# Windows 10--To upgrade or Not to upgrade?



## Pilgrim (Jul 11, 2016)

The deadline for the "free" Windows 10 upgrade for Windows 7 and 8 users is July 29. 

One of our laptops has Windows 7 and the other one has 8.1. When Windows attempted to force upgrades last year, I simply set Windows Update to manual lest one of them get the upgrade without specifically choosing it. 

What are the pros and cons of Windows 10? I pretty much loathe Windows 8.1, so much so that I'd just about rather go back to Vista even if it meant a blue screen once a week or so. But my guess is that a lot of that frustration is because I bought an underpowered Lenovo machine last year that only has 4 GB of RAM. I do like the OneDrive "Placeholder" feature in 8.1 which isn't available in Windows 10. (It makes your OneDrive files accessible in Windows Explorer as if they were files stored on your HD.) 

I really haven't looked into this much recently, but I'm leaning toward staying put. I think there are some work related sites that I use that still won't work unless you're using IE, which 10 has replaced with Edge. (These are the types of sites that only worked with IE 6 even after MS wasn't updating it anymore.) And I've got some older hardware that I'm guessing might not be compatible. 

It looks like extended support for 7 goes through 2020 and 8.1 through 2023, so it is not as if they will be totally obsolete within the next year or two. Based on some of the considerations noted here, I'm leaning toward staying put. But I'd be interested to know if there are compelling reasons why I should consider upgrading one or more of my machines. For those who have upgraded,




Are the privacy concerns any worse than those encountered with a smartphone? 
Have you had software or hardware compatibility issues? 
What are some marked improvements over 7 and/or 8.1 and do these outweigh any other concerns for you?


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## StephenG (Jul 11, 2016)

I would definitely recommend upgrading to 10 from 8. 10 is generally pretty easy to navigate. I have heard that for older devices you should stick with Windows 7. It's probably still the most solid version.
On a lighter note, what's similar about Windows developers and an Arminian preaching through Romans? 

They both skip the 9.


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## Pilgrim (Jul 11, 2016)

I might actually consider finding a way to downgrade from 8.1 to 7 rather than upgrading. Usually a new OS is more resource intensive. Is that the case with 10 vs 8.1?


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## Edward (Jul 11, 2016)

I would probably update the Win8 machine but not the Win7. 

I had a Laptop and a desktop in Win7. I upgraded the low-use laptop and everything worked fine at first; an automatic update took away the wireless connection and the camera. I rolled back (not nearly as easy as with 7) to a restore point, got everything working again. After several months I wanted to allow updates to get updated virus definitions (unlike 7, updates appear to be all-or-nothing for the consumer versions). After that update, a little bit of fiddling got the wireless working again, but the camera went non-functional again. Just checked, and the camera is back. Proceed at your own risk.

If you have IE at the time of the upgrade, you should still have it after the upgrade. IE and Firefox continued to work fine. I didn't use the machine for email. 

You will probably need to download third party software to watch DVDs. I went with clear.fi 

The more privacy you try to maintain, the less functional the software is. So if you don't want all your keystrokes and voice requests copied to Microsoft (and their partners in the Federal government), there isn't much benefit that I see in moving from 7.


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## Edward (Jul 11, 2016)

Pilgrim said:


> Usually a new OS is more resource intensive. Is that the case with 10 vs 8.1?



I don't know about 8.1, but it may actually consume fewer resources than 7. 

But like Apple, Google, and Amazon, now YOU are the product.


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## Pilgrim (Jul 11, 2016)

Edward said:


> Pilgrim said:
> 
> 
> > Usually a new OS is more resource intensive. Is that the case with 10 vs 8.1?
> ...



So the Mac fanboys can't point the finger at Windows on this one? Or are you merely referring to the iPhone?


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## Ryan&Amber2013 (Jul 11, 2016)

We upgraded to 10 and it's been great.


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## Ed Walsh (Jul 11, 2016)

Pilgrim said:


> What are the pros and cons of Windows 10? I pretty much loathe Windows 8.1



Windows 10 is much more like Windows 7 than 8.

I have 7 PC's running on Windows 10 plus one Mac also running Windows 10 via Parallels. They run 24 Hours a day, and to date, I don't think any of them has crashed.

I have had some compatibility problems, but, all in all, I am glad I upgraded from Windows 7

You should get more memory for you 4 GIG machine if possible. Even if it means discarding the existing memory and getting new.


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## Pilgrim (Jul 12, 2016)

Edward said:


> Pilgrim said:
> 
> 
> > Usually a new OS is more resource intensive. Is that the case with 10 vs 8.1?
> ...



If somebody doesn't want to be the product, then there is no reason to upgrade from 8.1 either.


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## KeithW (Jul 12, 2016)

The last time I checked 10 can only do automatic OS updates. You cannot set it to manual.

A friend upgraded his business PC to 10. Later, during one of the auto updates there was some sort of hiccup and then the PC would not boot anymore. Searching the web shows this is a common issue with 10. He had to hire someone to get it working again.


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## Edward (Jul 12, 2016)

KeithW said:


> The last time I checked 10 can only do automatic OS updates. You cannot set it to manual.



Tell it you have a metered connection.


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## jwithnell (Jul 12, 2016)

I finally went over to the dark side. My chief concern: data mining via Microsoft. There's no such thing as a free lunch.


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## Edward (Jul 12, 2016)

Pilgrim said:


> If somebody doesn't want to be the product, then there is no reason to upgrade from 8.1 either.



Most of the same Microsoft spyware is already in 8. If you are going to be spied upon, might was well do it in the most convenient way for you, and go ahead and go from 8 to 10.


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## Manuel (Jul 20, 2016)

Install the Classic Shell on your Windows 8.1 computer for a feel and look like Windows 7. 

Windows 8.1 is faster and more stable than 7, the problem is the Metro interface that everybody hates.


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