Windows 10

[banndsand]

Hey everyone!

 

Windows 10 officially released today and I'm wondering if anyone here is planning to "upgrade" in the near future, or has already done so.

 

Myself, I'm still trying to decide whether I'll update right away or wait a few weeks. I'm still on 7, so I feel like I've waited long enough to upgrade, and it just looks soooo shiiinyyy.  Plus, Squenix said that FFXIV should be compatible, though they're not officially confirming it until they do some proper testing. It's the main game I play on PC lately so I'm not too worried about compatibility overall.

 

What are your impressions on Windows 10?

[LiadansWhisper]

I'm upgrading.

[LiveVoltage]

I dont plan on upgrading. Windows 8 was a POS in my opinion and I actually played around with the beta version of windows 10. It was not that diffrent from windows 8, just re-skinned and with new features. The design and layout did not change though.

[Taeh Niumoenwyn]

I've been trying the beta on my work laptop. Have a new 256GB SSD waiting for the official release (which I'm currently downloading) so I'm upgrading my home machine in the next couple of days.

[banndsand]

I've been looking at articles and impressions here and there for the past few days, trying to decide, and honestly it seems to me like a big improvement over 8.

 

My main problem with 8 when I'd get roped into helping people with their computer troubles was how difficult it was to navigate with the settings all over the place and the lack of a proper start menu. In 10 you have a start menu again (wow), and apparently the search function is... actually useful? Double-wow. So I'm not too sure what else I need out of it. I'm expecting bugs for a while, and I intend to fiddle with it for several days after installing to make sure it's set up just right (ex: disabling silly things like Wi-Fi Sense, automatic restarts after updates, forced automatic updates, etc.).

 

I'm so accustomed to just wrestling with computers to get them to do what I want that I'm having trouble seeing downsides that I won't just consider "mild and/or temporary inconveniences." Am I missing any glaring problems that won't be quickly fixed?

 

Also Cortana looks neat (been a while since I've ordered my computer around by voice) and I'm willing to play with it for a while, especially since it has a lot of similar features to Google Now, which I already enjoy on my phone and wouldn't mind having on my computer as well.

[Unnamed Mercenary]

I've been using the Technical Preview on a couple of my computers since it was available.

 

FFXIV hasn't had any issues or caused any issues I've seen. Testing was done mostly on a Surface Pro 3 and my desktop on and off.

 

However, if you happen to use a PS4 controller on PC (like me), the programs normally used to customize the controller (DS4Tool, DS4Windows, InputMapper) have an issue with Exclusive mode. I know the DS4Windows/InputMapper guy's working on fix.

 

NOTE: There was an Nvidia driver issue (technically Nvidia's fault, but it was pushed through Windows Update) that caused issues with multiple monitors. Have a current installer already downloaded on your computer if you happen to have a Nvidia graphics card. ((AMD users, just uh...have fun with Catalyst control Center bugs as normal))

[Gegenji]

I'm a lazybutt and thus will likely stick with what I have up until it's not supported anymore, and then switch to whatever's toted as being the "most solid" of the OS released that have come out in that time-frame. Which, hopefully, will have managed to have all the issues with it ironed out through whatever patches and whatnot that are released.

[Enla]

I'm a lazybutt and thus will likely stick with what I have up until it's not supported anymore, and then switch to whatever's toted as being the "most solid" of the OS released that have come out in that time-frame. Which, hopefully, will have managed to have all the issues with it ironed out through whatever patches and whatnot that are released.

 

Pretty much this for me. Hearing that it shares some features with 8 did not endear 10 to me in any fashion. After dealing with 8 on my laptop I can honestly say I could not hate that OS any more if I actively tried, and I used to have ME, so anything remotely like it is automatically suspect to me. :dodgy: However, if I wish to continue gaming I'll eventually need to make the switch. My hope is by the time I do so any issues it has upon release will be no more than a bad memory. By then I'll also have cooled on my dislike enough to hopefully see the good sides of 10.

[banndsand]

NOTE: There was an Nvidia driver issue (technically Nvidia's fault, but it was pushed through Windows Update) that caused issues with multiple monitors. Have a current installer already downloaded on your computer if you happen to have a Nvidia graphics card. ((AMD users, just uh...have fun with Catalyst control Center bugs as normal))

Yes, this. Because of 10 wanting you to install all new updates automatically, it ended up installing a beta driver that was pretty darn bad.

 

For those who don't know, they've fortunately released a tool which lets you tell windows not to install certain updates, but you need to download it as it is not built-in. I hope they add a setting soon that lets you turn the automatic updating off without having to download a separate tool to pick and choose what you want.

[Unnamed Mercenary]

NOTE: There was an Nvidia driver issue (technically Nvidia's fault, but it was pushed through Windows Update) that caused issues with multiple monitors. Have a current installer already downloaded on your computer if you happen to have a Nvidia graphics card. ((AMD users, just uh...have fun with Catalyst control Center bugs as normal))

Yes, this. Because of 10 wanting you to install all new updates automatically, it ended up installing a beta driver that was pretty darn bad.

 

For those who don't know, they've fortunately released a tool which lets you tell windows not to install certain updates, but you need to download it as it is not built-in. I hope they add a setting soon that lets you turn the automatic updating off without having to download a separate tool to pick and choose what you want.

 

Or just hide the update.

 

It should be noted that the only users who are forced to install all updates are the general "home" users. Win10 Pro/Enterprise can be configured differently.

