Windows 10 Now live!

[SharkyUK]

Had a full day developing on it / with it today and it's been spot on Pleasantly surprised. Even more surprised how pleasant Edge is to use as well.

Just as a security recommendation, I would suggest you ensure Wi-Fi Sense is disabled. It's probably not the most sensible feature to have enabled unless you are aware of (and happy with) what could happen.

 

[Mikeyjp]

Ah brill! I've been wondering about that.

Now I just need to fix the white title bars :smile:

http://www.howtogeek.com/222831/how-to-get-colored-window-title-bars-on-windows-10-instead-of-white/

 

[Wilkeh]

http://www.howtogeek.com/222831/how-to-get-colored-window-title-bars-on-windows-10-instead-of-white/

Legend!

 

[Darren S]

Installed it last night - zero issues so far.

It's everything that Windows 8 isn't (thankfully) and appears to have the look and feel of an evolution of Windows 7.

Really liking it from the small amount I've used!

 

[Adamm.]

I tried forcing it with no luck. Followed it step by step about 5 times and it did it once but stayed at 0%.

 

[SharkyUK]

Bummer... I've just found my first couple of issues. Firstly, I can't double-click to view image files. It tries to open the Photo viewer and then just closes straight back to desktop. This is frustrating as it makes my photo editing somewhat tricky as I don't have a quick-view / preview ability. Secondly, I can't get Metro Last Light Redux to work It freezes randomly once into the game; it could play for 5 minutes, it could play fine for a half hour. Oh well, I'm still mighty impressed with it so far and I'm not easily impressed. Harrumph. LOL!

 

[midge]

If i go and buy a new computer tomorrow will i be able to update to windows 10 for free?

 

[Gareth]

Yes I would expect so. I've installed it on my brothers laptop while its with me for a replacement screen and some upgrades, its working faultlessly on there and now works great on my HTPC now it's loaded up with Windows 10 drivers from the ASUS site.

 

[Darren S]

If i go and buy a new computer tomorrow will i be able to update to windows 10 for free?

Yes. Whichever version of Windows 7 or 8 it comes with, you're entitled to upgrade to the equivalent Windows 10 version for free.
There is a slight caveat that you need to upgrade within the next year (well, probably 360 days now) in order to get it free, but most people will do that anyway.

 

[CrippsCorner]

Like with anything I guess there's good and bad. I use a Surface Pro which you think it'd kind of be optimised for... but the rendering is s**t for some reason. The icons on the taskbar all look awful, like it's the wrong resolution or something. They all look much better on my external monitor, though still not perfect.

Had to install Chrome as no backwards/forwards swipe on Edge is unacceptable! Chrome though, once again looks terrible on the actual Surface screen, the font's really soft. I also don't like that with Edge on the Surface (small screen of course) you can't get rid of the taskbar or title bar, meaning you have much less real estate to use compared to Modern UI IE on Windows 8.1

Hopefully when these universal apps start appearing it'll make things better.

I am happy with the speed of things though, and it does all look very nice and fresh.

Edit: Worked out how to show taskbar on one screen only

 

[C.J]

Bummer... I've just found my first couple of issues. Firstly, I can't double-click to view image files. It tries to open the Photo viewer and then just closes straight back to desktop. This is frustrating as it makes my photo editing somewhat tricky as I don't have a quick-view / preview ability.

You could just right click one photo, open with, choose other, then choose a different default.

 

[Gareth]

Mine seems to be behaving more now, I don't know if this is due to updates or because I've configured auto logon in the registry, but for the last few days its booted up no problem.

 

[Addicted]

If i go and buy a new computer tomorrow will i be able to update to windows 10 for free?

It's only free for a year so need to bear that in mind

 

[DannyR]

It's only free for a year so need to bear that in mind

Really? That's cheeky as I've not seen that anywhere else!

 

[Addicted]

Really? That's cheeky as I've not seen that anywhere else!

It's been worded in a way which makes it sounds like it's free forever, but sadly not the case

 

[DannyR]

It's been worded in a way which makes it sounds like it's free forever, but sadly not the case

I won't be updating my laptop then!

 

[Ay Ay Ron]

It's only free for a year so need to bear that in mind :smile:

It's free if you have updated from 7/8.1 for the remainder of the devices lifetime.

http://www.winbeta.org/news/microso...after-initial-upgrade-no-yearly-fee-upgraders

I'll update soon enough I think.

 

[Addicted]

It's free if you have updated from 7/8.1 for the remainder of the devices lifetime.

http://www.winbeta.org/news/microso...after-initial-upgrade-no-yearly-fee-upgraders

I'll update soon enough I think.

Hmm, are you sure?

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/0...0_away_free_for_windows_7_81_and_phone_users/
http://uk.ign.com/articles/2015/01/21/free-upgrade-to-windows-10-for-first-year-after-release
http://winsupersite.com/windows-10/...ws-7-windows-8x-and-windows-phone-81-upgrades
http://gizmodo.com/windows-10-is-a-free-upgrade-for-the-first-year-1680771504

Maybe I've been reading it wrong, not sure? Highly confusing thats for sure lol!

