Just finally upgraded to Win 7 with my new computer. Can someone tell me please what benefits there might be to the free upgrade to Win 10, particularly for photographers?
Are there many new things to learn? My brain doesn't have many bits open for new info.. really...
Thanks!
Sandy
Posted by Jim Zablotny on June 26, 2016 at 6:42 AM
Hi Sandy,
When upgrading to a new operating system, you need to check and make sure your current hardware and software can run with no problems on your computer. Make sure to run Windows compatibility test on your system before upgrading. The report will let you know of any issues present on your computer. To me Windows 10 is a hybrid between versions 7 & 8 in appearance and takes a little adjustment time to find where things are at. The start menu is present, but programs are now called apps or applications. Older versions of Photoshop & Lightroom work fine. If you decide to upgrade, have all of your data backed up--better safe than sorry. Overall, I'm happy with Windows 10. I have experienced only minor issues that were easy to fix. Preston and others have also commented on Win 10..........................................Jim
Sandy, the information and approach Jim outlines is all positive ideas. I would let your adjustment to 7 take hold before moving on to Win 10. But I would still highly recommend the move at some point. After my many years of upgrades on telecommunications gear in the past there seems to be a lost cause point where backward support or material just dies off. I waited for several months to make sure Win 10 seemed pretty solid before taking advantage of the freebie. But in the end it was no big thing at all and works very well. I do not use the app arrangement at all. I basically set mine up just like Win 7 with desktop icons in the same spot. I've not missed a beat.......good luck.
Since your computer is brand new with the latest hardware, I do not believe you will have any compatibility issues, but Jim's suggestion to run the Windows Compatibility checker is a good idea, especially if you have any legacy applications or older devices such printers.
Before you upgrade, be sure to create a full system image of your Win 7 install, applications and data (your C:\ drive), preferably to an external drive, using your backup software. This is your fail-safe, as Jim suggests.
I also suggest that you, and others, head over to MS and use the Media Creation Tool to create a bootable USB or DVD of Win 10. Having a full version of Win 10 handy will save the day if something goes south and you need to do a clean install of Win 10.
Head over to How To-Geek and peruse the many articles there regarding Win 10. There are lots of tweaks you can make that will customize Win 10 to your liking.
I have done in-place upgrades of my workstation and laptop to Win 10. I did have to reinstall my graphics driver, anti-virus, and the HP driver for my HP printer, but that was it. Photo Shop, MS office, and my other applications were unaffected.
It will take a little time to get used to Win 10, but in my opinion, it is a solid OS.
Please post back if you any questions.
--P
Posted by David Schoen on June 26, 2016 at 10:46 AM
Just a reminder. The free upgrade to Windows 10 expires July 29,2016.
Just a reminder. The free upgrade to Windows 10 expires July 29,2016.
Good thought, David. Also, MS will be releasing the Anniversary Update build of Win 10 soon--no specific date yet. So, Sandy, and others who have not upgraded to Win 10 should wait until new build is released.
As an aside, it will be interesting to see if MS extends the freebie upgrade date. I haven't heard anything in this regard, so folks should play it safe and upgrade before 7/29.
Sandy: Can you post your system specs here, including any devices such printers? We can then take a look to see if there might be
any possible incompatibilities. You can also e-mail them to me, and I will take a look-see.
--P
Here is my 2 cents. I finally upgraded from 7 to 10 and wish I had not done it! I am still struggling with the differences also ended up having to buy a Office program in order to keep my older files available. Having said that, in all reality it is me not the program itself. I am just not of the computer generation(s). I don't think computer!
Posted by Lance Warley on June 26, 2016 at 6:05 PM
Numerous people, including me, have had wifi adapter connectivity issues with Win 10.
I have an HP PC. HP support agent told me to wait until windows 10 is a Final Product. The rep. said, that the free giveaway is to get as many folks to use win 10 as possible, so THEY will experience all the "BUGS" in the OP system and report them to Microsoft.... He did not want me to have to experience all annoyance of an unfinished program. Only then, when all the bugs are fixed, will they offer it for sale! If you have the money....wait for a finished product.
I have an HP PC. HP support agent told me to wait until windows 10 is a Final Product. The rep. said, that the free giveaway is to get as many folks to use win 10 as possible, so THEY will experience all the "BUGS" in the OP system and report them to Microsoft....
Lucy, the HP rep is incorrect. Windows 10 will continue to evolve as new builds are offered by MS. In short, there will be no final product. It is a misconception that MS gave Win 10 away as a freebie, so that we, the users, would be used as guinea pigs to report bugs. MS' goal is to replace all older Windows OS's with Win 10 which is more efficient and more secure than any previous Win OS. You may not be aware of this, but MS has an "Insider Program' where folks can install 'preview' builds and report bugs directly to MS. It is an ongoing process. MS will be releasing a build to consumers sometime in July after the current 'bug bashing' is completed.
