Upgrade from Vista to Win 7

[ubersonic]

You can download a Windows 7 ISO from Microsoft here and make a bootable USB key with a utility called Rufus. You will need a valid product key.

A valid Retail edition product key.

OEM ones will see it refer you to your hardware vendor for a disc.

The Windows 7 Start menu was long regarded a mess too by people who wanted the XP style one.

And comically the XP one was moaned about by people who prefered the cleaner look of the 9x one, which was moaned about by people who preferred the simpler interface of 3.x xD

 

[EsaT]

There appears to be a vast array of used discs that either wont work or require who knows what to make them work. Any hints where to get a genuine disc from.

For one thing all of them require valid license.
For cheapest path there was upgrade license Windows for upgrading PC from license of XP or Vista to 7.
(highly unlikely to be avaialble now)

Normal Windows Sytem Builder/OEM license, once activated, locks to hardware and can't be moved to another PC without MS specifically accepting that reactivation.
Including for example having had bigger PC hardware failure needing to replace more components like motherboard etc.
Of course if you can find OEM license which is unused/haven't been activated, then there wouldn't be problems with it.
But if it has been used in some PC even if that old PC has been scrapped...

More expensive retail license Windows again can be moved from hardware to another, without limitations of needing specific approving from Microsoft for that activation in new hardware.

As for Windows7 ISO not sure if this tool works
https://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/microsoft_windows_iso_download_tool.html

 

[drnick]

Well that all seems locked down pretty tight, as you'd expect I guess. To my horror I also investigated the PC last night to find the label with the product code had been ripped off the case, its normally rammed in a corner in the hall so i'd never noticed and it could have happened years ago for all I know....kids....So I guess its a new, old, system or fork out for a valid licence, if or when I can be bothered. The kids might just have to manage without steam for a year until I can afford to get a new rig myself and they can have mine. Thanks for all the help, learnt a lot going through the process, though i'm sure it will all be totally different next time I come across this issue....

 

[Quartz]

To my horror I also investigated the PC last night to find the label with the product code had been ripped off the case

There are utilities that recover this from the registry. I'm not sure I'm allowed to mention names.