Should I upgrade to Windows 10?

**TER-OR** · 07-11-2016, 05:25 AM

My general purpose rig has been running W10 for many months now, it is good.

I did upgrade my game rig a while ago, but one older game won't run correctly so I reverted. My wife has since stopped playing that game so I'll probably re-upgrade it this week.

Not a Number · 07-11-2016, 06:45 AM

Originally posted by Racer X 69

Free?

Operating system software typically costs $150 to $200.

Smells fishy to me.

I know, Microsoft is filthy rich, and giving away millions of dollars in software likely won't hurt their bottom line.

But.

There has to be a financial benefit, or the software giant wouldn't be doing this.

There won't be free upgrades after the end of the month. At this time you have to purchase a license to do a clean install unless you do a upgrade install register the mobo signature of the computer first.

The uncrippled versions of the apps and many of the cloud services in Windows 10 are not free or you have to register and put up with offers from Microsoft and affiliates. Give the razor away for free - make money on the blades.

reeftool · 07-11-2016, 08:13 AM

Originally posted by Racer X 69

I know, Microsoft is filthy rich, and giving away millions of dollars in software likely won't hurt their bottom line.

But.

There has to be a financial benefit, or the software giant wouldn't be doing this.

There is a huge financial benefit because in the near future, they will only have to update and support one version of Windows. Maintaining updates for multiple versions of Windows for X number of years is very costly. Getting as many people as possible using Windows 10 now keeps them in the Windows family. It's a good move. Also, hardware has matured in the past few years to the point that it's possible to have a single OS running on lots of different aged computers. By having the forced updates, they will also be forcing users to update to new computers because as they keep updating for newer hardware, they will be dropping support for older machines. They are looking to the future. Besides, in the past, the overwhelming majority of users always upgraded their Windows version when they upgraded their computer. XP lasted forever and people kept their computers way too long. Microsoft now has the ability to "turn off" our older computers with an update that doesn't support certain hardware, forcing us to buy new ones. Not that I think Microsoft would do such a thing.

I'll be updating to Windows 10 when I replace my 5 and 6 year old computers later this year. At this point, they're on borrowed time anyhow. The motherboard in my desktop is Vista era and was bought on sale and I had issues in the beginning running Windows 7. I'm not even thinking of running Windows 10 on it. Besides, I want the benefit of USB 3, SSD's, etc that I don't have now. While it's probably possible to upgrade some features, it really won't be anywhere near as good as a new build.

DeadJohn · 07-11-2016, 09:50 AM

I shifted my desktop and laptop to Windows 10 (from 7) with positive experiences. For a straight upgrade, software and device drivers do not have to be reinstalled. The user interface is very similar to Win 7.

Desktop: I went through some convoluted steps because I transferred a Win 7 license from an old PC to a new PC I built. I cloned my old SSD to new SSD, did a "sysprep" on the new SSD, then booted the new PC with that clean copy of Win 7. Upgraded to Win 10 immediately after and installed all the device drivers for my new hardware.

Laptop: I just took the upgrade plunge to Win 10 last week. I had one seeming lockup during the upgrade process, but a hard restart got things to proceed. It's a Dell laptop and all my old device drivers either worked as-is or seamlessly updated to new versions. In fact, my WiFi is working better: it used to require AC power in order to recognize password protected networks (public networks were okay on battery power), but the Win 10 upgrade fixed that flaw.

My only software that proved incompatible was a very old copy Acronis True Image. There's an inexpensive update available but I'm temporarily using Win 10 backup tools while considering cloud backup solutions.

Racer X 69 · 07-11-2016, 11:22 AM

Originally posted by Not a Number

There won't be free upgrades after the end of the month. At this time you have to purchase a license to do a clean install unless you do a upgrade install register the mobo signature of the computer first.

The uncrippled versions of the apps and many of the cloud services in Windows 10 are not free or you have to register and put up with offers from Microsoft and affiliates. Give the razor away for free - make money on the blades.

That was my point.

Free milk from a cow is never free.

And there has to be a reason that Microsoft is pushing this.

**Ex Finn.** · 07-11-2016, 03:58 PM

Originally posted by reeftool

Besides, in the past, the overwhelming majority of users always upgraded their Windows version when they upgraded their computer. XP lasted forever and people kept their computers way too long.

Originally posted by reeftool

Besides, I want the benefit of USB 3, SSD's, etc that I don't have now.

