Reviews/opinions On Windows 10 Free Upgrade?

Hi all,

I am, again, considering the upgrade offer for the Windows 10 (I have Win7, see laptop info in signature). It's been awhile since this offer came out, so I am wondering how many of you went for it, and if your puter is handling it well?

Also, I know my laptop is older now, I bought it in 2012, but it is in amazingly good shape. I have taken very, good care of it. So that may be good information to help with opinions on whether I should go for the upgrade. I have done quite a bit on my sisters Win 8.1 so I have at least a basic knowledge of the differences from the Win 7.

Thank you in advance, for any of your thoughts on this PS I do believe it would be best for me to buy a computer that is built with Win10 but that is out of the question for me at this time. If people are having good results upgrading, I may try it

 

I'm yet to be convinced that it's an improvement over W7 or that it adds enough improvements to get me try it for the 3rd time on my main rig. I might wait until the Anniversary Edition/build/W10.2 is out before I try again.

I do have a netbook I recently upgraded, should I get really bored and my 'net goes down, the 'fridge is empty, can't find a deck of cards, a full bottle of something interesting, or anything by Fisher Price...

First stop, Tosh's forums for other users comments on your model, then check the Tosh Support/drivers site for 'the official word' on whether they support/recommend W10 on it. Don't expect much 'non-standard' or 'amateur' software to make the W10 grade, you'll likely need to reinstall some, maybe also after any subsequent minor upgrades as well ('normal' updates shouldn't remove/block software).

 

Thank you much Satrow, yes, you will probably think I'm nuts, but I found some free-software I would love to have that is only supported by Win8.1 or 10. That is my main reason for re-thinking the possibility of the upgrade

I found this too, in my googling. Your opinion on this is welcome, and repected, as with anything I post here on MG

http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/feature/...e-windows-10-advice-win7-win8-chrome-3618139/

 

It's not really going to help much asking other people's opinions imo. The great thing about 10 is that you can try it and if you really don't get on with it you can roll back to Win 7 anytime in the following 30 days. I first upgraded my laptop, which I only use for lightweight stuff, and generally rather liked 10 but after hitting a few minor problems overwrote it with a clean install. That convinced me it was every bit as good as 7 and I went on to upgrade my main system which is used seriously. No problems at all with that upgrade and I'm still using it. The thing about 10 is that it can only go on improving, unlike 7 which is already right at the back of the queue for Windows updates, if you can get them at all, and which MS would dearly love to see the back of. My 2p anyway.

 

Hi Earthling, would you tell me what type of puter you have, the one you upgraded to Win10? How old too? I guess the thing I think about most is, upgrading a 4 year old computer. Does it have what it takes to run Windows 10 properly?

I do understand I can go back to Win7, within the timeframe you mentioned. Are there any specifics you can share with me that would provoke a statement like "it's always better to buy a new computer with 10 already installed"? Is it just easier, or is the Toshiba Satellite, for example, capable of running the Win 10 as well as the Win 7?

 

If you have been offered GWX, and you haven't been deliberately blocking Win 10 related updates, then MS thinks your system will run 10 satisfactorily. I have a Medion system here which must be approaching 10 yrs old now, and it has the GWX icon in the tray waiting for me to give it the nod. However if it were me I would not put all my trust in the built-in reversion process and would create a full disk image before going ahead with upgrading. The upgrade process itself involves nothing more than sitting and waiting

 

Ok, good info Earthling. Yes, I have the Icon for GWX. By deliberately blocking updates, you mean the upgrade itself? I have only clicked on "not now" or closed the window. Didn't set up anything to get "rid" of the opportunity, not that I know of. I'm checking it now before I finish this reply.

Ok, it was scheduled further out this week, so I changed it to the closest time I could get, which was tomorrow night at 10pm (also most convenient for me). But look at the snip, it then tells me to start the download?? Is Bill Gates really a "smart" geek?? LOL!! These things can be so confusing?

Ok, after I find out if I can close the dang window, without losing my opportunity, I'll check back again. Do I need to start another thread on "backing up my laptop" or can I just ask on this thread denise

 

By the way @Earthling , is a disk image the same as a backup? I like the idea of a "disk image", like a photo?? I'll do some research on what it is, but which is better as well, I would like to know, oh, and which is most simple and cheap (free is good, lol).

