bearcat

People hate change from what they are used to.. that's the usual condition and I've been waiting to do the Win10 upgrade hoping that the latest and greatest version would resolve some of the bad publicity of the early releases.

Well, I finally upgraded my notebook computer from Windows 7 to Windows 10 about two weeks ago. It's a bit older, but is no dog, having a decent processor, memory and hard drive.

For you with Apple computers, this probably wouldn't interest you as your path to OS upgrades is much more automatic, always FREE and much simpler. That's simply because Apple sells and maintains a "closed" system and only programs that have been tested by and approved by Apple to play in the Apple "sandbox" can readily be installed, so there are very few, if any, gotchas..

Late last year I had a hard drive fail so the "generic" Windows install the shop put on my computer didn't allow all the special functions of my particular computer.

So, before I made this Win7 to Win10 upgrade, I ordered a replacement OS install on Flash Drive for my particular computer which would put in in the "fresh out of the box state".

That was pretty straightforward and enabled all the functions and ports, such as HDMI out so I could put my screen display directly onto my HDTV.

I also cloned my newly Win7 loaded hard drive to a spare drive just in case it all went south.

The Windows 10 upgrade is free until July 30, so I wanted plenty of time to make sure it worked and that I liked it.

So, I clicked the upgrade icon and responded to the buttons that confirmed that I understood the upgrade and the rules and conditions of the free upgrade and would have 30 days to revert to Window 7 if I didn't like it.

All in all, it took about 45 minutes.

There were a few issues after the upgrade. Some of the function keys didn't work as before with Windows 7. These are the specific buttons for Mute, Pause/Play, ECO, WiFi on/off and Keyboard back light.

I contacted the Microsoft Community for help, and within a few minutes got a suggestion to download a patch which I did and it fixed the majority of those issues. Not 100% effective, but acceptable.

So, how does Window 10 work?

FASTER ! MUCH FASTER !

My APPS (formerly referred to as "programs") all open more quickly and mouse clicks seem to be answered immediately.

Office Docs and Spreadsheets open almost immediately.

Start-up from "sleep" is almost immediate after the password (now tied to your Microsoft email account) is entered.

Whatever windows and apps I had open when I closed the lid are ready to get back to work immediately.

The Tiles desktop is not automatic, unless you want it to be, but is easy to reach.

Voice search through CORTANA is standard which is novel if not always needed.

I haven't really tried the new "E" browser, but it seems pretty slick and reportedly is quite efficient and not a memory hog. I understand CORTANA works from inside it. Might be worth trying.

The Start menu is a bit different, but easily navigated, with APPS listed alphabetically and some tiles placed to the side. Tiles are easily deleted, added, resized and moved.

This was an effort to make regular phone users with tile type desktops feel familiar with the computer desktop.

Recent File Explorer results are listed in the window so they can be easily reached.

I haven't had any "BLUE SCREENS OF DEATH" yet, but last night the screen locked up, time stopped on the clock and mouse clicks and keyboard entries had no effect. A Hard Shutdown by holding the Power button restored normal operation and I didn't have to choose between Normal or Safe Mode. It just started up with no apparent problems.

One thing I make sure to do is Create a Restore Point before I install any programs or make changes to my Chrome Browser with updates. I had to revert one time when the Chrome Browser updated its Flash Media extension and then would not play videos from IMDB and some others.

So, after all that and in the end, I'll keep it, though I have the original disk clones just in case.

If you are thinking of taking advantage of the Win7 /8/8.1 Free Upgrade to Win10 and have some questions on what I did to protect myself, just reply with your questions and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

Remember, the FREE Win10 upgrade ends July 31st... after that, you pay. And support for older Windows systems will eventually go away as has happened for Window XP.

