S/O Windows 10: Are you upgrading?

[Lanny]

I tried to reply to the original thread, but repeatedly got an error page saying that I am not a member of that group and I was unable to read the original post or the replies to it.. It is NEVER a good idea to be the first on your block, with a new operating system. That applies to Linux as well as to Windows. That certainly applies to any computer that one uses for serious work.   Possibly we will upgrade our Windows 7 boxes and our Windows 8.1 box, in 11 months, depending upon the reviews at that time. If we do upgrade, I will make "System Image" backups of the hard drives in each box and have them on an external USB hard drive. If, after upgrading to Windows 10, there are serious issues, I will PRAY that we can Restore the "System Image" backup and go back to the previous operating system. Look before you leap!  I believe I read yesterday or today that Windows 7 will be supported by Microsoft until some date in 2020.

[RegGuheert]

Thanks, Lanny, for starting a new thread!

 

Here's the text I tried to post in the threads that don't seem to work:

 

Since Windows 10 is officially shipping tomorrow, I thought I would ask who has signed up for the free upgrade.  We have a whole bunch of Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 computers around here and I am still trying to decide which ones to upgrade first and when.  No decisions, yet... :o

 

For those who haven't heard of Windows 10, here is a link to Microsoft's official launch page with all kinds of marketing bling:

 

http://blogs.windows.com/launch/

 

I've been reading a bit about this new release and I have gotten past my initial skeptical belief that Microsoft had nefarious intentions behind this free upgrade.  Now I see it as Microsoft trying to reinvent themselves to try to preserve as much of their business as they can.

 

All-in-all, it looks like a very nice upgrade.  I'm not thrilled about the forced updates, but I have a feeling Microsoft will have to soften their stance on that sooner rather than later.  We'll see...

 

Since DS13's Surface 3 will likely get the most benefit from Windows 10 (due to "Continuum"), I am pushing to make that the guinea pig for the various Guheert Windows computers.

 

BTW, even if you have already reserved an upgrade for your computer, you aren't likely to get it in the next couple of weeks unless you are an "Insider" (beta tester).  Is anyone here a Windows Insider?  If so, what are your current thoughts on Windows 10?

[Guest]

We don't run Windows as our primary OS, but we do have it installed on one school computer and for testing out software on several of our Macs. We just got our new iMac last week for the family computer and my husband will be installing 10 on it to mess around with. We are pretty anal about security but this kind of setup doesn't leave us particularly vulnerable - still, always always download the patches and updates, folks - that would be Microsoft catching the million loopholes they missed on the first pass through and fixing them (badly) bit by bit :rofl:!

[Lanny]

Reg:  I plan to make "System Image" backups of our hard drives, onto an external USB hard drive that I thought would be delivered to our house today, but wasn't...  I am going to use two (2) free programs that run off a CD:, One "Clonezilla Live" is more complicated to use, and the other is "Redo Backup and Restore" which has a very friendly GUI. I believe both of them are based on the same Linux utility. They can be used to make "System Images" of  hard drives in Windows or Linux boxes and probably those of other operating systems.  I am going to make 2 "System Images" of each hard drive, and then hope and pray that when the day comes that we have a hard drive that is horribly corrupted, or, has failed, that I can Restore everything and get back to the day and hour when the "System Image" was made.  Backup everything you can and then pray that it goes well.  I don't know what a Surface 3 is (a tablet?) so I'm not sure how Windows 10 might work on that platform. GL

[Arcadia]

Since Windows 10 is officially shipping tomorrow, I thought I would ask who has signed up for the free upgrade.  We have a whole bunch of Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 computers around here and I am still trying to decide which ones to upgrade first and when.

 

My 2006 AMD Turion64 win 8.1 laptop would probably be the guinea pig.  We have the non-OEM win 8.1 license for this laptop so if we don't like it, we'll just reformat the hard disk again and reload win 8.1.  My hubby loves reformatting this laptop so all my stuff is backup in the cloud and on external hard disks and flash drives :lol:  We do know someone who is a beta tester and his laptop is still surviving.

 

I heard the microsoft store staff saying that it would be like windows XP so that would make me happy.

 

 

[Carrie12345]

My old laptop died last week. I got this one knowing I'd automatically update.  I haven't transferred any files over yet.

[Lanny]

Yes. Hate Windows 8.1.

 

 

When we were waiting for the Refurbished laptop for DD to arrive from the states, which has Windows 8.1 on it, I did some reading on the web. When I did the OOBE (Out of Box Experience or the first boot of a Windows or Linux system) I did two (2) things, which I suspect have made it work, without issues, for DD:

 

(1) It boots directly to the Desktop

(2) I configured it to use a Local User Account for the login, instead of a Microsoft account.

 

I suspect that the navigation is somewhat different from her Windows 7 box, but DD does not have any issues with her Windows 8.1 laptop.

