Upgrading to Windows 10

Mr Sprue · August 16, 2020, 11:11:45 AM

Due to Windows 7 no longer supported, its with a heavy heart I am finally going to be forced to bite the bullet! I've used 10 but still much prefer 7.

So for those who did upgrade how did it go? Obviously I will carry out a full back up of my system before pressing the final button, but was it a painless upgrade without any nightmares?

Be interested to hear how it went.

Regards
Dave

Dorsetmike · August 16, 2020, 11:51:27 AM

I'm still running Win7 pro 64 bit on 2 PCs and a lap top, I've had the updates turned off for over 2 years so effectively unsupported since then, it still works fine, does all I need, 'taint broke - so why fix it? Also it wil run some older software under an XP emulator that Win 10 probably wouldn't.

Mr Sprue · August 16, 2020, 12:04:23 PM

Its a tough choice to make going over to Win 10, I just don't like the layout of it. It took me a few years to upgrade to 7 after Win 98!

Trouble is there are 3D programs now that will not run on Win 7, so maybe its time to install another PC with 10 on it rather upgrade this one!

Delboy · August 16, 2020, 12:18:54 PM

Quote from: Mr Sprue on August 16, 2020, 11:11:45 AM
Due to Windows 7 no longer supported, its with a heavy heart I am finally going to be forced to bite the bullet! I've used 10 but still much prefer 7.

So for those who did upgrade how did it go? Obviously I will carry out a full back up of my system before pressing the final button, but was it a painless upgrade without any nightmares?

Be interested to hear how it went.

Regards
Dave

I upgraded to windows 10 a while ago and whilst it takes a little getting used to from windows 7 it is something that people will eventually have to do if the software they are using no longer supports 7. A few months ago 10 was getting a bad name due to certain updates causing problems but thankfully they seem to have sorted them out and currently I have a laptop and a netbook both functioning on 10. When you start the upgrade a check is run to make sure your device will cope with Windows 10 and will tell you if you will have problems. At least it did when I did my upgrades. Obviously the more modern your device the better/quicker it will perform. My netbook functions OK on 10 but is slow compared to my laptop which at 5 years old is not exactly up-to-date as computing goes. The problem with sticking with unsupported 7 is you are no longer getting the necessary updates to keep your security safe as well as finding existing software being no longer supported. The decision is yours.

chrism · August 16, 2020, 12:23:45 PM

Quote from: Dorsetmike on August 16, 2020, 11:51:27 AM
I'm still running Win7 pro 64 bit on 2 PCs and a lap top, I've had the updates turned off for over 2 years so effectively unsupported since then, it still works fine, does all I need, 'taint broke - so why fix it? Also it wil run some older software under an XP emulator that Win 10 probably wouldn't.

I'm similar - two Win 7 pro 64 bit PCs with updates turned off - except for Microsoft Security Essentials.
I use NoScript on my browser and am very fussy about what scripts I allow to run, so I feel I'm safe enough.

I also have a Win2K (remember that) machine running as a file server because I cannot get my media players to connect to the Win7 machines. It doesn't get connected to anything outside my network at all.

If I decide that I need to upgrade I'll do it by buying a new machine with Win10 pre-installed, rather than upgrading, and potentially breaking, PCs that work.

I do have a tablet running W10 which I fire up occasionally but I'm not overly keen on using it - I'm still very much a "proper keyboard and monitor chap". I did manage to tame W10 to some extent by installing ClassicShell, so it has more of the W2K look and feel, just as I did to my W7 machines.

ntpntpntp · August 16, 2020, 12:52:03 PM

I have one old PC which drives my old Alps printer for decals (still on Windows ME), other than that all but one of our other household devices are on Windows 10 and all work fine. Some of them I migrated from Win 7 a while ago, no problems.

I have one device on Win 8, it was given to me by the inlaws as mum-in-law never got on with it (card craft design programs etc. apparently). When first received it was obvious the thing had never been allowed to connect to internet and update properly, it was a mess! It took several hours to bring it up to date, but it's now a solid and useful machine - in fact it's the one I've been using daily to connect to our office systems whilst working from home.

As an IT professional I believe it's best policy to keep systems updated, not to avoid/disable updates.

I run two hardware NAS devices for storage, DLNA media servers and printer server, and make sure they get backed up regularly. DLNA works fine with our TVs, Roku Soundbridge players etc.

Delboy · August 16, 2020, 12:58:08 PM

Quote from: ntpntpntp on August 16, 2020, 12:52:03 PM

As an IT professional I believe it's best policy to keep systems updated, not to avoid/disable updates.

This has been suggested to me many times and I, although not a professional, wholeheartedly use this approach.

Izzy · August 16, 2020, 01:59:28 PM

My wife tried to move her HP 8.1 laptop to 10 and it just shredded it. Had to revert back to 8.1 but has found it just isn't the same as before, now being slow and turgid compared to before. Regrets ever trying. I updated an older HP win 7 without any hassle at all, and it works okay, but now takes an age to boot up and seems to be working hard even when doing nothing.

In contrast a recently purchased Dell desktop with 10 just flies as does a little 12" Medion netbook, ready to go almost as soon as the last digit of the password has been entered. A lot of course is the use of SSD's as boot drives but I've never been keen on upgrading older equipment to newer O/s as the hardware often isn't up to the task.

