[ikk157]

Aha!  I worked with Windows 8.1 on a new laptop a few years back, and had a really good experience with it.

So wonder whether one could then upgrade one's Windows from Windows 7 to 8.1?  Support for 8.1 ends in 2023.  

My hard ware on which I have Windows 7 is still OK.  But for me it's common sense that since the hardware is old by current standards (desktop dated 2014 and laptop dated 2012), that I may find compatibility issues with a Windows 10 upgrade.

2023 is still quite a long time from now haha! And I highly recommend upgrading both of your desktop and laptop to windows 8.1. My laptop dates back to 2008, it didn’t run the best with windows 7 starter (an extremely light striped-down version of windows 7). However, after I’ve upgraded it to windows 8.1 it now runs quite smoothly. Obviously something with terrible specs would struggle to run moderate to heavy programs, but the Windows 8.1 experience in itself seems to be quite good compared to windows 7. 

I advise you to upgrade as soon as you get the time. A clean install would yield even better results (just obviously take a backup of anything important).