 

Ok, I see MG has two programs I saw reviews on, good reviews. Macrium, and Acronis. I think I'll download Macrium and see what it's like. Still open for opinions/info on these denise

 

It's a big download so it's asking if it's ok to get that done in preparation for the 10pm installation tomorrow. You can ok that. On creating an image there are several good free programs but the one I always recommend is Macrium. Acronis is good too but it's not free. So get Macrium and we'll take it from there.

 

Great, I'm on the way to installing Macrium now, thank you so much @Earthling. So I can get part of the installation on the Win10 today, will do. Hope I understood you right, just click on the "close" and it will go to work. I will get the back up made first (disk image).

PS I really so appreciate your help, because if I'd closed the window and things started happening, I would have freaked thinking it was going ahead with the whole deal, before I got my laptop completely backed up Pheweeeeee!! I won't say I'm going to give you a donation because people say that I'm sure, and don't follow through. But I am going to by next Wed. payday

 

You must have somewhere to store the image file as it will be big. Do you have an external drive? If so how big?

 

I used a DVD, hope I followed directions right in Macrium. I thought it was pretty easy, but that could mean I did it wrong. Here's a view of the DVD after I downloaded from Macrium. Does that look right? The DVD has 4.7 GB storage. Oh crap, these look like small parts of my laptop files:

 

No external hard drive, forgot to answer you on that.

 

Oh geez, I think I got my answer, I need something about 200 GB, well, now I think I'm sunk, as I can't "buy" anything until next Wednesday, wahhh!! LOL!! OMG, a terabyte!! LOL, never heard of that until today. 1000 and some GB of space is what I need to create a disc image, or store it that is. I am rofl at how much I don't know yet about this stuff.


Oh good news, I see I only need 579 GB, the size of my C Drive, lol, I'm still out of luck.

Ok, I see I do have a lot to learn, and so I'll do some more searching, now for devices I might be able to afford. I best reschedule my install as well

 

That's not right denise, it's just a file backup of part of your C drive. It is possible to create a disc image and store it on DVDs but it's not really practical. Without an external drive you may have to go without an image and put your trust in Win 10's revert procedure.

 

I saw that Earthling I sure thank you for helping me. I guess I'll go ahead and look at some devices, like I mentioned, cost of, etc. But I'm just looney enough to go for it without the backup I'll let you know here how it all turns out ty again denise

 

Hope it all goes smoothly

 

Metoo I see I misunderstood the "schedule" for the install. I mean as far as it saying "keep your puter on". That is talking about when the time comes that I scheduled it for. I changed it to in the a.m. now, since I had it set for tomorrow night, but I'm too anxious to try it out. 10 does have some cool features I'm seeing, and I read an article that said "waiting" for a few months to do the upgrade was a good idea so some of the bugs have been worked out". That make sense

I looked/read more on Windows 10 and it appears to have a "touchscreen" option, I mean, it sounds like it will enable me to have that on my laptop, even though it isn't already equipped with touchscreen? Am I right about that? That is a huge attraction for me because sometimes when I am playing some games, and I work large jigsaw puzzles, my hand gets worn out clicking the mouse over and over.

I realize having to reach and touch the screen all the time could be a pain too, so that won't really be a deciding factor. I feel this will go ok. I priced hard drive with at least 1 tb, and they were out of my budget amount. That's because my money is going for a Roku 2 instead. Been wanting that for awhile because then I won't have to move my laptop around so much

I'll still keep you posted, and hope this thread helps others too

 

10 has been in worldwide use for 9 months now and bugs are largely a thing of the past. IMO now is a good time to upgrade but you won't get touchscreen. Your computer has to be a touchscreen computer for that.

 

You're hilarious, I re-read this, Fisher Price, lmbo Hey, don't even think about us losing our tekkie toys. Look what we'd have to go back too if we wanted to even flirt:

 

Oh crud, well, it's not like it was a deal-breaker, just hoping Ok, off I go. If all fails, I'll still remember the video I just sent you, so I will have a way to contact you fellas, LOL! bfn, and ty again

 

I am using voice to text so I hope this message comes out okay I'm sitting here watching my laptop update everything's going smoothly so far and I have a whole 2% upload or download I mean. oh wow I'm now at 4% okay catch you guys later thanks for all your support I'll be back and that's the only warning you're going to get Lol

 

woohooo!! I'm rockin Windows 10 you guys! Took right at 90 minutes to download, then I had to do the arbitration clause "checkbox" etc. But it is working fine. Everything is in it's place, bookmarks, etc. on my browser. I will have some questions for you on the default programs (the new browser) and default apps, but other than that, looks like good to go

Speak of going, I need to run some errands now, but will check in later denise

 

The download happened yesterday - that 90 minutes was the time it took to install and create a copy of Win 7 you can use to revert. Doesn't sound like you will want to though! Pleased it went well for you.

