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It's a bizarre situation: Microsoft offers a free upgrade to the latest operating system to its users - and they just say no! Or more precisely: They do upgrade but not in droves as Microsoft had planned. Windows 10 was supposed to run on more than one billion computers soon, that was the goal. At the beginning of 2016, roughly 200 million have installed it. And then Yang Yuanqing, Lenovo's current CEO who used to be a reliable ally, made the situation worse by openly criticizing the many issues especially users of older machines were facing with Windows 10. But Windows 10 still has a lot to offer and runs, to sum up the many tests, quite smoothly. Read on to learn about what you can expect from Windows 10, who really needs the new operating system and what risks are involved!
What Windows 10 has to offer
Let's look at the highlights first: Number one - the return of the start menu - will have many breathe a sigh of relief. Yes, the tiles are still there but everything feels familiar. A new addition is Cortana, the personal assistant that listens to your voice and can handle appointments, navigation and web searches for you. For this to work, she needs to know a lot about you and have access to various system areas, a thorn in the flesh of privacy advocates. The new Edge browser looks nice, runs fast - and also happily collects data so make sure to get your privacy settings right. Nice: Multiple (virtual) desktops allow you to assign your windows to dedicated work spaces (work, private matters, gaming) to keep things organized.The boundaries between devices are blurred - if you're using a Windows cellphone, an XBOX or Windows tablet. You can now use apps on all of your devices, run an app on one device and have it send its output to a different one. Gamers can get more gaming performance out of their hardware with DirectX 12, certainly a welcome benefit to that target group. A new email application with news support has also been added, both very usable and comfortable to use. As far as overall performance is concerned, Windows 10 launches faster, performs slightly better than previous versions and supports USB 3.0 out of the box. Small caveat for Media Center fans: That program is now gone.
Data privacy - the sore spot
The release of Windows 10 met with a lot of distrust. It was quickly called a data hog and, indeed, Windows 10 phones home a lot when the express settings are used. The reason for this is that many new features such as Cortana or the handwriting and voice recognition need to "get to know" you first to work properly. If you don't plan on using these features you may either adjust the privacy-related Windows settings manually or use third-party applications such as Ashampoo® AntiSpy for Windows 10. But make no mistake, Microsoft's privacy statement is pretty clear in terms of the commercial use of your data. It openly states that data will be used to personalize ads and make them more relevant to you. Once it became known that your location could also be determined (either using your IP address or GPS, if available) discussions heated up a little more. That Windows has always been collecting usage data (but never to this extent) in the past didn't really help to defuse the situation. Since this is a complex topic it deserves a separate article that will arrive soon, I promise.
Windows 10 upgrade risks
Since there are no official figures I've pored over a dozen forum posts, hunting for problem descriptions and calls for help on this topic. My estimate is that 90% of users did not experience any notable issues, 5% had to deal with (solvable) driver issues and the rest were faced with serious problems. From a computer scientist's view, this is a respectable achievement, a mammoth project like this will never work out flawlessly. But let's not forget that each case in which a PC no longer boots up may still pose a catastrophe for the affected individual. Microsoft and various web sites provide users with hints and advice but a few users were still doomed to reinstall their systems. I chose to backup relevant data to an external hard drive for the 5 upgrades I did (they went well), just in case. It may only be a minority that experiences serious issues with the upgrade but problems do happen.
Who should upgrade
According to Microsoft, everyone. If you ignore the marketing buzz, things will start to look different. Sure, if you really need all the latest features you should definitely upgrade. Then again, I know many users that love Windows 7 and simply don't want them. Why should they install Windows 10 when Windows 7 will still be supported by Microsoft until January 2020? Future-proofness may be a reason but, let's be honest, nobody knows what the IT landscape will look like 3 years from now, it's all just speculation. Windows 8.1 is a special case, some love it and many hate the dominant tiles and the missing start menu. The latter may find salvation in the more traditional look of Windows 10. Gaming enthusiasts that want to profit from DirectX 12 for faster and better graphics also don't have a choice, Windows 10 has a monopoly in this area. And to all those who are disappointed: Is your current system unstable and annoying? Here's your chance for redemption. Everyone else can choose more or less freely since Microsoft has began putting more pressure on users.