 

If you upgrade to Windows 10 I hope it will be a successful upgrade.

[ashfern]

My husband says to wait and let others be the testers. He said that the free update is good for a year so no need to rush into it.

[RegGuheert]

My hubby loves reformatting this laptop so all my stuff is backup in the cloud and on external hard disks and flash drives :lol:

 

This is what we do.  With so many computers around here, there is always at least one failing.  All of the children's school files are on Dropbox along with the really important stuff: video game progress files. :glare: That's our main line of defense against crashes and other problems.  In addition, we do the following:

 

1)  I always burn a full set of system restore disks for each new system that we get.  That way if all else fails, I can (usually) get back to where we started when we bought the computer.  For the Surface computers, I'm downloading those from Microsoft directly.  I'll get the Windows 10 image when it becomes available.

 

2)  For Windows 7 computers, I allocate about 10% of the hard disk to the file history so that old versions of files can be recovered in case they were accidentally overwritten (and are not on Dropbox).  Unfortunately, Windows 8 transformed that wonderful feature into something particularly useless, so I don't bother.

 

3)  I occasionally will perform file backups using AOMEI Backupper for backing up important information on certain machines.

 

4)  I upgrade hard disks about every three years.  I simply clone what is there onto a larger drive.  I like DriveClone for this, but there are many other solutions available out there.  Unless I have a pressing need for the old drive, I keep it around as a snapshot.  Those have come in handy on more than a couple of occasions.

 

5)  Immediately before I do something overly risky, such as upgrading to a new operating system or attempting a system repair, I use Microsoft's System Image Backup utility to make a full backup of the drive, being careful to follow the directions listed in this article.

 

Dropbox has been the single biggest help in keeping the kid's schoolwork from disappearing.  When/if we move to Windows 10, we may start to take advantage of Microsoft OneDrive to get access to more cloud storage (but it will have to prove itself first).

 

But stuff still manages to get lost occasionally.   :mad:   I guess it's the nature of the beast.

 

Here are the things that really interest me about Windows 10:

 

For Windows 7 computers:

- Instant booting capability.

- Microsoft Store (I like what is available on the Windows 8 computers and I expect the Windows 10 store to contain WAY more useful applications).

 

For Windows 8.1 computers:

- A much more tolerable user interface.  There are too many things about Windows 8.1 that just make no sense!

 

For the Surface 3:

- Continuum.  With the high-definition display and Windows 8.1, the Surface 3 is sometimes to quite tough to use as a tablet.

 

Fortunately the Surface 3 only has 64GB of storage (I recommend the 128GB version!), so it is quickest and easiest to backup and restore.  As I said, I'll likely start there.

 

I may also like some of the other new features, but those aren't reasons to upgrade, IMO.  The forced updates are a reason for me to NOT update.  I'm watching that topic closely.

[Mimm]

I wish I was on a Windows 7 machine but my husband just built me a new system and Windows 8 was obviously all we could get. I'm not sure when I'll be upgrading but he agrees that we should wait a bit. Depends on how crazy 8 is driving me over the next few months. :)

[creekland]

I'm glad I'm still on 7.  I've no plans to change at all.  I never liked 8 enough that I purposely avoided it when I got this computer last year.  I haven't looked at 10 at all nor see a need to do so until this computer dies (or hubby's dies).

[AK_Mom4]

Yes. Yes I am. All but one of our old laptops wil get "the treatment" when their turns come up. The old one will stay on XP until it's death.

[Arcadia]

  When/if we move to Windows 10, we may start to take advantage of Microsoft OneDrive to get access to more cloud storage (but it will have to prove itself first).

 

 

My kids use MS Word online and MS Excel online which is part of Microsoft OneDrive so no backup required but I do backup their assignments to Google drive.  I use the MS OneNote.  My iPod, iPhone, my kids' iPads' photos and my kids' Kindles' photos are backup into OneDrive (besides ext HDDs).

[RegGuheert]

I use the MS OneNote.

 

I just got Microsoft accounts for all of the children today so that they can start using OneNote 2013.  It's free and it looks to have many useful capabilities.  (NTS: I need to look for threads on here for how people use OneNote in their homeschools.)

 

OTOH, we have three "Home and Student" licenses for Office 2007 (total nine licenses), so we're not interested in the new versions of the Office tools which require an annual fee for each user.  That's another thing I will be watching for with Windows 10:  Microsoft taking away support for Office 2007.  The reports so far are that it is working fine.

[RegGuheert]

My request for those who have signed up for the Windows 10 upgrade: Please post about your upgrade and user experiences when it finally does happen. (I expect this thread will be long gone by that time.)

 

TIA!

[RegGuheert]

I think Lanny will approve of this review: Windows 10 is for suckers

 

This guy's column is entitled "Defensive Computing"!

