Hi guys
Really hope someone somewhere can help me please.
My friendly IT colleague at work donated a Dell desktop to me the other week. The
machine was out of warranty and surplus. The spec of the pc is better than my
current machine so I was happy to accept it.
Unfortunately no installation discs were supplied and it was a condition of the
donation that the hdd be wiped prior to me receiving it.
In my head given that there is a licensing sticker attached to the machine
showing the activation code and the Windows version - Windows 7 Pro
OA I thought I could install a new and larger hdd, install Windows 7 Pro
then possibly upgrade to Windows 10. I recently read somewhere on
the net that Microsoft plan to allow Windows 10 activation via any
genuine activation irrespective of version so happy days.
How wrong was I????
After reading so many articles on the net I am now more confused
than ever. Some articles say I have to purchase a new licence,
some sites provide links to Digital river websites which are now void
as Microsoft no longer support this method of distribution I believe,
others state that I should contact Dell directly, others say contact Windows
others state under no circumstance should I contact Windows......... WOW
Someone did suggest cloning the drive but for the reasons previously
mentioned this is a non starter.
I cannot email Dell directly as the machine is out of warranty and due to work
I am unable to talk to a Dell technican at any convenient point in time. Clearly
I do not want to go down the torret site approach given that as far as I can
understand I am still eligible to have and use a genuine copy of
Windows. I cannot afford to buy another copy of Windows but frankly, again,
I do not see why I should.
I apologise if this has been posted previously but given the information
overload thought it best to start fresh.
Thanks a million in advance