The forced upgrade
I can understand Microsoft, they believe in Windows 10 and they want to minimize support efforts for older versions. They also want to make money which is why they're pressuring users to upgrade. I get it. But if this means silently downloading the upgrade in the background or hiding it among essential Windows updates things start are starting to get ugly. Users have the right to refuse the upgrade. They might have purchased an older version and it's their decision to continue using it even if that might collide with Microsoft's interests. And they might have good reason to do so. Maybe they're using an application that is incompatible with Windows 10 or rely on (mostly older) hardware for which there is and won't be a Windows 10 compatible driver? Or (most importantly) perhaps they simply do not want to upgrade? Whether it's the fear of upgrade risks or just fondness of the current system (yes, that does happen!), Microsoft has to respect that. And if they don't, they'd better start selling annual licenses or turn Windows into a subscription model, which may be what they're going for in the long run. At least, that would be a transparent approach for buyers.
If you're still running Windows XP or Windows Vista, here's a tip for you: You can obtain a valid Windows 7 license for as little as $20 on Ebay or through other online sources that will even make you eligible for the free Windows 10 Upgrade.
Now, it's your turn!
What I'd like to know: What are your experiences? Did you upgrade, did you experience any issues?
I have upgraded one PC out of a potential seven in our home. All the rest are (4) W7 (1) XP and (1) Vista. The one I chose to upgrade was a Windows 8 i7 64 bit laptop which you would think would be a "no brainer." Also, all our W7 PC's downloaded W10 in the background pushing us over our monthly ISP cap and costing $$. The upgrade was terrible with the laptop running noticeably slower and some programs stopped working or needed to be reinstalled. I finally tried a clean install and while somewhat faster it isn't as good as W7 and the hard drive is working away even when the PC is idle so what is it doing? Sure it boots faster to a desktop image but don't try to do anything until it's fully finished booting - smoke and mirrors!
I've tried to upgrade from Win7 Pro but usually get a cryptic message with a number which I've chased down and ended up in Microsoft eventually downloaded other programs that are supposed to sort it out to no avail. I've spent quite a few hours on this , and checking out forums and when I find something similar that has worked for someone , and when I try it , no go. Very frustrating. I find it hard to believe that the failed attempts can't have real messages that can be acted on by the average person, instead of a number. Why can't this software be self diagnosing and sort the problems that arise by itself. Btw I am running a laptop with an i3, 4GB mem. and 256MB SSD . I keep all my software & drivers up to date and all the security fixes that will take. I also ran the suitability software and it came back all was good. Beam me up Scotty!
Peter
Dont install W10 on your P.C.
First of all, we have to admit that Microsoft is not the first to collect so. big data. Before him for a long time something makes Android, iOS, ultimately, Facebook, Google and other protagonists. Microsoft just catching he missed.
At this point in time I do not want to upgrade.
I understand that the upgrade is free because MS plans to make money from the data that Windows collects on the users of Win 10.
Some of the new "features" are there to collect this data. After all MS is a business and every company is in business to make money.
I also understand that other operating system companies also use this business model. But none of them were trying to force me to use their operating system.
Penguins are starting to look much better.
Firstly, I'm, 77 years old and have the right to be a grumpy old man, as you may guess I am, from what follows:
I, am not an expert, (a drip under pressure) but what I call a fairly well informed user! I have been working with computers since 1984. Starting with Apple Macintosh OS 1.0 to date that I still use. then I found it necessary to start using DOS and then windows and have been following both Mac and MS systems until now And I have even ventured into using linux-mint.
I have reached a point where I don't have the will to learn how to make all the new OS gadgets work. I just want to be able to enjoy using my computer to do the things I like to play with. I don't need adverts Tailored to stimulate my desire to buy more junk I don't need or want the dam thing trying to guess what I want when I talk to it.
I don't need all the new gadgets, smart phones, smart watches, tablets or game systems like Xbox etc. People are relying to much on the new technology in their every day life. What happens when the lights go out???
I, for one, am not happy with the concept of upgrading to OS 10. I'm still using XP and its still the best OS MS has produced so far. Why in the world, other that the all mighty dollar, would some one try and fix something that's not broken.
I would be quite happy to pay a reasonable subscription fee Knowing that I wouldn't have to get a whole new suit of software when ever MS changed OS.