BC

mas24 Loc: Southern CA

I heard it was July 29th deadline for the freebie Windows 10? Some Windows 7 users complained of being upgraded automatically to Windows 10 against their wishes. But liked it eventually. Windows XP support expired in 2014 and Vista support will expire in 2017. Windows 7 usage is still around 50% worldwide today. After the Windows 10 freebie era, an upgrade disc will cost $100-$120. Not cheap. Interesting info you provided.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

A woman won $10,000 in a lawsuit against MS because the auto-upgrade messed up her business computer. I'll find the article and make a separate post.

markngolf Loc: Bridgewater, NJ

Thanks for sharing your positive Win 10 update experience. Mine was similar. I ignored the flying flak and did the update in early August, 2015. I'm delighted, sounds as if you are too.

Mark

mas24 Loc: Southern CA

I'll be on the lookout for that info. I first heard about it from a member on this forum. And later from another source.

HOHIMER

Maybe you can help me with a problem I am having.
I bought a Dell Venue 10 Pro Tablet with the Win 10 upgrade already installed over Win 8.1. The seller did the upgrade. I am now locked out of my computer. (P/W will not work).
The first day I was able to use a number code to sign in to Win 10.
The next day it asked for a P/W and said I needed to go to MS to setup an account with P/W. I did this and can sign into my MS Account using this P/W with no problem.
However, the computer will not accept this P/W to allow me to sign in to Win 10.
So, now I am locked out! All I get now is “wrong password. Go to MS Accounts and change P/W” .
I have changed the P/W several times over at MS Accounts but no luck in using them on my computer.
Any advice?

bearcat

Sounds like you'e in a circular argument problem... you need to change your password, but you need to be able to get into your computer to enable it to connect to get the new password.

I had good luck with my issue by contacting Microsoft Community for help.

A quick perusal of a Google search list:

http://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1TSNP_enUS697US697&q=accessing+win+10+tablet+without+password&spell=1&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjZ15jD88rNAhUD7IMKHT2EAmoQBQgbKAA&biw=1166&bih=583

Basically states that your Microsoft account (Live, Hotmail, etc) is the key to you opening your Win10 device. The idea is that changing the password on your MS e-mail account will allow your Win10 device to login again.

How that works exactly, I'm not sure based on the circular argument problem mentioned above.

Please let us know what you find out.

BC

markngolf Loc: Bridgewater, NJ

Sorry you are having the issue. I suggest you call MS. I'm sure they will help you.
Mark

Unclewiggley Loc: Winter Haven, FL

My computer crashed and I had to download Win 10. The one thing I don't like is the e-mail. Outlook is terrible, I wish I could get back my original MSN mail.

bearcat

sadly, that email server is dead and gone.

I now use Thunderbird by Mozilla and it's very close to MS Mail in look and feel, and it handles all the email account servers.

BC

markngolf Loc: Bridgewater, NJ

I use gmail and love it. Been using for 8 years now.
Mark

Duggy

Sounds like people believe win 10 will be the last OS from MS. I don't think the next version will be free. Because I never hear of complaints about any os systems but 10. I decided on apple in my humble opinion I finally made a right decision.

Earworms Loc: Sacramento, California

I obtained Windows 10 (came preloaded) with both my latest laptop and smartphone purchases. The new "E" browser is actually called "EDGE." I find it to be no better or worse than any other browser that I've ever used with Windows. It does however seem to be faster on my Windows 10 smartphone than the Internet Explorer that was on my Windows 8.1 smartphone. I really enjoyed Windows 8.1 mobile OS on my previous smartphone, as opposed to Windows 10 mobile OS on my newer smartphone.

Earworms Loc: Sacramento, California

Yeah, I made that same good decision years ago. Unfortunately for me, my good old MacBook is currently having some mechanical problems and I don't quite have the finances to replace it. It is fixable, but I haven't gotten around to it yet.

markngolf Loc: Bridgewater, NJ

Have we all forgotten about Millenium & Vista? I have no idea if Win 10 will be the last Microsoft OS. I have my doubts. Apple's IOS is not a perfect scenario either. If it were, there would be no reasons for constant updates. I've been around since IBM punch tape in binary (hexidecimal). I used DOS, Windows 3.1 and all the succeeding versions. In my opinion, Win 10 is the best Windows enviorment. Win 7 was a winner, but Win 10 is Win 7 improved and expanded.
Mark