Part I –
Introduction
Upgrade
to Windows 10 for Free? What does that mean? Will it wreck my computer, destroy
My Documents? What if everything goes wrong? Do I have to upgrade?
We
have been there too – Microsoft is now offering a deal for all users with
Windows 7 and up – upgrade to their latest operating system for free. So we
looked it up, researched it, and then just simply upgraded to find out what would happen.
Our Story:
Brian
and I are computer gurus, we enjoy experimenting, testing and researching. But
most of all, we are computer users. Every day, we have to turn on our
computers, and work and play and everything has to work just right. Most of us
approach computers like we do cars, we need things done now and the computer
has to wake up, and work right. If something is broken, our world is broken,
and we can no longer be productive. So we did the experiment for you – I
upgraded my Windows 8.1 laptop in August, my brother upgraded his Windows 7
laptop in September. For the first month, all sorts of things went wrong. My
keyboard wouldn’t work with the laptop, it wouldn’t turn on consistently, the startup
screen froze, and it was always demanding a Microsoft Account (also free). I
got the Microsoft Account, logged in, and was blown away. The screen was
perfect. The start menu was back, my documents were still there, and it looked
for all the world like a normal desktop should look.
My conclusion:
Microsoft
released Windows 10 early. In July and August, it wasn’t ready – there were
small bugs that kept things from acting normally. In September, things were
starting to iron out, with some minor glitches (like the computer not
hibernating when I closed the lid). In October, I have had only one glitch - Cortana
sometimes doesn’t like to wake up. One week ago, my friend’s Windows 7 hard
drive crashed. The big problem we all fear, that all of our data will somehow
meet the datasphere death and all our hard work will be gone. My friend was
running Windows 7. I received his broken computer, and with the help of my
technical minded father in law, we cleaned out the inside and outside, removed
malware, and booted up Windows 7. Then, we decided to just launch my poor
friend into the future with Windows 10 – free upgrade (my friend is not
computer savvy). We gave it back to him with Office 2010 and Windows 10. Works
perfectly, I keep checking with him to ask how his computer is running. He is
fine, his documents were all saved, and Windows 10 has been as good Windows 7
ever was.
Should
I install Windows 10? What will change? The surprising answer is – not much.
Windows 10 at its heart, is just another operating system. It is built to
launch on any computer that natively can handle Windows 7 or better. It has a
start screen, it has internet, and it has all the basics that you would expect.
We have separated this guide into 2 sections; a quick overview of some of the
new features, and a setup guide for adjusting / tweaking things like privacy
settings, personalization, and cleanup.
