Win10 Install On Old Laptop

I'm trying to upgrade an older Dell Latitude E5510 with 4GB of RAM & Win7 64bit, to Win10, using the Media Creation Tool, so I can keep all of my programs and data.

The installation hung up, after one of the restarts. After 3 hours, I shut it down and restarted it, but it wouldn't finish. I kept getting hang ups on a "Please wait" screen.

I restored the system from the image file I had made before I started.
If I have to, I'll backup the data, do a clean install & reinstall the programs, but I really want to see if I can get this to work.

The BIOS is an older version A12, there is an A16 available on the Dell site. Would flashing the BIOS to the newer version likely fix the hanging problem?

I don't remember ever having flashed a BIOS on a Windows box and I'm a little nervous about it. Will the system still be recoverable with the image file I've got after flashing?

 

Personally I doubt that it would

I don't see any reason why not and I too get very nervous even though I have done it on quite a number of occassions (although I usually have a spare bios chip at hand when undertaking such a task just in case).

Generally speaking flashing the bios is a requirement to do with hardware not software ie allows a different / newer cpu to be installed to a motherboard or fixed some other type of hardware issue. I never flash a bios just to have the latest and greatest especially if things are working fine. If I flash a bios it must be for a very good reason as already detailed.

 

OEM decisions about this are not necessarily based on whether or not it works. We have two Lenovo Thinkpads which are not supported for Win 10 yet both have run it without issue since 10 was launched. We also have a much older Medion originally launched with XP which also runs 10 without issue. Provided you have a good image to fall back on if necessary there is no reason at all not to suck it and see.

 

I agree......have many older laptops with specs the same as above or less, that run Win10 no problems, any drivers are never an issue!

My choice would be to back up all data on the 7 install, then run a clean install of 10 using the Media Creation Tool
I purchase my genuine Win10 keys from here for about $12.60 US (home) if I need one.
Pro is $13.86 per key.
And yes, they work a treat.

 

My copy n paste skills are dying.......its not the creation tool, just the genuine ISO

Install without key and just add it later under control panel > system

If you want to install without using an MS account, just dont connect to a network when prompted.

 

I have upgraded to 8GB RAM and flashed the BIOS. I'm going to make one more attempt to use the Media Creation Tool, if it fails I'll go ahead and backup the data and go with a clean ISO install.Thanks

 

This sounds like it could be hardware related. The upgrade is nice, but wasn't totally necessary. Did you re-seat the existing RAM? Have you run a program like MemTest to make sure the RAM modules are in good shape? Sometimes if a module is loose it can create havoc.

I would run basic hardware checks to make sure there are no issues. This machine should have no problem installing and running W10.

 

While the old adage of "if it ain't broken, don't fix it" still litters the internet on the topic of bios, I think that's somewhat outdated wisdom. I heard this from somewhere reliable. I think it was Sunday Morning Linux Review. At least 2 of the guys on that podcast work in IT security as opposed to the journalists that litter the web. Of course, if there are no security issues being addressed in the new bios/uefi, then you often don't need it. Of course there are still merits of staying with current bios/uefi, regardless.

 

Flashing a bios just for the sake of having the latest and greatest firmware which adds no benefit can, imo, be an act of immense self harm if it is not absolutely required eg flashing bios to say use a newer cpu.

This is a golden rule that I follow not only for bios related issues but also for any and all hardware. I recently flashed the firmware to my router and wap because, and only because, they plugged security issues.

The same goes with driver updated to software progs to include o/s.

I have not been building pcs for long probably 20 years. In the early days I would uprgrade fw and drivers and it more often than not screwed up my system (lucky I made images before the driver updates). I have also bricked several pieces of hw too !!!

I recognise that different people go about managing their pcs in different ways but wild horses could not convince me that my methodology is not correct and that I should just flash hw or update drivers willy nilly for no specific reason.

 

As I understand, if your bios gets exploited, that's above the operating system. So basically, any other security precautions you take will be ineffective against said exploit.

I'd rather have to buy another computer than have one that's insecure.

 

If you buy a computer that was built 3 months ago off the shelf, it doesn't have yesterday's definitions and updates installed. So the first time you connect you are vulnerable right then. If you download new definitions on a different pc and transfer to the new pc, you could be exposed by the 2nd pc. Even a new pc is insecure until you make and prove it secure.

 

It's important at this stage to clarify that you are referring to a UEFI Bios rather than one that is based on MBR.

The original BIOS only has 1MB of space whereas the UEFI has more addressable space and can execute code in 32 or 64bit (old bios was only 16bit). As regards the old BIOS (1MB executable space), I have never heard of anyone ever reporting a rootkit issue.

Updating a UEFI bios due to an identified security flaw is what I would call a legitimate response.

The UEFI bios does have the secure boot feature which helps greatly reduce the potential for malware to execute. However, it is not fool proof and you are reliant on the mobo manufacturer to respond to any likely weakness.

I would share some of your security concerns about the UEFI bios and to this end, for now at least, have chosen to avoid that avenue in any of my new pc builds. The last one being less than a year ago.

There are of course some limitations to using the old style BIOS, namely that it cannot boot from a HDD >2.1TB but my dual boot system only has a 1TB Samsung Pro boot drive and all my data is stored on 2 internal mechanical HDD.

Where malicious code can be written there will always be the possibility that it will infect your system. For example the MarioNet code can allow hackers to run malicious code inside the user's browser even after the browser has been closed.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/new-b...n-bad-code-even-after-users-leave-a-web-page/

If you want the most secure system possible then do not use any of your pcs on the internet.

If that is not an option then the second most effective way, that I know of, is to run everything in a Virtual Machine.

 

Rootkits are pretty rare. Kaspersky has some software to take them out, but I don't think it runs heuristics yet.

 

If your system board has a removable EEPROM, less risk. I remember the days of jumping terminals on a soldered EEPROM.

 

When using a soldering iron my hands shake so much (was using a magnifying glass) that it was not possible for me to use one for small items.

Lucky I didn't try to become a surgeon.....!!!!!

 

Lol. Yeap that's me soldering.....