Each and every time MS puts a new OS on the market it is never ready and has all sorts of issues. Remember Windows 95 I do and it was a mess to start with. Then as soon as they got it working they changed to XP. That had a few problems but they got that fixed and it was running nicely and has very few problems since.
Since then there has been a number of new OS But I have never tried any of them due to the problems they presented on there launched.
My thoughts are that by developing a standard OS that works and runs smoothly is the key. Then build modulus for all the additions that users might want. that will run off the OS. That would provide each user with the ability to add items that thy want to use and not overload the OS with things that gobble RAM and disk space just by being there even if you don't use them.
Finally I ask why doesn't MS pay attention to the users and their needs. The one thing I have observed over the years is that programmers tend not to pay attention to the user as to what they want but are determined to their way in spite of user needs.
I think I need to stop my rant before I get to far off the subject...
If Microsoft Windows ever goes to "Annual Subscription" I will never upgrade. I will stick with my Win7. Just as I have with my Office 2010.
Think about about it, all of these subscriptions to this and that are adding up. How much are YOU paying in monthly and yearly subscriptions?
This includes media subscriptions like Pandora, Netflix, HULU and a host of others. Antivirus subscriptions.
And a host of others that charge a usage fee.
Further to my comment on W10, I thought I would also add my thoughts, comments etc on previous windows from my past. Lets start with 3.1, well up until then i was using a program from an electronics hobby supplier, at that time whilst into electronics having built a ZX81 an having taught before that found the 3.1 no better than the hobbycraft software and in some ways not as good, then came 98. Mmmm well it was a joke really so much so that MS realised its problems and came out with '98. What a revelation! This was very good for its time and really showed what was to come. Then we had XP. XP really should have been developed and not just replaced. I personally went to Vista. Now a lot of bad has been written about Vista, yet mine never crashed, ran almost anything, was sensible to use and was easy for non techies to play with. Some idiot then came out with 7. This was a pain to use, baulked at many older programs, required a techy to make it run older stuff. Frequently it gave a blue screen and was extremely susceptible to virii. I converted many to back work on Vista. Then out came 8. Many clever but in retrospect silly computer manufacturers made the user HAVE to update from them only. No real back up, just screwed your machine when the supplier thought he had had enough of supporting the machine which then required the owner after even a very short time of finding the various drivers for the hardware and installing "something else" be it 8.1 or XP or Vista. And now we have 10. Frankly the most stable recent program was vista, not the fastest, nor the most up to date with clever things, but reliable. So, if you want a stable, still supported, runs almost anything right back from the mid 1990's then Vista is it. If you are clever, like to be a techy, can invest in a new machine as a thing to use but accept as the machine liable to problems use 10 and have a machine using Vista as a back up.
I forgot the old adage to let others try new software and upgrade only after many of the issues have been corrected. As soon as W10 was available to W7 users I followed the Microsoft recommendation, upgraded and for four weeks (until it was just too late to go back t W7) all was fine. Then in mid-December it failed with 0xc000021A error. All that worked to get a working PC was a systems restore. Whenever I power down the PC the next restart gets the BSOD again and I have to use a systems restore from a day or so before. As such I just cannot afford to power down the PC. Does anyone know how to get back to W7 from here?
I upgraded from Windows 7 on 3 computers. Two of which I had to re-install twice before getting them to work properly. The biggest issue for me is no video codecs and having to download VLC media player to get things working and even there are sound issues with music files and video sound buzzing which never happened on windows 7.
I also found I had to get rid of Comodo security suite as it seemed to take forever to boot up and run properly. Mozilla firefox also takes forever to run. So non microsoft programs are problematic on this system which all ran fine before the upgrade.
Sven ,
I experienced pretty severe problems after the upgrade. Office 2013, Word in specific was the worst affected, it would not save anywhere except C:\ or D:\. Office 2013 outlook crashed incessantly and when I used the CAT tool, all other software was blamed for the errors.
After many other niggly issues on my other installed software, I finally reset and reinstalled windows 10 with user settings kept intact. This fixed everything and I have not had any problems again.
I had similar issues with the Windows 8 upgrade and similarly only after I reset and installed clean with user settings saved it also stopped giving me problems.
One very frustrating issue after upgrading to 10 as with 8 was that support was seriously lacking and I had to figure things out myself.
Windows 10 now purrs like a kitten and I am a very happy customer.
