Hello everyone! I'm still running Windows 7 and want to make the change to a LTSC version. Problem is, I've never worked with special versions like that and all it involves so I'm a little worried something goes wrong. So I was wondering if it's possible to keep my current installation including all programs and data, and install the 10 LTSC alongside it through a dual boot or something. And if it's also possible for both Windows' to use the already installed programs and data. Or is this perhaps way too complex to accomplish and should I just do a clean install and hope it works out? As an aside, from what I understood the (N) version of 10 LTSC is the "cleanest" version. I've not been able to find a special (N) version however. Is it just an option in the regular iso?
You could simply boot the LTSC ISO (USB/DVD) and install it on a separate partition/disk and the dual boot options should be present when done. I don't think it's possible to use the already installed programs between the two installs. The N version is a crippled (enforced by EU law) SKU, not a special feature, best to not use it to avoid future problems. N versions are available on every ISO for countries who have it available.
Thank you Enthousiast! I'll give it a try with partitioning. And thank you as well for the warning about the N version, I'll stick with the regular instead.
So, I've been busy with the partitioning of my disk but I'm running into the issue that I can only shrink my main partition to a certain extend due to unmovable files. I eventually want the new partition to become the main one and keep the current Windows 7 partition as a much smaller backup partition so I'm going to have to transfer a lot of space to the new partition. I've done some searching and found that there are multiple partition tools out there with decent free version that can circumvent the unmovable files issue. I don't want to mess up my disk or my main partition however, so I wanted to ask if the knowledgable folk here have any suggestions about which tool would be wisest to use to achieve my goal?
It's plenty of good repartitioning SW, minitool Partition wizard is free, for example. But frankly messing with partitions is an outdated way to manage the whole matter in 2022. Just use native vhd[x] to install a second (or a third, fourth...) installation, keep one single main partition and forget [re]partitioning forever.
I'm not experienced enough to have any idea what that last part means I'm afraid. I'm already struggling with understanding partitioning correctly I think. I was thinking the partitions would operate completely separately but the more I'm reading about it the more I get the impression I can use a small partition for the Windows 10 install and reach files on the main partition still. Though I'm not sure how I'd make that work with executable programs. Bit overwhelmed.
Very true haha. I'll have a look at it. Thanks for the additional info on partitions as well, seems some information I found was just misdirecting me.
Succes! Running 10 LTSC alongside my old 7. Thanks for the help folks. As a post-objective question, are there any steps I can take to make things a little better privacy wise? I've seen mention of simple registery editing and a Telemetry & Winapp toast override that should go a long way but I can't seem to find explanations very well.
If you mean for Win10 LTSC, it's best to check out the Win10 forums. All the telemetry scripts are there.
Late response pardon. I was searching for "privacy" instead of "telemetry", silly me. Thanks Carlos! Managed to run an open source program to turn a bunch of things off. I'll be marking the thread as solved, thanks again everyone for your help!