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I'm looking to resurrect an old laptop using Windows OS to use for Arduino development. Currently I'm using an iPad Pro as my computer but that isn't compatible with the Arduino IDE and online community support for Windows is pretty good.
Don't know the specs on the old laptop, I need to remember where I put it away for safe keeping. Its was a pretty top of the range laptop ~8 years ago so I'm hoping should cope fine with Arduino development stuff?
But assuming I can find it... I'm thinking a new SSD hard drive and some RAM (if it needs it) and a clean install of windows should hopefully give it enough of a tune up to work well for my requirements?
Question I have is whats the easiest way to add a fresh hard drive and install windows etc.. I haven't this for many many years and I'm very out of touch. Last time I did this Windows came on a CD-ROM, current laptop doesn't have an optical drive of any sort.
I'm guessing some sort of Windows installer app thingy on a USB stick should work? Also I'm guessing I will have to find the Windows licence key from somewhere, the sticker on the bottom of the laptop has probably worn away. Any other hurdles I'll have to think about?
USB > SSD adapter, clone your existing HD onto the SSD.
Replace existing HD with the SSD.
If you have a valid windows 7 or 8 licence for the laptop, then i'd go with blank SSD and ram upgrade if you have less than 8gb.. Make a bootable Windows 10 USB stick (plenty of guides online) - the ISO file to make it can be freely downloaded from microsoft. Install using your windows 7 licence (hopefully it will be on a sticker on the bottom of the laptop) and it will validate fine. <edit> Seen that your sticker may have worn away - there are recovery tools available to extract it from the old install
I wouldn't try and clone the old hard drive unless there's something installed you really need to keep.
I did this with an older more basic laptop last month for my young son to use. The windows install part is very very simple and it picked up drivers for everything without prompting.
Jeff
I did it by buying one of the dirt cheap licence keys off ebay, downloaded the installation files from microsoft onto a usb stick, installed the SSD, booted up with the USB and followed the prompts/left it to it.
For the £2.50 it cost I think it was probably the least hassle option.
Done it twice now, although the other was onto a mini-PC but even with a clean install of windows it was too slow to be of any use to me.
(stealth add, if anyone wants a zotac mini-pc for some use where speed sin't an issue PM me).
It's obviously running Win7 or later, so you can update to Win10 without needing to buy a new licence. If you can boot it up, try installing Win10 over the current installation. You can create a bootable USB stick from here:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10
Win10 will detect your existing licence and should activate without needing you to provide the serial number. Reinstalling Win10 to the same machine in the future should automatically activate, so you won't need the serial number at all. Upgrading a Win7 or 8 installation should automatically save the old installation so you can roll it back if you have problems. Most likely thing will be device drivers if you have old hardware.
After you've done that, install your new SSD drive and reinstall Win10 from scratch. You will still have your old HDD to go back to in case of disaster. Or, if you have software on the old installation that you can't reinstall, cloning the old disk should work. However, a fresh Windows installation is generally better.
Win10 will run on 4GB RAM and 8GB seems to be perfectly fine for general office duties. You will need the 64-bit version to use more than 4GB RAM though.
Upgrading the old installation is worth avoiding unless you absolutely cannot retrieve the W7 key by any other means. It takes eons to install and runs the risk of borking the OS. Similarly I'd avoid cloning unless you've a particularly compelling reason for doing so, which you almost certainly don't.
If the sticker has worn away (I notice use of the word "probably") then any number of apps can retrieve the OEM key, my go-to was always Magic Jelly Bean assuming it's still going.
Otherwise, yes, what ffej and hols2 said.
I think I had already upgraded it to Win10 before I put it away in the cupboard so hopefully that makes things a bit easier?
Thanks for the links guys, I'd prefer to start a fresh install rather than a cloned disk.
So if I have understood correctly steps are:
1) Find out Win10 key - magic jelly bean or other apps can find this for me or buy one for very cheap
2) Create bootable Win10 USB stick
3) Plug in new hard drive
4) Top up RAM to 8GB RAM if required
5) Switch it on and do the new install
6) Come back here when it all goes wrong! 😉
Thank you all! I off to find a new SSD and search back of cupboards for the old laptop!
1) Find out Win10 key – magic jelly bean or other apps can find this for me or buy one for very cheap
No, if you've already installed W10 previously then you don't need the key again. The rest is broadly correct though.
https://uk.crucial.com/ will tell you what your RAM options are. Samsung EVO drives are my preferred SSD.
You dont even need a key, I recently stuck a new SSD into a Vista laptop, clean windows 10 install, apart from a little water mark in the bottom right of the screen reminding me to activate it no issues. Well except the latest windows update bricking it but I think that was more to do with not rebooting properly during the update. Did the clean windows install from the same USB stick, managed the update, rebooted there and then and it's been fine since. Running Office and internet browsing fine. Might buy a cheap key off EBay, might not. Wish I'd done year ago. Did the same to my daughter's windows 10 laptop recently (she'd totally screwed it up somehow), think on her laptop the key was in the bios, anyway didn't ask for a key and not watermark, full hard drive wipe. Been fine since.
Might buy a cheap key off EBay, might not.
If you like just giving money away for no reason, I'll be happy to take it.
Yes, you can use Windows 10 without activating it. But it does limit some stuff.
ie it doesn't let you change the colours or themes etc. And you can't customise the start menu or what icons are on the desktop. I think it's worth paying a couple of quid to get rid of all of the annoying crap on the start menu, and the nag message in the corner.
Yes, you can use Windows 10 without activating it.
Ah, yes, upgrading Vista you will need to buy a key. The OP seems to be upgrading a Win7 or Win8 machine. That will not need a new key, the existing one will work.
If it's mainly for messing about with an Arduino I'd just install Linux Mint on it and not mess about with Windows. Mint plays very nicely with an Arduino.
If it’s mainly for messing about with an Arduino I’d just install Linux Mint on it and not mess about with Windows. Mint plays very nicely with an Arduino.
Second this.