My advice to anyone upgrading is to do a reset after a 10 upgrade the minute you start experiencing problems, I struggled on for months hoping that windows updates would fix the problem. I could have saved myself a lot of frustration by doing the reset sooner.
After all is said and done, I am now a very happy Windows 10 user and glad I did upgrade.
Apart for Windows 7 which is super stable and a very solid WIN OS version, if you like new things like I do then moving to windows 10 will be a very exciting adventure.
Diederik Jordaan (South Africa)
Did an upgrade to Windows 10 on my older Toshiba laptop. didn't take me long to reload the laptop back to 7. With 10 I had no cd drive working or none of the buttons for internet, dvd player or volume control worked. Had other issues and the Toshiba website had no new drivers that were compatible with the 10 operating system. Wish the little Windows 10 logo in the right side bar would go away and quit trying to download the 10 operating system on my laptop as an update. Hide it in the upgrade but it continues to pop up as an update. Do I trust Microsoft, NO since they don't give something away unless they want to gather something from you.
Yes I upgraded and I love it. It's the best since XP. I only have one small issue but its very minor and I'm sure it will be fixed soon.
I am still running WIN 7. I keep getting free upgrade offer from MS but where is "NO THANK YOU" button as with the offers I receive from other companies? I am running a lot of graphic and 3D modelling programmes. Where can I find whether they are compatible? What I learned so far there is a lot to benefit MS but I am still searching what's in for me. New features of WIN 10 are not attractive enough for me. My internet connection is also very slow due to my location. It looks that MS would take all my limited bandwidth. Can you buy a disk?
I believe that the majority of people who have not yet upgraded to Windows 10 from version 7 are like myself. We have grown to know the idisyncracies of Windows 7 and don't want to go through a whole new learning process just yet. Furthermore, Microsoft are being very secretive about the future cost of Windows 10. Once they have captured their one billion "customers" with the "Free Upgrade" carrot, what annual fee could they unreasonably charge? Maybe, it will just be $50 (or £50 in rip-off Britain) or it could be $150 (£150) or more!
If they had the decency to come clean and say what the annual licence fee will be I, for one, would give the upgrade far more consideration.
I found 2 major problems with this.
1. It takes so long to download. I did it overnight and took over 10 hours. IT USED UP MOST OF MY BROADBAND ALLOWANCE
2. It takes so long to install that I gave up
First few times the upgrade would not go through. It started and then stated something like 'cannot install at this time' or something. Finally installed after 5 or 6 of these episodes. All along I was not caring whether the OS would actually install. As a matter of fact, I I was fine with Win7. The installation went smoothly. It took somewhere around 2 hours, maybe a little longer. Other than some aesthetic changes, it seems minimally different than Win7. It does boot up faster, so that's a plus. There are issues where the computer freezes when the updates (which aren't as user friendly as in the past) are running in the background and I have to do a cold shut down. But it doesn't seem to affect the subsequent boot up (like, 'Windows encountered a problem shutting down, would you like to . . . ?'). All in all I'm pleased. I made sure my external hardware would be compatible before making the plunge, backed up my important files and made sure I could reinstall any necessary programs. My only complaint is that I would like more control over Windows updates. Other than that, I'm a fan.
My dealer updated the laptop from 8.1 to 10 but it is hardly used as I prefer the desktop on Windows 7. He suggested not updating this as many programs were unlikely to work, especially as the HP machine has built-in Freeview TV that uses the Windows Media Centre via a comprehensive remote control supplied with the computer.
I had a few issues when trying to upgrade,but got sorted out in the end.Since then,I have been very happy with it.Had a problem with printer driver,but managed to get that sorted as well.So all in all,I like it.And I won't be returning to win7.
I have installed windows 10 on all 5 of my computers but I cloned the original systems onto separate hard drives so I can stick them back in my computers if need be. My laptop runs very slowly when updating in windows 10 I will probably go back to Windows 7. We should be able to dictate when we want to download updates not have Microsoft dictate to us. Also our privacy should be respected by Microsoft they should not be able to collect information off our computers without our permission. I have turned off all the items that I could find which they had turned on to collect info off my computers but some things they can turn back on without permission so one has to keep checking the settings this should not be the case. These are my main issues I could keep on but will end it here.
