In our previous blog, we discussed why you need to upgrade Windows 7 after the end-of-life period. Windows 7 machines can be upgraded to either Windows 8.1 or to Windows 10 operating systems (OS). Although Microsoft ended mainstream support for Windows 8.1 on January 9, 2018, Extended Support will continue through January 20, 2023. Migrating Windows 7 machines to Windows will postpone end of life issues for at least the next several years.
A critical reason for migrating to Windows 10 is enabling the additional layer of protection provided by Microsoft with a secure boot option. Other popular reasons for upgrading to Windows 10 are Cortana, Microsoft’s personal digital assistant; the Microsoft Edge web browser; and the Windows Start button. The Start button has returned in Windows 10 to improve usability and enhance the overall user experience.
Now that we’ve reviewed the advantages of choosing Windows 10 over Windows 8.1, let’s drill down to learn more about the roadblocks you might encounter during the migration process.
Lack of planning
Major chaos will result if the deployment procedure is not properly planned. For the migration process to be smooth, you should do the following:
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Obtain the complete asset details for the network. This will provide you with the number of devices that need to be upgraded from Windows 7 to Windows 10.
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Get a complete view of the OS details, along with the hardware and software assets in the network computers. This will enable you to categorize those computers that meet the hardware requirements for Windows 10.
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To ensure the support of legacy applications, the asset data you obtain will provide insights on the software that might not be compatible with Windows 10.
Time consumed for manual OS deployment
The time taken to manually deploy or upgrade an OS in an enterprise machine is up to three hours. This estimated time excludes the time taken to collect all the hardware and software data to check for compatibility issues. For an IT admin managing a minimum of 1,000 endpoints, this manual OS installation task may consume the entire work day of both the admin and the employees. Hence, a deployment tool like OS deployer, or a complete management tool like Desktop Central, will significantly reduce your deployment time and effort.
Hardware requirements
To upgrade the computers from Windows 7 to Windows 10, basic hardware specifications as provided by Microsoft below must be met.
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Processor |
1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster processor, or System-on-a-chip (SoC) |
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RAM |
1 gigabyte (GB) for 32-bit, or 2 GB for 64-bit |
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Hard drive space |
16 GB for 32-bit OS, 32 GB for 64-bit OS |
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Graphics card |
DirectX 9 or later with Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM) 1.0 driver |
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Display |
800×600 |
To avoid OS boot errors, these specifications must be strictly followed. For example, deploying a 64-bit Windows OS to a 32-bit machine or vice versa might disrupt the smooth functioning of the machine.
Error codes during installation
At times during the Windows 10 installation process, the program may stop and display an error code. There are numerous possible error codes, and at least as many potential problems that might occur. The proper step in such a situation would be to note the error code and find the actual reason for the core problem. Here is a list of some of the most common error codes that might display during a Windows 10 upgrade, and their solutions as given by Microsoft.
This blog discussed some of the complexities that might arise during the Windows 7 to Windows 10 migration process. In our next blog, we’ll discover the best practices to accomplish a quick and easy Windows 10 migration.
** Optrics Inc. is an Authorized ManageEngine partner
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