 

[Ay Ay Ron]

Hmm, are you sure?

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/0...0_away_free_for_windows_7_81_and_phone_users/
http://uk.ign.com/articles/2015/01/21/free-upgrade-to-windows-10-for-first-year-after-release
http://winsupersite.com/windows-10/...ws-7-windows-8x-and-windows-phone-81-upgrades
http://gizmodo.com/windows-10-is-a-free-upgrade-for-the-first-year-1680771504

Maybe I've been reading it wrong, not sure? Highly confusing thats for sure lol!

I think it might be free to upgrade for one year from release of W10 if you are currently running 7/8.1 but if you tried upgrading one of those after a W10 has been out over a year then you would be charged.
That's the way I see it anyway.
So say W10 official release day is Aug 1st 2015, it would be free to upgrade until Aug 1at 2016. If you tried upgrading your current 7/8.1 on Aug 2nd 2016 you would be charged.

 

[DannyR]

Yea that's the way I thought it was originally, you had a year to update to it, not a year of it for free.

 

[CrippsCorner]

Correct. It is hard to word lol... but yes, if you upgrade within the first year, it's free forever. You might have issues if you change HDD etc. though because it basically ties your Windows 7/8 key to your Windows 10 installation.

 

[Darren S]

Correct. It is hard to word lol... but yes, if you upgrade within the first year, it's free forever. You might have issues if you change HDD etc. though because it basically ties your Windows 7/8 key to your Windows 10 installation.

That's the way I read it too. Not quite sure how it works when you have an OEM DVD of Windows 7 Home, though?

I've reformatted the PC numerous times over the years using this DVD - but I'm assuming that when I installed Windows 10, it did take a 'time-stamp' of my current hardware as part of the process. If I then upgraded my hardware in say October 2016 and attempted to reinstall with the current copy of Windows 10 - it wouldn't work.

To be fair, I don't really have an issue with the price of Windows itself - given how much I use it. That said, it would be nicer if they matched the Apple pricing model of OSX!

 

[DannyR]

I imagine you will need to register and it will tie to an email address, thus then linking to the computer you first install on maybe?

 

[Goodj]

I won't be updating my laptop then!

Why no?

It's a free update and all the updates from there on in wont cost.
You've basically got until June to install 10.

 

[Chrisgti6]

I'm still on Windows 7 - Should I upgrade?

I'm not a gamer, my PC is mainly used as a Plex server, the odd bit of browsing and printing and that's about it.

Worth the hassle of upgrading or stick with Win7?

 

[celicaturbolly]

I can't get the force update to work either

 

[Jay_A]

I can't get the force update to work either

This worked for me;

Locate the registry key: [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\WindowsUpdate\OSUpgrade]

It should exist, but if not, create it.

Create a new DWORD (32-bit) Value with Name = "AllowOSUpgrade” (without the quotes), and set the Value = 0x00000001.

Once the registry key is modified, close and reopen the desktop Control Panel, go to Windows Update and check for updates. You should now be able to click the Get Started button to upgrade to Windows 10. Note: Windows 8.1 users must go to the desktop Control Panel, and not the modern Windows Update UI.”

 

[celicaturbolly]

How weird, I've just gone onto windows update and the "download 10" is now there, thanks for the advice though!

 

[Gareth]

I'm still on Windows 7 - Should I upgrade?

I'm not a gamer, my PC is mainly used as a Plex server, the odd bit of browsing and printing and that's about it.

Worth the hassle of upgrading or stick with Win7?

Its definitely a worthy upgrade from Windows 7, it boots a lot quicker and is quicker under use as well. I've also found with the newer OS's (8.1 & 10) that over time they don't seem to get bogged down like Windows XP / 7 did. I've got my brother's laptop with me at the moment for a screen replacement and a few upgrades, its gone from Windows 7 to Windows 10 Pro and the boot time is impressive considering its not even on an SSD (power on to logon screen is less than 20 seconds).

 

[DannyR]

Why no?

It's a free update and all the updates from there on in wont cost.
You've basically got until June to install 10.

That was in reply to the not free after a year.

I'm also a bit skeptical as I run a few programs designed for XP, will they be likely to be reliable?

 

[Ex-User (19928)]

That was in reply to the not free after a year.

I'm also a bit skeptical as I run a few programs designed for XP, will they be likely to be reliable?

What software do you use that the most recent reliable version is for XP ??

 

[DannyR]

What software do you use that the most recent reliable version is for XP ??

Software for Philips Prontos and Nevos, all in one smart remote controls. With them not doing them now, the software updates obviously stopped and last version is from 5 odd years ago.

Also other bits of software for similar setups such as Living Control music servers, we have to keep all our old laptops for similar as my laptop is hit and miss with the Nevo stuff. We tend to upgrade the laptops rather than software due to this.