[Lanny]

Yes. Yes I am. All but one of our old laptops wil get "the treatment" when their turns come up. The old one will stay on XP until it's death.

 

 

I hope, sincerely, that your XP box is NOT connected to the Internet or to the LAN in your home. XP is extremely insecure.  You are not the only people who still have an XP box. There are probably tons of them, but they are security problems.  The day Microsoft stopped supplying Security updates for XP, we stopped using it in our house.

[Lanny]

I think Lanny will approve of this review: Windows 10 is for suckers

 

This guy's column is entitled "Defensive Computing"!

 

 

+1

 

Outstanding article

[SparklyUnicorn]

My husband forbade me.  LOL

 

He left a note telling me no.  I wasn't even thinking about it really.  He seems to think it's a bad idea.  I have no opinion on it one way or the other.

 

 

[FaithManor]

My feelings on Windows 8 followed by thoughts on the Win 10 beta cannot be expressed with polite language in polite society. I just purchased a refurbished laptop with Windows 7 and Wordperfect on it. It's a little piece of computing heaven relatively speaking.

[Lanny]

My feelings on Windows 8 followed by thoughts on the Win 10 beta cannot be expressed with polite language in polite society. I just purchased a refurbished laptop with Windows 7 and Wordperfect on it. It's a little piece of computing heaven relatively speaking.

 

 

I was surprised, when we bought a Refurbished laptop from Blair Technology Group, in May for DD, with Windows 8.1 on it, but the hardware configuration and the low price made it worth trying for us.. The 2 laptops we'd previously purchased from Blair Technology Group have Windows 7 on them.  Blair is a Microsoft Authorized Refurbisher, so I assume they are under great pressure, like the manufacturers (HP/Dell/etc.) to ship PCs with the latest Microsoft OS, ASAP. That said, I read up about Windows 8.1 and how to configure it during the OOBE (First boot) and DD hasn't had any issues using her Windows 8.1 laptop.    :hurray:

 

I suspect that Sellers on eBay and Amazon who have new Windows 7 DVDs with a COA (License) very soon will be able to greatly increase their selling prices.

 

This is a Windows 7 Professional laptop and I installed LibreOffice 4.4 on it, which is free. You can download and install it and it's an office suite.

 

GL with your Refuribshed laptop!  Ours have not had any issues. The first one has been in service here for 15 months, this one for 12 months, and the latest one was delivered in May.

[FaithManor]

Thanks for the tip, Lanny! I will look into Libre.

[Liz CA]

Reg:  I plan to make "System Image" backups of our hard drives, onto an external USB hard drive that I thought would be delivered to our house today, but wasn't...  I am going to use two (2) free programs that run off a CD:, One "Clonezilla Live" is more complicated to use, and the other is "Redo Backup and Restore" which has a very friendly GUI. I believe both of them are based on the same Linux utility. They can be used to make "System Images" of  hard drives in Windows or Linux boxes and probably those of other operating systems.  I am going to make 2 "System Images" of each hard drive, and then hope and pray that when the day comes that we have a hard drive that is horribly corrupted, or, has failed, that I can Restore everything and get back to the day and hour when the "System Image" was made.  Backup everything you can and then pray that it goes well.  I don't know what a Surface 3 is (a tablet?) so I'm not sure how Windows 10 might work on that platform. GL

 

Lanny or anyone else in the know: From our previous computer tech at work I have learned that many computers have the ability to be restored to a certain point in time that you specify when you are taking that step. Example: Something went bad on my work computer and the tech walked me through restoring everything by going back a few days before the problem occurred. It worked fine - of course you lose any work done in the gap but still better than having no computer at all.

 

We never backed up anything or at least we did not work off any backup. Do we still need the backup (probably would be an added safety feature) or can I restore system settings from the built-in "Restore" function?

ETA: I am working with Windows 8.1.

[RegGuheert]

We never backed up anything or at least we did not work off any backup. Do we still need the backup (probably would be an added safety feature) or can I restore system settings from the built-in "Restore" function?

 

The restore points that Windows Update creates just before an update are useful mainly to allow you to "undo" updates which have gone terribly wrong.  We had one particular Windows update that crippled two of our Windows 8.1 computers earlier this year.  One was easily recovered using the method you mentioned and the other was not because the computer had come from the manufacturer with that feature turned off. Uggh.

 

But there are many other issues which are NOT addressed by this approach.  Here are a few:

 

1)  Hard disk failure.  This is, by far, the most common failure which occurs with today's computers.  Depending on the nature of the failure, you can lose only some of the data on the disk or all of it.

 

2)  Computer failure.  This could result from dropping on the ground or into water or could simply occur due to a product defect or wearout.  This was not a big deal in the past since it was easy enough to remove the hard drive and read all the important data off of it.  But some computers like the Microsoft Surface have much of the storage built into the computer, so a failure of the computer makes the data inaccessible.