That was me until my XP mobo finally gave up the ghost. Did a clean install with new HW in my old desktop, two SSD`s 1TB and 2TB spinners, using USB3 external drives and love them, pretty fast. Thought about upgrading the wife`s win 7 laptop but decided that it is too old to bother with.

pakinjapan · 07-11-2016, 04:48 PM

Originally posted by LeDave

...I have Windows 8.1 and I don't know! Your opinions are what I need, talk away!

I upgrade 2 of my Win8 laptop to WIn10 may be a month before it available for Japanese market. I couldn't stand 8. And it was a right decision. Another 3 Win7 laptop was upgraded almost a year later. Win 7 to Win 10 doesn't improve much in term of performance but I got a cleaner and refreshing looks UI. Win 8 to Win 10 is a huge improvement in...everything for me.

do an image backup of your system + make sure you don't have work save on the OS drive before the upgrade. And just let Windows do its job.
then run a disk clean up after the upgrade. many website offer a short tutorial for that. you should also check out "Apps & features" in windows10 and remove any unnecessary per-installed app on your system.

Wheatfield · 07-11-2016, 07:21 PM

Originally posted by LeDave

Hey guys, we all have until July 29th to install the new Windows 10. I was wondering how many of you did download it or panning to download it. And what is your OS that you upgraded from or what is it now before you decide to upgrade?

I have Windows 8.1 and I don't know! Your opinions are what I need, talk away!

I upgraded my wife's win 8 laptop, and she is happier with it than she was before the upgrade. I upgraded my Win 7 workstation and am not quite as happy as I was with Win 7.

BearCreek · 07-11-2016, 09:04 PM

Originally posted by Wheatfield

I upgraded my wife's win 8 laptop, and she is happier with it than she was before the upgrade. I upgraded my Win 7 workstation and am not quite as happy as I was with Win 7.

I updated my 2011 Dell XPS17 about 3 hours ago, and now the display isn't working. It will start up, but after a few minutes it starts flickering like crazy and then goes black. I checked the Dell website, and found that Dell isn't supporting Windows 10 on that laptop (not providing technical support or updated drivers). (The pre-install Microsoft "compatibility check" said that I was good to go, but it must just be checking basic things like processor, hard drive space and RAM.) A little internet searching identified some workarounds that are well beyond my level of skill and patience, so I'll try reverting to Windows 7 tomorrow night. At least I backed up everything first! If you are planning on updating a Dell sometime this month while it's still free, check their website first to make sure your model is supported.

reeftool · 07-12-2016, 06:17 AM

Originally posted by Wheatfield

I upgraded my wife's win 8 laptop, and she is happier with it than she was before the upgrade. I upgraded my Win 7 workstation and am not quite as happy as I was with Win 7.

This seems to be the consensus of a lot of Windows users. Windows 8 users like the upgrade and Windows 7 users, much less so. Regardless, sooner or later, Windows 10 is something we are all going to be stuck with or switch to Mac's or Linux.

TonyW · 07-12-2016, 06:51 AM

Originally posted by Racer X 69

....

Free milk from a cow is never free.

And there has to be a reason that Microsoft is pushing this.

While I do share others cynicism but, just perhaps MS moves, although still geared to profit making will actually benefit the end users of its OS (and still of course generate income from users but via other streams). A Win Win - who knows

Some of the reasons I have seen quoted:
1. Claw its way back into the mobile market. A universal app that operates across all Windows 10 apps, mobile and other MS type devices
2. Large user base to persuade developers to produce the goods that they can sell via their store
3. How else can they get Windows 10 onto 1 billion devices (their current desires I believe for an increased target market) without the compromise of giving it away

Window 10 to rule them all,
Windows 10 to find them,
Windows 10 to bring them all
And in the darkness bind them.

Of course this could all be BS and the OS could give out the message in the future that we are all doomed unless you now set up a direct debit to rent the OS in perpetuity

BTW, converted all my PC's and Laptops to Windows 10 from version 7 (8 was horrible IMHO). Probably the best Windows version to date

PDL · 07-12-2016, 11:41 PM

I converted a 2008 era Vista Ultimate 32bit Toshiba Tablet PC (replacement for a stolen 2005 Toshiba XP Tablet PC) to Windows 8.0 x64, Windows 8.1 x64 and now Windows 10 x64. There are a few things that Toshiba does not support, but the device runs fine. I replaced the 160GB HD with a 160GB SSD and added memory (from 4GB to 6GB).

My main desktop is an Asus motherboard (using a classic BIOS) and I began it with Windows 7 Pro x64 updated through the series of Windows 8.x Pro and I am now running Windows 10 Pro. The desktop has had to be flattened and reloaded twice. Once because the Windows 7/8 drivers puked on Windows 10 and the last time there was a power spike that corrupted my C: drive SSD. (The power spike also lead to one of my memory sticks failing). For the most part Windows 10 has not been all that big of a deal. I have had three blue screens of death - all due to Intel RAID and nVidia drivers.

