How difficult was it for you to migrate from Windows 7 or 8 to Windows 10?

[Mind Riot]

Is there a way to make it happen that brings all of your programs?

How difficult is it to migrate to a new computer and bring all your programs and junk over to it?

Is there paid software available that can do this that is a worthwhile investment for transferring everything, including programs, over to a new PC?


Like all of us here, I've got numerous audio oriented programs and hundreds of plugins on my DAW. I'm still running Windows 7 and my DAW works very well.

But I'm starting to run across more and more plugs that are Windows 10 supported only. I recently was curious about trying out an Acustica plug or two and they flat out don't support anything below 10. I'm completely locked out; the Acquarius installer won't even contact their server.

Such being the case, I wonder if I'll need a more powerful PC as I venture into the future. My current DAW is several years old and sports an Intel i5 processor, 16 gigs of RAM, a 500 gig SSD OS and programs drive, another 500 gig samples drive, and a 1 terabyte HDD music projects and files drive.

The current setup takes everything I throw at it just fine, but I know the newer OS' are much more demanding of a PC's resources, and Windows 7 is not supported anymore (though that hasn't been a problem).

So I'm conflicted about what path to take. Just keep things as they are and miss out on newer plugs? Buy or build a new PC and install Windows 10 on it? Do you savvy gentlemen know which way is the safest for transferring all my programs and such?


[EDIT] Okay, please forget about the possibility of upgrading in place. It would have been my last choice. Dumb idea. I've edited this post to remove mention of it.

[T-CM11]

So I'm conflicted about what path to take. Just keep things as they are and miss out on newer plugs? Buy or build a new PC and install Windows 10 on it? Install 10 on my current PC DAW? Which way is the safest for transferring all my programs and such?

You're asking for some special Windows in-place upgrade way that's guaranteed effortless and "risk-free". It doesn't exist.

My advice: Make a system image (read up about it online) first, update Windows and see how it works out for you. If it doesn't work well -> roll back.

Edit: if you build a new PC, go for Windows 11.

[Stokely]

I'm certainly no expert and only use Windows for work these days (macs for music) but I've never even tried to upgrade in place. It's probably because I'm still thinking of the XP days when it was recommended to do a fresh install periodically (I think Microsoft had their own workers do it fairly often). It definitely helped performance to start fresh. I've enjoyed Win10, it's been very solid on this laptop and I haven't reinstalled for a few years.

I'd be dubious about trying to move everything but I do understand how much of a hassle it can be. It's one reason I have tried to stick with fewer devs, it makes it easier to reinstall and authorize. On the bright side it's an opportunity to thin the plugin herd

[kperry]

I'd agree with the "Take an Image and go for it approach" just in case, but to put things in perspective, I had a Windows 7 machine with a Quad Core Intel processor (dying motherboard), took the boot/Windows SSD and put it in a brand new Ryzen system, ran the upgrade from USB the first time I booted and it upgraded to Windows 10 perfectly - I was more than amazed to be honest.

[chk071]

Is there a way to make it happen that brings all of your programs?

Yes, load the image on a USB stick, and install Windows 10 from that. (The update from Windows 7 will even *drum roll* be free.)

Is it harder to migrate in place, making the transition on an existing computer, or is it harder to migrate to a new computer and bring all your programs and junk over to it?

If you want to have less trouble, upgrade it like I described above.

Is there paid software available that can do this that is a worthwhile investment for transferring everything, including programs, over to a new PC?

Probably, but, I don't think it's worth the hassle.

Like all of us here, I've got numerous audio oriented programs and hundreds of plugins on my DAW. I'm still running Windows 7 and my DAW works very well.

But I'm starting to run across more and more plugs that are Windows 10 supported only. I recently was curious about trying out an Acustica plug or two and they flat out don't support anything below 10. I'm completely locked out; the Acquarius installer won't even contact their server.

Such being the case, I wonder if I'll need a more powerful PC as I venture into the future. My current DAW is several years old and sports an Intel i5 processor, 16 gigs of RAM, a 500 gig SSD OS and programs drive, another 500 gig samples drive, and a 1 terabyte HDD music projects and files drive.

The current setup takes everything I throw at it just fine, but I know the newer OS' are much more demanding of a PC's resources, and Windows 7 is not supported anymore (thought that hasn't been a problem).

So I'm conflicted about what path to take. Just keep things as they are and miss out on newer plugs? Buy or build a new PC and install Windows 10 on it? Install 10 on my current PC DAW? Which way is the safest for transferring all my programs and such?

As T-CM11 mentioned, if you go for a new PC, it most likely will have Windows 11 pre-installed. And, maybe you should really think about a new PC, because, even if you would install Windows 10 on your current PC, in 2 1/2 to 3 years, you have the same situation as with Windows 7: An unsupported system, which will gradually not be supported by newer software anymore.

[Mind Riot]

Yes, load the image on a USB stick, and install Windows 10 from that. (The update from Windows 7 will even *drum roll* be free.)

Okay, just to be sure I'm understanding you correctly, you're saying that I should image my C drive and put that image onto a USB stick, and that I should also have the entirety of a Windows 10 installation on that same USB stick and should install Windows 10 from said USB stick?

Then I would have a fresh install of 10 and an image of my old 7 C drive, what do I do with it then?

