Old laptop windows 10

A friend of mine has Windows 7, maybe 32-bit (haven’t taken a look at it yet), on an old laptop from 2011. He’s not re-installed windows since 2011. He’s not tech savvy, his Windows is slow and has a lot of junk on it, so I suggested to do a clean install of 10.

Two questions. 1. He doesn’t have the product key but his Windows is legal, so I’m assuming his key is stored in his bios (or wasn’t that the case yet back in 2011?). How do I confirm this?

2. If it turns out he has 32-bit, can I acivate 64-bit Windows 10 on it (assuming his system is 64-bit capable)?

1. There should be COA sticker attacked to the laptop underneath or within the battery compartment when removed. It will contain the product key. If not you can install a product key finder to know your Windows 7 key.

2. I do not think so with OEM copies of Windows 7 you can only upgrade to Windows 10 that is same version/bit as the OS you are currently using. This may be different if you are using a retail (boxed) copy of Windows 7 (as it came with both 32/64 bit CDs in the box).

If your friend has a bit of spare cash you may find reinstalling the OS will not be enough. I suspect it is the HDD that is slowing the OS down. Typically laptops come with 5400rpm HDD which are very slow. I would recommend upgrading the HDD to a SSD which will give a definate speed boost.

Thanks. I forgot about those stickers and finders. That should probably do it. If not, I think I’ll just assume the key is embedded in the motherboard and Windows 10 will activate fine.

Yeah, I told him that about HDD. Also, in my own experience cheap laptop HDDs start failing after 4, 5 years, so it’s time to replace it anyway.

You can use the program Speccy to obtain the Windows key
The sticker is usually on the bottom of the laptop, or in the battery compartment

But if hes able to get into his windows and install speccy he can just get it that way

Just download the Win10 tool and do an upgrade that way if need be, then you wont need a key. you can then use speccy to get the Win10 key after its installed.

BUT, before you do anything.
He should goto the laptop vendors website to make sure it has Win10 drivers available, Network/Ethernet drivers, and Soundcard drivers along with anything else that may be needed, just incase.

After Win10 is installed, since its an old laptop he should consider doing a Clean Install, so anything he wants to keep should be backedup some where. If it asks for a key when doing the clean install he can enter the key he got from Speccy.

Installing Windows 10 on an old laptop

#1 justindaniels

I plan to install Windows 10 32-bit on my old Dell Latitude D610 laptop. Currently it has a single-core 1.73 GHZ CPU, 1 GB RAM, and 80 GB hard disk space. I will upgrade the CPU to 2.26 and the RAM to 2 GB. Currently, my computer runs Windows 2000, XP, and 7, but Windows 7 runs very slowly. I plan to install Windows 10 in addition to these current OSes. Can I expect Windows 10 to run any faster than 7, or will it be worse? (Even if I get a new computer, I still plan to use this one, so don’t just tell me to get a new computer.)

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#2 JohnC_21

You may want to check out this post.

You may want to consider putting a linux distro that is good for older hardware like Mint Xfce if you plan on only doing some browsing and online purchases. Windows 10 license on this computer would be about $100 so I don’t think it’s worth putting that money into it. That being said some people have posted that installing Windows 10 will still get you an activation for free.

Edited by JohnC_21, 18 June 2018 — 11:35 AM.

#3 mikey11

Can I expect Windows 10 to run any faster than 7, or will it be worse?

#4 justindaniels

OK, thanks for the help. I probably will install windows 10, but not until I upgrade the CPU and RAM.

#5 eLPuSHeR

I also recommend you installing some Linux distro there, but you can always check w10 specially if you have 2GB+ RAM.

#6 Rocky Bennett

If it is a Dell laptop you may not be able to change the RAM and CPU. Best to stick with a good Linux as your OS.

Mr. Rocky Bennett

Linux User and Windows 10 Lover.

#7 MasterNe0

Agreed using a linux or stick with Windows 7 or even consider getting a new machine as it might as well cost a little more from upgrading your machine to buying a new one that decent enough.

Also would check your dell tag to see if drivers are available for your machine on Dell site to see if it worth the trouble because it might not even be supported depending on your hardware and age of the machine.

Edited by MasterNe0, 20 June 2018 — 12:55 PM.

#8 pcpunk

I can’t believe you have enough disk space left over to install 10 at this point?

IMO, Windows 10 will be slower than 7, almost for sure. Then when Windows 10 does it’s next Upgrade it may hose the whole pc, so consider that. And how many Primary Partitions do you have currently? You can only have Four so I assume you’ve already fixed that issue? I would assume XP runs best on that machine and Linux would run well also.

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#9 britechguy

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I will join the chorus that says that even making the attempt to install Windows 10 on hardware that was never, ever, ever designed for it, certified to run it, nor envisioned by its own designers to have the firepower to run it is simply a bad idea.