As for some of you worrying about "renting" your OS, Microsoft is not the first to do that. Back when I worked as just a systems analyst, the UNIX systems were all rental. The company more or less owned the capital equipment, but they paid a $3,000 yearly fee to get the OS - per device - and they paid annual fees for their document management systems. The real databases ran on the Mainframes (Amdal, IBM, Cray and Data General) which were leased including OS and application software.

LeDave · 07-14-2016, 04:53 PM

Guys, I just figured something else. Apparently the "free" variant of the Windows 10 runs in 32 bit even if your system is well more capable of running 64 bit. You have to back-up everything that you want to keep if you want to run in 64 bit. There is no upgrade path from 32 bit to 64 bit. However with the Windows 10 serial number that was assigned to you, possibly in your Bios during the upgrade of 7, 8, or 8.1, you can just download the Windows 10 Media Creation Tool. With this tool, you can then download the Windows 10 CD with the 64 bit option.

rawr · 07-14-2016, 07:15 PM

Originally posted by LeDave

Guys, I just figured something else. Apparently the "free" variant of the Windows 10 runs in 32 bit even if your system is well more capable of running 64 bit

??? I upgraded two Windows 7 PC's using the 'free' W10 update. My W10's show up as 64-bit. I see 'System type: 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor'.

In your W10, what do you see in Settings > System > About ?.

DeadJohn · 07-14-2016, 08:51 PM

Originally posted by rawr

??? I upgraded two Windows 7 PC's using the 'free' W10 update. My W10's show up as 64-bit. I see 'System type: 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor'.

In your W10, what do you see in Settings > System > About ?.

The bit-ness of the Windows 10 upgrade matches that of your original version. You upgraded to Win 10 from some older 64 bit version. If your prior version was 32 bit you would have been stuck with a 32 bit version of Win 10.

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07-11-2016, 05:25 AM	#16
TER-OR Site Supporter Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Dundee, IL Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 6,699	My general purpose rig has been running W10 for many months now, it is good. I did upgrade my game rig a while ago, but one older game won't run correctly so I reverted. My wife has since stopped playing that game so I'll probably re-upgrade it this week.

07-11-2016, 06:45 AM	#17
Not a Number Moderator Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Venice, CA Posts: 10,525	Originally posted by Racer X 69 Free? Operating system software typically costs $150 to $200. Smells fishy to me. I know, Microsoft is filthy rich, and giving away millions of dollars in software likely won't hurt their bottom line. But. There has to be a financial benefit, or the software giant wouldn't be doing this. There won't be free upgrades after the end of the month. At this time you have to purchase a license to do a clean install unless you do a upgrade install register the mobo signature of the computer first. The uncrippled versions of the apps and many of the cloud services in Windows 10 are not free or you have to register and put up with offers from Microsoft and affiliates. Give the razor away for free - make money on the blades.

07-11-2016, 08:13 AM	#18
reeftool Pentaxian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Upstate New York Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 9,553	Originally posted by Racer X 69 I know, Microsoft is filthy rich, and giving away millions of dollars in software likely won't hurt their bottom line. But. There has to be a financial benefit, or the software giant wouldn't be doing this. There is a huge financial benefit because in the near future, they will only have to update and support one version of Windows. Maintaining updates for multiple versions of Windows for X number of years is very costly. Getting as many people as possible using Windows 10 now keeps them in the Windows family. It's a good move. Also, hardware has matured in the past few years to the point that it's possible to have a single OS running on lots of different aged computers. By having the forced updates, they will also be forcing users to update to new computers because as they keep updating for newer hardware, they will be dropping support for older machines. They are looking to the future. Besides, in the past, the overwhelming majority of users always upgraded their Windows version when they upgraded their computer. XP lasted forever and people kept their computers way too long. Microsoft now has the ability to "turn off" our older computers with an update that doesn't support certain hardware, forcing us to buy new ones. Not that I think Microsoft would do such a thing. I'll be updating to Windows 10 when I replace my 5 and 6 year old computers later this year. At this point, they're on borrowed time anyhow. The motherboard in my desktop is Vista era and was bought on sale and I had issues in the beginning running Windows 7. I'm not even thinking of running Windows 10 on it. Besides, I want the benefit of USB 3, SSD's, etc that I don't have now. While it's probably possible to upgrade some features, it really won't be anywhere near as good as a new build.

