Windows 7 to 10?

[Brooke]

I just updated by Windows 7 to 10.  Seems to work acceptably.

I did it that way for two reasons:
1.  I was starting with Windows 7 and had heard that the free update will still work and didn't want to stray from what folks said would work.
2.  Although I generally would prefer a fresh install, fresh installs these days are getting to be such a huge pain in the butt that I'm willing to give update a try and see how it goes.

[Bizman]

Well done Brooke! For what I've noticed the upgrade method can be a valid option and unlike the previous versions of Windows the current one does it reasonably well. I've chosen that way especially on older machines with certain software installed. Among those are the free Office 2010 Starter and Microsoft Live Mail, both of which can't be reinstalled on Windows 10. There's alternatives but for the price I'm charging and for the level of usage migrating wouldn't be worth the effort. But it all depends on the overall condition and usage.

Comparing upgrading and clean install as procedures there's not much difference. Just yesterday I did two fresh installs, one using the Windows7 code on the sticker, the other just by installing without any code since it was a Win8 laptop downgraded to Win7 so the original electronic code for 8 was still somewhere inside. For the first one I did it on a brand new SSD so there was no data left from the original Win7.

As for a fresh install being a pain in the butt I can confirm that to some extent. I bit the bullet and got a "new" rig in December. Getting my mail transferred from Live Mail to Thunderbird took forever as there's no automation available for the current version. 4700+ posts, 5 mailboxes, a dozen local folders including their subfolders... Even the comma separated exported address book doesn't import as such, it has to be modified in Excel! So far I've only done the "mandatory" tasks, programs like Skype still wait for a reinstall. On the bright side I've also got rid of a huge bunch of programs that either were outdated or which I actually never used.

[Brooke]

I have many rants about Microsoft, and one of them is about the idiocy of architecting the OS so that reinstall requires a reinstallation of every app.  People responsible for that need to spend some time in purgatory to make up for the pain and suffering they inflicted on the world.

The OS install isn't more painful than the update -- it's the day (sometimes longer) of work it takes me to reinstall and reconfigure everything else, things like the super-tedious Quickbooks install, reconfigure, and restore, as one example.

Otherwise, I would greatly prefer a fresh install.

Also, once I've got it going, I definitely use the freeware tool "Shut Up 10" to turn off all of the embedded shady spyware that is now part of the Windows OS.  A *very* handy tool.

Shut Up 10
https://www.oo-software.com/en/shutup10

[Morpheus]

Please believe me that widows 10 is the cats arse of all the windows OS EVER made up to now. For about 10 years i was a die hard windows 7 lover!!! I had a mishap with my hard drive and lost everything on a terabyte HD. A LOT of toejam!!! I am so very thankful to who ever made windows 10 nearly every time log off and shut down my computer!

[428CJ]

 I did the update over 7 not a fresh install and it seems to be working fine so, far the only thing I have noticed different is that I can no longer alt tab out of the game, soon as I let off the alt tab keys it goes right back into the game. Anyone else have this happen?

[mikeWe9a]

Alt-tab no longer cycles through the desktop, it seems.  BUT, you can get to the desktop by hitting the windows and d keys- hold down the windows key, and hit the d key and you should be back at the desktop immediately.

Mike

[Ciaphas]

Alt-tab no longer cycles through the desktop, it seems.  BUT, you can get to the desktop by hitting the windows and d keys- hold down the windows key, and hit the d key and you should be back at the desktop immediately.

Mike

On Win 10?


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[mikeWe9a]

Yep, that's the way it works on my machine at least.

Mike

[Ciaphas]

I don't go to the desktop but I switch windows while I play and I just use alt tab


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[Brooke]

Please believe me that widows 10 is the cats arse of all the windows OS EVER made up to now.

To me (on the scale of different OS'es, such as Unix and Mac OS), Windows 10 is about the same as Windows 7.  I don't see any benefit to me other than it being in support.

[Spikes]

To me (on the scale of different OS'es, such as Unix and Mac OS), Windows 10 is about the same as Windows 7.  I don't see any benefit to me other than it being in support.

To the end-user there aren't many differences. We rolled out 10 over the last year at my firm, everyone thought it was daunting but once they used it for a day they were saying "what's the difference"? Just some visual differences really. My one gripe is they created two of everything for menu type stuff. Two different printer menus, two 'control panels', etc.

As for upgrade vs. fresh install, fresh is always better, but I have to say, I've done about 25-30 upgrades and have had little issues with those machines. Here and there we've had to re-install a printer driver or something, but nothing major.

[Bizman]

To the end-user there aren't many differences. We rolled out 10 over the last year at my firm, everyone thought it was daunting but once they used it for a day they were saying "what's the difference"? Just some visual differences really. My one gripe is they created two of everything for menu type stuff. Two different printer menus, two 'control panels', etc.

As for upgrade vs. fresh install, fresh is always better, but I have to say, I've done about 25-30 upgrades and have had little issues with those machines. Here and there we've had to re-install a printer driver or something, but nothing major.

Exactly what I've experienced, except that my customers often are of the age who haven't used computers at work. Printers have to be reinstalled, other than that an upgrade works right after installing. Some drivers may need updating but even those most often are up to date to the point where the inner device's manufacturer can't provide newer ones.