The best move, if one wishes to keep ancient hardware afloat, is to find a Linux distro that fits the hardware and one’s personal preferences as far as the user environment is concerned.

In the end, whether we’re talking Windows, Linux, or something else, hardware does have a functional service life. Even if it continues to run, perfectly, it is no longer really fit to run what the world currently provides. That’s just a fact of life in the computing business.

Brian AKA Bri the Tech Guy (website in my user profile) — Windows 10 Pro, 64-Bit
A lot of what appears to be progress is just so much technological rococo.

#10 MadmanRB

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Yeah that hardware is quite old, perhaps even linux is going to push it unless you use say puppy linux or something.

I would just get a new (or newer) laptop, this kind of hardware really is too old for a lot of modern OS’s

You dont need latest and greatest I mean even if you get a laptop with a core2duo would be better than this old thing

Proud Linux user and dual booter.

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#11 pcpunk

I think you guys are missing the point, it seems as though the OP is just playing around with this pc, and just asking some general info about installing Windows 10. I think it’s a waste of space and time and will be slow as dirt but if the OP wants to play around and install it then it’s all good.

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#12 britechguy

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If that’s the case then have at it. It’s still foolish and an exercise in futility in my opinion.

The comment about still using the machine leads me to a different reading than yours.

Brian AKA Bri the Tech Guy (website in my user profile) — Windows 10 Pro, 64-Bit
A lot of what appears to be progress is just so much technological rococo.

#13 pcpunk

I don’t disagree Brian

It seems that ALL these OS’s will be installed all at once, or at least that’s the way I read it?

Currently, my computer runs Windows 2000, XP, and 7, but Windows 7 runs very slowly. I plan to install Windows 10 in addition to these current OSes.

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#14 Raian

on your old laptop will work better Windows 7

#15 justindaniels

If it is a Dell laptop you may not be able to change the RAM and CPU. Best to stick with a good Linux as your OS.

I checked the maximum RAM and CPU. It can definitely be upgraded to 2 GB RAM and a 2.26 GHZ CPU.

old laptop windows 10?

theateam794

Reputable

getting rid of my old laptop, it mostly ran ubuntu linux but I was using it some on windows 10 via usb ssd, despite having bare minimum ram and being run over usb it was a reasonable experience.

Thinking maybe linux might not be ideal os for most buyers ? also having less than a 20gb internal ssd that I don’t want to put money into upgrading (outside of a spare 32gb sdcard I may throw in) was considering maybe tryin to installing windows .

but my quesiton is will windows 10 install on this little space ? (given the ram/storage maybe even 32bit version?) or do I just stick with put a fresh install of linux on ready for the next owner ?

JohnBonhamsGhost

Dignified

100GB.
you should be able to check product description\requirements on the MS website to see what disk space is required for each version of Windows.

but you can find an internal 120-240GB SSD for $20-40.

punkncat

Honorable

Windows 10 isn’t going to install on even the 32GB drive, so far as I am aware. There is a «lite» version out there that might. It is not official and not really sure what the support landscape looks like.

My opinion would be to put Lubuntu/Ubuntu/etc. on it and sell super cheap. I have had reasonable success doing so with items like Netbooks and such low powered or outdated hardware. There are folks that simply need a cheap way to surf. The plusses are that those OS are so much more user friendly than they were even a few years ago.

USAFRet

Titan

Win 10 will barely install on a 32GB. It will ‘work’, but there will be major issues.

Put Linux on it and sell it for whatever it will bring.

theateam794

Reputable

I didn’t want to drop $20 to $40 on a laptop that may only fetch $50 but also it only takes low profile m.2 drives which makes it even harder ? to find cheaper drives.

also I did google this and came here for a second opinion, people saying there are usb stick drives that plug directly into tvs with 32gb ssd that come running windows 10.

I was thinking it might be possible to cut a LOT of bloat but yeah seems like it might just be easier to go with linux

USAFRet

Titan

I didn’t want to drop $20 to $40 on a laptop that may only fetch $50 but also it only takes low profile m.2 drives which makes it even harder ? to find cheaper drives.

also I did google this and came here for a second opinion, people saying there are usb stick drives that plug directly into tvs with 32gb ssd that come running windows 10.

I was thinking it might be possible to cut a LOT of bloat but yeah seems like it might just be easier to go with linux

Put $0 into this. Nothing..nada.
Install Linux and put it up for sale.

I have (had) an old Asus Transformer (2015?) with a 32GB eMMC.
Win 10 installed. Standard Win 10 Home.
But the semi-annual update failed, due to not enough free space.

Anyone who might want this won’t care about what OS is on it. They will either live with the Linux install, install their own Linux, or eventually discover why Win 10 won’t really work.