Most stuff works on 7 exactly how it should, but it would be taking a risk if I couldn't program customers remotes!

 

[Darren S]

Thought I'd come across my first Windows 10 issue last night.

Fired up Project Cars for the first time since installing the new O/S and the game had no idea what the hell my G25 was. I quit and went to the Logitech Game Software and it had the keyboard, mouse, G13 gameboard - but nothing on the wheel.

Restarted the PC and again, the Logitech software wasn't showing the wheel. I went into the Connected Devices tab within Windows and it was clearly showing the G25 with no errors.

Fired up Project Cars again and manually picked the G25 and configured the steering and pedals. Then it worked fine.

I think Windows is happily to support it natively, but the Logitech software is omitting the wheel. I did check and there's no Windows 10 specific driver for it. Hopefully that will change though.

 

[Chrisgti6]

Its definitely a worthy upgrade from Windows 7, it boots a lot quicker and is quicker under use as well. I've also found with the newer OS's (8.1 & 10) that over time they don't seem to get bogged down like Windows XP / 7 did. I've got my brother's laptop with me at the moment for a screen replacement and a few upgrades, its gone from Windows 7 to Windows 10 Pro and the boot time is impressive considering its not even on an SSD (power on to logon screen is less than 20 seconds).

Thanks for info, still not sold though. My boot time is already sub 15 seconds (SSD), this machine has been built and running for about 14 months and has no noticable slow down in use. It's VERY stable, current run time is about 3 weeks without shutdown or reboot. My PC is by no means a fast or 'power' PC specs are i5 4570 3.2, 8GB Corsair Vengence and a Kingston V300 SSD but it's very quick at what I use it for.

In my experience the only time Windows gets bogged down is due to users installing a million and one programs all of which run from start up. I keep on top of what I have installed and keep my start up program list to a minimum so it's nice and fast.

I might back up what I have, then try an upgrade and see how I get on, if not happy i'll roll it back.

 

[Darren S]

I might back up what I have, then try an upgrade and see how I get on, if not happy i'll roll it back.

It's worth doing Chris. Don't forget, Windows 7 is 6 years old now - and although that's not necessarily a reason in itself to make the switch - 7 certainly isn't getting any younger. The fact that that aborted frontal lobotomy of Windows 8 occurred, probably put the hold on Windows 7 SP2 ever being released. For me, it was an awkward situation. 7 worked, but it's days were numbered - no way was Microsoft going to end up in a repeat XP situation where users are digging their heels in an not switching release over a decade later. Yet it's replacement in 8 was a coiled-up piece of slightly moist dog-turd.

Windows 10 appears to bring everything back on track. It's Windows 7 with a party frock on. Not the Windows 8 fat-bint that's pissed up and barfing on herself in the corner. I was expecting a list of issues and crashes as long as my arm - especially as I just did the upgrade on-the-fly and not a fresh install. Yet it coped with it all perfectly - even when sat on hardware including my 2010 mobo and 2008-spec CPU.

Credit where credit is due. Microsoft got their ducks in a row with 10. And I can only see them refining and tweaking it as we move forward.

 

[charltjr]

Windows 8 was really solid under the skin, plenty of performance improvements etc, but they shagged the UI big time. It's still not quite there in 10, but it's much, much better. I'd go from 7 to 10 in a heartbeat just for the performance gain in gaming which is reckoned at around 10 to 20 percent depending on the apps.

I'm running 10 perfectly happily, even the first release candidate beta was very solid so it should be absolutely fine.

One thing to watch for if you're moving from windows 8 to 10 and use OneDrive is that the ability to mark files as "online only" so they don't take up space on your PC is gone.

 

[cafcross]

Upgraded last weekend. Seeing as I only use my laptop for the internet, iTunes and photos I probably won't notice much difference other than aesthetics between 8.1 which I was using and 10. I never ventured into the start menu on 8.1 unless I was switiching my laptop off. However, it seems very nice to use so far.

One bug I have noticed though is that when my laptop is plugged in and charging the battery indicator always states 1 min until full charge, which isn't the case.

 

[Darren S]

Windows 8 was really solid under the skin, plenty of performance improvements etc, but they shagged the UI big time.

Too true. If we clicked our fingers together at work and all 320+ users suddenly had Windows 10 on their PCs, I'd expect a few calls but nothing major.

Windows 8 would have just spiralled them into a blind panic. I couldn't think of anything worse than installing Windows 8 into the commercial environment!

 

[Wilkeh]

I might back up what I have, then try an upgrade and see how I get on, if not happy i'll roll it back.

There's an option to roll back mate in Windows 10 to the previous version but you have to do it within a month of updating.

 

[C.J]

Updated all machines at work now. All absolutely fine.

Disabled a few privacy/potential security issues as I've seen mentioned online.

If you're using a NVIDIA graphics card, just make sure it's updated before you upgrade to W10.