Followthewizardthroughand

inserta4GBUSBdrivetocreateaboot

drivethatyoucanusetoinstallWindows

10.RebootyourcomputerwiththeUSB

driveinsertedandbootfromthistostart

theWindows10installation.Whenyou’re

asked,enteryourWindows7licencekey

ratherthanaWindows10one,andthe

softwareshouldacceptit.Wetrieditwith

ourWindows7HomePremiumKeyandit

allworkedperfectly.

To checkifithasworked,afteryou’ve

installedWindows10gotoSettingsinthe

Startmenu,selectUpdate&Securityand

thenclicktheActivationlinkinthe

left-handpanel.UndertheActivation

headerinthemainpane,youshould

seeamessagethatsays,“Windowsis

activatedwithadigitallicencelinkedto

yourMicrosoftaccount”.

Ifyoudon’t,orWindows10didn’ttake

yourWindows7key,you’llneedtobuya

Windows10licencetouseyourcomputer.

Themaindownsideofthisapproach

isthatyoumayfindthatsomesoftware

andhardwareisincompatiblewith

Windows10.Forexample,oldprinters

maynotworkwithyournewoperating

system.And,asyou’veupgradedyour

Windows7PC,youdon’thavethatto

handtorunyourolderprinter.Thereare

someworkarounds(seepage98),but

youmayneedtoupgradetonewer

hardwareandsoftware.

INSTALL UBUNTU

PROS

Free Runs fast

CONS

Won’twork with

existing software

Ifyou’dratherswitchtoLinux,Ubuntuisa

goodchoice.Thelatestversionhasslightly

higherhardwarerequirementsthan

Windows10,butyou’llfindthatalotof

Windows7hardwareisuptothejob.The

mainrequirementsarea2GHzdual-core

processor,4GBofsystemmemoryand

25GBoffreeharddiskspace.Youcan

downloadUbuntufromubuntu.com.

ThiswillgetyouanISOfile,whichyou

canburntoablankDVDforinstallation

onyourcomputer.Alternatively,ifyou

wanttoinstallviaUSB,you’llneedto

downloadandinstallaprogramcalled

Rufus(rufus.ie).Onceyou’vegotthe

application,runit,theninserttheUSB

drivethatyouwanttouseandselectthis

fromtheDevicemenu.SelecttheBoot

selectionasFreeDOS,thenclickSelect,

navigatetotheUbuntuISOfileandchoose

Open.ClickStartandyourbootableUSB

drivewillbecreated,whichyoucanuseto

installLinuxonyourcomputer.

However,aquickwordofwarning.If

youhavealaptop,makesureyouhave

ABOVE:Download

the Windows 10 tool

to check your

computer’s

compatibility for

an upgrade

BELOW:Youcan

check if youhave a

genuinecopy of

Windows10ornot

THEEND OF WINDOWS 7?