Windows 10 Upgrade Discussion: Compatibility and Features

[QuantumCurt]

I upgraded to 10 a few days ago. My upgrade has been really smooth. As far as I can tell, everything carried over correctly. Even save points in Word documents, saved passwords, desktop background, etc. I have no real complaints about the functionality of it yet. The track pad on my laptop feels sluggish since the upgrade, but that could simply be a matter of adjusting the settings or downloading a patch for the laptop. The return of the Start menu is nice, though I haven't had a chance to dig too deep into it yet.

 

[HyperTechno]

I have windows 8 in my PC right now. So to get the WIN 10 update , should I update to WIN 8.1? The problem is, I searched the store to get the windows 8.1 update and for some reason it states that my system cannot be updated to WIN 8.1... I'm using genuine windows 8 Professional and my system is up to date. But I haven't got any windows 8.1 update nor windows 10 notification......What should I do now?

And If I not be able to upgrade online, the only alternative I have is to download the ISO from somewhere and install it via a USB drive because I do not have a DVD ROM...Do all the motherboards support booting via Pen Drives? Once I tried installing windows 8 via a USB drive but was unsuccessful, that nothing was shown up in the bios screen to accept the booting via the Pen drive......

Can some one come up with a solution please?

 

[StevieTNZ]

Can some one come up with a solution please?

First, do you have the folder "$Windows.~BT" under C:\ (or the corresponding drive Windows is installed on) -- turn hidden items on to see it come up?

 

[HyperTechno]

First, do you have the folder "$Windows.~BT" under C:\ (or the corresponding drive Windows is installed on) -- turn hidden items on to see it come up?

Nope!
I don't find that...

 

[StevieTNZ]

Nope!
I don't find that...

Do you have this icon on your computer?

Can some one come up with a solution please?

If the above icon is not showing, try downloading the ISO from https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10 and mount the ISO (double click it) while still running Windows 8 (i.e. don't put it on a USB and boot from that; click setup.exe after mounting the ISO). See if that works.

 

[russ_watters]

Now I'm having a new problem: Yesterday, I was playing an old Windows XP game, Command and Conquer Tiberium Wars. In the middle of the game, it disappeared and a survey from MS popped-up asking me about my experience upgrading. I thought the game had just minimized, but nope, it was gone. And now when I try to start it, I get an error message from the game, telling me it isn't compatible with my OS! Compatibility mode doesn't help.

Interestingly, after a few more updates, the game works again!

 

[Kostas Tzim]

Greetings, I am reading this conversation so far, but I am really not sure if i should upgrade to WIN 10, any ideas.?

 

[sappho.poiesis]

Hey everyone I signed up for the upgrade, I haven't downloaded it yet but now I'm afraid of the following, I have a lot of games installed, will I be able to. Play them on Windows 10? I'm afraid I won't :(

 

[StevieTNZ]

Hey everyone I signed up for the upgrade, I haven't downloaded it yet but now I'm afraid of the following, I have a lot of games installed, will I be able to. Play them on Windows 10? I'm afraid I won't :(

If you signed up for the upgrade, more than likely Windows 10 has downloaded and is trying to install (but failing -- check Windows Updates).

 

[sappho.poiesis]

No it hasn't, since I currently have no Internet connection :/

 

[TurtleMeister]

Just an update to my post #30. Yes, Windows 10 downloaded (I have the folder $Windows.~bt, all 6GB of it) and since Aug 1 it has been trying to install every day. I clicked on the Windows 10 icon to see if I had a reservation for it. It says I do not. So if you are running Windows 7 and you did not make a reservation for the upgrade, check your update history and look for folder C:\Windows\$Windows.~bt. You may have it and not even know it.

I've done some research and found that the mostly likely culprit is the windows update KB3035583. I uninstalled it this morning and the Windows 10 icon is gone. I won't know until tomorrow if it stops the upgrade attempts. I know one thing though, the computer boots up noticeably faster now.

