in-place upgrade

Infopackets Reader Shelby C. writes: " Dear Dennis, I am in a huge hurry to upgrade my machine to Windows 10 because there won't be any more security updates for Windows 7 in January 2020, when Windows 7 reaches its end of life. I have tried to ... upgrade using the Upgrade Assistant and Windows 10 media, but I keep getting ' SAFE_OS phase error during Replicate_OC operation ' error, whatever that means. Windows 10 simply won't install on my machine! I have looked at articles all over the Internet including one from the Windows Club and none of them work. I really need your help! Can you please ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Jan G. writes: " Dear Dennis, Thank you so much for your article on How to Fix: Windows Update Using an In-Place Upgrade . I have the dreaded 80070490 windows update error and can't seem to get past it. That said, I tried to do an ... in-place Windows Repair (as per your guide) but am having another problem. As Windows is getting ready to reinstall, the Windows Compatibility Report is blank, and won't let me proceed with the repair. I have tried doing a repair install on another machine and it works fine. Any ideas as to why the Compatibility Report window is blank and how I ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Gail C. writes: " Dear Dennis, I have Windows 7 and am trying to use Windows Update to update my system, but I keep receiving the Windows Update error 80070490. I have not been able to download updates for over 3 months now. I ... would really like to upgrade to Windows 10, but I can't because my Windows Update isn't up to date, thus preventing Windows 10 from downloading. Every time I run the Windows Update, it starts to download something, then fails at the same spot with error code 80070490. It is driving me crazy. Can you help? " My Response: Windows Update error 80070490 ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Sam T. writes: " Dear Dennis, Thanks for your ongoing and excellent articles on Windows 10. I have a question; right now I'm running Windows 7 32-bit, but I want to upgrade to Windows 10 64-bit and still maintain my free license ... for Windows 10. How can I upgrade from Windows 7 32-bit to Windows 10 64-bit? " My response: You can only upgrade to Windows 10 using the same architecture -- for example, from Windows 7 32-bit to Windows 10 32-bit. In other words, you cannot do an in-place upgrade from 32-bit Windows to 64-bit Windows and maintain all your installed ... (view more)

Windows 10 is now available. While there's no immediate rush to get it (the upgrade is free for another year), here are some of the basics to know if you're thinking of trying out the new system. Can I get Windows 10 right away, or do I have to ... wait? Many users are still waiting for Windows 10 to download to their computer, even though they have reserved their free upgrade using the 'Get Windows 10' app via the tray bar. It is possible, however, to forcefully download Windows 10 directly from Microsoft's website as an in-place upgrade or as an .ISO, which is used to create a bootable ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Ed H. writes: " Dear Dennis, Regarding Windows 10: do I have to reinstall my programs once Windows 10 is installed, or will everything move over automatically? I'm confused because I read that if I install Windows 10 I will have ... to reinstall programs, but other websites say that I won't have to reinstall any programs. How can I know for sure? " My response: Most users will be doing an 'in-place upgrade' through Windows Update; in that case, most of your programs (including your user data) should automatically move over without any problems. On the ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Lisa A. writes: " Dear Dennis, Thanks for the great website and newsletter. I have a question regarding upgrading to Windows 10. I have a machine with Windows 7 and another with Windows 8, both of which have reserved the free ... upgrade to Windows 10. My question is this: if I upgrade to Windows 10, can I keep my old version of Windows on the same machine and boot from it? " My response: If you are performing an in-place upgrade of Windows 10, then you will not have a choice as to which operating system you want to boot into. That's because the in-place upgrade ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader 'controlbob' writes: " Dear Dennis, I have an HP laptop running Windows Vista and I plan to upgrade to Windows 7 using an OEM install disc. Do you know if the OEM Windows 7 will be approved for the free Windows 10 upgrade when it ... becomes available? Are the hardware requirements for the Windows 10 similar to Windows 7? Can I upgrade / migrate to Windows 10, or do I need to do a clean install? " My Response: The short answer is that yes, you can get the free upgrade to Windows 10 if you currently have Windows 7 or 8.1 installed -- providing you claim the ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Bill C. writes: " Dear Dennis, I run Windows 7 64 bit on my computer and my wife has an old Windows XP 32-bit PC (Dell Inspiron E521). She's a real stickler about [keeping her PC exactly the way it is, so she can still access all ... her files and programs, but I know it's time for an upgrade and I'd like to upgrade it to Windows 7 64 bit for her] ... I already have on hand all the items I thought I'd need: Windows 7 upgrade CD, more RAM for her PC, two new 1 TB hard drives, a video card, etc. What I'd like to be able to do is make a disk image clone of her old XP hard drive, ... (view more)