 

3)  Accidental file deletion.  This is often the result of editing a file when you meant to create a copy first.  This issue is why we use both Dropbox and the "File History" feature in Windows 7.  (Windows 8.1 has a similar feature, but I do not find it very useable.)

 

4)  Fire or other disaster.  In this case, having the data backed up on a separate storage device is not enough.  You really need to have the data stored elsewhere if you want to recover it.

 

5)  Theft.  This is similar to 1) and 2) above combined, but with the added issue that someone might use your personal data for identity theft or other criminal purposes.  The main thing we do for this kind of issue is to only store personal data in the security of our home.  Portable devices like iPads are not used for important emails, etc.  (It's a bit of a Catch-22 with personal data:  it's not secure against fire if only stored at home, but it is more vulnerable to theft if stored elsewhere.)

 

Anyway, regarding Windows 10, my understanding is that Microsoft will allow you to roll back to your old operating system within one month of the upgrade.  In that regard, the approach you mention should work (assuming Windows 10 does not totally cripple your computer).

[Liz CA]

Thanks RegGuheert! This was very helpful. I am wondering if I need to subscribe to Carbonite or a similar service since I am one of those people who can work the software but know little of what makes it work.

[RegGuheert]

Thanks RegGuheert! This was very helpful. I am wondering if I need to subscribe to Carbonite or a similar service since I am one of those people who can work the software but know little of what makes it work.

 

I'm not a fan of paid services, but many corporations use them.  We use Dropbox and try to live within the 2.75GB limit that the service comes with (if someone invites you).  That's a bit tight and the reason why I am interested in learning more about Microsoft OneDrive (15GB).  It does appear that OneDrive has the file history feature that makes this type of storage particularly attractive.

 

Now that we each have Microsoft accounts, we may start using OneDrive and see how it works for us.

 

[Lanny]

Lanny or anyone else in the know: From our previous computer tech at work I have learned that many computers have the ability to be restored to a certain point in time that you specify when you are taking that step. Example: Something went bad on my work computer and the tech walked me through restoring everything by going back a few days before the problem occurred. It worked fine - of course you lose any work done in the gap but still better than having no computer at all.

 

We never backed up anything or at least we did not work off any backup. Do we still need the backup (probably would be an added safety feature) or can I restore system settings from the built-in "Restore" function?

ETA: I am working with Windows 8.1.

 

 

I believe Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 have a Restore capability in them and if/when one makes significant changes, it creates a Backup point that one can (hopefully) revert to, if there is a bad issue. However, I believe in the Computerworld article that was linked to, upthread, it said that in Windows 10 that is disabled. The default has that disabled...   What is Microsoft thinking?

 

Hopefully, tomorrow, we will receive a carton that contains among other things, a 2 TB external USB Hard Drive. They must be very busy in Colombian Customs in Bogota or it would have been delivered to our house yesterday. What am I planning to do with that hard drive? 

 

I am going to use it to store "System Image" backups. I will make those "System Images" with 2 free programs: (1) Clonezilla Live (which is harder to use) and (2) Redo Backup and Restore (which has a friendly GUI interface and is easier to use).  Both are based upon the same Linux utility. They can be used to make "System Images" of Windows or Linux boxes. The idea is that if a hard drive becomes horribly corrupted and the issue cannot be resolved, or, if the hard drive dies, one can Restore the latest "System Image" that was made, onto a new hard drive, of equal or larger capacity.  That would get one back to the most recent "System Image" but any programs installed after that, new data files, etc. would be lost.

 

Always, the Data files one has are THE most important files. Applications and Utilities can be reinstalled (time consuming, but doable) but the Data is the most valuable thing.   Data should be stored in the cloud (Dropbox, etc.) and also locally, in a removable hard drive, or on a network server.

[RegGuheert]

If you want to upgrade to Windows 10 for free right away, here are instructions from cNet explaining how to do it:  Jump the line and get Windows 10 right now.  I might do that with DS13's Surface 3, but I need to get the Windows 8.1 restore ISOs downloaded before I proceed.  (I tried to get those the other day, but the download failed.)

[Lanny]

If you want to upgrade to Windows 10 for free right away, here are instructions from cNet explaining how to do it:  Jump the line and get Windows 10 right now.  I might do that with DS13's Surface 3, but I need to get the Windows 8.1 restore ISOs downloaded before I proceed.  (I tried to get those the other day, but the download failed.)

 

 

GL with the DL. Possibly, because the Surface 3  HW is Microsoft, they will let you get the ISO, for Windows 8.1.  We don't have Microsoft HW and when I tried that, for Windows 7, awhile back, they had apparently discontinued allowing that.  