 

[StevieTNZ]

No it hasn't, since I currently have no Internet connection :/

Oh okay - I assumed you were posting from the computer in question. I guess not.

 

[sappho.poiesis]

Oh okay - I assumed you were posting from the computer in question. I guess not.

Nope, I'm posting from my cellphone.

 

[HyperTechno]

Do you have this icon on your computer?

If the above icon is not showing, try downloading the ISO from https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10 and mount the ISO (double click it) while still running Windows 8 (i.e. don't put it on a USB and boot from that; click setup.exe after mounting the ISO). See if that works.

There is no such icon either. Alright, I'll try the ISO... Thank you so much...

 

[Kostas Tzim]

Summing up everything that's been said. Are windows 10 worth getting right now? or its better to give microsoft some time to fix the bugs etc.

 

[Chronos]

I would hold off for awhile, MS is still patching 10 and we consumers are beta testing it for them. Win 7 will be supported until 2020.

 

[enorbet]

ping HyperTechno -

For you and anyone else who does not have an optical drive in addition to a BIOS with no viable "Boot USB drive" option there is a lifesaver called PLOP bootloader. It can be installed to anything, even a floppy, and when engaged it appends boot code via a simple bootloader and provides a configurable menu selection including "Boot USB". Explanation can be found here ====> https://www.plop.at/en/bootmanager/intro.html

 

[enorbet]

Just a heads up - As you know MS has switched to a "free" upgrade format. Be sure to realize that nothing is free and something like the Facebook and Google business plan, the product in "free" is you. In the case of Windows 10 just be sure you know what you are allowing. If you expand the "Reasons We Share Personal Data" section of the EULA you will find this

Finally, we will access, disclose and preserve personal data, including your content (such as the content of your emails, other private communications or files in private folders), when we have a good faith belief that doing so is necessary to:

comply with applicable law or respond to valid legal process, including from law enforcement or other government agencies;
protect our customers, for example to prevent spam or attempts to defraud users of the services, or to help prevent the loss of life or serious injury of anyone;
operate and maintain the security of our services, including to prevent or stop an attack on our computer systems or networks; or
protect the rights or property of Microsoft, including enforcing the terms governing the use of the services - however, if we receive information indicating that someone is using our services to traffic in stolen intellectual or physical property of Microsoft, we will not inspect a customer's private content ourselves, but we may refer the matter to law enforcement.

Because the internet has deeply changed almost everything and one of those is the erosion of privacy in order to enter into the collaborative communities now possible, we all have to decide where we draw the line. EULAs by nature are so long and so often full of legalese that few of us bother to read them in full if at all. So hopefully this bit of info is not redundant to most and will help many decide exactly what they will sign up for, at least in this case. If this bothers you, staying with what you have will work for a few more years. Just know what you sign.

 

[TurtleMeister]

@enorbet

Is your quote from the Windows 10 EULA for the released version of Windows 10?

 

[enorbet]

See here ====> https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/privacystatement/default.aspx . Obviously things can change at anytime so be sure to read this section of anything you agree to if you have such concerns. Equally obvious is the underlying fact that Facebook, Google, etc. have been wildly successful at giveaways with such social hooks. Just to be informed is the best we can do since the Internet involves issues and situations that have literally never existed before in the history of mankind. One example is the huge disparity between the laws regarding postal mail and email. This is being invented on-the-fly and off-the-cuff in an entirely unprecedented manner. Safeguards are minimal and primarily up to the user.

 

[TurtleMeister]

Thanks for posting the link. So it's not just Windows 10. It's from the privacy policy that covers many Microsoft products and services. I would advise readers to read the full text in the link and not just the quote.

Update from my previous post. Looks like uninstalling the windows update KB3035583 has stopped the Windows 10 upgrade from executing. This is the first day since Aug 1 that it has not run. I've never installed a new windows OS right when it's released and I'm not going to start with Windows 10. From what I've been reading about it I think I'll stick with Windows 7 for as long as possible.