07-11-2016, 09:50 AM	#19
DeadJohn Pentaxian Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: New York Posts: 4,833	I shifted my desktop and laptop to Windows 10 (from 7) with positive experiences. For a straight upgrade, software and device drivers do not have to be reinstalled. The user interface is very similar to Win 7. Desktop: I went through some convoluted steps because I transferred a Win 7 license from an old PC to a new PC I built. I cloned my old SSD to new SSD, did a "sysprep" on the new SSD, then booted the new PC with that clean copy of Win 7. Upgraded to Win 10 immediately after and installed all the device drivers for my new hardware. Laptop: I just took the upgrade plunge to Win 10 last week. I had one seeming lockup during the upgrade process, but a hard restart got things to proceed. It's a Dell laptop and all my old device drivers either worked as-is or seamlessly updated to new versions. In fact, my WiFi is working better: it used to require AC power in order to recognize password protected networks (public networks were okay on battery power), but the Win 10 upgrade fixed that flaw. My only software that proved incompatible was a very old copy Acronis True Image. There's an inexpensive update available but I'm temporarily using Win 10 backup tools while considering cloud backup solutions.

07-11-2016, 11:22 AM	#20
Racer X 69 Moderator Man With A Camera Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: The Great Pacific Northwet, in the Land Between Canada and Mexico Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 28,064	Originally posted by Not a Number There won't be free upgrades after the end of the month. At this time you have to purchase a license to do a clean install unless you do a upgrade install register the mobo signature of the computer first. The uncrippled versions of the apps and many of the cloud services in Windows 10 are not free or you have to register and put up with offers from Microsoft and affiliates. Give the razor away for free - make money on the blades. That was my point. Free milk from a cow is never free. And there has to be a reason that Microsoft is pushing this.

07-11-2016, 03:58 PM	#21
Ex Finn. Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Southern Maryland. Espoo. Kouvola. Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 7,975	Originally posted by reeftool Besides, in the past, the overwhelming majority of users always upgraded their Windows version when they upgraded their computer. XP lasted forever and people kept their computers way too long. Originally posted by reeftool Besides, I want the benefit of USB 3, SSD's, etc that I don't have now. That was me until my XP mobo finally gave up the ghost. Did a clean install with new HW in my old desktop, two SSD`s 1TB and 2TB spinners, using USB3 external drives and love them, pretty fast. Thought about upgrading the wife`s win 7 laptop but decided that it is too old to bother with.

07-11-2016, 04:48 PM	#22
pakinjapan Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Tokyo Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,041	Originally posted by LeDave ...I have Windows 8.1 and I don't know! Your opinions are what I need, talk away! I upgrade 2 of my Win8 laptop to WIn10 may be a month before it available for Japanese market. I couldn't stand 8. And it was a right decision. Another 3 Win7 laptop was upgraded almost a year later. Win 7 to Win 10 doesn't improve much in term of performance but I got a cleaner and refreshing looks UI. Win 8 to Win 10 is a huge improvement in...everything for me. do an image backup of your system + make sure you don't have work save on the OS drive before the upgrade. And just let Windows do its job. then run a disk clean up after the upgrade. many website offer a short tutorial for that. you should also check out "Apps & features" in windows10 and remove any unnecessary per-installed app on your system.

07-11-2016, 07:21 PM	#23
Wheatfield Moderator Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: The wheatfields of Canada Posts: 15,975	Originally posted by LeDave Hey guys, we all have until July 29th to install the new Windows 10. I was wondering how many of you did download it or panning to download it. And what is your OS that you upgraded from or what is it now before you decide to upgrade? I have Windows 8.1 and I don't know! Your opinions are what I need, talk away! I upgraded my wife's win 8 laptop, and she is happier with it than she was before the upgrade. I upgraded my Win 7 workstation and am not quite as happy as I was with Win 7.

07-11-2016, 09:04 PM	#24
BearCreek Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: Morrison, Colorado Posts: 39	Originally posted by Wheatfield I upgraded my wife's win 8 laptop, and she is happier with it than she was before the upgrade. I upgraded my Win 7 workstation and am not quite as happy as I was with Win 7. I updated my 2011 Dell XPS17 about 3 hours ago, and now the display isn't working. It will start up, but after a few minutes it starts flickering like crazy and then goes black. I checked the Dell website, and found that Dell isn't supporting Windows 10 on that laptop (not providing technical support or updated drivers). (The pre-install Microsoft "compatibility check" said that I was good to go, but it must just be checking basic things like processor, hard drive space and RAM.) A little internet searching identified some workarounds that are well beyond my level of skill and patience, so I'll try reverting to Windows 7 tomorrow night. At least I backed up everything first! If you are planning on updating a Dell sometime this month while it's still free, check their website first to make sure your model is supported.

