Jumping From Xp To 10

So ages and ages ago, I posted a rather whiny thread asking/grousing about problems with Win10 and any recommendations regarding it. I'm looking, more calmly, for any updated advice y'all may have.

I am -finally- pulling the trigger on a new PC, and I'm trying not to work myself back into a state of research-induced paranoia. I have all my files ready to dump on an external and switch over, and I'm trying to keep from waffling too much.

I'm buying something off the shelf, and within my parameters and price range, everything comes with 10 Home. Considering what I'm planning to do, I don't think the upgrade to Pro is really worth it - I'm okay with (and have the instructions for) doing a registry tweak to shut off Cortana (I'd be fine installing gpedit as well, but apparently MS removed that option).

So for people who've been using 10 for ages now, and not hating it, are there any real standout issues to watch for? I already know about going in and slapping every possible privacy setting to Deny, and switching telemetry to Basic mode. A couple other random questions I've yet been unable to answer from Google searches:
- early in Win10, there were horror stories about updates installing and rebooting PCs spontaneously, is that still a thing? I don't seem many mentions of it any more.
- likewise, horror stories about random updates bricking PCs. I only have one personal machine, so grabbing fixes off another isn't really feasible. Is this a thing that still happens? Likewise, haven't seen much on it.
- I'm indecisive on the AV/firewall front. I have install files for Avast and ZA ready to go, but I keep reading that Defender and the built-in firewall are pretty reasonable these days. For an average user who surfs the internet and wants to play some more modern PC games, is it worth screwing around with something more complicated?
- less technically, from what I've been reading I feel like I'm very out of place for...y'know, shutting my PC down when I'm done with it for the day. Do people just not do that any more? Not a serious question.

Again, this is all research-induced paranoia talking. Let's just say the last time I bought a PC, I plugged it in, booted, made my account, copied my files, and went. I didn't have to worry about a thousand different activations and privacy options, and it's all new and frightening to me.

 

Windows 10 seems pretty stable nowadays,and if you buy a pc/laptop with Windows 10 installed, then it should not give you trouble. Just check the latest version has been applied when you get it, as the latest version(update) will be pretty stable.
Unfortunately Windows 7 is losing support next year, so,it is favoured to have W10 installed .
As you came off of XP, not many XP programs will be compatible with W10.
Yes, Windows defender is a lot better than before,but don't install another antivirus - check out if it will interfere with Windows Defender, first -
Don't shut off too much, without checking out whether there will be problems by doing so.

 

Group Policy Editor for Windows 10 Home Edition
https://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/group_policy_editor_for_windows_10_home_edition.html

W10Privacy
https://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/w10privacy.html

Microsoft still force-feeds updates to Windows 10, but they stopped that b-s when it comes to version upgrades (for the last two versions, so far...).

It's always a possibility, but not very likely. Keep good backups (and create system image backups occasionally) and you should be covered.

Windows Defender and Firewall seem to do a decent job. I added Malwarebytes for some extra screening, but that's it.

I usually just put my PC to sleep when I'm done with it. The only time that I turn if off nowadays is during thunderstorms.

Despite Microsoft's claims to the contrary, you don't have to create a Microsoft account when you install Windows 10 Home:

How to Create a Local Account While Setting Up Windows 10
https://www.howtogeek.com/442792/how-to-create-a-local-account-while-setting-up-windows-10/

I've been using Windows 10 for over 3 years now, and I don't have any major issues with it.

 

Be aware that when you install the latest version, currently 1909, all your privacy settings get restored to MS defaults. Personally I consider attempting to prevent Win 10 from reporting home is largely a waste of time as you are being comprehensively monitored by your browser and its add-ons anyway regardless of your OS.

We have had four Win 10 systems running here for four years now and really have had very few problems. Whether or not you like it is just a personal issue. For me it has matured easily into MS' best ever.

 

Thanks for the candor, guys. I have no idea what version I'm actually going to get out of the box, so the first thing I'm doing is making a restore USB and letting it shit itself over updates.

Mechanically I don't mind most of it - any new OS puts shit in different places, and I've actually been using 10 at work for some time now. It's irrational, I know. I just...want things to work off the shelf, out of the box, and without selling my soul. Is that really so much to ask?