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Upgrade to Windows 10? My experience

Did you get that notice from Microsoft: “Windows 7 has reached the end of its useful life …” or something similar?

That led me to reluctantly upgrade my HP Elite Desktop from Windows 7 to Windows 10.

You may find my experience amusing.

While we are cautioned to “backup ALL your files before proceeding”, I not only do that, using a program like Acronis True Image, but I also do something else: I buy a replacement hard drive or SDD and clone the original mass storage device before upgrading.

In other words, I clone my HDD, then update the cloned disk, saving the pristine original as the latest backup.

I had previously upgraded my computer from a 1Tb hard drive (Toshiba) to a 1Tb SDD (SanDisk Plus). Using my BYTECC cloning machine the process was easy, no hassle. It was smooth like glass.

Then when I went to use my cloning machine to clone that 1Tb SanDisk Plus SDD to another 1Tb HDD, I got the error message, “Source is larger than destination.”

Undeterred, I tested a pristine, ready-to-use 1Tb WD drive. I got the same error message.

Concerned that my duplicator was broken, I bought another SanDisk Plus 1Tb and inserted it into my duplicator.

Unfortunately I have the same error message.

Journal.

So I went back to my HP Elite archives, found a previously cloned Win 7 HDD for my P Elite from last April, and successfully cloned it onto that new SanDisk.

The cloned disk was installed and worked without problems.

The upgrade from Win 7 to Win 10 was successful.

My HP Elite desktop is now on Win 10 and all is well in the world!

But now I have an older version of my desktop.

Well, maybe that’s not a problem: I have a secure storage of all installed programs, and also of all my work: I use a WD MyCloud external storage device on my LAN. Any missing app, I can reinstall it.

Theoretically, the ‘original’ HP Elite SDD only has copies of downloaded material (in its “Download File”), and nothing of any real consequence on the desktop or in local memory.

But there is still that nagging fear that somehow, somewhere, there is something in that original SDD that you might need.

What to do?

I have a KingWin EZ-Connect device that connects a SATA drive to my computer’s USB port.

Perhaps that could be used to look and then copy files and others that are in the original installation of SDD Win 7 on the current Windows 10 from HP Elite.

By connecting the SanDisk SDD to the EZ-Connect, and then connecting the EZ-Connect to the computer, Viola! I can see all the files on the SanDisk!

So it was easy to search and click and click to find what you wanted to transfer to the new facility!

Fortunately, nothing of real importance had been left behind. Now my new Win 10 installation is fully up and running and my ‘lost’ files are restored!

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