[Mind Riot]

I'd agree with the "Take an Image and go for it approach" just in case, but to put things in perspective, I had a Windows 7 machine with a Quad Core Intel processor (dying motherboard), took the boot/Windows SSD and put it in a brand new Ryzen system, ran the upgrade from USB the first time I booted and it upgraded to Windows 10 perfectly - I was more than amazed to be honest.

Did it keep all your installed programs?

[chk071]

Yes, load the image on a USB stick, and install Windows 10 from that. (The update from Windows 7 will even *drum roll* be free.)

Okay, just to be sure I'm understanding you correctly, you're saying that I should image my C drive and put that image onto a USB stick, and that I should also have the entirety of a Windows 10 installation on that same USB stick and should install Windows 10 from said USB stick?

Then I would have a fresh install of 10 and an image of my old 7 C drive, what do I do with it then?

No. Click on the link in my post, execute the file you downloaded, then follow the instructions to create a bootable installation stick for Windows 10, make sure your computer can boot from USB (you need to set that up in the BIOS, I hope you know your way around there), and then you can click on the setup.exe on the stick to upgrade your Windows 7 to Windows 10, keeping your files and programs from your Windows 7 installation.

Again though, I would really think about going that route, because, support for Windows 10 will end in 2025.

[kritikon]

Have to say I really can't vouch for if it will upgrade from 7 -> 10 OK, but I upgraded from Win 10->11 only a couple of weeks ago and Win installer did everything without me having to do absolutely anything. All of the apps and programs that were there before upgrade were there and working after going to Win11. I literally just upgraded Win and didn't do a single thing to anything else. Cubase still worked (though I then upgraded from 10.5 -> 12 which was why I upgraded to Win 11), all of its plugins still worked, my media players etc all worked and their libraries etc still worked and were all in the right place. All my other stuff like VPN etc still worked (not that I have a huge amount of other apps really). I'm no PC expert in the slightest, yet upgrading 10->11 was possibly the easiest I've ever done (though time-consuming).

I guess to be safe then good advice is to save everything...but I didn't (though technically I had everything already saved into the cloud, which it does for me anyway).

Question though...why only to Win10? If you're going to upgrade then why not go to the latest Win? OK scratch that - duh - I thought about it for 10 seconds and...your old PC won't allow Win11 obvs.

TBH though - if you're going to upgrade etc you might want to think about a new PC too - I don't upgrade all the time but there are times you need to do that to get the best out of everything. That's the main decision - can you accept sticking with your current limitations? Only you know that. When I got my latest laptop after a few years the difference was staggering compared to my old thing. It boots in literally a few seconds - it can run a huge amount more in Cubase than I could previously without having to render etc.

[kperry]

I'd agree with the "Take an Image and go for it approach" just in case, but to put things in perspective, I had a Windows 7 machine with a Quad Core Intel processor (dying motherboard), took the boot/Windows SSD and put it in a brand new Ryzen system, ran the upgrade from USB the first time I booted and it upgraded to Windows 10 perfectly - I was more than amazed to be honest.

Did it keep all your installed programs?

Yes - I had to reauthorise a couple (BFD 2 I think) but that was all.

[MJACau]

As precaution de-authorising any iLok plugings from the iLok manager before an upgrade would be wise, just a few clicks to re-authorise is easier than losing activations and contacting every vendor you have get authorisations back.
Even if you're not changing hardware and just upgrading your OS on the same rig.

[digitalboytn]

How difficult was it ?

It took months of trekking through hot and dusty deserts, even more months of sailing over stormy seas and then even more months climbing mountains, traversing snow capped peaks and crossing glaciers and swollen rivers,but we got there in the end ..

We were exhausted,but all of the trials and tribulations we encountered on the journey made it extra special....

So we fired up the computer,installed Windows 10 and we were in awe and we bowed down and worshipped our new idol...

Then,without any warning,the computer blew up and our hopes and dreams were totally shattered...

So I guess that the moral of this story is to never get your hopes up too high and expectation can often lead to a great sense of disappointment

[jens]

Why would you switch to 10 rather than 11?

Even though you're ruling that out now:

You can install both 10 and 11 simpky over 7 or 8 on the same machine btw. - the Windows installer will take care of everything and you don't normally have to re-install anything - piece of cake...

[fese]

Personally, I only ever update the OS when I am switching to a new PC. That way I can set up the new system while the old one is still running, and even after I switched, I can still go back to the old one in case I forgot something.
But yeah, it is a PITA, installing and authorizing all the software takes days… and this is the time where the often despised installation managers and iLok key shine. Worst are all plugins where you have to type/paste in your email address and serial numbers in each plugin. As much as I like e.g. u-he or Fuse plugins, if you have several of them, it becomes a mind numbing task.
But it’s only every 5-6 years, so very much a fwp.

[kritikon]

Why would you switch to 10 rather than 11?

Even though you're ruling that out now:

You can install both 10 and 11 simpky over 7 or 8 on the same machine btw. - the Windows installer will take care of everything and you don't normally have to re-install anything - piece of cake...

I thought that initially but he mentioned "My current DAW is several years old". It's likely too retro for Win11 to be possible. Your pc has to be fairly recent for Win11 to be possible.