07-12-2016, 06:17 AM	#25
reeftool Pentaxian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Upstate New York Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 9,553	Originally posted by Wheatfield I upgraded my wife's win 8 laptop, and she is happier with it than she was before the upgrade. I upgraded my Win 7 workstation and am not quite as happy as I was with Win 7. This seems to be the consensus of a lot of Windows users. Windows 8 users like the upgrade and Windows 7 users, much less so. Regardless, sooner or later, Windows 10 is something we are all going to be stuck with or switch to Mac's or Linux.

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07-12-2016, 06:51 AM	#26
TonyW Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2016 Posts: 706	Originally posted by Racer X 69 .... Free milk from a cow is never free. And there has to be a reason that Microsoft is pushing this. While I do share others cynicism but, just perhaps MS moves, although still geared to profit making will actually benefit the end users of its OS (and still of course generate income from users but via other streams). A Win Win - who knows Some of the reasons I have seen quoted: 1. Claw its way back into the mobile market. A universal app that operates across all Windows 10 apps, mobile and other MS type devices 2. Large user base to persuade developers to produce the goods that they can sell via their store 3. How else can they get Windows 10 onto 1 billion devices (their current desires I believe for an increased target market) without the compromise of giving it away Window 10 to rule them all, Windows 10 to find them, Windows 10 to bring them all And in the darkness bind them. Of course this could all be BS and the OS could give out the message in the future that we are all doomed unless you now set up a direct debit to rent the OS in perpetuity BTW, converted all my PC's and Laptops to Windows 10 from version 7 (8 was horrible IMHO). Probably the best Windows version to date

07-12-2016, 11:41 PM	#27
PDL Pentaxian Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: PNW USA Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,127	I converted a 2008 era Vista Ultimate 32bit Toshiba Tablet PC (replacement for a stolen 2005 Toshiba XP Tablet PC) to Windows 8.0 x64, Windows 8.1 x64 and now Windows 10 x64. There are a few things that Toshiba does not support, but the device runs fine. I replaced the 160GB HD with a 160GB SSD and added memory (from 4GB to 6GB). My main desktop is an Asus motherboard (using a classic BIOS) and I began it with Windows 7 Pro x64 updated through the series of Windows 8.x Pro and I am now running Windows 10 Pro. The desktop has had to be flattened and reloaded twice. Once because the Windows 7/8 drivers puked on Windows 10 and the last time there was a power spike that corrupted my C: drive SSD. (The power spike also lead to one of my memory sticks failing). For the most part Windows 10 has not been all that big of a deal. I have had three blue screens of death - all due to Intel RAID and nVidia drivers. As for some of you worrying about "renting" your OS, Microsoft is not the first to do that. Back when I worked as just a systems analyst, the UNIX systems were all rental. The company more or less owned the capital equipment, but they paid a $3,000 yearly fee to get the OS - per device - and they paid annual fees for their document management systems. The real databases ran on the Mainframes (Amdal, IBM, Cray and Data General) which were leased including OS and application software.

07-14-2016, 04:53 PM	#28
LeDave Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Minneapolis - St. Paul Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,067 Original Poster	Guys, I just figured something else. Apparently the "free" variant of the Windows 10 runs in 32 bit even if your system is well more capable of running 64 bit. You have to back-up everything that you want to keep if you want to run in 64 bit. There is no upgrade path from 32 bit to 64 bit. However with the Windows 10 serial number that was assigned to you, possibly in your Bios during the upgrade of 7, 8, or 8.1, you can just download the Windows 10 Media Creation Tool. With this tool, you can then download the Windows 10 CD with the 64 bit option.

07-14-2016, 07:15 PM	#29
rawr Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 11,913	Originally posted by LeDave Guys, I just figured something else. Apparently the "free" variant of the Windows 10 runs in 32 bit even if your system is well more capable of running 64 bit ??? I upgraded two Windows 7 PC's using the 'free' W10 update. My W10's show up as 64-bit. I see 'System type: 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor'. In your W10, what do you see in Settings > System > About ?.

07-14-2016, 08:51 PM	#30
DeadJohn Pentaxian Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: New York Posts: 4,833	Originally posted by rawr ??? I upgraded two Windows 7 PC's using the 'free' W10 update. My W10's show up as 64-bit. I see 'System type: 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor'. In your W10, what do you see in Settings > System > About ?. The bit-ness of the Windows 10 upgrade matches that of your original version. You upgraded to Win 10 from some older 64 bit version. If your prior version was 32 bit you would have been stuck with a 32 bit version of Win 10.