Want to upgrade my Dell Desktop to Windows 10

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Hi I currently have a Dell desktop with 8gb of ram and 1 TB of storage and it’s a 64 bit.

What version of Windows 10 would be compatible with that? It’s running windows 7 home premium now but support will end in five months.I got the message that Microsoft recommendation is to get a new pc but I went through that with Windows 98 and XP and don’t think I should have to buy a new pc every time Microsoft updates versions, So if anyone can suggest what version to get and if possible where to get it from I would appreciate it.

Thank You

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Well, 8 GB RAM and 1 TB storage is quite usable with Windows 10, but… the other details might be more significant.

I happen to have a Dell laptop at home with those too, and on it the problem with Windows 10 would be the lack of graphics drivers. As in, Windows 10 graphics drivers don’t exist for that hardware, 7 was the last Windows version and even that officially unsupported by Dell.

And that’s not g

As for “which version of Windows 10” … that’s a question of budgeting. Enterprise LTSB/LTSC 1607 would be the safest bet on old hardware but 1) it’s very expensive compared to Home and Pro (as in several hundreds in EUR/USD apiece, and only sold in volume contracts so not retail off-the-shelf and can’t just buy one) and 2) 1607 may be hard to get even for money by now.

There isn’t appreciable difference in hardware support between Windows 10 Home and Pro. Pro just makes it a bit easier to be picky about updates…

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Hm, some kind of an editing error apparently with that…

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Dell have some good resources about Windows 10 compatibility. Your first stop would be this list showing Win10 versions and compatible hardware.

Your next step would be to check your Dell Service Tag, to see what, if any, Windows 10 drivers are available for your hardware.

There are also several useful pages about upgrading a Dell to Windows 10 on this knowledgebase page.

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WSZee15

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If your storage is not SSD, you should not consider W10 update. Performance of HDD with W10 is simply awful. Causes crashes and Blue Screens of Death by my experience (even if not it will be serious bottleneck for your system).

Go to Dell webpage and enter your service tag, as Kirsty wrote.

Dell Latitude 3420, Intel Core i7 @ 2.8 GHz, 16GB RAM, W10 22H2 Enterprise

HAL3000, AMD Athlon 200GE @ 3,4 GHz, 8GB RAM, Fedora 29

PRUSA i3 MK3S+

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Kirsty

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Well I don’t know… I’ve built W10 systems with HDDs, including RAID1 (even slower writes), and they can work just fine… as long as you build it right and tune appropriately.

Of course depends on what you’re doing with the system.

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When I installed W10 from USB (wipe C: and install from scratch) on older computers with HDD (Dell Optiplex 790, 7010 and 9020), some of them actually worked, but its HDD usage was crawling just beneath 100% all the time. When I tried several applications at the same time (Excel, Outlook, Skype, VLC, Total Commander, Adobe Reader) it almost freezed and performance was very frustrating. Some of them fell to the BSoD. Some of them crashed during windows updates on the background. Maybe it was due to its age or condition, but W7 worked on all machines, then I installed W10 (just because W7 EoL) and broblems begun to appear. I would not recommend anybody to install W10 on HDD. But this is just my opinion, maybe you have different angle of view and I respect it.

Dell Latitude 3420, Intel Core i7 @ 2.8 GHz, 16GB RAM, W10 22H2 Enterprise

HAL3000, AMD Athlon 200GE @ 3,4 GHz, 8GB RAM, Fedora 29

PRUSA i3 MK3S+

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[EP]

I don’t have that kind of problem at all with traditional HDDs running Win10, doriel. maybe you have some faulty HDDs

• This reply was modified 5 years, 8 months ago by EP.

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I have Win10 Version 1903 on 9 Notebooks [Dell and HP, wife’s is a Toshiba] and 6 Desktops, all with HDDs and no problems. Most are older machines I’ve rehabbed and awaiting sale or donation or whatever.

Before you wonder "Am I doing things right," ask "Am I doing the right things?"

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Last I checked (within 30 days) you could still get a free upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 10. Microsoft says that program ended a couple of years ago but it still works. You will be upgraded to the same SKU. So, if you are running WIn7 Home you will be upgraded to Win10 Home.

Be sure to back up your system before beginning the upgrade.

--Joe

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Here are some links that may be helpful, if you have a valid Product Key license for Windows 7 Home, then you might be able to get a free Windows 10 Home edition, most likely version 1903 at this time. With some extra work you can probably download an iso for 1809 using the Heidoc website = I have no experience with that, others do, and may add info. Here is a quote from the Lifehacker website:  “I believe you can download and run Microsoft’s Windows 10 Update Assistant, which should run a check to verify your system can handle Windows 10 (and it’ll also tell you what version you should upgrade to).”  –  Check these links:

https://langa.com/index.php/2019/06/18/is-windows-10-still-free-for-windows-7-users/

https://www.techsupportall.com/upgrade-windows-7-to-windows-10-for-free-even-in-2018/

https://lifehacker.com/if-you-cant-upgrade-from-windows-7-to-windows-10-what-1835696084

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

Amazing Truths Revealed: Link to Simply Magnificent AskWoody Knowledge Bases

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WSZee15

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Hi; After researching Dells support Site and Forums and Microsoft’s Site I found this information,My Dell PC is on the upgrade list which Dell tested users suggested 1809 or 1903

builds.In my original post I neglected to say what I would use the PC for, I would use it for surfing the web; E mails occasionally Open or create PDF files and back up some photos .And if possible backup my I Tunes list.

The chip is a Intel (R) i5-3340 CPU @310 ghz.My question for what I want to do on the PC will builds 1809 or 1903 be able to run on it.

One more suggestion someone said Can try Windows8.1

So can anyone give me advice on this new information I found out.

Thanks.

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Seems you have all the information you need to go ahead with the upgrade.

I’d make a full disk backup to an external disk (using a free backup app) before doing the upgrade, just in case it goes really pear shaped.

cheers, Paul

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what is the model number of your Dell computer, WSZee15?
use the Speecy program to determine the specs of your Dell PC.

although my family’s Dell Inspiron 620 desktop PC (which came with Win7) isn’t fully tested for Win10 compatibility [because it has Intel Sandy Bridge hardware], I am planning to upgrade it to Win10 Education/Enterprise near the end of 2019 (these editions get a little longer support than the Home/Pro editions); maybe I’ll even try out Win10 LTSB 2016 or LTSC 2019 on a spare hard drive [don’t ask me how or why I’ll use LTSB/LTSC on there, mn–; I’ll figure out a way to use that]

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Hi EP,

I have an Inspiron 660

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I’ve upgraded and fresh installed Windows 10 1809 and 1903 on at least 20 I660s with no issues whatsoever. Matter of fact I have a backup machine on my bench running 1903 right now. I updated to latest BIOS and downloaded the latest drivers before fresh install. Uptime has been about 60 days on this machine so far. No issues noted.

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