will i lose my data after updating software.

Hello, When you upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 10, your personal files, applications, and settings should remain intact.However, it is always recommended to back up your important data and create a restore point before performing any major software update or upgrade. This will ensure that your data is safe in case of any unexpected issues during the upgrade process.Best Regards, Hania Lian

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Hello Hania Lian. I have seen other comments stating that a fresh install is required to move from Windows 7 to Windows 10, and yet your reply above indicates an upgrade rather than fresh install would work. I have an elderly neighbour for whom I am planning to upgrade her Windows 7 SP1 PC to Windows 10, and I will of course back up her data files, but I don't want her to lose her installed apps, games, etc.

I have checked the hardware requirements and her PC meets or exceeds those requirements.

Please confirm that I have interpreted you comments correctly and that I can do an upgrade. Thank you.

Refer to this document for information on upgrade paths to Win 10 from Win 7. The short answer is if you do an inplace upgrade of your existing Win7 system then yes the data should remain the same. However you may lose some settings like desktop icons, options for programs, etc. depending upon where that data might be stored and how. Furthermore some applications may not be compatible and you'll lose access to those applications (and their data potentially). Note however that you'll still have some legacy Win7 stuff on your system (such as some permissions) and this may cause problems for some applications.

If you do a fresh install of Win10 then you won't retain any data. However any Win7 stuff will be gone so there is no chance it'll cause problems with applications.

Personally I would recommend you back up all your data to an external resource or the cloud before you do anything. Upgrading an OS is a big deal and there is always the chance that after upgrading it starts failing or you run into issues that cause you to need to downgrade again. Making a backup of your data is a common disaster recovery approach you should be doing regularly anyway. Upgrading the OS is a good time to make sure you have a current backup, just in case. Note that if you want to keep bookmarks and whatnot you need to export those per browser. If you have your MS account hooked up then you should be able to store a lot of your data either in the cloud (via your MS account) or in OneDrive (which you have some free storage on).

Hello Hania Lian. This is my second attempt to post a reply because I do not see my first one.

I have read comments elsewhere that it is necessary to do a fresh install when going from Windows 7 SP1 to Windows 10, but your comment leaves me with the impression that it can be done as an upgrade maintaining the existing apps, games, et al.

Please confirm that I have correctly interpreted your comments, as I have an elderly neighbour for whom I plan to upgrade her Windows 7 PC, but I would not want her to lose her installed apps and games.

I will create a restore point and back up all her data files, and I have checked that her PC meets or exceeds all the hardware requirements for Windows 10.

Thank you.