Windows 10 - Who here has yet to upgrade, and why?

[JDBush61]

With the MS deadline looming for the end of the free upgrade offer, I'm interested to learn if any members here have delayed upgrading to Windows 10, and why.

I'm still running Windows 7, and am very satisfied with it. MS recently stated that they will charge a free for the upgrade in a few months, so now I'm finally thinking about doing the upgrade. However, other than continued MS support, is Windows 10 a real improvement over Windows 7? Any big headaches for those of you who have already upgraded?

I think that I read recently that for those that DO upgrade to Windows 10, MS will start charging a yearly fee to use it. Is that true, or just nonsense?

Anyway, I thought no better place to ask this question than here at good 'ol LandzDown. Very interested to hear some opinions to help me decide.

Thanks!

[Pete!]

Whether or not it's better, the same, or worse, depends on the user. That's a decision you have to make for yourself.

If you're undecided, you can go ahead with the update, to lock-in the "free" before it's too late, and then roll it back within 30 days.

If you want to be extremely cautious, make a disk image before you proceed.

[Digerati]

First, Microsoft will absolutely NOT start charging a fee for W10. So that is total and utter nonsense.

I do sympathize with your desire to keep W7. It was, in its day, the best Windows by far up to that point. But W7 is now pushing 7 years old. And that is getting pretty old in the IT universe. W10 is faster than W7, especially with current hardware. And more importantly, W10 is more secure than any previous version of Windows and that alone is reason to upgrade.

I have been involved with the upgrade of over 2 dozen W7 systems. Most had no problems at all. A couple required a couple extra reboots to sort themselves out. One, an older notebook, still occasionally refuses to come out of sleep mode without a full power cycle, but then works just fine after that.

I have been involved with the upgrade of many more W8.1 systems to W10 and they all were totally successful. Judging from personal experience and forum help requests, upgrading from W8.1 appears to be less troublesome. So my guess with W7 systems having upgrade issues is that is due to many W7 systems tend to have older (possibly XP era!) hardware. I must point out that it is up to the hardware makers to ensure compatible W10 drivers are available. Microsoft can only publish the necessary specs, the hardware makers must ensure their drivers are compatible with those specs.

Sadly, in some cases, users are offered the W10 upgrade with the assumption the everything is totally compatible (at least in terms of hardware), but then problems ensue after the upgrade. And that, IMO, is Microsoft's fault. So I can only advise that you ensure all your drivers are the latest before starting the upgrade.

Older software can also be a problem - especially if it starts with Windows during boot. You should make sure all your programs are compatible with W10 before starting the upgrade. If using something other than Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) and Windows Firewall for your security, I would absolutely ensure you have the latest W10 compatible versions, or better yet, uninstall them and install MSE before starting. Then stick with Windows Defender (W10's upgraded version of MSE) after that.

The upgrade process also consumes a lot of disk space. So I recommend you clean out the clutter and uninstall any programs you installed but don't use before starting. Microsoft claims you only need 8GB of free disk space for the upgrade process, I recommend at least 30GB. Much consumed during the upgrade will be freed up again once the upgrade is complete. But a large chunk will still be consumed by a folder called windows.old. This is an important folder that allows users 30 days to roll back to their previous Windows version should something go wrong, or they just cannot stand W10. After 30 days, that folder is automatically deleted (or if satisfied, you can manually delete it before that to free up the space). If you have lots of free disk space, this is not a worry.

While reports of data loss have been rare, it is always a wise precaution to backup your data before starting any major upgrade process.

Finally, if you are worried you will not like the new Windows 10 user interface (UI), don't be. While it is quite different from W7, it is much better (and more familiar) than W8's totally foreign UI and start page. Most who give it chance, soon like it very much. However, if you find you really miss the old W7 desktop and start menu, no problem. I use and recommend Start10 which brings back the familiar W7 Start menu and desktop and for just $5 (after a generous 30 day trial period) is well worth it. Or there is Classic Shell which many like too, and it is totally free. StartIsBack is a third alternative that many like and it is just $3.

[MikeW]

Staying with windows 7 Home for me. Main reason for refusing the upgrade is the  no control of automatic updates. If and when I buy a new PC then I would probably go for Win 10 Professional.

[plodr]

Staying with Win 7. We have 4 computers a desktop and netbook for the two of us. Everything works: network, printers, games, paid programs. These will be the last computers running windows I buy. In 2020, I'll pull them off the internet and we'll continue to use them as we do now except they won't be able to go on the internet.

[Corrine]

I've kept Windows 7 on one machine merely because it is easier when helping others with Windows 7.  However, I joined the Windows Insiders Program the first day it was announced and created a separate partition for Windows 10.  I have stayed in the "Fast Ring" on that computer and don't even recall the last time I booted to Windows 7 there.  Windows 10 has been working great -- and it is a desktop from 2008 so definitely not the latest and greatest hardware.

