2 Questions In 1, Hope It Makes Sense

Discussion in 'Software' started by Marti82, Mar 22, 2017.

  1. Marti82

    Marti82 Corporal

    Yes yes, it's me again - hope you're not tired of me yet.

    First one:
    I am running Win 8.1 on the laptop.Friends keep telling me that I should upgrade to 10 whilst it is still free. By reading posts, I think that it might be a mistake, seeing how many errors and bugs that pop up, so I have not decided on it yet. Is it wise, to upgrade to 10? Or should I stick with 8.1 ?

    Second: Laptop's built in assistant showed me there is a BIOS update available. Is it recommended to install the update, or is it safer to keep my hands off of it (I am not that tech-savvy, sadly).

    Thank you, in advance.

    Happy Spring :D
     
  2. MaxTurner

    MaxTurner Banned

    Marti82 likes this.
  3. Earthling

    Earthling Interplanetary Geek

    As long as everything on your computer is working OK, and you have not changed any of the hardware, there is no need to upgrade the BIOS. Upgrading a BIOS is not without risks and in the event it goes wrong it will render the computer permanently unusable. You cannot reverse a BIOS upgrade by using a system restore point either so no point in that.
     
    Marti82, Eldon and MaxTurner like this.
  4. MaxTurner

    MaxTurner Banned

    Thanks for pointing that out about the BIOS.
     
  5. ownthree

    ownthree Corporal

    It's no longer free as Max has kindly pointed out. I use 8.1 as well and we should be good at least until support ends January next year.
     
  6. mdonah

    mdonah Major Geek Extraordinaire

    As stated, the upgrade to Windows 10 is no longer free (that ended 7/29/16 and it would now cost you $119US for Home and $199US for Pro UNLESS you use Assistive Technology [like the Screen Magnifier — those people can still upgrade to Win 10 for free].

    My Dell Inspiron laptop has had three UEFI (BIOS) updates since I purchased it. I've flashed to the latest version each time but kept the previous versions of the flashing utility so I can roll back if there are issues (so far, there haven't been any).
     
  7. plodr

    plodr Major Geek Super Extraordinaire

    ownthree, please don't post 8.1 support ends next year.
    Windows 8.1 will be patched through January 10, 2023.
    Close to 6 years.
    It is the end of extended support that is important because then the OS will not be patched. Mainstream support, isn't all that important. I don't think I've ever contacted MS for support. If I did it was way back in the 1990's.

    Source: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/13853/windows-lifecycle-fact-sheet
     
    Marti82 likes this.
  8. Marti82

    Marti82 Corporal

    Okido, thank you guys :D Really appreciate your help and advice

    Sticking to 8.1 then, not going to throw over a 100 euro out of the window when I good to for another 6 odd years. BIG releave ^_^

    As for the BIOS; not keen on going anywhere near those, unless I need to change a specific setting and no; nothing is replaced in this laptop thus far - all as I bought him; hardware wise. Only thing bugging is Flash player-videos (FB and the likes), but that's a different topic.
     

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