 

[HyperTechno]

ping HyperTechno -

For you and anyone else who does not have an optical drive in addition to a BIOS with no viable "Boot USB drive" option there is a lifesaver called PLOP bootloader. It can be installed to anything, even a floppy, and when engaged it appends boot code via a simple bootloader and provides a configurable menu selection including "Boot USB". Explanation can be found here ====> https://www.plop.at/en/bootmanager/intro.html

Thanks for your help... I'll look into it...

 

[sappho.poiesis]

I still don't know what to do :/

 

[StevieTNZ]

I still don't know what to do :/

You could upgrade, and if you find your games don't work revert back to your previous OS.

 

[sappho.poiesis]

You could upgrade, and if you find your games don't work revert back to your previous OS.

How do you do that? :O

 

[rcgldr]

I'm going to wait. Instead of the free upgrade, eventually I may buy Windows 10 Pro so that I can continue to multi-boot. Currently I'm multi-booting between Win XP (32 bit), Win XP X64 (64 bit), and Win 7 Pro (64 bit). I'm not sure if Windows 10 can run on my hardware, even though Windows 7 can. It's also not clear what benefit I would get from Windows 10 versus Windows 7, since my system is a desktop computer.

One thing I didn't like about Windows 7 Pro is it's default install changes the partition letters, renaming one of them to C:. To avoid this, I had to install Windows 7 Pro 64 bit from Windows XP X64 (since the Win 7 Pro 64 bit installer is also 64 bit) in order to be able specify an install partition without changing partition letters.

I've read about some issues with Windows 10 affecting game performance, but in most of the posts I've read, the performance issue was eventually resolved. I don't know if there are issues with other types of software like video rendering.

 

[DiracPool]

Summing up everything that's been said. Are windows 10 worth getting right now? or its better to give microsoft some time to fix the bugs etc.

I like this idea. If there's anything I hate it's having to update the learning curve every three years. I'd probably still be using Windows XP if they didn't stop supporting it. If it works, don't fix it

Same thing with Microsoft Word. It's a word processor, you type on it. As long as they have the cut and paste function, I'm happy. I used to type on the green monitors back in the day and use a dot-matrix printer. It doesn't take much to satisfy me. Why do I have to learn a new word processor every three years?

To be honest, though, I actually kind of like WIndows 8.1. I have an ASUS WIndows 7 laptop and a Samsung Windows 8.1. laptop, and I just recently found a sound driver on the Samsung that didn't put up that hearing warning sound every time you put the volume up over 42. It took me over a year to find this driver because I didn't want to use the standard Windows sound driver, which stinks. So, I'm finally comfortable with my setup and now this?

Plus, I read on their website that they plan to issue support for 8.1 through 2023? I'm set. Where's the compelling reason to upgrade? They really seem to be pushing it, though, every time I've logged in in the past week that little window in the lower right corner hasn't been dormant, it's been giving me a popup saying to get it while it's hot. Why are they so eager for this?

 

[enorbet]

Thanks for posting the link. So it's not just Windows 10. It's from the privacy policy that covers many Microsoft products and services. I would advise readers to read the full text in the link and not just the quote.

Update from my previous post. Looks like uninstalling the windows update KB3035583 has stopped the Windows 10 upgrade from executing. This is the first day since Aug 1 that it has not run. I've never installed a new windows OS right when it's released and I'm not going to start with Windows 10. From what I've been reading about it I think I'll stick with Windows 7 for as long as possible.

I could be wrong as I haven't monitored it's many and ongoing changes but it is my understanding that what I quoted (and more) did not exist at the time of Windows 7 release so is not in effect on that platform. AFAIK it came as a result of the shifting paradigm of revenue that favors ongoing data sales about users as opposed to a one-time fee to that user, especially since buyers of that data have deeper pockets and will basically never quit the need for demographics, etc.. Obviously it also serves other benefits like minimizing piracy.

It remains to be seen how much pressure will be brought to bear to effect this changeover but it is apparently easy to do. Witness the fact that other than some negotiable licensing difficulties with addressing large amounts of RAM, Win XP 64 was a rather excellent OpSys that got little play and essentially disappeared due to non support from abandonment. I don't know how binding and irreversible the commitment to Win 7 is or shall remain to be. It mightl be fun to watch.

