[Coco] Need help off-topic

[John E. Malmberg]

On 8/26/2020 6:33 AM, Joshua Harper via Coco wrote:
> Hi guys I know this is off-topic but I really need some help here I
> am legally blind and I use a Windows 7 PC my Windows 7 PC is crashing
> due to a bad hard drive does anybody know how I can reinstall Windows
> 7 and get all the old updates up till the time that Microsoft stop
> supporting Windows 7 Windows 7 allows me to change my colors so I can
> see the screen decently enough windows 10 is not easily accessible
> for me thanks for any of your help greatly appreciated

It apparently makes a difference if your system had Windows 7 originally 
installed or is an update.

The best way to do that is to have a backup disk or USB stick that can 
hold your entire image, and your replacement disk.

That is correct 2 disks, one for a USB connection and one for 
replacement.   I would get the largest of them that you can reasonably 
afford, and then you can continue to use the USB disk for backup.

You also need a recovery disk (CD/DVD) that you can boot.

If you are not budget constrained, I would recommend maxing out the 
memory on that system if it is not already maxed out while you have it 
open for the hard drive replacement.

For new memory, I have usually found the best prices on crucial.com. 
They also sell SSD upgrades.

https://notebooks.com/2009/10/24/how-to-backup-your-installation-of-windows-7/


Can you try out a Windows 10 system with the settings in this article?

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4089827/windows-10-guide-for-people-who-are-blind-or-low-vision


Disclaimer, this is being typed on a Windows 8.1 system, which has a 
primary job of being a Windows Media Center DVR for the entire house so 
I can not update it to Windows 10, or I lose the license to run Windows 
Media Center.

And before upgrading a PC to Windows-10 make sure that the video card is 
supported for Windows-10 and the system vendor claims that it supports 
Windows-10.

I have a "premium" or relatively expensive HP laptop stuck on Windows 7, 
because HP dropped support for it before Windows 10 came out.   It has 
requires custom HP drivers to function on Windows.   Because of that 
experience, it will likely be my last HP branded system I purchase.

Regards,
-John