 

So they did start on it yesterday?? Ok, I thought that's what it meant, then I got a bit confused

Yes, it is super cool to have it. I am really pleased at how easy I can get around in it. I haven't even scratched the surface of the "new" stuff though (stuff is a very tekkie word I like to use, lol).

I gotta run for now, but I'll go ahead and ask you what this Cortana is compared to Palemoon, which I really like. I think that's the new browser?? I might have it mixed up with some of the other additions ttys, denise

 

The new browser is called Edge and I'd say leave that alone for now and carry on with your current browser. You've a lot to learn without getting confused by the new browser. Cortana is an entirely new feature, a highly sophisticated search engine which you can just talk to if you want. It learns about you as you use it. Example - I asked it (verbally) 'how far is it to Stratford upon Avon?' In no time at all it came back with the (correct) answer, plus how long it should take by train, car or walking. I was impressed, though the many who are obsessed with their privacy will have it permanently turned off I'm sure

 

Hmm, I know I'll have to try that, Cortana that is You're right, I don't need to do anything other than what I already do online, and just deal with things as they come up. I'm glad the process was easy, but learning all about Win10 as fast as possible (which I wouldn't be interested in learned ALL about it)isn't how I do things anyway

Have a great day, or maybe it's evening where you are ttyl

 

Ok, only thing (which I am hoping will be a little thing) is that on a "restart" as when my AVG ran as I had it scheduled to, I had to hard boot it to get it to startup again.

So as briefly as I can, I ran another "restart" just a half hour ago. The first was around 1pm pst. It was very slow, but I timed it at just under 4 minutes to completely get me back to my desktop. When I first hit "restart" I get a pretty, blue screen (not the bluescreen of death in other words) and a dotted circle going round with the word "restarting". The first thing I notice is the screen blinks one time (blinks white, like a light, not a full white screen).

Second, the next message I see is "please wait" then it show my name and a box where a photo of me could go. During these different screens, the the monitor sort of fades to black, then quickly reappears. And like I said, I just let it do it's thing, and it finally loaded. But something isn't right, and I haven't a clue.

I did go to the Tosh site as @Earthling suggested (and couldn't find anything that sound similar) So instead of putting a post there, I wanted to ask you guys.

Do you ever know something is wrong, but you don't even know what question to ask, or how to ask it? I hope someone will have know, especially if they've had it happen on the upgrade. I'm not worried, I just imagine it is something to do with some incompatibility issue. Maybe need a driver updated, I just don't have the first clue.

I don't know if I should put this in a new thread or stick to this one, seems to all go together, but no problem if it needs to be moved Denise

PS this might be important so want to add it, I just timed the startup when I have completely shut down the laptop. It took 37 seconds to get me back to desktop, fastest EVER. Can't understand why the restart would be like it is.

 

I read this as a possible fix, it worked for this guy anyway. I'm just not sure whether to try it or not. They were jabbering about slow startups after reboot/shutdown/and "restart" so I was confused because my only issue is with restarting. After shutdown, my laptop is back up in a few seconds.

So wondering if this guy is right about the AMD Catalyst. Anyway I took a snip of "his fix" for startup after shutdown or restart, I wasn't sure like I said:

 

I'll see you guys later, I'm beat Thanks again, for all your help

 

You will need to look in Event Viewer for information on the problem. Tap the Start button, type event and click on Event Viewer. Click on Windows Logs > System. Look for errors close to the time you last closed down and had this problem. Double click the error and click the Copy button. Paste into your next post but to keep it brief you can delete the entire section starting Event Xml:

 

Ok, this is a pic of what I found. But all 807 events are timed during the setup. I don't see any listed that took place after I was up and running on Win10. I could do a restart this a.m. and see if it shows up in the log, or maybe I am in the wrong place. Thanks for helping me again @Earthling I see your plate has been full on the forum.
Oh brother, now I went in again, and there are more events listed later in the day. Ok, I'll get a copy of that log, sorry about that.

