Originally Posted by
rans6andrew
my Win7 netbook has slowed to glacial speed over the last couple of years. I have not installed anything new onto it during this time but the inevitable "new versions" of installed stuff has taken it's toll.
A lot of the slow-down will be due not just be the inevitable "creaking windows" but potentially to a stack of stuff installed by MSoft via the Windows Update process to steer (force!) unsuspecting users down the "
inadvertant and unwanted installation of Windows 10" route.
Originally Posted by
rans6andrew
To reclaim some speed should I re-install my Win7? from the backup partition or should I grab a free Win10? not that I know exactly what each entails and what the risks are.
The "risks" are minimal, other than the one where you install Win10, hate it and end up installing Win7 again. But since you're already thinking about reinstalling Win7, that could be seen as a bonus - ie you now know to avoid Win10 like a dose of the plague.
The only hanging question would be whether a "Windows7-updated-
in situ- to Win10" still has the same speed issues, and there's only one way to find that out...
Originally Posted by
rans6andrew
If I re-install Win7, will it need me to know the licence number which was originally on a label on the bottom of the machine, long since worn away and not, apparently, in the paperwork from when the machine was bought new?
Belarc Advisor is your friend. Download and run, and you will be presented (amongst much other info) with the original Win7 licence code. I always feel the urge to print a hard copy of the report produced, just in case.
Your
other friend is the "
Create Recovery Disks" utility that will let you create a (set of) reinstall DVD, just in case the version on the disk partition gets hosed during any Win10 shennanigans.
Your
other other friend is the Control Panel / Programs and Features option, which will let you see (most of) what you have installed over the years and might wish to reinstall.
Originally Posted by
rans6andrew
I suspect that either route will require me to remove and backup all of my data/photos/files etc?
You will certainly to need to back them up - the (re)install will typically blow them away. But then, like the rest of us, you've been taking regular backups anyway, haven't you?
Originally Posted by
rans6andrew
Do I need to remove all of the programmes I have installed? Most of them are free to download (Firefox, Comodo firewall and AV, Open Office, Free42), I assume a fresh install of all of these things would be good thing to do?
Only "net-licenced" software would need to be uninstalled first - eg Microsoft Office - so that the licence is "freed up"and hence available again when you reinstall it. Things like the MS Office licence key also appear on the Belarc report
Originally Posted by
rans6andrew
If I end up going the Win7 route, is there a way to be sure that it won't decide to overwrite it with Win10? I understand that setting "no updates" doesn't always stop them from cocking things up.
To avoid (or at least minimise the risk of) infestation by Win10, download and run
Never10 from Gibson Research and/or the
GWX Control Panel from Ultimate Outsider.
Hope this all makes sense - good luck and have fun
