Windows 10 to Upgrade or Not?

I have to be honest, I have been on Windows 10 (I am a Windows 10 Professional user) since its first release and especially since I have switched to using a Surface almost exclusively.  So, I really do like it and feel Microsoft has finally got it right (or are at least of lot closer to getting it right).  But that is from a Surface User perspective. A desktop or laptop is an entirely different beast.  Lately I have been getting a lot of questions from Home Users as well as Corporate Users who are getting the Windows 10 Upgrade notification on their devices.

“Should I or shouldn’t I?”

Or even worse, “I upgraded to Windows 10 and now nothing works!”

I am going to try and tackle some of the potential pitfalls to avoid in this particular post, hopefully that will help make the potential upgrade choice a little easier.

So, you have the update notification showing up and you are SOOOOO tempted to click on it an upgrade, after all, who doesn’t want to have the latest and greatest of everything! Well…

STOP!  Follow this easy list first before jumping in and save yourself some grief. Or, better yet, go ahead and jump in, then you can pay me to help you return your system back to when it was working! (Kidding)

1. Go to your machines (laptop/desktop) manufactures website and do a little research. If you have an older model machine, it MAY NOT be ready to be upgraded to Windows 10. I just helped a person with a Dell that could not escape the dreaded BSOD (blue screen of death). A simple search of the Dell website indicated that the particular machine was not tested for Windows 10 and may be incompatible. Meaning the drivers for the machine will not be updated.
   • If you do upgrade and start to have issues, don’t worry (well don’t panic). You can roll back to your earlier version (Windows 7 or 8) by going to Control Panel and then Recovery. NOTE: Windows will only keep your old system archived for 90 days! After that, it is gone. If it is an issue that won’t even allow you to boot…see above!
2. Know the features you like in the current version as many may be going away with 10. Such as:
   • Windows Media Center is gone in Windows 10. While I was never a big fan of this and hardly used it, many people on Windows 7 & 8 do. What does this mean> Watching DVDs (as an example) will require additional software (I use VLC Player).
   • Those nifty little Windows Gadgets you may be using in XP/7 & 8 will no longer work or be available in 10. While this is not really a bad thing (it’s amazing how many of these were riddled with Malware), I do know a lot of people who really loved them.
   • For all of you that like the different time burning games like Mine Sweeper and Solitaire, those are no longer available in 10. But take heart (pun intended), you can go the Microsoft App Store and download all kinds of free games classic as well as new.
   • Browsing will now be defaulted to Microsoft Edge, it’s still a little rough (get it?), so I recommend downloading Chrome, Firefox or Opera. All now help you default to their browser during the install process.

First and foremost, I can’t stress enough to check the manufacture website first, you’ll save a lot of trouble. In fact, I’ll save you some trouble right now:

• If you are purchasing a new PC/Laptop or Tablet, go for Windows 10. It’s a no brainer.
• If by some bizarre chance you are running Windows 8 or 8.1, upgrade soon as Microsoft will be treating 8/8.1 like Vista and throwing it away, forgetting it.
• If you are using Windows RT, sorry, I got nothing for you. What a miserable machine. Write it off as a learning lesson and recycle the hunk of junk. With its limited storage capacity you’ll just run into frustrations not worth it!
• If you are running Windows 7 and love it, stick with it. Windows 7 is a rock solid operating system and still has some support time left on it. Especially in the corporate world. While Microsoft may want ALL of their Users on Windows 10, they won’t leave Windows 7 hanging.
• If you are running Vista…..PLEASE, for the love of God get a new machine!!!
• If you are running XP….sigh….XP Users are as bad as Mac Users. Please, time to move on.

I know I may be making it sound worse than what it is; but I know how long people tend to cling to their technology. If you need help with it, you can always give me a shout and I would be happy to help. Remember, my vCIO services for your personal technology as well as business are always supported on the Pay It Forward model. If you can pay for it great, it will go towards someone who cannot; either way, everyone gets the support they need!!