 

[Aniket Patel]

I'm going to wait. Instead of the free upgrade, eventually I may buy Windows 10 Pro so that I can continue to multi-boot. Currently I'm multi-booting between Win XP (32 bit), Win XP X64 (64 bit), and Win 7 Pro (64 bit). I'm not sure if Windows 10 can run on my hardware, even though Windows 7 can. It's also not clear what benefit I would get from Windows 10 versus Windows 7, since my system is a desktop computer.

One thing I didn't like about Windows 7 Pro is it's default install changes the partition letters, renaming one of them to C:. To avoid this, I had to install Windows 7 Pro 64 bit from Windows XP X64 (since the Win 7 Pro 64 bit installer is also 64 bit) in order to be able specify an install partition without changing partition letters.

I've read about some issues with Windows 10 affecting game performance, but in most of the posts I've read, the performance issue was eventually resolved. I don't know if there are issues with other types of software like video rendering.

I've heard about the gaming performance rumors too, but believe me windows 10 will eventually boost up your gaming performance. I've been using windows 10 for around 2 weeks now, i have a medium range GPU. in windows 8.1, i played battlefield 4 on medium to high with some frame drops, but after windows 10 and directx12 I have a really smooth gameplay on high. Also windows 10 is very smooth, it runs fine. i haven't seen any big bugs yet. only the boot takes a bit more time but i think that's because i only have 7% HDD space left. Other than that, windows 10 is worth upgrading.

 

[Imager]

How do you do that? :O

Go to setting, update and security, select recovery. Here's a screen shot:

 

[Imager]

Aniket,

Here is a link about deleting the backup of the "old" version of Windows. I haven't tried it, so be careful!

http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/windows-old-automatic-pre-installation-backup-space-hog/

I've heard about the gaming performance rumors too, but believe me windows 10 will eventually boost up your gaming performance. I've been using windows 10 for around 2 weeks now, i have a medium range GPU. in windows 8.1, i played battlefield 4 on medium to high with some frame drops, but after windows 10 and directx12 I have a really smooth gameplay on high. Also windows 10 is very smooth, it runs fine. i haven't seen any big bugs yet. only the boot takes a bit more time but i think that's because i only have 7% HDD space left. Other than that, windows 10 is worth upgrading.

 

[OCR]

I haven't tried it, so be careful!

Oh my...I'm not sure I'd do that... Granted, windows old is rather sizable...

Remember, though...

Since it contains the files of an entire Windows installation, including user profiles and any personal files you might have stored within them...

Has Windows.old Ever Saved Your Bacon?

I think I'd "send" it to a big "stick", or some other drive, rather than deleting it ?

Also remember...

I'm a n00b ... lol

 

[HallsofIvy]

I got Windows 10 about four days ago. The download went easily (buy took about 2 hours). Using it, I didn't notice anything new about it except that the popup boxes for input, etc. looked very "primitive" (just basic line boxes). My "favorites" or "bookmarks" had been reversed in order which made it hard to find the ones I used regularly! I also found that several programs I had installed would not run. When I tried to reload them from the disks, I got an error message telling me that I did not have the authority to do that and should reenter as an "administrator". Since this is my own computer I was entered as "administrator" (I went to the "control panel" file to make sure of that). Finally, I just removed windows 10 and went back to my previous Windows.

When I told my daughter about this, she said "Never change to a new system until it is at least a year old!"

 

[Kostas Tzim]

I currently running windows 7, if i decide to get w10 should i go with "upgrade" or with a clean installation?

 

[rootone]

I went the upgrade path since if anything went badly wrong I still would have the clean install option.
In the event nothing strange did happen, all my apps etc were running fine and I didn't have to bother with re-installing any of them.
In fact a couple of graphic intensive apps which which had been running a bit 'clunky' seem to be running smoother after the upgrade.