 

If the Surface 3 is like a Windows PC from another manufacturer,, there is probably a "Restore" partition on the hard drive. Partition D or E. The Refurbished laptops we have purchased from Blair (a Microsoft Authorized Refurbisher) do not come with Windows Installation DVDs and I believe that Microsoft now prohibits manufacturers (HP, Dell, etc.) and Authorized Refurbishers from providing anything other than a Windows Restore partition.  

 

Our carton with the External USB Hard Drive still shows to be in Colombian Customs in Bogota. It has been there since Sunday. Later this morning, I am going to call our Receiver/Forwarder and ask if they know what the problem is. The very long delay is highly unusual. As soon as we have the External Hard Drive, I will make "System Image" backups of the hard drives in the 4 boxes. I am going to do it with 2 programs on each hard drive: Clonezilla Live (harder to use) and Redo Backup and Restore (friendly GUI interface). Both are based on the same utility.  In the event we have a disaster, I would rather Restore a "System Image" and not begin at day one with the Windows Installation DVD, if possible. Fingers crossed that this will work properly, if needed!

 

GL with the Surface 3 going to Windows 10!

[RegGuheert]

GL with the DL. Possibly, because the Surface 3  HW is Microsoft, they will let you get the ISO, for Windows 8.1.  We don't have Microsoft HW and when I tried that, for Windows 7, awhile back, they had apparently discontinued allowing that. 

 

Microsoft has extensive support pages for their Surface computers.  If you have a Surface 3, you can download the ISO (or USB) recovery media for it here.  They require that you register your Surface's serial number under a Microsoft account in order to download the recovery files.

 

If the Surface 3 is like a Windows PC from another manufacturer,, there is probably a "Restore" partition on the hard drive. Partition D or E. The Refurbished laptops we have purchased from Blair (a Microsoft Authorized Refurbisher) do not come with Windows Installation DVDs and I believe that Microsoft now prohibits manufacturers (HP, Dell, etc.) and Authorized Refurbishers from providing anything other than a Windows Restore partition.

 

There are some recovery options available, but no "Recovery" partition like I see on other machines.  I suppose there simply isn't enough storage space available for that option (only 64GB total).  You can create a "Recovery Drive" on a USB stick, but it only requires 512MB of storage.  The recovery media I am downloading is 5GB!  I think that media allows me to restore back to the factory condition.  That's what I want.

 

Our carton with the External USB Hard Drive still shows to be in Colombian Customs in Bogota. It has been there since Sunday. Later this morning, I am going to call our Receiver/Forwarder and ask if they know what the problem is. The very long delay is highly unusual. As soon as we have the External Hard Drive, I will make "System Image" backups of the hard drives in the 4 boxes. I am going to do it with 2 programs on each hard drive: Clonezilla Live (harder to use) and Redo Backup and Restore (friendly GUI interface). Both are based on the same utility.  In the event we have a disaster, I would rather Restore a "System Image" and not begin at day one with the Windows Installation DVD, if possible. Fingers crossed that this will work properly, if needed!

 

I have a 2TB hard drive that I bought a week or so ago.  Since Microsoft is allowing me to download a Windows 10 ISO, I may simply put in the new drive and perform a clean install on this (my) computer.  It's worth a try, but I think the download only supports an upgrade type install.  We'll see.

 

GL with the Surface 3 going to Windows 10!

 

Thanks!  If I cannot do a completely clean install on my PC, then the Surface is the best candidate here for a clean install.  If any computer has been tested extensively with Windows 10 in Redmond it is the Microsoft Surfaces.

 

I'll update as I learn more, but it will take a while for my downloads to happen.  We do not have a particularly fast internet connection.  The Windows 10 download is only 9% done and the Surface Recovery ISO download is only 2.5% done. :tongue_smilie:

[RegGuheert]

Windows 10 Funny:  Something happened

 

I decided to run the tool from the Windows 10 Download Page on an old 32-bit Windows 7 computer that DS25 brought back to us after college.  I would like to use that computer for Windows 10 testing, but it refuses to offer the upgrade (since it has Windows 7 Enterprise installed, I suppose).  Anyway, when I ran the tool, I got the message that said, simply "Something happened".  Fortunately, there was smaller text below that to explain in more detail.  It also read, simply, "Something happened".  :lol:

 

Google tells me that this message is now making the rounds on the internet as a sort of "theme" for Windows 10:

 

Twitter: Congrats, @Microsoft, on setting a new standard for unhelpful error messages. This will never be topped.

 

Wired: Windows 10's 'Something happened' error is turning into a meme

 

Business Insider: Windows 10: Something Happened

 

Methinks they may have stolen that from Marcia Brady:  "Something suddenly came up."

[RegGuheert]

If you want to upgrade to Windows 10 for free right away, here are instructions from cNet explaining how to do it:  Jump the line and get Windows 10 right now.  I might do that with DS13's Surface 3, but I need to get the Windows 8.1 restore ISOs downloaded before I proceed.  (I tried to get those the other day, but the download failed.)

