# WINDOWS 10 yes/no



## bowie (Mar 12, 2005)

I cannot find a thread on this,thought there was one but i have reserved windows 10 on my lap top and now it says there is only 9 days left to up grade for free.should i upgrade yes or no will i loose anything,or should i stay with windows 7 anybody regretting changing to 10,

thank you


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## DJH584 (Apr 10, 2013)

I believe that this is the thread you are referring to

http://xflive.thewatchforum.co.uk/index.php?/topic/96272-windows-10-to-update-or-to-not-update-and-why/&do=embed

I have a copy of Win10 64 bit on this machine. Even upping the RAM to 16gb does not seem to make it any faster than the 32 bit version I have. But, fingers crossed, I have not had any instability problems with either version. front end looks different and you can get rid of the tiles to try and make it look more like Win 7.

My 32 bit version is an upgrade from WIn 7 and I didn't lose anything, but then I did back everything up just in case!!!


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## hughlle (Aug 23, 2015)

Absolutely nothing wrong with windows 10 for a general use OS. I've been on it for over a year and a half happily. That said, I will not put it ony my main computer for the very simple reason that there are a couple of older games I like to play which simply are not compatible with windows 10. Windows 7/8 still works just fine so see no reason to upgrade.


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## johnbaz (Jan 30, 2005)

Mine decided to install itself on my machine, I didn't want it and we paid more for this machine as it had Windows7 (Didn't want the Windows 8 version that was current at the time!)

After ift had done the install (And lost me what I was doing at the time :angry: ) It gave the optin to abort!! If it was a thousand percent better than the 7 I would still have aborted it as it happened against my wishes!!

John


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## Sulie (Jul 14, 2015)

Stay on 7 .. 10 is not that good ... from what I have come accross .... :taz:


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## dobra (Aug 20, 2009)

Kept desktop with W7, but changed two laptops to W10. One OK, but the other I reverted to W7 at the expense of loading software again...

mike


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## trackrat (Jan 23, 2012)

Eventually they will stop updates for Win 7 so you might as well update, if you do not like Win 10 then you can roll back to your original OS.


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## Davey P (Sep 9, 2010)

johnbaz said:


> Mine decided to install itself on my machine


 Same thing happened to me on my desktop PC last month. No "would you like to proceed" options, it just started loading on it's own with no option to cancel while it was in progress. I tried it for about an hour, just out of interest, but there were problems with compatibility of CorelDraw, and that is the main software I use for work, so I uninstalled Windows 10 straight away. To be fair, the uninstall worked fine, and there have been no problems since, so at least that is some consolation (although I suspect that because I ditched it so quickly it didn't have time to bugger up my system and/or files...)

So basically, it's a "no" from me :thumbdown:


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## martinzx (Aug 29, 2010)

I upgraded on my laptop, was a fan originally but all said & done,I did prefer win 7, and still have that on my desktop.

Some good information below in the links, that may help you make an informed decision.

http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/feature/windows/should-i-upgrade-windows-10-why-upgrade-window-10-is-windows-10-good-two-3618139/

http://www.trustedreviews.com/opinions/windows-10-vs-windows-7

Cheers Martin :thumbsup:


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## brummie1875 (May 2, 2016)

bowie said:


> I cannot find a thread on this,thought there was one but i have reserved windows 10 on my lap top and now it says there is only 9 days left to up grade for free.should i upgrade yes or no will i loose anything,or should i stay with windows 7 anybody regretting changing to 10,
> 
> thank you


 MARMITE !

Some find it ok some hate it with a passion, i have it installed but am not doing anything other than browsing and buying.

It seems to update a lot which can be annoying and a lot of the new features i will never use but i've had no major probs.


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## johnbaz (Jan 30, 2005)

Davey P said:


> Same thing happened to me on my desktop PC last month. No "would you like to proceed" options, it just started loading on it's own with no option to cancel while it was in progress. I tried it for about an hour, just out of interest, but there were problems with compatibility of CorelDraw, and that is the main software I use for work, so I uninstalled Windows 10 straight away. To be fair, the uninstall worked fine, and there have been no problems since, so at least that is some consolation (although I suspect that because I ditched it so quickly it didn't have time to bugger up my system and/or files...)
> 
> So basically, it's a "no" from me :thumbdown:


 I think I called it 'Abort'; when it was actually an 'Uninstall'!! I didn't give it chance to be liked, I wasn't happy about it taking over my machine and doing what it wanted!!!

It wasted a couple of hours of my time and lost me the stuff that I was doing at the time (Can't remember what I was doing now!! :angry: )

John..


