Installing Windows 10 on a PC

I need to install above. I have a new fast Mboard and faster Hard Drive. The computer store says I need to have them check for drivers that are compatible. Is this true or another way to clean my wallet? What if I just go ahead and automatically download?

5 Likes

Windows 10 automatically finds the drivers.

When I reinstalled Windows 10 on both our desktop and our laptop computers a year ago. it even found the drivers for the Canon inkjet.

11 Likes

@Fred123 is 100% correct but after installing it is good to check with the manufacturer sites to see if they have their own custom drivers that often have extra features. Realtek audio would be a good example where windows finds drivers that work fine, but the full package includes auto configuration when you plug speakers or microphones into the audio jacks as well as surround sound options and equaliser controls.

Video drivers are similar where you can Plug and Play almost any graphics card and it will work, but the manufacturers have ‘game optimised’ versions as well as auto updates, GPU interfaces, display customisations, and so on. Intel rapid storage manager might or might not improve your HDD experience, and for SSDs each manufacturers monitor (Samsung Magician, Adata Toolbox, etc) are all but mandatory.

As for the MB itself, they usually come with a disk of chipset drivers and many of the above utilities. While the chipset drivers are usually in Windows 10 it does not hurt to install from the disk, and then check for updates via Windows update as well as via those specific utilities.

8 Likes

I ended up with a refund. Microsoft would only assist in downloading Windows 10 if I waited 24 hours and they called me at an agreed time. Comments on their site from other purchasers warned of their difficulty in downloading. Missed their calls over many days. The Australian Gvt’s Security warnings about Windows 7 - I’ll take a chance that my PC will never be hacked. I think having a new MBoard and Hard Drive together with IS, AVG and TuneUp from AVG will have to be enough for now.

2 Likes

I mean VPN from AVG!

1 Like

“The Australian Gvt’s Security warnings about Windows 7 - I’ll take a chance that my PC will never be hacked”

I would not make that assumption.

Here’s what I think.

  • if you have Windows 7 it’s going end of life in Jan 2020. That means no security updates.
  • That doesn’t mean that you’ll get hacked immediately after that, but it increases the chances of being infected with malware, etc.
  • Windows 10 has significant security improvements designed into the product, so updating has some benefits
  • There’s no need to worry about drivers; in most of the cases Windows will detect and download them for you.
  • I do not recommend downloading driver detection software as they can be filled with adware, etc.
  • Sometimes it’s cheaper to buy windows with the computer (OEM) as Microsoft give large discounts to hardware manufacturers ship Windows with their PCs
5 Likes

Thanks, dds. So even with the updates from AVG, these will not be enough? I have an inconsistent income and having recently purchased $220 for the hardware, seems like a never-ending cash drain.

2 Likes

I don’t understand why you need help downloading as it is quite automatic.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-au/software-download/windows10

You can buy a key and use it to activate once you have installed.

That it is!

3 Likes

What often happens is software and internet security companies stop providing support for versions of their software after Microsoft, Google, Apple stop supporting their operating systems. It means that the Windows 10 version of the software may not work on Windows 7 or may not function properly after Microsoft no longer support Windows 7.

3 Likes

Windows should install with the new motherboard and hard drive. You may need to look at the BIOS on startup to get the harddrive operating though (some BIOS will automatically detect a new drive). If this is a second drive, you may need to install it through WIndows 10 after the OS has been updated…see

https://helpdesk.originpc.com/support/solutions/articles/9000124011-how-to-add-a-hard-drive-to-windows-10-

Windows 10 can be downloaded and installed using a disc Image…see…the expaned [Using the tool to create installation media (USB flash drive, DVD, or ISO file) to install Windows 10 on a different PC (click to show more or less information)] at the bottom of the page

https://www.microsoft.com/en-au/software-download/windows10

This will allow you to download Windows 10 on another computer (if the PC you have doesn’t have an operating system installed with internet connectivity), put in on removable media and then install on your upgraded PC.

2 Likes

The one big exception here is that not all older hardware has driver updates that support Windows 10. Hence a partial hardware upgrade of an older PC and update to Windows 10 may leave some devices such as a TV tuner card non functional. Sometimes you can locate a more recent version of the drivers and supporting software from the OEM that will work still with Windows 10. There are no guarantees.

When Windows installs it’s drivers for a device, eg Flatbed Scanner it is common to loose the functionality of the OEM software package. This leaves the user stuck with the Windows tools only.

There comes a point where upgrading to Windows10 from Win7 or perhaps even 8.0/8.1 requires more expense than a simple upgrade. It can become a whole new PC?

3 Likes

The OP started with the equivalent of a new PC, but not new peripherals so your point is well taken, especially for the non-technically inclined. For those of us who are, sometimes we win for a while :wink:

It has been a while since I upgraded to Windows10, but doesn’t the ‘checking your PC’ from the ‘Upgrade Assistant’ or the actual Win10 installation still flag incompatibilities with installed software and drivers as in yesteryear?