 

O.K.  So the Microsoft Windows 10 download tool worked perfectly, producing a 3GB ISO file (stupidly named Windows.iso) which I have burned onto a DVD-R.  Now I can (theoretically) upgrade any eligible computer I want to Windows 10! :sneaky2: The kids better guard their PCs!

 

Unfortunately, the Surface 3 Windows 8.1 Recovery ISO download failed again, so I will not be updating DS13s Surface today.  I've decided to upgrade a fresh install of Windows 7 which I put on a brand new hard disk and put that in my computer, leaving my current hard disk in complete safety outside of the computer.  If I like Windows 10, then I'll install all my stuff and migrate my files over (all the while keeping the old disk available to swap back in).

 

Wish me luck!

[Lady Florida.]

Microsoft has extensive support pages for their Surface computers.  If you have a Surface 3, you can download the ISO (or USB) recovery media for it here.  They require that you register your Surface's serial number under a Microsoft account in order to download the recovery files.

 

 

 

 

Ds has a Surface 3. We were just talking about the update today. I doubt he'll try to update between classes at school today, but he has a few hours so it's not completely out of the question. I'm going to text him and tell him not to do it until we can find out more.

[poppy]

I upgraded last night. It took about 20 minutes. The interface changes are not drastic, but I like all of them.  I really don't think this is a big deal.

[Jaz]

My ds upgraded from Windows 7 (when we bought his laptop we had 7 installed as we hated 8) and loves Windows 10.

[TranquilMind]

I'm glad I'm still on 7.  I've no plans to change at all.  I never liked 8 enough that I purposely avoided it when I got this computer last year.  I haven't looked at 10 at all nor see a need to do so until this computer dies (or hubby's dies).

How are you doing that?  I have 9, I think, and get constant reminders that my browser is outdated and I need to upgrade. 

I have Vista though and I heard that 10 doesn't work with it?  Older desktop here.  What do I do?  My computer just crashes a lot.  Shuts down all windows and restarts itself. 

[TranquilMind]

I'm glad I'm still on 7.  I've no plans to change at all.  I never liked 8 enough that I purposely avoided it when I got this computer last year.  I haven't looked at 10 at all nor see a need to do so until this computer dies (or hubby's dies).

How are you doing that?  I have 9, I think, and get constant reminders that my browser is outdated and I need to upgrade. 

I have Vista though and I heard that 10 doesn't work with it?  Older desktop here.  What do I do?  My computer just crashes a lot.  Shuts down all windows and restarts itself. 

[Lanny]

Before one even thinks about upgrading, they should check on the web site of the PC manufacturer, to see if the manufacturer thinks the Drivers, etc., are available for Windows 10.   I was curious and checked on the Dell.com Support web site this morning. Our 3 Dell Latitude E6400 laptops were made during 2008 - 2010.  Dell says that some things might not work. The Dell Inspiron 660s we ordered for DD from Dell Latin America, during October 2012, apparently will work if Windows 10 is installed.  And then, I wonder if the Epson Printer DD has will work under Windows 10. And, her Wacom Bamboo.

 

 

[Lanny]

How are you doing that?  I have 9, I think, and get constant reminders that my browser is outdated and I need to upgrade. 

I have Vista though and I heard that 10 doesn't work with it?  Older desktop here.  What do I do?  My computer just crashes a lot.  Shuts down all windows and restarts itself. 

 

There was no Windows 9. I believe you are referring to web browser version.  As I recall, Windows Vista was really bad. Windows 7, which followed Vista, is very good. If you have Windows Vista, the upgrade to Windows 10 is *not* free.  Also, your hardware might not work if you install Windows 10 (Drivers, Firmware, etc.).  

 

If your box is crashing, frequently, the first things I would do are:

 

(1) Verify that all fans are spinning when it is turned on (if it is a Desktop/Tower there are one or 2 fans in the Power Supply). There is a tiny fan on top of the CPU in desktops. I'm not sure if laptops have a fan on top of the CPU. I've never had to open one of our Dell laptops.

 

(2) Get Memtest86 which is the program everyone uses to test RAM (Memory). Run at least one complete pass. This is the URL for Memtest86 and it is a free download:  http://www.memtest86.com/

 

(3) Run non destructive (Read only) diagnostics on the hard drive. You can use Seatools for Windows, even if the hard drive is not a Seagate. Download free from: Seagate.com

 

NOTE: If your box is overheating it will shut down. Heat is very destructive for electronic components.

 

GL

[Arcadia]

Lanny,

No issues with my 2006 HP laptop AMD Turion64 chipset ATI graphics laptop so far after the win 10 upgrade.

The new web browser is smoother in performance.