However, the forced install of the Google chromium Edge with the latest updates,(which I don't use, not liking spyware), along with the constant chiding to use it with the latest updates I find highly offensive, and already having both an iPhone and iPad am thinking of dumping Windows entirely for Apple. It's just the constant removal of legacy ports that is holding me back at the moment but I am sure I will go that way eventually.

Izzy

Railwaygun · August 16, 2020, 02:06:39 PM

i upgrade (memory + SSD - SATA machines only) old PCs for charity / good causes and always put Win10 on them now. i recommend 4GB of memory (min) and 120GB HD minimum.

120GB SSDs are £15 or so from ALiexpress and arrive within a week

Use a cheap SSD as the boot disc and the existing HD as storage

your Win7 code ( on the PC body sticker) should automatically validate the installation. Installation ( after full backup) is usually painless, providing it likes your PC - older Pentiums dont make the grade!

I always add a Win7 shell emulator called Openshell - it replaced the ghastly toy interface with something useable!

https://www.techspot.com/downloads/7103-open-shell.html

regular upgrade are much easier then win7, and win7 security will diasppear as soon as MS discontues the security upgrades! It is already being targeted.

NickR

RailGooner · August 16, 2020, 02:51:18 PM

Quote from: Dorsetmike on August 16, 2020, 11:51:27 AM
..
'taint broke - so why fix it?
...

The trouble is, it is broken. Practically all software is broken at the time of release. Over time publishers discover the faults. Hopefully, they then release patches to fix the faults before the bad guys figure a way of exploiting the faults.

Dorsetmike · August 16, 2020, 03:22:08 PM

Quote from: RailGooner on August 16, 2020, 02:51:18 PM
Quote from: Dorsetmike on August 16, 2020, 11:51:27 AM
..
'taint broke - so why fix it?
...

The trouble is, it is broken. Practically all software is broken at the time of release. Over time publishers discover the faults. Hopefully, they then release patches to fix the faults before the bad guys figure a way of exploiting the faults.

One would have thought by now that microsloth and other developers could employ programmers that have learnt how to write software that works 24/7; maybe the programmers leave loopholes so that they will always be employed in fixing them - and creating other loopholes?
(why is there no tongue in cheek smlley?)

Railwaygun · August 16, 2020, 04:32:57 PM

Quote from: Railwaygun on August 16, 2020, 02:06:39 PM
i upgrade (memory + SSD - SATA machines only) old PCs for charity / good causes and always put Win10 on them now. i recommend 4GB of memory (min) and 120GB HD minimum.

120GB SSDs are £15 or so from ALiexpress and arrive within a week

Use a cheap SSD as the boot disc and the existing HD as storage

your Win7 code ( on the PC body sticker) should automatically validate the installation. Installation ( after full backup) is usually painless, providing it likes your PC - older Pentiums dont make the grade!

I always add a Win7 shell emulator called Openshell - it replaced the ghastly toy interface with something useable!

https://www.techspot.com/downloads/7103-open-shell.html

regular upgrade are much easier then win7, and win7 security will diasppear as soon as MS discontues the security upgrades! It is already being targeted.

NickR

do not connect PC to internet whilst upgrading or MS will demand you set up / enter a MS email account details. no connection means that there is a "get-out" button.

then NO or equivalent to all MS requests/offers of goodies!

And whenever was software bug-free? There is always another one lurking !

jthjth · August 16, 2020, 05:28:05 PM

In general Win7 to Win10 upgrades go well for most machines, and better if the machine is Internet connected as the upgrade process can pull the latest drivers etc from Microsoft. Occasionally some hardware combinations just don't seem to work. Another "in general" bit of advice is if you can, take out the old disk, fit a fresh one, preferably an SSD, and in install Win10. Fresh installations have been found to be better performing than upgrade installations. Another little known fact is that Win10 editions can be upgraded from Home to Pro simply by typing in a new licence code in the system bit of the control panel. Win10 seems to be very unfussy about using a licence code from the sticker on another machine. The Pro version is worth it for Bitlocker disk encryption. If someone nicks your machine they can't take the disk out and hook it up to another machine and read all your stuff.

themadhippy · August 16, 2020, 05:38:44 PM

QuoteHowever, the forced install of the Google chromium Edge with the latest updates,(which I don't use, not liking spyware), along with the constant chiding to use it with the latest updates I find highly offensive, and already having both an iPhone and iPad am thinking of dumping Windows entirely for Apple.

From the fat into the fire,apple are about the worst for forcing users to change and do things there way or not at all.

Leon · August 16, 2020, 06:17:27 PM

I can't add much to the excellent comments that have already been posted, but I'll briefly cite my experience. I upgraded to Windows 10 before it was widely released and had no difficulties. However, although I've used every iteration of Windows since 2.1 I've done so reluctantly. Although I'm amazed with the advances in technology, Microsoft hasn't been my favorite technology company! I've tried, several times, to switch to Linux, but have always returned to Windows. I'm not sure when 10 was released, but since that time I've bought a renewed HP computer with 10 Pro. The OS is updated frequently and I've been more satisfied than I've been for a long time. I'm still less than happy with OneDrive and the cloud version of Office, thoiugh.

Leon