Windows 7 to Windows 10 Upgrade in HP Compaq 8200 Elite CMT

[aypdjamur]

I have a HP Compaq 8200 Elite CMT with windows 7 pro and Intel Core i7 2600 specifications with 8gb ram and 1TB Hitachi Sata III, can I upgrade to windows 10? and is the process normal like a normal windows upgrade?

[BeemerBiker]

There is an operating system called Tiny 10 that might work better than the full blown W10.
Works great. Uses the W10 product key in the BIOS to activate or just put up with the request to upgrade as unactivated 10 does not expire the last I read.

The official and complete tiny10 and tiny11 list – NTDEV

You can actually install W11 on your notebook if you want, because it does not check for processor compatibility.
see below.

Reference this article. Windows 11 can be easily installed on just about any windows 7, 8 or 10 system as an upgrade.

I have run it on some really old HP systems with no problem.

Have you created a backup?
Can you pass diagnostics?
Tap the ESC key after powering on and press F2 to run diagnostics.
Do not allow any updates if disk or memory fail, especially a BIOS update.

For a new system that has UEFI bios and GPT but does not meet all requirements, Windows 11 can be installed using the Rufus trick.

Get Rufus here

Download Windows 11 with this link and use an 8gb or larger USB.
Windows 11 does not expire and Microsoft just leaves an activation reminder on the screen.
Otherwise use the windows 10 license.


Configure Rufus to use UEFI boot and select the option that creates a local account
so as to avoid the Microsoft email login. Use options shown below:


Uncheck the "Set regional options" if you are creating the USB on another system that has a different OS than yours.
Do not install 11 Pro if you are licensed for 10 Home.

To do a clean install then boot the USB else just insert it and find and run "setup"

You have to click "start" before those options show up.

If you do an upgrade you may not need to hunt for HP drivers. if you do a clean install of 10 or 11 then your Product ID can be used to find missing drivers.

[Paul_Tikkanen]

@aypdjamur 

Unless you are willing to pay for a license to install W10, the free upgrade period ended.

No HP 8200 Elite PC has a product key in the BIOS.

I don't see any point in buying a license for W10 when it will be going out of support in around 6 months.

You can't upgrade to W11 without having W10 installed, and the Rufus trick to install W11 no longer works on W11 24H2 because to do an in-place upgrade...you get a message that the PC doesn't support secure boot, even when you check the boxes to bypass the hardware requirements.

You can only clean install W11 using the Rufus media.

I have to 8200 Elite CMT's and have tried every trick in the book to update them to W11 and the only way it can be done in-place is by using this method:

How to Install Windows 11 on Unsupported PC in 2025 (New Easiest Method, No CMD)

But again...you have to pay to upgrade from W7>W10.

Or you can try the Tiny 10 or Tiny 11 OS if it will work without being activated.

I have Tiny 11 23H2 installed in a HP Thin Client t630, but I had upgraded that to W10 before the free upgrade period expired and it automatically activated.