ETA:
That laptop went from OEM win XP to generic win 8.1 and now to win 10 home edition. We skip win 7 and win 8 because we didn't like it.

Cortana on the Nokia phone wasn't useful so unlikely that I would bother with it.

[Mergath]

I upgraded my older HP (five years old or so) from 7 to 10. No major issues. It was running a little slow, so I upgraded the drivers to the Windows 8 versions (since they don't have drivers specific to Windows 10 that I can see) and that seems to have fixed it.  The only thing I've found that doesn't work so great is the new VLC for Modern Windows that you can download from the Store. I tried to watch a video on it, and holy suck, Batman. I'll stick with my regular VLC Player.

 

Cortana is fun. The voice recognition seems to work a lot better than in Google Now. I've had a lot of fun thinking up silly questions to ask her, like if she knows Alexa. :P Dd likes to make her tell jokes. Once I can get her on my Android phone and I can have her give me reminders when I get to certain places, I'll probably use that a lot. I tried that feature with some other program (I think Google Now) and it was six months late reminding me to buy milk.

[Truscifi]

Dh upgraded my 1 year old HP laptop yesterday. No issues so far. As pp said, only minor interface changes. It's nice to not straight to the desktop again.

[Loowit]

I upgraded my computer yesterday before I was gone for the day, so I didn't get a chance to spend much time on it.  It seems to work fine, the upgrade went smoothly and I haven't had any issues.  All of the kids upgraded their computers and DH upgraded his work laptop and home computer last night.  It will be interesting to see how it goes in the next week or so, but so far I am happy with it.

[RegGuheert]

Posting this from Windows 10 on my laptop:

 

Before one even thinks about upgrading, they should check on the web site of the PC manufacturer, to see if the manufacturer thinks the Drivers, etc., are available for Windows 10.   I was curious and checked on the Dell.com Support web site this morning. Our 3 Dell Latitude E6400 laptops were made during 2008 - 2010.  Dell says that some things might not work. The Dell Inspiron 660s we ordered for DD from Dell Latin America, during October 2012, apparently will work if Windows 10 is installed.  And then, I wonder if the Epson Printer DD has will work under Windows 10. And, her Wacom Bamboo.

 

I don't think you need Windows 10 drivers to be available in order to upgrade to Windows 10.  Why not?  Because it appears the upgrade process uses Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 drivers and runs them in the in the Windows emulator called WOW or WOW64.  This allows Windows 10 to upgrade many old machines without the need for driver support from the hardware vendors.

 

I believe this because I have done two things in the last 24 hours:

 

1)  I did a clean install of Windows 10 on my nearly-six-year-old Windows 7 laptop.  After the install, I only had default video drivers and as a result could only choose screen resolutions of 800x600 or 1024x768 even though the native resolution is 1366x768.  It looked awful!  Windows update did not find any drivers for my display, so it was stuck there.

 

2)  Next I did a Windows 10 upgrade instead of a clean install on the same machine, starting from the same condition as before.  This time everything in the computer works perfectly, including the video drivers.  The Windows 7 drivers which were there before the upgrade are apparently being used within Windows 10.

 

This does make me wonder what happens if there is a crash and the system needs to be restored.  Where will Windows 10 get drivers for the display in that case?

[Arcadia]

 

1)  I did a clean install of Windows 10 on my nearly-six-year-old Windows 7 laptop.  After the install, I only had default video drivers and as a result could only choose screen resolutions of 800x600 or 1024x768 even though the native resolution is 1366x768.  It looked awful!  Windows update did not find any drivers for my display, so it was stuck there.

...

This does make me wonder what happens if there is a crash and the system needs to be restored.  Where will Windows 10 get drivers for the display in that case?

 

My 2006 laptop is using the ATI mobility Radeon 200 series chipset and is running fine on the 1680x1050 setting.  I haven't tried piping the VGA output to my 32" TV yet which is what I usually do for the NOVA videos on PBS website.  I think win 7 was actually the one that gave us the most grief over graphics drivers for ATI.

 

My hubby's first impression after installing win 10 was that it look very much like the Linux desktop.

[RegGuheert]

I upgraded last night from a clean Windows 7 installation.  This installation was restored from the factory disks and fully updated, but no personal information has been installed.  Here are my thoughts:

 

The upgrade process:

 

Starting from the Windows 10 Media Creation Tool it took several hours to download Windows 10 (during primetime) followed by about 2 hours of time installing the software.  (Windows 10 installed an unknown amount of updates during the install which took about 30 minutes.)  After the upgrade, I ran Window update, which found and installed four (five?) updates.  That took another hour or so.

 

The Good:

 

- The upgrade process went very smoothly.  It simply worked, with very little difficulty or user input.

- As virtually everyone who has tried Windows 10 agrees, the new interface is a very nice melding of Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 features.  It is comfortable and I like that I have some features of Windows 8.1 without the PC having two completely different personalities.