If one chooses to wait until after July 29 to upgrade, they will have to pay full price for whichever version they use. So, those who are entitled to the free upgrade should take it once the Anniversary Update is released.
Granted, there will be bugs, but if we think about it, an OS is a very complex piece of software that must work on many thousands of different system configurations: a daunting task. Honestly, I think MS has done a pretty darn good job with Win 10.
Give Win 10 a try. If you don't like it, or it doesn't work, you can always reinstall Win 7 or 8.1, whichever you have currently.
--P
You can scare yourself silly reading the MS license for Windows 10 and the Privacy Policy. My law firm's IT technician won't let us upgrade because it violate the attorney-client privilege.
My law firm's IT technician won't let us upgrade because it violate the attorney-client privilege.
Jim, I am just curious, but which pieces of the EULA and Privacy Statement violate attorney-client privilege?
Many of the settings in Win 10 that affect privacy can be turned off, if desired. Here is an article from How-To Geek about 30 Ways Your Windows 10 Computer Phones Home to Microsoft. The article shows you how to enable or disable various features and privacy settings.
--P
Preston, thanks for that link!! I had gone through a list of re-setting some of the privacy settings, but after reading that article, I think I will revisit it and see if there are any more I can shut off!!! I'm an old-fashioned, very private person!!!
I recently did the same thing. I upgraded the Win 7, but everybody I've talked to said to DO NOT upgrade the Win 10, so I'm gonna stay with Win 7 for the forseeable future.
According to this article from Ars Technica, the Anniversary build of Windows 10 will be released on August 2, 2016 barring any unforeseen bugs that need to be fixed. Here is the official announcement from Microsoft. It includes more detail on new or updated features.
Bill, did upgrade to Win 10 and then roll back to Win 7? If you did upgrade to Win 10, did it work, or did you run into problems?
--P
Posted by David Schoen on June 30, 2016 at 1:39 PM
I've upgraded 3 of 4 computers to win 10 and have seen no problems at all. I am keeping one with win 7 just in case. I am concerned about microsoft privacy issues but have gone through all the lists and turned off everything that could give info to my neighbor north of me. Cortana is probably the worst offender. Don't use it.
I have only had to upgrade one software product, Dragon Naturally Speaking from version 12.5 to 13. Nuance, the company who makes it is greedy and has a poor concept of customer support.
I am sure there will be considerably more concerns after the upgrade.
I suppose if people are really paranoid they shouldn't be on the internet at all and they should get rid of their phones.
Short of that, perhaps the expense of a VPN (virtual private network) is beginning to make sense.
Opera makes a free VPN for the iPad. It blocks advertising and trackers. It also keeps track of the number of ads and trackers it blocks. Unfortunately, using the free VPN slows down the internet at times and is annoying. But a look at the data is sobering.
According to this article from Ars Technica, the Anniversary build of Windows 10 will be released on August 2, 2016 barring any unforeseen bugs that need to be fixed. Here is the official announcement from Microsoft. It includes more detail on new or updated features.
Bill, did upgrade to Win 10 and then roll back to Win 7? If you did upgrade to Win 10, did it work, or did you run into problems?
--P
Preston,
I bought my new computer with Windows 7 Pro on it. I had read several places about how bad Windows 10 was and I didn't want to risk it. That, plus my work computer has Windows 7 on it and I was comfortable with it.
As you know, I left off a couple of things when I initially purchased it because of financial constraints, but I have since taken care of those issues. I added 32GB of Ram to it to bring it up to 48 GB of Ram, and I just received today a 4TB internal hard drive to add into the mix.
With regard to Windows 10: From my reading, most of the issues with Windows 10 arise from the following:
Incompatible device drivers. This is somewhat common with laptops, which have special drivers from the computer manufacturer for things like function keys, trackpads, and WiFi.
Legacy hardware for which new drivers have not been provided by the device manufacturer.
Legacy applications that just will not run on Windows 10 and throw errors
Some applications being uninstalled during the upgrade process.
Since your computer is new, i.e. with latest hardware, you should not have have any grave issues when you decide to try Win 10. If you think you may want to upgrade, here is way to get the OS for free (unitl 7/29) to install later, if you choose to do so.
--P
Discussion
18 repliesAre there many new things to learn? My brain doesn't have many bits open for new info.. really...
Thanks!