[Pierre75]

I have 2 PCs both running Windows 7 Home Premium and intend to stay with Windows 7 as it is supported till 2020. By then I will also be 4 score - I also have 8 family trees which I researched and date back to the 16th century. I back up every night to separate hard drives and store them in a safe. I will possibly buy a new PC with Windows 10 in 2020 and remove the other 2 off-line.

[ComicsLover]

I have a Windows 7 Home laptop now converted, but have yet to do my Windows 7 Home desktop.  Am still testing things out on the laptop and until I'm satisfied all is in order (or the 30 days are up-- figures workplace suddenly wanted me in extra hours -after- I did the upgrade) the desktop is staying as 7.
When/if I do upgrade it I'll make a complete savings of files to at least two hard drives before starting.

So far the laptop is fine after simply doing the download...I didn't try a clean start.

Kind of like 10.  The main snags are finding out where some things are located for maintenance.  Also finding as many Privacy toggles I can safely turn OFF as they allow me to locate.  Also turned off Cortana as didn't like that it needed so many fingers into everything.

Also wish they'd allow me to do my own updating as past tales of Win updates does not help my digestion.  Would be nice to be able to delay them for a week or two to see if other computers burst into flames first.  :(

[techie]

I have a Windows 7 Home laptop now converted, but have yet to do my Windows 7 Home desktop.  Am still testing things out on the laptop and until I'm satisfied all is in order (or the 30 days are up-- figures workplace suddenly wanted me in extra hours -after- I did the upgrade) the desktop is staying as 7.
When/if I do upgrade it I'll make a complete savings of files to at least two hard drives before starting.

So far the laptop is fine after simply doing the download...I didn't try a clean start.

Kind of like 10.  The main snags are finding out where some things are located for maintenance.  Also finding as many Privacy toggles I can safely turn OFF as they allow me to locate.  Also turned off Cortana as didn't like that it needed so many fingers into everything.

Also wish they'd allow me to do my own updating as past tales of Win updates does not help my digestion.  Would be nice to be able to delay them for a week or two to see if other computers burst into flames first.  :(

A few quick tips for Win 10, right click the Start button, it will give a popup, you will find quick links to familiar settings, control panel, command prompt, file explorer, etc.

If confused with which toggles that are safe to turn on or off, you can use Shutup10, it is a free download and will provide recommendations of what is or isn't safe to turn off. It will also give you a more detailed view of these toggles if needed.

https://www.oo-software.com/en/shutup10

[ComicsLover]

Thanks.
I just typed Privacy into Search and it came up with the Settings an also a separate one for the laptop's camera.  I turned that one to OFF as well even though when I first got the laptop before I even turned it on I taped a little piece of paper over the lens.  (Yes, I'm paranoid.  Besides, I never use cameras anyway.)

When it comes to doing the download, do you all recommend using a stuffed toy goat or a beanie bag sheep for the Windows Update sacrifice?  (I'm vegan)

P.S.  I've been told not to sacrifice a bottle of Windex unless doing a clean install.

[JDBush61]

Thanks, everyone, for your detailed responses. A rough count indicates 50% have upgraded, 50% have chose not to upgrade, and some are running both 7 & 10. Your responses gave me some deeper insight, which was helpful.

At this point I think I'll stick with Win 7. As they say, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." I'll just bite the monetary bullet should I decide to upgrade further down the road.

Interestingly, a group e-mail was sent last Friday to 1,400 people where I work advising everyone to "hold off" on Windows 10 until given approval by the administrators, as there was a question (worry) about W10 making some programs not work correctly, or something to that effect.

Thanks again!!

[Digerati]

Interestingly, a group e-mail was sent last Friday to 1,400 people where I work advising everyone to "hold off" on Windows 10 until given approval by the administrators, as there was a question (worry) about W10 making some programs not work correctly, or something to that effect.

I am going to assume (1) they are talking about upgrading "organization owned" computers. (2) This software in question is something custom made for a specific purpose or is so old it was designed for XP (or before!). (3) The organization's bean-counters have not wanted to invest the necessary resources to stay with the times. And now (4), they don't want to pay more to get with the times. :(

To make the announcement this late in the game raises concerns for me as Windows 10 has been available for testing by organizations and developers well before last year's July release to everyone else. That is more than enough time to determine if there are any questions or worries about compatibility with custom and legacy applications, then plan accordingly for a smooth roll-out and transition.

I think it sad organizations fail to recognize that investing in IT is not a "set and forget" strategy. It is an on-going requirement and should be part of every organization's (big and small) strategic 5-year business plans to stay on top of developments proactively - always cheaper and less painful than scrambling after-the-fact and playing catch-up. Playing catch-up is typically much more disruptive and often requires many hours of either downtime or overtime for "crash-course" training. Paying overtime because business is booming is great. Downtime or paying overtime for training is not.