3 Likes

Very true some much older hardware can need to be replaced as no drivers exist for it/them. If there are no Win 10 drivers then Win 8/8.1 or Win 7 drivers are able to be used as long as they are not based on 8 bit software or if you install the 64 bit version of windows you cannot use drivers based on 8 or 16 bit software. If you particularly want to use a 16 bit driver then installing Win 10 32 bit is the only choice you may have unless you buy new hardware that supports 32 or 64 bit based drivers or run a Virtual Machine to use that hardware.

Many times the product manufacturers have updated their software packages to support Win 8/8.1 unless the hardware is very old and these work seamlessly with Win 10 as they are based on at least 32 bit code. So it is easy to check if there is manufacturer support and then downloading and installing to give you the full software package in these supported cases rather than relying on the built in Win 10 drivers. Win 7 can be a bit more hit and miss in the 64 bit versions but as I noted the 32 bit version of Win 10 is 16 bit friendly.

What do you miss if using the 32 bit version of Windows, well you lose the ability to run 64 bit code so not as efficient or fast, you lose the ability to use RAM beyond 4 GB (some systems will not address beyond 3 GB but they are few), your system will not be able to allocate as much Virtual Memory per process with 32 bit systems only able to allocate a maximum of 2 GB per application so some games or things like video editing will run slower (more processing time) and finally some of the inbuilt security such as D.E.P (Data Execution Protection) & Kernel Patch Protection do not work outside of 64 bit editions. There may not be signed drivers available as well but if downloaded from the manufacturer the likelihood of a “bad” driver is very minimal.

3 Likes

Everything adds up in my opinion. I have not used any commercial Antivirus programs in many years, but I had not have any issues so far. I dont have any AV other than the default Windows Defender at the moment.

It really depends on what you are using the computer for and your knowledge on computers. If you go to dodgy websites, it increases your chances of getting infected with malware.

If this is a laptop and you connect your laptop to open Wifi networks, again the probabilities increase.

If you are planing to spend money on a commercial AV, I’d invest that to upgrade to Windows 10 as it has good security features compared to windows 7.

That being said, if you install dodgy software and allow them administrator access, then nothing none of those matters.

5 Likes

I agree, dds. I’ll take my PC to the computer store I have used and trust in the past, pay the $$ to install Windows10 and be done with it!
Thanks to everyone for your valuable insights and knowledge.

6 Likes

Unfortunately not. I ran the Upgrade Assitant under Win7, and it identified some peripherals which wouldn’t work. I then upgraded to Win10, and a whole bunch more peripherals wouldn’t work. When I searched for drivers, the OEMs didn’t have Win10 drivers and for some of them the user fora were bemoaning the fact that large OEMs appeared to ignore their user base’s needs.

As an aside to do with updates; I have a HP colour LaserJet 200 MFP (3 years old?) which I bought to work with Win10. I worked perfectly. Then after one of the Win10 updates a few months back the scanner stopped working. Again scoured the user forum and it turns out that the scanner will continue to work with USB3 connectivity after the Win10 update. The laptop has USB3 ports, but unfortunately the printer’s port is USB2. Swapping over to a USB3 cable instead of the OEM supplied USB2 cable makes no difference. Oh, and HP has stopped supplying drivers for the machine despite the large user base, and the plethora of protests from users.

So updating an operating system and/or drivers has its perils.

4 Likes

I hope you tried rolling back the driver as it is likely the one you had installed has been overwritten/replaced by the Win 10 inbuilt driver. I get the same issue with my Brother Laser MFP (so I now store the driver package from Brother in case it happens again). If your unit is a HP LaserJet Pro 200 Color M276nw or similar then the HP 2015 driver package is the one you probably want and can be found at https://ftp.hp.com/pub/softlib/software13/COL44392/kj-107661-4/LJ-Pro-200-color-MFP-M276-full-solution-15188.exe, it is both 32 and 64 bit version applicable. Hope that helps you get back the usability of your MFP.

The fact that the download is a 2015 version is in no way an indication that it is unfit to use today on any version of Win 10. HP have provided drivers that carry out all the needed and provided functions (as they determine them to be) that are WHQL (Windows Hardware Quality Labs) signed ie approved by Microsoft™ to be loaded into Win 10. That there is no later version does not indicate a lack of support but rather that there is currently as assessed by HP no need to further improve them. If Microsoft™ did not agree the WHQL authority would be removed.

Below I have also linked to a firmware update for the machines that is from May 2019 and this shows that HP are still actively supporting this product. I wonder if sometimes we all have become used to thinking that if there isn’t a driver available that doesn’t have the current year attached that somehow it is inadequate for the task when in fact it is as effective today as it was when first provided. You only need to look at some of the device drivers that Windows continues to supply in Win 10 that have dates for in some cases over a decade old eg WAN Miniport (L2TP) is a signed, and provided by, MS driver dated 21/06/2006. It is the current driver for the Win 10 (1903) update. So for anyone looking at dates of when a download package was provided, it does not mean it is necessarily out-dated in terms of usability but rather as I noted above may just mean there is no need to update it as it still meets all requirements.

