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I finally took the plunge and upgraded to Windows 10 using the free upgrade that apparently still works after all these years. Overall it was pretty painless. It started right back up without any problems. I was worried that everything would slow to a crawl, but fortunately that doesn't seem to be the case.

notbobsmith wrote: ↑Tue Apr 18, 2023 11:22 pm I finally took the plunge and upgraded to Windows 10 using the free upgrade that apparently still works after all these years. Overall it was pretty painless. It started right back up without any problems. I was worried that everything would slow to a crawl, but fortunately that doesn't seem to be the case.

So it updated with all your folders and files in-place, and all installations working?

That's a good question. I'd like to know that too - along with:

1. How long did it take? (Windows installations normally take ages).

2. What happens to backwards compatibility? (Sierra games especially ... I know QfG1 to 4 use DOSBox, but what about QfG5 and others?)

3. DPX, I'd wager the answer is probably no (which is why I've created multiple backups). But NBS can obviously answer better than I can.

Thanks, NBS.

notbobsmith wrote: ↑Tue Apr 18, 2023 11:22 pm I finally took the plunge and upgraded to Windows 10 using the free upgrade that apparently still works after all these years. Overall it was pretty painless. It started right back up without any problems. I was worried that everything would slow to a crawl, but fortunately that doesn't seem to be the case.

Glad to hear it still works! I was going to upgrade over Easter, but had to prepare for a trip the following week and didn't get the chance. Will have time at the end of the month, though.

However, I did try download the Win10 ISO Upgrade using my Windows 7 machine the other day (in anticipation/preparation), but it didn't allow me to create the ISO. I thought it might be because Win7 support is long past...

Luckily, I still have the Win10 ISO that I used for my laptop a few years ago on a USB flash drive, but would like another, "different" copy as a back-up.

Would you mind giving a little tutorial for how you did it? (Your original OS version, link to the free upgrade, options you chose to install, etc.) Doesn't have to be in-depth, but just some hints, tips and guidance.

Many thanks in advance.

Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Wed Apr 19, 2023 6:36 am 2. What happens to backwards compatibility? (Sierra games especially ... I know QfG1 to 4 use DOSBox, but what about QfG5 and others?)

Does QFGV not use Dos? If not, and it uses Windows - ScummVM or whatever, would work.
I know, so far, all the games I've played have no issues on Windows 11.
Pretty sure it's going to work with DOS or ScummVM... Since all 5 are on Gog.
https://www.gog.com/en/game/quest_for_glory

goatmeal wrote: ↑Wed Apr 19, 2023 8:58 am
However, I did try download the Win10 ISO Upgrade using my Windows 7 machine the other day (in anticipation/preparation), but it didn't allow me to create the ISO. I thought it might be because Win7 support is long past...

Okay, I looked into the problem I encountered, and evidently, it's quite common. So...

If you received the following error [0x80072F8F–0x20000] when trying to run the Windows 10 Media Creation Tool (Windows 10 Upgrade), you need to do the following:

1. Update your current Operating System (Windows 7 or 8.1)

2. Download the Microsoft KB3140245 update that matches your OS (see #1 above) and run it:

https://catalog.update.microsoft.com/se ... =kb3140245

3. Next, download the Microsoft Easy Fix 51044 file and run it to populate the update file you just installed in #2:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/top ... #bkmk_easy

4. Run the Media Creation Tool again. The error should be gone.

DeadPoolX wrote: ↑Wed Apr 19, 2023 2:56 am

notbobsmith wrote: ↑Tue Apr 18, 2023 11:22 pm I finally took the plunge and upgraded to Windows 10 using the free upgrade that apparently still works after all these years. Overall it was pretty painless. It started right back up without any problems. I was worried that everything would slow to a crawl, but fortunately that doesn't seem to be the case.

So it updated with all your folders and files in-place, and all installations working?

Yep. All my files are still there, though I backed up everything just in case. I haven't tested everything, but the most important applications work fine. Office 2013 did have this strange thing where it would launch, show the file for a second, then quit without an error message. I did a repair on it and then asked for the CD key, which I fortunately was able to find. So I think the problem was just that it thought it was installed in a different computer. Otherwise, Steam and GOG Galaxy run just fine.

Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Wed Apr 19, 2023 6:36 am That's a good question. I'd like to know that too - along with:

1. How long did it take? (Windows installations normally take ages).

I'd say about 2 hours. Plus there was some added time to run the latest Windows update to get a few of the most recent updates. Obviously, it is an older system with 8 GB of RAM and a mechanical drive which probably slows things down. I had about 230 GB free space and about 200 GB left after install. Part of that is the installer and the old "Windows" folder (renamed "Windows.old") which I haven't deleted yet.

Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Wed Apr 19, 2023 6:36 am 2. What happens to backwards compatibility? (Sierra games especially ... I know QfG1 to 4 use DOSBox, but what about QfG5 and others?)

3. DPX, I'd wager the answer is probably no (which is why I've created multiple backups). But NBS can obviously answer better than I can.

Thanks, NBS.

I did try some of the older titles. GOG's version of SWAT 2 ran fine except for being unable to play the videos at first. Installing K-Lite Codec Pack fixed that. I had a similar problem with Hunter Hunted, but I'll put that in it's own forum. The GOG version of QFG5 actually runs just fine without having to do anything.

Tawmis wrote: ↑Wed Apr 19, 2023 12:47 pm

Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Wed Apr 19, 2023 6:36 am 2. What happens to backwards compatibility? (Sierra games especially ... I know QfG1 to 4 use DOSBox, but what about QfG5 and others?)

Does QFGV not use Dos? If not, and it uses Windows - ScummVM or whatever, would work.
I know, so far, all the games I've played have no issues on Windows 11.
Pretty sure it's going to work with DOS or ScummVM... Since all 5 are on Gog.
https://www.gog.com/en/game/quest_for_glory

QFG5 was released to run on Windows 95/98. ScummVM does support some Windows titles like Riven and Myst III, but QFG5 isn't one of them. That's the tricky thing with GOG releases. The game may have been tested and works fine on the OS that was available at the time, like Windows 7, but you don't know if the next OS is going to break it. Heroes of Might and Magic 4 was recently updated to address a specific issue with Windows 11. It's great that GOG was able to fix whatever the problem was, but with some games they might not be able to. And I did have to manually fix SWAT 2.

goatmeal wrote: ↑Wed Apr 19, 2023 8:58 am

notbobsmith wrote: ↑Tue Apr 18, 2023 11:22 pm I finally took the plunge and upgraded to Windows 10 using the free upgrade that apparently still works after all these years. Overall it was pretty painless. It started right back up without any problems. I was worried that everything would slow to a crawl, but fortunately that doesn't seem to be the case.

Glad to hear it still works! I was going to upgrade over Easter, but had to prepare for a trip the following week and didn't get the chance. Will have time at the end of the month, though.

However, I did try download the Win10 ISO Upgrade using my Windows 7 machine the other day (in anticipation/preparation), but it didn't allow me to create the ISO. I thought it might be because Win7 support is long past...

Luckily, I still have the Win10 ISO that I used for my laptop a few years ago on a USB flash drive, but would like another, "different" copy as a back-up.

Would you mind giving a little tutorial for how you did it? (Your original OS version, link to the free upgrade, options you chose to install, etc.) Doesn't have to be in-depth, but just some hints, tips and guidance.

Many thanks in advance.

Sure. I just followed the instructions I found on the zdnet article. The author has been updating it for the last few years, most recently in December 2022. He is still surprised that this still works.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/heres-how ... 0-upgrade/

So I was using Windows 7 and I think it said SP1, but I'm not sure and obviously can't check. He did have a few things to check first:

Confirm that your copy of Windows is activated. This is especially important if you recently reinstalled Windows.

Came with my computer, so no problem there.

Check for any recent driver updates, especially for network and storage hardware.

I didn't really bother with this. I've kept most driver up-to-date over it's lifetime.

Download and install any available BIOS updates for your hardware; this step is especially important for systems that were originally designed in 2017 or earlier, when hardware makers were still shaking out issues with Windows 10.

I didn't bother with this. I'm not sure if I can even find any BIOS updates.

Back up your data files to an external hard drive or cloud storage (or both). Consider doing a full system backup to an external hard drive using the Windows 7 backup program, which is also available in Windows 8.x and Windows 10. Just run the command Sdclt.exe, and then choose the Create A System Image option.

I backed up my data but a system image was just too big and I didn't have a removable drive big enough.

Temporarily uninstall third-party security software and low-level system utilities that can interfere with the upgrade. You can reinstall those programs after the upgrade is complete.

I didn't bother with this. I did it with both McAfee and Malwarebytes still installed.

Finally, disconnect any unnecessary external devices, especially USB flash drives and external hard drives. (Several common installation errors can be traced to the Setup program being confused by these additional drives.)

I didn't have anything other than mouse, keyboard and printer.