[banndsand]

NOTE: There was an Nvidia driver issue (technically Nvidia's fault, but it was pushed through Windows Update) that caused issues with multiple monitors. Have a current installer already downloaded on your computer if you happen to have a Nvidia graphics card. ((AMD users, just uh...have fun with Catalyst control Center bugs as normal))

Yes, this. Because of 10 wanting you to install all new updates automatically, it ended up installing a beta driver that was pretty darn bad.

 

For those who don't know, they've fortunately released a tool which lets you tell windows not to install certain updates, but you need to download it as it is not built-in. I hope they add a setting soon that lets you turn the automatic updating off without having to download a separate tool to pick and choose what you want.

 

Or just hide the update.

 

It should be noted that the only users who are forced to install all updates are the general "home" users. Win10 Pro/Enterprise can be configured differently.

Right. I'm a home user, as I expect a lot of users are, so I was being more general.

[Blue]

I'll stick to 7. I'm too afraid to try out new things >_> ...

 

[Coatleque]

Some things to consider before you go with this upgrade:

 

1.) This is an UPGRADE, not a full version of Windows 10. In order to perform this, you MUST have Windows 7/8/8.1 already pre-installed and activated. Like versions will upgrade to each other. All 'Home' editions move to Windows 10 Home, all Pro/Ultimate move to Pro. Enterprise is not eligible because that is an MSDN license. If you have Media Center or any Windows 7 pre-installed MS Games, they will UNINSTALL upon the upgrade. (Yes, feature degradation)

 

2.) If you want to perform a -clean- installation of Windows 10 - I.E. repartition, reformat, zero-fill drive, then install - you need to buy a full version. As always, Home is $100 and Pro is $200

 

3.) Once a computer is 'upgraded' (if you chose to do so), you can immediately re-install Windows using the "Refresh My PC" option (introduced with Windows 8) which will reinstall windows to what Microsoft considers a 'clean' install using the pre-cached files that are downloaded during the update. This is can hardly be considered clean since there is no reformatting or zero-fill to wipe pre-existing data.

 

4.) If your hard drive dies or you replace too many components, it will be considered a different machine and you probably will not be able to re-upgrade if you use your old Windows 7/8/8.1 media. I may be wrong on this, but following Microsoft's track record, probably not.

 

5.) If your drive dies after a year from now and you try to upgrade again, the offer will no longer be valid and you'll have to buy Windows anyway.

 

6.) If you have expired antivirus subscriptions, Windows 10 will UNINSTALL your AV upon the upgrade and activate Micro$oft's built-in version.

 

7.) The installer will remove any existing applications deemed "incompatible" by Micro$oft.

 

8.) Automatic Updates are forced on for Home edition, but not for Pro. This includes whatever drivers Microsoft releases with their updates. Testers have been complaining that every time they overwrite a driver with a known good, Automatic Updates keeps reverting it to broken releases because Microsoft hasn't updated their repository yet.

 

Will I be upgrading? I plan to upgrade, then refresh, then test it on my home computer. I have 8.1 Pro, so I'm not overly concerned with the Windows Update 'feature'. If I don't like it, I'll most likely revert to 8.1 by the end of next month. Then again, I wipe my computer every 3 months anyway, so this is no big deal for me. I would advise caution to anyone who is not 100% comfortable with rebuilding their PC from taking this upgrade.

[Sigil.9054]

We're upgrading to 10 here in the office, one computer a day (this is a computer tech shop, so we like to make sure we don't kill our computers all at once!) From what I've seen of it, it's pretty nice. People used to Windows 7 shouldn't have too hard a time making the transition.

 

As for my home computer, I'm waiting to see how my games will fare on it. IE, letting others try it first, and keeping an eye out for the QQ.

[LiadansWhisper]

So far I'm not having issues.  I'm using the Pro version.

[banndsand]

4.) If your hard drive dies or you replace too many components, it will be considered a different machine and you probably will not be able to re-upgrade if you use your old Windows 7/8/8.1 media.  I may be wrong on this, but following Microsoft's track record, probably not.

I think I saw it mentioned somewhere that the product key is linked to the motherboard. Not totally sure, but kinda lame since I want to upgrade mine soon. But at least I know in advance that there may be some extra costs to take into account.

 

In other news, I took the plunge and upgraded to 10. Took me a while to stop fiddling with my settings and actually test out some of my most-used applications. So far no problems.  Just gotta get used to it all.

 

Unfortunately I won't be testing out Cortana yet, as she's not available in my country. Oh well. I'd switch my region and language settings to unlock her as apparently a lot of folks have been doing, but I want the full "tailored to your culture" experience that microsoft seems keen on delivering within a few months.  We'll see.

 

Overall I'm enjoying the new aesthetic (having the accent colour change depending on my varying wallpapers is a nice optional touch, on top of the fact I've been dreaming of a black angular UI like this since Vista), my stuff works, and I've yet to have problems~

[Crossarchus]

Upgraded. Love it. Had some issues with nVidia drivers and then FFXIV, but those are sorted now. (Will probably clean install this weekend, as I don't like leftovers from "upgrading.")

 

I've been using Win10 since September or so, and honestly I liked Windows 8/8.1 too. I've never understood why people always give the new WinOSes so much static when they come out; if they wanted everything to be the same, why bother upgrading? Anywho... The layout is different, but if you don't mind learning the interfact, I think you'll really like it. I'm slowing converting everyone in the office by showing them all the cool stuff I can do. (Enhanced window management, multi desktop, Cortana, Xbox One Streaming, etc.)