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## bowie (Mar 12, 2005)

DJH584 said:


> I believe that this is the thread you are referring to
> 
> http://xflive.thewatchforum.co.uk/index.php?/topic/96272-windows-10-to-update-or-to-not-update-and-why/&do=embed
> 
> ...


 Yep that's what I was looking for thank you


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## graham1981 (Jan 1, 2016)

I installed Windows 10 a little while back as I was getting fed up with the pop ups prompting me too and I've been happy with it so far. I am fairly computer illiterate so only use my laptop for basic functions (web browsing, my accounts etc) but I have been happy with the performance of Windows 10 so far. It seems fairly stable and I haven't noticed any annoying glitches (I used to have Vista and that was a pile of ****, things like my screensaver would never work etc, annoying glitches) Cortana seems to be a waste of time as it doesn't work in Europe apparently so you have to set your machine to USA which buggers up the keyboard so I don't use that function. I've got used to the start menu now which is quite good but I did prefer the start screen I had for the short period I had Windows 8 (new laptop so came with 8 but kept prompting to upgrade to 10) All in all I'm happy with it :yes:


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## bowie (Mar 12, 2005)

Thanks for all the replies i think i will stick with W7 as the lap top is old i have saved my pictures ect to a external hard drive and when i need to replace the lap top will be on W10 then.


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## William_Wilson (May 21, 2007)

bowie said:


> Thanks for all the replies i think i will stick with W7 as the lap top is old i have saved my pictures ect to a external hard drive and when i need to replace the lap top will be on W10 then.


 Windows 10 is running on five of my machines now, both Home and Pro versions as well as 32 and 64 bit versions. It doesn't seem that bad now. Depending on how old your laptop is, upgrading may not be an option if it isn't multicore.

The good thing about Windows 10 is the fact that it does need loads of disk space for the operating system.

Later,
William


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## artistmike (May 13, 2006)

I built my current machine specifically for Windows 7 and various old applications that I still want to keep running, so I have no intention of succumbing to the coercion from Microsoft to change. I shall keep going with this for a good few years yet and then make a decision, not just when Microsoft want me to.


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## xellos99 (Dec 17, 2015)

Used 7 for many years, PC worked like a dream. Switched to 10 and it is now my PC has more gremlins than I can list :


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## William_Wilson (May 21, 2007)

William_Wilson said:


> Windows 10 is running on five of my machines now, both Home and Pro versions as well as 32 and 64 bit versions. It doesn't seem that bad now. Depending on how old your laptop is, upgrading may not be an option if it isn't multicore.
> 
> The good thing about Windows 10 is the fact that it does need loads of disk space for the operating system.
> 
> ...


 I not sure what happen there, but it should read "it doesn't need loads of disk space". :wink: In fact, I have an Intel Compute Stick running Win 10 Home 32 bit on a mere 32GB SSD.

Later,
William


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## William_Wilson (May 21, 2007)

xellos99 said:


> Used 7 for many years, PC worked like a dream. Switched to 10 and it is now my PC has more gremlins than I can list :


 Was it an upgrade that preserved the old applications and drivers? I found that Win 7 "junk DNA" may linger in upgraded systems and that may cause anomalous behaviour.

Later,
William


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## xellos99 (Dec 17, 2015)

William_Wilson said:


> Was it an upgrade that preserved the old applications and drivers? I found that Win 7 "junk DNA" may linger in upgraded systems and that may cause anomalous behaviour.
> 
> Later,
> William


 Yes it was as it happens. PC randomly crashing is the worst issue but I don't want to do a clean install.

When I get a virus or ransomware I will do a clean install of windows 7, I prefer 7 because even if working windows 10 is not for me.


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## vinn (Jun 14, 2015)

yes gremlins ! my win 8 lap top [this one] is constantly BOMBARDED by up-your-grade (you may quote me) to win 10.. my win 7 L.T. " the litttle darling" lost power and i plan to fix it.. vinn


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## rhaythorne (Jan 12, 2004)

I love Windows 10, have converted to it almost exclusively now and have it running on a touchscreen desktop, laptop/tablet hybrid (Surface Pro 3) and a smaller 8" tablet. I'll probably get a W10 phone too to complete the set. There are a lot of good technical reasons to upgrade which I shan't bore you with here but, on the face of it, W10 is a bit like W8 but with lots of W7 bits added back in that those comfortable with W7 really missed in W8.