Then I use his link to Download Windows 10 and chose the "Download now" option for the "Media Creation Tool". I ran the installer and chose "Upgrade this PC now", so I didn't make an ISO image. After that I chose an option to keep my apps and files and that was pretty much it. Hope this helps.

notbobsmith wrote: ↑Wed Apr 19, 2023 11:21 pm

Tawmis wrote: ↑Wed Apr 19, 2023 12:47 pm

Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Wed Apr 19, 2023 6:36 am 2. What happens to backwards compatibility? (Sierra games especially ... I know QfG1 to 4 use DOSBox, but what about QfG5 and others?)

Does QFGV not use Dos? If not, and it uses Windows - ScummVM or whatever, would work.
I know, so far, all the games I've played have no issues on Windows 11.
Pretty sure it's going to work with DOS or ScummVM... Since all 5 are on Gog.
https://www.gog.com/en/game/quest_for_glory

QFG5 was released to run on Windows 95/98. ScummVM does support some Windows titles like Riven and Myst III, but QFG5 isn't one of them. That's the tricky thing with GOG releases. The game may have been tested and works fine on the OS that was available at the time, like Windows 7, but you don't know if the next OS is going to break it. Heroes of Might and Magic 4 was recently updated to address a specific issue with Windows 11. It's great that GOG was able to fix whatever the problem was, but with some games they might not be able to. And I did have to manually fix SWAT 2.

Just tested. All ye need to do is set Compatibility Mode in the short cut to Windows XP. Otherwise the colors are way off.
Nothing else.

Tawmis wrote: ↑Wed Apr 19, 2023 11:57 pm

notbobsmith wrote: ↑Wed Apr 19, 2023 11:21 pm

Tawmis wrote: ↑Wed Apr 19, 2023 12:47 pm

Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Wed Apr 19, 2023 6:36 am 2. What happens to backwards compatibility? (Sierra games especially ... I know QfG1 to 4 use DOSBox, but what about QfG5 and others?)

Does QFGV not use Dos? If not, and it uses Windows - ScummVM or whatever, would work.
I know, so far, all the games I've played have no issues on Windows 11.
Pretty sure it's going to work with DOS or ScummVM... Since all 5 are on Gog.
https://www.gog.com/en/game/quest_for_glory

QFG5 was released to run on Windows 95/98. ScummVM does support some Windows titles like Riven and Myst III, but QFG5 isn't one of them. That's the tricky thing with GOG releases. The game may have been tested and works fine on the OS that was available at the time, like Windows 7, but you don't know if the next OS is going to break it. Heroes of Might and Magic 4 was recently updated to address a specific issue with Windows 11. It's great that GOG was able to fix whatever the problem was, but with some games they might not be able to. And I did have to manually fix SWAT 2.

Just tested. All ye need to do is set Compatibility Mode in the short cut to Windows XP. Otherwise the colors are way off.
Nothing else.

QFG5 ran just fine with me. It's not even running in compatibility mode for me.

Hmmm -- I haven't done any Windows updates in a very long time, ever since one of the first Win7 updates broke my file manager. (By "broke", I mean that the file-search option ceased to function. Fortunately, I was able to roll-back to a functioning state).

Since then, I've seen Windows 10 and 11 come and go. (Obviously Windows 11 isn't gone yet, but Win12 isn't too far away).

So, I know I'll have to upgrade, but would it be best to upgrade my system to Windows 11? Or even wait for 12? I prefer a classic UI (i.e. Win-2000-esque, with customisable start menu etc.) I know Win10 has it, but Win11 certainly doesn't. Win11 looks more like MacOS or some Linux distros. Win12 ... we don't know yet.

What do you think?

notbobsmith wrote: ↑Wed Apr 19, 2023 11:21 pm
Sure. I just followed the instructions I found on the zdnet article. The author has been updating it for the last few years, most recently in December 2022. He is still surprised that this still works.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/heres-how ... 0-upgrade/

So I was using Windows 7 and I think it said SP1, but I'm not sure and obviously can't check. He did have a few things to check first:

...

Thanks! That's what I did 2 years ago, but wanted to make sure there were no other problems you encountered (being a more recent install). As I mentioned above, the problem I had the other day was with the Media Creation Tool, but there's a fix for that.

Again, glad to hear everything went well for your upgrade.

Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Thu Apr 20, 2023 3:38 am So, I know I'll have to upgrade, but would it be best to upgrade my system to Windows 11? Or even wait for 12? I prefer a classic UI (i.e. Win-2000-esque, with customisable start menu etc.) I know Win10 has it, but Win11 certainly doesn't. Win11 looks more like MacOS or some Linux distros. Win12 ... we don't know yet.

