# Upgrading from Win 7 to Win 10: reluctantly



## creativeforge (Dec 12, 2021)

I'm still running Windows 7 64 Home Premium. One of the reason I'm hesitant to upgrade is that I own and still use Alchemy by Camel Audio. 

WHY? ► I would like to increase the RAM and Win7 only allows 16GB (I already have 24 in this machine, so it's a bit of a waste, and I'd like more torque from the machine in the DAW).

A few things I wonder about: 

- Would Alchemy run on Windows 10?

- Also have to think about drivers for the M-Audio Fast Track Ultra.

- I also have an NVidia GTX-750Ti graphic card.

This could be an expensive upgrade to Windows 10 if I need to upgrade these as well. But could be worth it. 

My present system:

Operating System
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit SP1

CPU
Intel Core i7 920 @ 2.67GHz
Bloomfield 45nm Technology

RAM
24.0GB Triple-Channel DDR3 @ 534MHz (8-8-8-20)

Motherboard
ASUSTeK Computer INC. P6T (LGA1366)

Graphics
2047MB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 Ti (ZOTAC International)

Any thoughts?

Thanks,

Andre


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## easyrider (Dec 12, 2021)

If it was me…I would install windows 10 on a new SSD and test it…

They are cheap enough.


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## MartinH. (Dec 12, 2021)

creativeforge said:


> Any thoughts?


You didn't mention a reason why you want to upgrade at all.


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## creativeforge (Dec 12, 2021)

MartinH. said:


> You didn't mention a reason why you want to upgrade at all.


Sorry, I just edited my post to include that.


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## easyrider (Dec 12, 2021)

creativeforge said:


> Sorry, I just edited my post to include that.


Find a Windows 7 Pro licence key?


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## MartinH. (Dec 12, 2021)

creativeforge said:


> Sorry, I just edited my post to include that.





creativeforge said:


> I would like to increase the RAM and Win7 only allows 16GB (I already have 24 in this machine, so it's a bit of a waste).



I don't know how much Windows 7 64 *Home Premium *supports, but my Windows 7 64 Professional supports 64 GB RAM perfectly fine.


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## easyrider (Dec 12, 2021)

MartinH. said:


> I don't know how much Windows 7 64 *Home Premium *supports, but my Windows 7 64 Professional supports 64 GB RAM perfectly fine.


Pro supports 192GB


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## easyrider (Dec 12, 2021)




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## easyrider (Dec 12, 2021)

I wouldn’t be using windows 7 if the PC was connected to the Internet.


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## creativeforge (Dec 12, 2021)

easyrider said:


>


Thanks! I'll look into that.


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## creativeforge (Dec 12, 2021)

easyrider said:


> I wouldn’t be using windows 7 if the PC was connected to the Internet.


Why?


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## d.healey (Dec 12, 2021)

easyrider said:


> I wouldn’t be using windows






creativeforge said:


> Why?


It no longer receives security updates - https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows/windows-7-end-of-life-support-information


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## creativeforge (Dec 12, 2021)

d.healey said:


> It no longer receives security updates - https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows/windows-7-end-of-life-support-information



Another reason to upgrade. So then I'd have to keep a smaller Win 7 OS drive to be able to run Alchemy.

Seems we could still be able to upgrade for free, but is it better to do a fresh install over top of Win 7 just fine?









How to Upgrade to Windows 10 From Windows 7 for Free


Windows 7 is dead, but you don’t have to pay to upgrade to Windows 10. Microsoft has quietly continued the free upgrade offer for the last few years. You can still upgrade any PC with a genuine Windows 7 or Windows 8 license to Windows 10.




www.howtogeek.com


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## easyrider (Dec 12, 2021)

creativeforge said:


> Another reason to upgrade. So then I'd have to keep a smaller Win 7 OS drive to be able to run Alchemy.
> 
> Seems we could still be able to upgrade for free, but is it better to do a fresh install over top of Win 7 just fine?
> 
> ...


Dont overthink it….just upgrade windows 7 in place…


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## Marcus Millfield (Dec 12, 2021)

It's been a while since I've upgraded from W7 tot 10, but I believe the upgrade process provides tools to simply check which currently installed programs will be compatible with Windows 10 and which not. You'll get a report about this and you can then still choose if you upgrade or not.

More info: https://www.techworm.net/2018/09/windows-10-compatibility-checker-pc.html


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## vitocorleone123 (Dec 12, 2021)

You may need to get creative with Alchemy (ha!) on Windows 10. A quick search reveals some "workaround" links. Also, it's possible you could also buy BlueCat Audio Patchwork and it might work?

Alternatively, could you pick up a cheap used laptop on Craigslist with Win7 and just use Alchemy as an outboard digital synth?

This is the downside of software: longevity is never assured. However, in most cases the premiere stuff seems to last a good 10 years, at least (I'm hypothesizing). About the same as some hardware!


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## fakemaxwell (Dec 12, 2021)

Is there something special about Alchemy that isn't true for other older VSTs that work fine on Windows 10?


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## Kony (Dec 12, 2021)

creativeforge said:


> - Also have to think about drivers for the M-Audio Fast Track Ultra.


Unfortunately there is no Fast Track Ultra driver for Win 10 - M-Audio don't support it (or didn't when I checked a few years ago when I needed it). Using the Win 7 driver, it kept dropping out sporadically which meant I kept having to unplug and plug it back in again so I eventually swapped the M-Audio out for a Focusrite.


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## creativeforge (Dec 13, 2021)

fakemaxwell said:


> Is there something special about Alchemy that isn't true for other older VSTs that work fine on Windows 10?


Of course, yes! If you owned it you would know.  Seemingly there is a workaround somewhere. I'll have to find it. Or find a legit copy Win 7 Pro.


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## GigStage (Dec 14, 2021)

Whatever you do, create a full backup of everything. 
Then upgrade to Windows 7 Pro.

If you don't like Windows 10, Windows 8.1 is not a bad solution, I used it for years. I migrated to Windows 11 afterwards (direct upgrade).


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## Pictus (Dec 14, 2021)

creativeforge said:


> - I also have an NVidia GTX-750Ti graphic card.


Some tweaks you may like





Nvidia Driver, no latency anymore?


Hi all! We all know that AMD drivers have from far, less latency than Nvidia drivers, and for that reason we all recommand an AMD graphic card for audio working. But recently i have dealt with a new install on a PC with an Nvidia graphic card. And when i updated to the latest driver i saw an...




vi-control.net





Before upgrade you can create a full system image with something like Macrium Reflect.
I like to create system image from a bootable USB drive.
This bootable ISO have many tools including Macrium Reflect








Download Sergei Strelec's WinPE - MajorGeeks


WinPE creates a bootable DVD or thumb drive for computer maintenance, partitioning, backup and restore, diagnostics, data recovery, and more. Backups include Acronis, Nortons Ghost, Disk2vhd, Macrium and more. Drive utilities include MiniTool, Macrorit, Defraggler, Auslogics Disk Defrag...



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