I did get rather caught out the other day though when I decided to use my 8" tablet for a presentation because I didn't want to lug the company laptop about. I'd forgotten that W10 will, by default when you log on with your Microsoft account, sync lots of settings, including your Desktop wallpaper, across all your devices. Having connected the tablet to the big screen in the presentation room I logged in and hey presto the default Windows wallpaper changed to this which I have on my home desktop. Oops! :laugh:


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## ABaird3 (Apr 23, 2016)

Happy Windows 10 user here. I know some people have compatability issues and can't/shouldn't upgrade. But a lot of the negative hype is just the usual MS bashing. That and resistance to change. Some people will be anti anything new.


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## hughlle (Aug 23, 2015)

ABaird3 said:


> Happy Windows 10 user here. I know some people have compatability issues and can't/shouldn't upgrade. But a lot of the negative hype is just the usual MS bashing. That and resistance to change. Some people will be anti anything new.


 That and like with everything in life, people will jump at the chance to post a complaint online but if they're happy you'd never even know they owned or used the product/service.


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## artistmike (May 13, 2006)

ABaird3 said:


> But a lot of the negative hype is just the usual MS bashing. That and resistance to change. Some people will be anti anything new.


 Yes true, but not always. I'm pretty computer savvy, used them since I had and programmed my first Electron in basic and now am quite happy to build and modify my own PCs and use them for a variety of tasks related to my work as well as for pleasure.

My point is that I don't need Windows 10 or want it. It has absolutely nothing new that I require and is an OS that even more than usual has been made for the benefit of Microsoft, not the end user. 'Anything new' with Microsoft often unfortunately means the kind of failures associated with operating systems like Vista and Windows 8 and now Windows 10. Give it a couple of years and it may have been improved enough to be what I want but certainly not now. Their "free" upgrade is not what I want and I object to them keep trying to force it on me.

It's almost enough to turn me into a more regular Linux user ...... almost !.. :biggrin:


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## rhaythorne (Jan 12, 2004)

Microsoft Virtual Academy has lots of presentations and short training courses about all sorts of Microsoft technologies, including Windows 10 of course.

Some of you might find this one useful:

Why Windows 10 Matters


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## artistmike (May 13, 2006)

Just the sort of marketing speak you're taught on MBA courses... :biggrin:


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## Seismic one (Jun 21, 2008)

I use Windows 7 professional as you are able to install Virtual Machine with XP which allows me to use my Corel photo and Corel picture programme.

Can Windows 10 allow a Vitual machine?


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## hughlle (Aug 23, 2015)

Seismic one said:


> I use Windows 7 professional as you are able to install Virtual Machine with XP which allows me to use my Corel photo and Corel picture programme.
> 
> Can Windows 10 allow a Vitual machine?


 Of course


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## rhaythorne (Jan 12, 2004)

Yes, I have XP and Linux running as VM's in Windows 10.


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## Seismic one (Jun 21, 2008)

rhaythorne said:


> Yes, I have XP and Linux running as VM's in Windows 10.


 I see it is possible but the insrtuctions are beyond my capabilities.


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## rhaythorne (Jan 12, 2004)

Simpler version here. Instructions are for Windows 8 but it's basically the same for Windows 10 if you ignore references to the Charms Bar (the menu that used to appear on the right-hand side of the screen but was removed in Windows 10.)

To summarise:



Turn on virtualization in the BIOS


Boot into Windows and search for Windows Features


In Windows Features enable Hyper-V


Reboot


In Windows Hyper-V Manager create a new Virtual Switch


Then you're free to create some VM's


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## wotsch (Jan 5, 2011)

Upgraded today and it seems to be more or less like Windows 7 with a few cosmetic changes. Upgrade went smoothly and I didn't lose any data or programmes. I quite like the new start menu with live tiles. So far it's running well, but it's only been on a few hours.

One thing: If you're remotely concerned about privacy, one of the first things to do is go through the settings and turn off all of the data transmission back to Microsoft.


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## ABaird3 (Apr 23, 2016)

If you're concerned about the spying (or whatever it is) you can install Spybot Anti-Beacon.

https://www.safer-networking.org/spybot-anti-beacon/

Disables Windows telemetry, you can control what to disable and what to leave on, i.e. if you use One Drive you need that still enabled.


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## rhaythorne (Jan 12, 2004)

Huge resource of free Microsoft e-books (including ones about Windows 10) being given away on Eric Ligman's MSDN blog.


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## brooksy (Nov 26, 2008)

Also a happy Windows 10 user on a touchscreen 17" dell laptop, upgraded from 8.1 and never looked back.


