Calibre doesn't open on this machine

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I have never heard of Windows 10 being unable to be upgraded to the latest version of Windows 10. Are you sure you aren't talking about Windows 11?

It's true even for some 64 bit Win10.

Also there are 64 bit CPUs that can only run 32 bit Win10 and those orphaned ages ago. Those are usually Atoms with not enough RAM physically possible (due to Intel crippling cheaper CPUs) to run 64 bit Win 10 sensibly. So they deliberately have a 32 bit UEFI BIOS. It's possible to install 64bit Debian Linux on those by adding an older 32 bit Debian bootloader to the ISO.

MS has deliberately, as policy to help PC sales, moved the goal posts on Win10 and raised the bar on Win11 with spurious security claims (not actual lies, but irrelevant for most users). So if you edit stuff in BIOS or registry to upgrade to later Win10 or now Win11, you very likely will get boot "bricked" by a later MS update.

[Quoth]

It's feasible to run x86-64 or ARM64 Debian Linux with only 1 G RAM. With 2G RAM you can run LO Writer, Firefox and Calibre at the same time. Linux has no RAM penalty running 64 bit vs 32 bit version of OS, unlike Windows 10 64 bit which needs more RAM than 32 bit. The Windows 11 needs even more RAM.

You do of course need more RAM again to run each VM you add.

[DNSB]

The google-fu is running weak...

try microsoft changes cpu compatiblity for windows 10

for some more general comments or

windows processor requirements

Which should point you at Microsoft's official list though the latter does require the ability to persevere through extreme boredom reading the lists. One oddity is that if a processor is dropped, in many cases, you can still update though a new install will not work.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by DNSB

…
One oddity is that if a processor is dropped, in many cases, you can still update though a new install will not work.

I think there are more than one oddity. I've had licencing fail (on legitimate installs/licenses) after updates. Also upgrading any part can cause that now.
Then there are licencing fails on re-installs after HDD fail (Office & Windows).
Also the MS licencing hotline is now automated and you need DTMF tones to type in codes and the returned new keys are spoken too quick and funny accent by the robot. So sometimes up to 4 calls / attempts. Crazy that they can't do it by email or SMS either.

Since XP the MS licencing for Office, Windows etc has gone as bad as a Adobe. Next step a hardware dongle and monthly subscription?

I've had problems with MS Office licences too. So I've given up on any fresh installs or upgrades of anything MS. Sometimes just the updates on Win10 make computer unusable. Once I had to edit a partition to get an undate to complete.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Quoth

I think there are more than one oddity. I've had licencing fail (on legitimate installs/licenses) after updates. Also upgrading any part can cause that now.
Then there are licencing fails on re-installs after HDD fail (Office & Windows).
Also the MS licencing hotline is now automated and you need DTMF tones to type in codes and the returned new keys are spoken too quick and funny accent by the robot. So sometimes up to 4 calls / attempts. Crazy that they can't do it by email or SMS either.

Since XP the MS licencing for Office, Windows etc has gone as bad as a Adobe. Next step a hardware dongle and monthly subscription?

I've had problems with MS Office licences too. So I've given up on any fresh installs or upgrades of anything MS. Sometimes just the updates on Win10 make computer unusable. Once I had to edit a partition to get an undate to complete.

I have two valid Windows 10 Home licenses sitting on two hard drives. You can get the licenses from those drives without them having to be the active OS. One is from a laptop that died and the other is from my old crappy desktop that died. The desktop was replaced with a mini-PC running Windows 11 Pro. The laptop was replaced with the HP laptop I'm using now.

[theducks]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I have two valid Windows 10 Home licenses sitting on two hard drives. You can get the licenses from those drives without them having to be the active OS. One is from a laptop that died and the other is from my old crappy desktop that died. The desktop was replaced with a mini-PC running Windows 11 Pro. The laptop was replaced with the HP laptop I'm using now.

Unless they were Retail (box) versions, and OEM license is not transferable (to another machine).
Even my Referb units came with a Refurbishers sticker and the old ones were marked out.
FWIW I used to install NCR POS and the NCR Windows disc checked for a NCR BIOS

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I have two valid Windows 10 Home licenses sitting on two hard drives. You can get the licenses from those drives without them having to be the active OS. One is from a laptop that died and the other is from my old crappy desktop that died. The desktop was replaced with a mini-PC running Windows 11 Pro. The laptop was replaced with the HP laptop I'm using now.

Though I spend most of career dealing with Microsoft's volume licensing, in my experience, manufacturer Windows 8.1+ OEM OS licenses are tied to the hardware with a key stored in the BIOS. Moving the hard drive to a new computer will require re-licensing. You can get the key from the BIOS using a PowerShell admin session and entering "wmic path SoftwareLicensingService get OA3xOriginalProductKey" on the command line.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by DNSB

Though I spend most of career dealing with Microsoft's volume licensing, in my experience, manufacturer Windows 8.1+ OEM OS licenses are tied to the hardware with a key stored in the BIOS. Moving the hard drive to a new computer will require re-licensing. You can get the key from the BIOS using a PowerShell admin session and entering "wmic path SoftwareLicensingService get OA3xOriginalProductKey" on the command line.

Or even with a simple console command booting from a Linux Live USB.

It depends on the maker/key if that key works for a VM. Also some windows 7 PCs have actually a Win10 key in the bios and the Win7 encrypted in the registry (utilities on Windows can extract that).

See also
Disk2vhd - Sysinternals | Microsoft Learn

Works at least for XP, Win2003, Vista and Win7, even on a PC with a UEFI BIOS as long as Windows was installed using "legacy boot".
Disk2vhd is a utility that creates VHD (Virtual Hard Disk).
With the right settings that will work on a VM on Linux