What do you think?

Depending on the age of your machine, you'll likely have to BUY a new system for Windows 11. Upgrading to Windows 10 might be your best bet to extend its life until Windows 10 is discontinued in 2025.

I have a high-spec Windows 7 machine from 2013 (i7 Core 4/3.4GHz with 16 GB RAM), and the Windows Update page says my machine is not Windows 11 compatible. Now, I have read that you cannot upgrade directly to Windows 11 from Windows 7 under any circumstance; you must first upgrade to Win10, then try to upgrade to Win11. However, the requirements for Windows 11 are so notoriously high that there's no guarantee that it will even work for "older" machines...

As I said, you're probably better off to start saving for a new machine, and keep your old computer at its current OS or upgrade to Win10 to play the games you like. And who doesn't need more computers in their life?

Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Thu Apr 20, 2023 3:38 am Hmmm -- I haven't done any Windows updates in a very long time, ever since one of the first Win7 updates broke my file manager. (By "broke", I mean that the file-search option ceased to function. Fortunately, I was able to roll-back to a functioning state).

So you haven't updated Windows 7 at all, even back when it was still supported?

As for the file search function... I've never found that to work, I mean going back to Win98SE. It just never operates properly for me, but that might also be the result of modifying services.msc and the registry.

That doesn't bother me, though. I'd rather have unnecessary and intrusive features turned off than a file search system, especially since I keep a very orderly machine where finding something is usually quite easy.

Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Thu Apr 20, 2023 3:38 am So, I know I'll have to upgrade, but would it be best to upgrade my system to Windows 11? Or even wait for 12?

It's highly unlikely your system meets the required specs. Also, many older processors and motherboards aren't listed as compatible due to TPM 2.0 requirements (and although many people claim there are ways around that, I'm not sure I'd want my operating system's functionality to hinge on what is essentially a precarious hack).

You could always switch to a Linux distro, like Ubuntu or Mint.

Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Thu Apr 20, 2023 3:38 am I prefer a classic UI (i.e. Win-2000-esque, with customisable start menu etc.) I know Win10 has it, but Win11 certainly doesn't.

I don't think Windows 10 has classic themes or the classic start menu built into it. That said, there are at least two ways around that, but they require either messing with the start menu's size to "sort of" get something resembling the classic start menu or running a separate program called Classic Shell.

Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Thu Apr 20, 2023 3:38 am Win11 looks more like MacOS or some Linux distros. Win12 ... we don't know yet.

That doesn't bother me at all. In fact, I think the menu bar at the bottom-middle of the screen makes sense given how wide modern monitors are nowadays.

DeadPoolX wrote: ↑Thu Apr 20, 2023 8:52 pm

Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Thu Apr 20, 2023 3:38 am Hmmm -- I haven't done any Windows updates in a very long time, ever since one of the first Win7 updates broke my file manager. (By "broke", I mean that the file-search option ceased to function. Fortunately, I was able to roll-back to a functioning state).

So you haven't updated Windows 7 at all, even back when it was still supported?

As for the file search function... I've never found that to work, I mean going back to Win98SE. It just never operates properly for me, but that might also be the result of modifying services.msc and the registry.

That doesn't bother me, though. I'd rather have unnecessary and intrusive features turned off than a file search system, especially since I keep a very orderly machine where finding something is usually quite easy.

Nope. I figured I'd rather have a functioning file-search system. (I have lots and lots of files, saved in all kinds of places, so I need the file-search system in place).

Nothing untoward ever happened to my system, even with Win7 updates turned off.

DeadPoolX wrote: ↑Thu Apr 20, 2023 8:52 pm

Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Thu Apr 20, 2023 3:38 am I prefer a classic UI (i.e. Win-2000-esque, with customisable start menu etc.) I know Win10 has it, but Win11 certainly doesn't.

I don't think Windows 10 has classic themes or the classic start menu built into it. That said, there are at least two ways around that, but they require either messing with the start menu's size to "sort of" get something resembling the classic start menu or running a separate program called Classic Shell.

Fair enough. I don't need the Win10 "extra special fancy features" ( ), like telling me the weather or all kinds of useless news as part of the start menu. The classic start menu is, and alsways has been, good enough.

Quick question: so, I took the plunge and upgraded to Windows 10. So far, it's running just fine (whoopee! ), but there are some niggling teething troubles. For instance, I have a few files stored in my Downloads folder. Unfortunately, it looks like this:
I don't really need this "last month", "earlier this year", "a long time ago" nonsense. I can read a date, thank you very much.

Is there a way to get rid of this?