 

Ok, there are a bunch of errors, like 20 @Earthling and I am not sure what time I did the restarts, I did two. The one was between 10:30 and 12 noon, and the next one I don't remember. All I know is it was in the afternoon.

Is there anything else/way I can filter out those errors? I also didn't see anything in the error when I viewed one individually, that says Event XML. I'm going back in to look around again. I'll show you a snip of just part of the errors that are showing. Ok wait, I think I see how this is, the same thing is listed as an error 4 or 5 times. So here is the data on an error that says "restarting":

Log Name: System
Source: Service Control Manager
Date: 4/24/2016 11:23:35 AM
Event ID: 7031
Task Category: None
Level: Error
Keywords: Classic
User: N/A
Computer: Denises-PC
Description:
The Contact Data_380230 service terminated unexpectedly. It has done this 1 time(s). The following corrective action will be taken in 10000 milliseconds: Restart the service.
Event Xml:
I deleted all that came after this
@Earthling , denise

 

This one I'm pretty sure must be at the time I "hardbooted" the laptop because it was so slow I thought it wasn't going to startup again:

Log Name: System
Source: Microsoft-Windows-Kernel-Power
Date: 4/24/2016 4:11:14 PM
Event ID: 41
Task Category: (63)
Level: Critical
Keywords: (70368744177664),(2)
User: SYSTEM
Computer: Denises-PC
Description:
The system has rebooted without cleanly shutting down first. This error could be caused if the system stopped responding, crashed, or lost power unexpectedly.


Deleted XML, denise

PS there are several/many warnings, all the same, about this:

The NetTcpActivator service depends on the NetTcpPortSharing service which failed to start because of the following error:
The service cannot be started, either because it is disabled or because it has no enabled devices associated with it.

Also, other errors appear to be the same and state this:

The Contact Data_66c4c service terminated unexpectedly. It has done this 1 time(s). The following corrective action will be taken in 10000 milliseconds: Restart the service.

This one as well @Earthling as another "warning":

Task Scheduler service found a misconfiguration in the NT TASK\Microsoft\Windows\Media Center\mcupdate_scheduled definition. Additional Data: Error Value: %SystemRoot%\ehome\mcupdate.

 

I don't think we've found the problem yet denise. I'm not interested in warnings, only errors, and only errors that occur during a restart when you experience this long delay. Everybody's event viewer contains loads of errors and warnings so it's essential to catch the right one. To be sure you are catching the right one you need to restart at least three times, get the long delay each time, and see exactly the same error each time in event viewer. Then we might have a chance of identifying the cause. Or you can live with it.

 

Ok, I could live with it, but I'm not sure I shouldn't try to find out if there is something wrong. Is yours slow on a "restart"? Say, after you run your Anti-virus, or malwarebytes, something like that? I am not sure why my AVG ran yesterday, but on that first "restart" that's "why" I restarted it. When it was slow, I just restarted it again later on to see if it was still slow. It was the same deal.

I've read a lot about the black-screen "lag" on the MS forum, but those are ALL back in 2015, August. I think I will do the restarts @Earthling and I'll do as you said, 3, and mark the times, I will also time the restarts

Thank you much, as always

 

It seems normal for it to "restart" like that. I tried to find somewhere where it tells the difference between a restart, and a shutdown, and I can't find anything.

I see they made the initial startup much faster, and it said something about it's more like a sleep mode, or hybernation. That's why it starts up from scratch, so easily and quick. But the restart, it is so far, very hard, if not impossible to find info on how the restart works. I sware, some folks don't know the difference it seems, arg!! LOL!!

Ok, so I'm going to leave it as is for now. It isn't that bad if I do have to do a restart. I usually don't do that many. I do wonder though, the difference between each of those processes. Maybe you can tell me, or let me know where to look for an explanation of each. I do have what looks like quite a few startup programs, and although the quick startup, maybe those programs somehow make the restart slower.

I thought about the black screen lags, which are only a few seconds. Wondered if it was some sort of power saver issue, or screensaver setting, but it wasn't. ty much, Denise