- Performance seems fine.  Some things have been a bit (or even more than a bit) slow on first use, but everythings seems fine now.

- I really like having access to the Store!  I find this to be one of the most attractive features of Windows 8.1.  Hopefully in the future it will contain a lot of universal apps rather than the Windows 8 "Metro" apps which are there now.  At least Windows 10 runs those "Metro" apps in their own windows.

 

The Bad:

 

- At this point, it appears to me that there are only two options WRT my Microsoft account:  1)  Local only (which is what you get by default from a Windows 7 upgrade, since that was all you could do in Windows 7 and 2) Always signed into your Microsoft account.  What is missing is the third option that was in Windows 8.1:  Log into your Microsoft account individually for each application.  This could be the deal breaker for me.  Windows 8.1 was tolerable since I could have a local account and use my Microsoft account only for the Store or whatever else I needed.  This omission could be THE dealbreaker for me.

- It's not a big deal, but the clock was off by three hours, even though all of the settings were correct and it was set to update it automatically.  I had to turn off the automatic feature, set the clock and then turn the automatic feature back on to get the right time.

 

The Ugly:

 

- The default "privacy" settings are over-the-top ridiculous.  Virtually every default setting has all of your information open to all comers.  If you have Windows 10 and have not already done it, I recommend that you click Start->Settings->Privacy and go through all of the many, many settings and decide whether you REALLY want ALL of your information flapping in the breeze as they are after the upgrade.  (And, yes, this is true even if you did NOT choose the "Express" settings and set things yourself.  The fact is that there are MANY settings which were NOT offered during the upgrade.)

 

The Bottom Line for me:

 

I don't have a bottom line, yet.  So far I'm still playing with Windows 10 with none of my personal information installed on the computer.  If I can get past Microsoft's attempt to be as flagrant about privacy violations as Google has been and actually put some of my information on here, I will probably like this upgrade.  If not, I'll just end up sticking my Windows 7 hard drive back in and staying put until the dust clears on their privacy grab.

 

Hopefully this upgrade did not deactivate my Windows 7 key.  Otherwise, I'll have to go through the process of Start->Settings->Update & Security->Go Back to Windows 7.  Apparently I have 30 days to decide on that in any case.

[RegGuheert]

My 2006 laptop is using the ATI mobility Radeon 200 series chipset and is running fine on the 1680x1050 setting.

 

But I will assume you did a normal upgrade rather than a clean install (since you have to jump through hoops to do a clean install of Windows 10 on an old computer these days).  If you didn't download a Windows.iso file and burn your own Windows 10 install DVD and then boot from that DVD in order to do the upgrade, then you didn't do a clean install.

 

I definitely recommend against purchasing Windows 10 to do a clean install on any Windows Vista or older PCs, since you likely will not have the drivers you need.

 

[TranquilMind]

There was no Windows 9. I believe you are referring to web browser version.  As I recall, Windows Vista was really bad. Windows 7, which followed Vista, is very good. If you have Windows Vista, the upgrade to Windows 10 is *not* free.  Also, your hardware might not work if you install Windows 10 (Drivers, Firmware, etc.).  

 

If your box is crashing, frequently, the first things I would do are:

 

(1) Verify that all fans are spinning when it is turned on (if it is a Desktop/Tower there are one or 2 fans in the Power Supply). There is a tiny fan on top of the CPU in desktops. I'm not sure if laptops have a fan on top of the CPU. I've never had to open one of our Dell laptops.

 

(2) Get Memtest86 which is the program everyone uses to test RAM (Memory). Run at least one complete pass. This is the URL for Memtest86 and it is a free download:  http://www.memtest86.com/

 

(3) Run non destructive (Read only) diagnostics on the hard drive. You can use Seatools for Windows, even if the hard drive is not a Seagate. Download free from: Seagate.com

 

NOTE: If your box is overheating it will shut down. Heat is very destructive for electronic components.

 

GL

Thanks, Lanny, for the info!

[RegGuheert]

Thanks, Lanny, for the info!

 

Lanny didn't mention it, but if you have a laptop, then definitely get a can of air and blow out the fans.  Simply find where the air comes out (or SHOULD come out) of your computer and blow IN there with canned air.  I do this with the fans running so that the dust is blown out of the computer.  This eliminate the dust which forms on the heatsink fins and blocks the flow of air.

 

[Arcadia]

But I will assume you did a normal upgrade rather than a clean install (since you have to jump through hoops to do a clean install of Windows 10 on an old computer these days).  If you didn't download a Windows.iso file and burn your own Windows 10 install DVD and then boot from that DVD in order to do the upgrade, then you didn't do a clean install.

 

Hubby burned the iso file and did a clean install.  My old HP laptop has a DVD writer. We were too impatient to wait for the normal upgrade.