I bought my little Toshiba laptop 2 years ago in March, with 8.1 pre-installed, then did the 8.1 upgrade. Decided to go to W10 when it became available. I've had no problems whatsoever. Everything works as it should, but then I don't do any fancy stuff. I used Firefox and Thunderbird with W8.1 so kept using them instead of what MS offered. Also installed Ashampoo Anti-spy - essential in my book. W10 loads up quickly, about 16 secs to lock screen then another 9 or so until the desktop appears. I've been using Windows since pre-95, and this is the best, even better than my wife's W7 (which is pretty good).
This may be a little long as this is the geeks viewpoint , but here we go,
Computers are a hobby (not gaming), my first was an MSX then an Amiga 1200 (which I still have) and then I got into PC's when the O/S was DOS.
I still have all the major Microsoft O/S's that they produced and have at the moment have around 12 working computers running XP, Vista, Win7, Win8.1 and Win10, I also have the two Win Phones, the second able to upgrade to Win10, but have not had the time to upgrade it (my main use phone is an Android Galaxy Note 2, Microsoft can't get anywhere near it).
I have at the moment have one tower, one tablet, 2 laptops and am now in the process of upgrading a Dell OptiPlex 7010
Win7 Pro 64bit to Win10.
I first bought Win8.0 five minutes after it was released and about an hour after that you could not visually tell between it and Win7, I had tweaked it and added Sart8 to get rid of the tiles and reinstate the Start Menu (not a tile in sight).
Now before you all nod off I will start to get to the point.
Microsoft does not have the most efficient of Customer Service departments and I have made many a complaint to them when trying to get things sorted with Win10 installations and landed up curing the problems myself with help from other geeks on forums (after installing Win10 on my tablet the display was always up the wrong way and Microsoft were less than useless).
Bottom line.
As far as I am concerned Windows has always been the best O/S and with each incarnation it has got better and faster, but, if you want to upgrade from one system to another expect some problems along the way.
My Win10 machines once installed and set up are faster and better Win7 look alike machines and nobody will convince me otherwise!
Win7 will cease to be supported in 2020 and until July Win 10 is free, if you install it, tweak it so it is the way you want it (you can turn off most of the information gathering parts) you will not be disappointed!
By the way I have tried Linux in it's various guises and just don't like it.
Tony.
My 2 machines that were running Windows 7 & Windows 8 and both upgraded without a hitch. It was more like a big patch than any ordeal. After new operating installations in the past involved a lot of reinstalling, this - time that was gladly not the case. Everything that was installed on my machine worked just like it did before without 1 reinstall, I have to say that was awesome. Setting the privacy settings was easy as well. It all went smooth.
The first attempt for Windows 7 took 7 hours and then I was told I have to run a whole lot of diagnostics, downloads and repairs, which I did.
The second try still did not work, and I had used 7GB of my data allowance, and everyone (except one computer guru) who was normal user said it was of no advantage and they were fed up, so I gave up - but they still keep sending pestering pop ups.
I used to like Microsoft, but now they are trying to harass me into this, it must be too good for them and not for me.
Eventually I succumbed to the invitation to install Windows 10. DISASTER!!! A large part of my keyboard stopped working. Trying to uninstall Windows 10 was very difficult until I found a small case instruction at the bottom of a page to uninstall it. A few days later, having installed and uninstalled a trial Norton program that did not work, my computer crashed. Nothing worked to retrieve my system. I was informed that two routines in the BOOT! had been corrupted. That meant also that my recovery discs were useless. I made a fresh start from scratch, re-installing those many Ashampoo programs that I had been using - from my account. Bless Ashampoo!! One of the first e-mails I received was from Toshiba informing me that if my computer model was not on the list included below then it was not compatible with Windows 10. My Satellite C670 was not on the list. Too little and too late. Why was this warning sent out so late after Windows 10 had been inviting me and millions of others to download and why did Windows not issue a warning? A Lesson here for me (and others) to learn. I award 5+ *****stars to Ashampoo for providing the list, downloads and passwords for my many purchased Ashampoo programs. This enabled me to get going again very quickly.
I had only one problem when upgrading to Windows 10.
I have two identical DVD built in drives both Sony and the only difference is the serial numbers. Windows 10 only found ONE and so one drives is now useless. I have tried many times to get it recognized but with no avail.
Can anyone help?