Replacing obsolete (but still functional) IT systems has been an expensive PITA for businesses, governments and other organizations (not to mention private consumers) since the beginning of IT. One of the reasons XP was such a security failure was big business' insistence XP support legacy hardware and software so they would not have to retool yet again for another new OS. Microsoft caved to those demands then, but suffered constant bashing over security ever since. But MS learned and while legacy support is still a concern, it is not a top priority any more - nor should it be. Why? Because hardware and software developers are not sitting on their thumbs. They are investing big time in R&D to advance the state-of-the-art. And users (most of us anyway) want our operating systems to take advantage of our new and more powerful hardware and applications.

Waiting until the last minute (or beyond) has never resulted in the best investment strategies. This is something I stress hard and right up front whenever called in on a consulting job.

Of course I may be totally off base in the case of JD's "group". And there's probably nothing he can do about it anyway. So I'll get off my soapbox now.

[Pete!]

Old Software:
On Windows 10 I'm running some of the favorite programs I ran on Windows 98.
Quicken 2003 works flawlessly. Office 97 works as designed, with the exception of Outlook 97.

The only software that gave me problems was NOT because I was running Windows 10, but because I was running the 64 bit version, and some of the old programs were 16 bit.
(BTW: If you're a classic "DOOM" fan, you can use a "source port" like PRBoom and still indulge in the mayhem).

As someone who doesn't spend money, unless I have to, I don't see the logic in not "locking in" the free Windows 10 for future use, when Windows 7 (or 8.1) stops being supported. If you're in love with Windows 7.... roll it back!

IMHO: Microsoft handled this poorly without considering human nature. Their aggressive tactics have created resentment, and a class of people who take pride in foiling those tactics.

[Digerati]

Old Software:
On Windows 10 I'm running some of the favorite programs I ran on Windows 98.
Quicken 2003 works flawlessly. Office 97 works as designed, with the exception of Outlook 97.

W98? Wow, that's great! I think Office 2007 is the oldest suite of apps I'm running - but they work flawlessly too.

That said, none of those are tailor made software products commissioned by a company for a specific purpose.

IMHO: Microsoft handled this poorly without considering human nature. Their aggressive tactics have created resentment, and a class of people who take pride in foiling those tactics.

I agree they could have done a much better job with PR and upgrade implementation. But I fully believe pushing everyone to the more secure W10 platform is the right thing to do and the biggest reason for that class of people who resent this is because the company behind it goes by the name, "Microsoft". :(

Even after all these years of bad guys perpetrating offenses against computer users, people are complacent when it comes to security. And users always have been and always will be the weakest link in security. But worse, compromised computers don't affect just the users of those compromised computers. Those compromised computers are frequently then used to attack the rest of us by distributing spam and malware, or as zombies in bot-armies conducting DDoS attacks on businesses, government entities, financial institutions and anybody else the bad guy does not like that day.

So you have the bad guys perpetrating the offenses and users basically providing the means for the bad guys to do their thing - but Microsoft always gets the blame. Getting blamed for a lack of security is never a good thing.

And dividing expensive resources to maintain development on multiple operating systems just does not make good business sense either. So ultimately, it is better for us consumers for Microsoft to dedicate all its OS development resources to one line, W10.

So again, IMHO, it is not what Microsoft is doing. Rather I agree with you and it is how they are doing it. But to that, leaving it totally up to the users will draw out the process for too long, IMO. And that is not good for our collective security. I mean look at how many are still using XP - not because they cannot afford to upgrade, but because they simply refuse to.

What I think folks need to remember is Windows is just the front end to their favorite apps. An operating systems job is to establish communications between all the hardware, and to run our apps. And W10 does that very well. When I am entering text in this post, using Word, or reading my email, I am not looking at my Windows desktop. 

[techie]

Actually I was reluctant about WIN 10 at first about the automatic toggles and things being turned on without the average users knowledge.
It took awhile for me to study the OS a bit more in depth. I have never just been satisfied with any computer setup out of the box and I will take the time to turn off what I don't want, to include live tiles, or remove them from the Metro start area.

There are many tweaks that can be done to WIN 10 as with any previous OS, to make make it yours. As a friend of mine said, if it's free it must be for me. I have upgraded a number of systems like Digerati has stated. If setup and ran properly, it boots faster than any previous Windows OS, it is more secure than previous OS as stated, it operates much more smoothly because the eye candy isn't eating your resources. I have a number of elderly people that I help keep there OS running clean and guess what they use it with no problems. I haven't had to do any cleanups or fixes.

Is it better than XP (yes), better than Vista (of course), better than WIN 7 (yes I would have to say). Is automatic updates a problem? No

It is a users choice about what they want to use, I myself decided that Win 10 is the best option. I did wait until the second version 1511 was released. Did you know what WIN 7 was going to be out of the box? Did you know what XP was going to be out of the box? Did you you know exactly what you were getting out of the box initially with any previous OS?

All I can say I haven't had any program conflicts, they all run the same in WIN 10 as they did in WIN 7, Everything I had previously is exactly where they were before an upgrade.