104 MAY2020|COMPUTERSHOPPER|ISSUE387
N
ow thatyou’ve got your new PC
working the way thatyou want it,
whatabout the old one? Although it
may not be your primary computer any
more, thereare afew good options for how
to deal with it.
UPGRADE TO WINDOWS 10
FOR FREE
If you have an old Windows 7PCthatyou’re
worried about no longer getting supportfor,
you may be able to upgrade it to Windows
10 for free.You’ll have to perform aclean
install to do this, and please note thatif
you’ve got an OEM Windows 7key that
came with your computer,then you may find
thatyou can’t get the free upgrade.
To do this, you’ll need to get your
Windows 7Licence Key. Youcan use the
Magical Jelly Bean Keyfindertool thatwe
mentioned on page 99 if you can’t find your
keyanywhereelse.
First, you should check the compatibility
with your computer.The best way to do
this is to download the Windows 10
Download Tool from Microsoft’swebsite
(microsoft.com/en-gb/software-download/
windows10). Once you’ve downloaded
the tool, run it and choose the option to
upgrade your computer.Your PC will be
checked for any compatibility issues, such
as not having enough harddisk space or
some hardwarebeing incompatible.
This gives you achance to fix or repair
issues if you can. Don’t try and perform
the upgrade, and quit the tool.
Next, makesurethatyou’ve taken abackup
of your Windows 7PCand its files, then you
can run the Download Tool,
but select the option to
create installation media.
Follow the wizardthrough
and inserta4GB USB drive
to create aboot drive that
you can use to install
Windows 10. Reboot your
computer with the USB
drive inserted, and boot
from this to startthe
Windows 10 installation.
When you get asked, enter
your Windows 7licence
keyrather than aWindows 10 one, and the
softwareshould accept it. We tried it with our
Windows 7Home Premium Keyand it all
worked perfectly.
To check if it has worked, after you’ve
installed Windows 10, go to Settings in the
Startmenu, select Update &Security and then
click the Activation link in the left-hand panel.
Under the Activation header in the main pane,
you should see amessagethatsays,
‘Windows is activated with adigital licence
linked to your Microsoftaccount’.
If you don’t, or Windows 10 didn’t accept
your Windows 7key,you’ll need to buy a
Windows 10 licence to use your computer.
Windows 10 Home costs £120 for alicence,
and is available from the MicrosoftStore.
INSTALL LINUX
Linux can be agood choice for an old
computer,asit’slightweight, requiring fewer
resources, and you can get the latest version
for free.Themain downside is thatyou can’t
run any of your existing applications on Linux
(although you can run avirtual copy of your
Windows 7computer if you follow our
advice), and you’ve got another brand-new
operating system to test.
Still, this method can be agood one to
give anew lease of life to an older computer.
Ubuntu is agood choice.Thelatest version
has slightly higher hardwarerequirements
than Windows 10, but you’ll find that alot of
Windows 7hardwareisuptothe job.The
main requirements area2GHz dual-core
processor,4GB of system memory and 25GB
of free harddisk space.Youcan download
Ubuntu for free fromubuntu.com.
This will get you an ISO file, which you
can burn to ablank DVDfor installation on
your computer.Alternatively,ifyou want to
install via USB, you’ll need to download and
install aprogram called Rufus (rufus.ie). Once
you’ve got the application, run it, then insert
the USB drive thatyou want to use and select
this from the Device menu. Select the Boot
selection as FreeDOS,then choose Select,
navigate to the Ubuntu ISOfile and select
WHAT TO DO
WITH AN OLD PC
ABOVE:Download the Windows 10 tool to check yourcomputer’s compatibility foranupgrade
RIGHT:Youcan checkifyou
have agenuine copy of
Windows 10 online