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## rhaythorne (Jan 12, 2004)

One thing I didn't like about Windows 10's last big update ("Threshold 2" in November 2015, although I didn't get it on all my devices until several months later!) is the way it arbitrarily decided to uninstall certain programs it deemed incompatible (Ccleaner was a common example) and even replaced some of my device drivers with Microsoft ones. On my Desktop PC, the update replaced my Epson multi-function printer drivers. Sure, the interface looked very pretty and the printer would print, but the Scanner wouldn't work and the CD/DVD label printing functionality was notably completely absent. Re-installing the proper Epson drivers fixed all this but it really shouldn't have been necessary.

The next big "Anniversary" update is due on August 2nd so watch out for similar behaviour.


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## vinn (Jun 14, 2015)

the people who use the Apple system don't have these problems, continually changing operation. the apple computer costs about 3 times more. i wounder if it would be easier to use on a forum?


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## rhaythorne (Jan 12, 2004)

I tried to apply the Windows 10 Anniversary Update on my Surface Pro 3 last night. It immediately detected the update, quickly downloaded the files, got all the way to the end of the installation process... and then told me it had failed and was rolling back to the previous version. Oh bum!

I didn't have time to investigate what was causing the problem but, if anyone else encounters any difficulties, there's an article below which might help. Judging by the comments at the bottom it seems that there may be a few wrinkles in this release that still need ironing out:

http://www.windowscentral.com/windows10-anniversary-update-common-problems-how-fix


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## ABaird3 (Apr 23, 2016)

Lots of people had issues updating using the app. A way around is to use the media creation tool, and use that to upgrade. At least that seems to be more successful.


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## KevG (Dec 15, 2008)

Got 2 PC on W10 with no problems but I did upgrade from the Media Creation Tool. I've been running 1 PC since the release and 1 for about a year before on the MS insider prog.Both are fine. We use 7 at work and it drives me nuts but that's probably our IT dept and there "testing" procedure. Also run an old box on XP for older games but that one never goes on line.

Kev


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## vadiro (Jul 21, 2016)

I like the W10, except the unfinished bits, like Edge which is half IE and half a modern browser.


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## Caller. (Dec 8, 2013)

Can someone explain to me why, then there is an update om W10 all my favourites on Edge get wiped, yet passwords are still memorised, docs, photos and everything else are unaffected and is there anything I'm doing wrong? It's driving me nuts. I have a cloud but it doesn't copy favourites - or does it and I just don't know where to look? I have got into the habit of sending myself an email with saved links, but just in the last week I added a load of Bangkok art gallery links and other stuff and hadn't got around to copying it! I do have memory sticks and what not but this problem never happened with IE.

Thx for any help.


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## SBryantgb (Jul 2, 2015)

Caller said:


> Can someone explain to me why, then there is an update om W10 all my favourites on Edge get wiped, yet passwords are still memorised, docs, photos and everything else are unaffected and is there anything I'm doing wrong? It's driving me nuts. I have a cloud but it doesn't copy favourites - or does it and I just don't know where to look? I have got into the habit of sending myself an email with saved links, but just in the last week I added a load of Bangkok art gallery links and other stuff and hadn't got around to copying it! I do have memory sticks and what not but this problem never happened with IE.
> 
> Thx for any help.


 Did you not uncheck the install for the inconvenience package?


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## Caller. (Dec 8, 2013)

SBryantgb said:


> Did you not uncheck the install for the inconvenience package?


 Erm, could you explain that a little more - thanks!


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## SBryantgb (Jul 2, 2015)

Caller said:


> Erm, could you explain that a little more - thanks!


 Not really ... it's tongue in cheek :teethsmile:


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## Caller. (Dec 8, 2013)

SBryantgb said:


> Not really ... it's tongue in cheek :teethsmile:


 Doh!


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## rhaythorne (Jan 12, 2004)

Caller said:


> Can someone explain to me why, then there is an update om W10 all my favourites on Edge get wiped, yet passwords are still memorised, docs, photos and everything else are unaffected and is there anything I'm doing wrong? It's driving me nuts. I have a cloud but it doesn't copy favourites - or does it and I just don't know where to look? I have got into the habit of sending myself an email with saved links, but just in the last week I added a load of Bangkok art gallery links and other stuff and hadn't got around to copying it! I do have memory sticks and what not but this problem never happened with IE.
> 
> Thx for any help.


 Can't say for sure as I only used Edge for a short time before moving to Vivaldi, but from a default Edge installation I just tried adding a Favourite to the Favourites Folder and another to the Favourites Bar. I then installed yesterday's (Patch Tuesday) Updates, rebooted and both Favourites entries are still in Edge.