M276nw just means the MFP is both wired and wireless network capable (n for wired, w for wireless) but the downloadable file is applicable for all M276 versions whether network capable or not.

There is also a firmware update from May 2019 that fixes some vulnerabilities and is a recommended update https://ftp.hp.com/pub/softlib/software13/FW_CPE_Consumer/M276_4L/HP_LaserJet_M276_colorMFP_Series_FW_Update_20190401.exe. If you want to read more about it (which I do recommend) before installing it see https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/selfservice/swdetails/hp-laserjet-pro-200-color-mfp-m276/5097648/model/5097653/swItemId/kj-108130-9 where it can also be downloaded.

Other fixes incorporated into this 2019 firmware update are:

HP LaserJet Pro MFP M276 Firmware Enhancements and Fix List 20180205 (2018 Firmware update which also importantly addresses the SMB problems)

  • Contains all previous fixes and enhancements.
  • Corrected KRACK vulnerabilities, including CVE-2017-13077/CVE-2017-13078/CVE-2017-13079/CVE-2017-13080/CVE-2017-13081/CVE-2017-13082/CVE-2017-13084/CVE-2017-13086/CVE-2017-13087/CVE-2017-13088.
  • Fixed an issue that certain PCL5 jobs could not printed properly.
  • Fixed an issue that Zdot of Polish in SAP file could not be printed properly.
  • Upgraded cryptographic method of self-signed certificate to SHA2 from SHA1.
  • Upgraded to SMBv2 support according to Microsoft™s SMB strategy.

HP LaserJet Pro MFP M276 Firmware Enhancements and Fix List 20150212 (2015 firmware update)

  • Contains all previous fixes and enhancements.
  • Fixes a potential vulnerability issue (CVE-2014-3566) also known as the POODLE SSL v3.0 vulnerability.
  • Fixes a potential vulnerability issue (CVE-2014-3566) also known as the POODLE SSL v3.0 vulnerability.
  • Addresses an issue where the device may not wake up from sleep mode when receiving a fax if it is connected to an improperly grounded 220v power source.
  • Fixes an issue that may cause the device to fail to wake from sleep mode when receiving a print job over the network.
  • Fixes an issue where the printer may fail to wake from sleep mode when connected to an 802.1x wireless network.
  • Fixes an issue where the printer may stop responding to incoming network traffic for up to 10 seconds while coming out of sleep mode.
  • Fixes an issue where the printer might display a Scanner Error 17 or hang on the “Initializing” screen when waking from sleep mode.
  • Addresses an issue where the outer buttons (home, back and the left and right arrows) on the touch screen control panel may become unresponsive when the product comes out of sleep mode.
  • Corrects an issue where 72 point size fonts or greater may not print.
  • Fixes an issue that might cause a 49 or 79 error when printing certain documents.
  • Fixes an issue that might cause a 49 error when scanning or copying a document.
  • Addresses an issue where the printer may fail to enter sleep mode.
6 Likes

Thanks for the info. You were spot on with the MFP model!!

I downloaded via the links you gave, and thought I would give one more check of the HP site. I used their software and guess what?? They had firmware to download as of 21 May. It included an update that makes the scanner work via the USB :slight_smile: (https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/selfservice/swdetails/hp-laserjet-pro-200-color-mfp-m276/5097648/model/5097653/swItemId/kj-108130-9)
“This utility is for use on Microsoft Windows 32 and 64 bit operating systems.
The utility can be used with a USB connection or network connection. Be sure to use the firmware update utility that is specific to your printer model.
This update is recommended for the HP LaserJet Pro 200 color M276 Printer Series that have a firmware version older than the one posted
This utility updates the printer firmware version to the latest version.
The firmware version can be found on the Self Test/Configuration Page which can be printed from the printer’s Reports menu.”

My MFP seems to be working as it should once again. :ok_hand:

I appreciate your efforts to help me find the necessary information to succeed. :+1:

5 Likes

Np at all :-), very happy that your MFP is back to it’s old running self. Keep the downloaded driver package as it will be likely that Windows’ updates will possibly/probably overwrite them in the future.

Yeah, I did have that firmware link in my post as well but you obviously won’t need to retain it after you installed it and so can save a little drive space :slight_smile: Perhaps on those fora that had issues you might be able to post of the fixes that will get the other users back on deck with their machines. As I noted above some will think because the driver package is dated 2015 it is too old (which is actually incorrect).

2 Likes

For those who might be interested, it’s apparently still possible to upgrade for free. With support for Windows 7 ending relatively soon, this might come in handy.

5 Likes