# Will you lose all programs and files when you upgrade?



## 12FindersKeepers (Apr 27, 2012)

I've reserved my copy of Windows 10 and I'm upgrading from Windows 7. A good chunk of my schoolwork and my freelancing projects are on this computer and I'm scared that my computer will erase the Photoshop CS5/Word/Powerpoint as well as the images I've been working on.

Is it safe to just upgrade to windows 10 from windows 7 without worrying about: 

1.losing files and programs
2.having the programs become incompatible?

Will the install make your computer reboot like a clean slate or is there a way to save all of your files?
Some explanation would definitely help, as I am new to this upgrading thing. 

Thank you all!

System Info Just in case:

Tech Support Guy System Info Utility version 1.0.0.2
OS Version: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium, Service Pack 1, 64 bit
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i3 CPU 540 @ 3.07GHz, Intel64 Family 6 Model 37 Stepping 2
Processor Count: 4
RAM: 5943 Mb
Graphics Card: Intel(R) HD Graphics, -1348 Mb
Hard Drives: C: Total - 705244 MB, Free - 596352 MB;
Motherboard: Dell Inc., 0C2KJT
Antivirus: McAfee Anti-Virus and Anti-Spyware, Updated and Enabled


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## dustyjay (Jan 24, 2003)

I just updated and most of my programs have remained, Of coursr I have looked for them all yet.


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## etaf (Oct 2, 2003)

I would make a backup of all your data anyway, you should have a backup.
Also make sure you can re-install all your programs by ensuring you have the installation media available and keys etc

as soon as I get windows 10 on my test laptop - i will upgrade and see what happens to any data / programs 
but *dustyjay * seems to have worked ok


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## Lance1 (Aug 4, 2003)

The only programs that I lost was Ghost 15 and a diagnostic app for my main board. Other then that all installed programs run fine. I have Photoshop CS5 Word and Powerpoint and they weren't affected.


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## dustyjay (Jan 24, 2003)

I didn't lose any of my programs. And all f them that I have tried work just fine. So far WIn 10 does seem to be faster. At this early stage I like what I have.


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## flavallee (May 12, 2002)

> OS Version: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium, Service Pack 1, 64 bit
> Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i3 CPU 540 @ 3.07GHz, Intel64 Family 6 Model 37 Stepping 2
> Processor Count: 4
> RAM: 5943 Mb
> ...


You appear to have a *Dell Inspiron 580* desktop. Is that correct?

It appears to have these primary devices:

Intel H57 chipset

Intel HD graphics

Realtek ALC887 HD audio

Broadcom BCM57788 gigabit ethernet

Hopefully, you won't run into a driver issue with Windows 10, and all devices will work okay.

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## golddust (Jan 2, 2005)

My daughter's Asus laptop downloaded a new driver for her touchpad during the upgrade. Other than that all three of our computers upgraded great.


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## 12FindersKeepers (Apr 27, 2012)

Yes I do have an Inspiron 580!
I've checked under the get windows 10 icon and "check my computer" and it says I should be good to go.










However a previous reply said a new drive was downloaded, is there any way to check if my drives will be compatible or not or is this check above enough for an OK.

Thank you all for your input! Trying to be careful with my computer since it has a lot of my important files.


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## flavallee (May 12, 2002)

> Trying to be careful with my computer since it has a lot of my important files.


You REALLY should back up your important files to some reliable external media BEFORE you make the upgrade.

If the upgrade goes bad or your computer crashes in the process, you stand to lose it all.

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## golddust (Jan 2, 2005)

I used my online file storage (OneDrive and Dropbox) to keep my files during the upgrade.


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## Bailifeifei (Nov 25, 2011)

I'd say a backup of the whole hard drive would be the safest way. So you can restore the files and applications, or the whole system if things go wrong, say it got incompatible. But I think Windows will check for you if your computer is compatible for Win10.


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## dustyjay (Jan 24, 2003)

For Programs Doing a back up of them won't help if you have to do a reinstall of the OS. Doing System Image (I use Acronis Tru Image) will restore your computer to the state it was before a drive failure or even a corrupted System. With my Dell Laptop I was able to make a Factory restore USB Stick. And Windows allowed me to make an Image of the entire HDD including the Factory Restore Partition.


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