Do you perhaps sync content with other devices that have different or no Favourites entries? Maybe try toggling the "Sync your content" setting before applying updates again and see if that makes any difference.

If that doesn't work you can try resetting Edge to defaults and see if that fixes it for next month's updates. That's a mildly techie procedure though so let us know how you get on first and if necessary I'll explain how to do that in another post.


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## Caller. (Dec 8, 2013)

rhaythorne said:


> Can't say for sure as I only used Edge for a short time before moving to Vivaldi, but from a default Edge installation I just tried adding a Favourite to the Favourites Folder and another to the Favourites Bar. I then installed yesterday's (Patch Tuesday) Updates, rebooted and both Favourites entries are still in Edge.
> 
> Do you perhaps sync content with other devices that have different or no Favourites entries? Maybe try toggling the "Sync your content" setting before applying updates again and see if that makes any difference.
> 
> If that doesn't work you can try resetting Edge to defaults and see if that fixes it for next month's updates. That's a mildly techie procedure though so let us know how you get on first and if necessary I'll explain how to do that in another post.


 Okay, that sounds interesting but past midnight here now, so will look in the morning. I'm not sure I use the favourites folder and I will look in settings for the sync thing! Many thanks.


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## Caller. (Dec 8, 2013)

Thanks rhaythorne, I just had a little play around. Turned out I wasn't signed into my MS account, so all syncs were switched off - they're all on now, so hopefully that will help a few other bugbears as well! But I must look for a favourites folder, as surely that would be automatically saved by my cloud device?


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## fastmongrel (Aug 12, 2013)

My laptop is W7 and will stay that way as it works and it aint broke. Tried W10 on the PC at work and loathed Edge what a mess, that was last year and they have probably tidied it up but I wanted to run Firefox with AdBlock so went back to W7. The disaster that was W8 and 8.1 has put me off upgrades.


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## BAU Watches (Jul 2, 2016)

I agree with you. Mine will stay with W7 as well. I have declined the free update to W10


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## rhaythorne (Jan 12, 2004)

Caller said:


> Thanks rhaythorne, I just had a little play around. Turned out I wasn't signed into my MS account, so all syncs were switched off - they're all on now, so hopefully that will help a few other bugbears as well! But I must look for a favourites folder, as surely that would be automatically saved by my cloud device?


 In more recent builds of Windows 10, Edge Favourites aren't stored as single entries in a traditional file system folder that's easy to view, but in a database file. More efficient perhaps, but more intractable.

I suspect (hope!) that now you're signed in with your MS account and that you have sync enabled that you shouldn't lose your favourites any more. Just don't fall foul of the slightly embarrassing Desktop Wallpaper faux pas that I mentioned on page 1 of this thread :wink:


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## DJH584 (Apr 10, 2013)

Another issue that has cropped up is the inability to print emails using the Win10 mail app - it just won't do it. This isssue has been going on for a year now and MS appear to have done nothing about it.

@fastmongrel I am using Firefox with Adblock Ultimate on Win10 64 bit and it works just fine for me.


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## hughlle (Aug 23, 2015)

fastmongrel said:


> but I wanted to run Firefox with AdBlock so went back to W7.


 Why did firefox and adblock require you to go back to windows 7? :huh:


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## rhaythorne (Jan 12, 2004)

DJH584 said:


> Another issue that has cropped up is the inability to print emails using the Win10 mail app - it just won't do it. This isssue has been going on for a year now and MS appear to have done nothing about it.
> 
> @fastmongrel I am using Firefox with Adblock Ultimate on Win10 64 bit and it works just fine for me.


 Not heard of the Mail App printing problem before but just checked online and see that lots are experiencing this strange behaviour. I don't use Mail very often but just tried it and printing works OK for me using an Epson PX720WD.

Yes, as you and hughlle correctly point out, you can use pretty much any browser you want with whatever extensions you want in Windows 10. I'm using Vivaldi, Opera and Pale Moon


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## fastmongrel (Aug 12, 2013)

DJH584 said:


> @fastmongrel I am using Firefox with Adblock Ultimate on Win10 64 bit and it works just fine for me.


 They must have changed it wouldnt work when I tried it about a year or so ago


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## hughlle (Aug 23, 2015)

fastmongrel said:


> They must have changed it wouldnt work when I tried it about a year or so ago


 A year or so ago Windows 10 was still in development, with a public beta (insider program), it's quite possible it didn't for some reason. A lot can happen in a year.


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