Sandy
When upgrading to a new operating system, you need to check and make sure your current hardware and software can run with no problems on your computer. Make sure to run Windows compatibility test on your system before upgrading. The report will let you know of any issues present on your computer. To me Windows 10 is a hybrid between versions 7 & 8 in appearance and takes a little adjustment time to find where things are at. The start menu is present, but programs are now called apps or applications. Older versions of Photoshop & Lightroom work fine. If you decide to upgrade, have all of your data backed up--better safe than sorry. Overall, I'm happy with Windows 10. I have experienced only minor issues that were easy to fix. Preston and others have also commented on Win 10..........................................Jim
Since your computer is brand new with the latest hardware, I do not believe you will have any compatibility issues, but Jim's suggestion to run the Windows Compatibility checker is a good idea, especially if you have any legacy applications or older devices such printers.
Before you upgrade, be sure to create a full system image of your Win 7 install, applications and data (your C:\ drive), preferably to an external drive, using your backup software. This is your fail-safe, as Jim suggests.
I also suggest that you, and others, head over to MS and use the Media Creation Tool to create a bootable USB or DVD of Win 10. Having a full version of Win 10 handy will save the day if something goes south and you need to do a clean install of Win 10.
Head over to How To-Geek and peruse the many articles there regarding Win 10. There are lots of tweaks you can make that will customize Win 10 to your liking.
I have done in-place upgrades of my workstation and laptop to Win 10. I did have to reinstall my graphics driver, anti-virus, and the HP driver for my HP printer, but that was it. Photo Shop, MS office, and my other applications were unaffected.
It will take a little time to get used to Win 10, but in my opinion, it is a solid OS.
Please post back if you any questions.
--P
As an aside, it will be interesting to see if MS extends the freebie upgrade date. I haven't heard anything in this regard, so folks should play it safe and upgrade before 7/29.
Sandy: Can you post your system specs here, including any devices such printers? We can then take a look to see if there might be
any possible incompatibilities. You can also e-mail them to me, and I will take a look-see.
--P
Of the three solutions offered in this video, #3 is working best for me, so far.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bdh-62iHLCE
I hope you don't have to deal with this.
If one chooses to wait until after July 29 to upgrade, they will have to pay full price for whichever version they use. So, those who are entitled to the free upgrade should take it once the Anniversary Update is released.
Granted, there will be bugs, but if we think about it, an OS is a very complex piece of software that must work on many thousands of different system configurations: a daunting task. Honestly, I think MS has done a pretty darn good job with Win 10.
Give Win 10 a try. If you don't like it, or it doesn't work, you can always reinstall Win 7 or 8.1, whichever you have currently.
--P
Many of the settings in Win 10 that affect privacy can be turned off, if desired. Here is an article from How-To Geek about 30 Ways Your Windows 10 Computer Phones Home to Microsoft. The article shows you how to enable or disable various features and privacy settings.
--P
Bill, did upgrade to Win 10 and then roll back to Win 7? If you did upgrade to Win 10, did it work, or did you run into problems?
--P
I have only had to upgrade one software product, Dragon Naturally Speaking from version 12.5 to 13. Nuance, the company who makes it is greedy and has a poor concept of customer support.
I am sure there will be considerably more concerns after the upgrade.
I suppose if people are really paranoid they shouldn't be on the internet at all and they should get rid of their phones.
Short of that, perhaps the expense of a VPN (virtual private network) is beginning to make sense.
Opera makes a free VPN for the iPad. It blocks advertising and trackers. It also keeps track of the number of ads and trackers it blocks. Unfortunately, using the free VPN slows down the internet at times and is annoying. But a look at the data is sobering.
Then there is the TOR network for privacy.
Since the free upgrade ends on 7/29, and the Anniversary Update will release on 8/2, anyone considering the the upgrade to Win 10 should do so, soon.
Once the Anniversary Update is released, Windows update will download it and install it.
As mentioned above, be sure to backup your system before installing the upgrade, and again before installing the Anniversary update.
--P
I bought my new computer with Windows 7 Pro on it. I had read several places about how bad Windows 10 was and I didn't want to risk it. That, plus my work computer has Windows 7 on it and I was comfortable with it.
As you know, I left off a couple of things when I initially purchased it because of financial constraints, but I have since taken care of those issues. I added 32GB of Ram to it to bring it up to 48 GB of Ram, and I just received today a 4TB internal hard drive to add into the mix.
With regard to Windows 10: From my reading, most of the issues with Windows 10 arise from the following:
- Incompatible device drivers. This is somewhat common with laptops, which have special drivers from the computer manufacturer for things like function keys, trackpads, and WiFi.
- Legacy hardware for which new drivers have not been provided by the device manufacturer.
- Legacy applications that just will not run on Windows 10 and throw errors
- Some applications being uninstalled during the upgrade process.
Since your computer is new, i.e. with latest hardware, you should not have have any grave issues when you decide to try Win 10. If you think you may want to upgrade, here is way to get the OS for free (unitl 7/29) to install later, if you choose to do so.--P