Win10 Free Updgrade- Is it Worth It for My Rig and My Sanity?

[Viper69]

I love Windows 7 to be honest, and see no reason to upgrade.

However, a free upgrade from MS is something I should at least investigate. This upgrade would be for my rig in my sig file.

Is it worth getting the free upgrade? I don't mean as a cost savings issue, I can afford to upgrade or buy the entire OS if needed.

I would like to know what people think on this issue. My needs are simply gaming (FPS, Strategy etc), surfing the net, basic MS Office use. I may use a graphics program in the future (2 yrs) for photo editing, similar to Photoshop.

Any input is appreciated.

The one thing I DID hear about Win10 that I didn't like is the user doesn't get to choose what updates they receive?

Nor am I interested in subscription based models of OS "ownership"

All input appreciated.

 

[caddi daddi]

yes, it's time to move to win 10.
my game rig is now win 10.

 

[Viper69]

yes, it's time to move to win 10.
my game rig is now win 10.

Any pro's or con's ??

 

[Alaric]

There are a few threads here detailing cons including the update issue. Pros? W10 is marginally faster and has DX 12, which may become more relevant some day. Most of the (subjective) complaints can be dealt with pretty easily now so it's mostly a matter of personal preference. I'm keeping W7 because I need Media Center in my current rig, but my next build will probably get 10. I'm going to get my "free upgrade" and revert back just to have W10 in reserve. Whether or not Windows becomes subscription based is anyone's guess. M$ says no. I'll hold off and see what the future brings after 7/29.

 

[knoober]

For the record I've been hunting for cons and am quick to point them out (but as has been mentioned they are mostly in the eye of the beholder) but I can give one point of personal experience that I haven't heard addressed before.

I've got a laptop that I chose to upgrade in July of last year (Dell says Win7 is the end of the line for this machine but MS says eligible) and I had problems with the screen fuzzing and general bad behavior so I reverted to Win7. Recently this very same machine was forced to upgrade again but to a more mature build of Win10 and the issues haven't reappeared. However, when I installed all the chipset and other proprietary drivers most of them wanted to run in compatability mode and 1 or 2 didn't want to run at all. Win10 does seem to have a fair amount of drivers baked in though, so i wonder if it isn't a non issue anyway. There is my. 02

 

[caddi daddi]

lots of pros and cons, but let's face it for most of us, upgrade.....well let's just say move to win10.
I still have a few rigs on 7 and they will stay that way because there are a few things that I like 7 better for.

 

[Viper69]

There are a few threads here detailing cons including the update issue. Pros? W10 is marginally faster and has DX 12, which may become more relevant some day. Most of the (subjective) complaints can be dealt with pretty easily now so it's mostly a matter of personal preference. I'm keeping W7 because I need Media Center in my current rig, but my next build will probably get 10. I'm going to get my "free upgrade" and revert back just to have W10 in reserve. Whether or not Windows becomes subscription based is anyone's guess. M$ says no. I'll hold off and see what the future brings after 7/29.

Let me know if that works! You can't download the file w/out upgrading. Are you going to image the drive?

I called microsoft about the free upgrade. Evidently when you download the free upgrade, it's not .exe stand alone. It takes the user through some process and installs Win10 (which version I don't know). I was hoping to download the installer file and just burn it to a disk etc. Seems that is NOT possible w/out jacking your system from 7 to 10.

I may just wait till my next rig (hoping to do a miniITX) instead of going through potential headaches. My system runs smooth, no need for issues now.

Thanks for the input guys.

UNRELATED: If only I could get LITEON to respond to my question about the grey foam disk I found on a CD upon eject. You'd think asking a company if this was a part of their product or not wouldn't be difficult. I've been emailing back and forth with Asia for over 3 weeks!!
They asked for pics and I sent them, no response. This is the last time I buy LITEON, I'm truly disappointed.

 

[mokrunka]

Unfortunately, the subscription based OS is likely the wave of the future. Honestly, I was impressed with at least the seamlessness of the upgrade from Win 7 Pro (rig in sig), all of my software, drivers, hardware, etc. continued to work as advertised, and it was a very smooth process.

Wait for now, or not, but eventually, you'll have to make the move to Win 10 (or some other, newer OS). It is at least as 'good' as Win 7 in terms of usability and compatibility--it's no Windows 8

This is coming from a Windows and Linux user.

 

[c627627]

Pros:
1. End Of Life is 2025 instead of 2023 like Windows 8.
2. DirectX 12.

I tried very hard to find a third Pro in multiple threads and there was no third pro that everyone could agree on. So there are two Pros that most people agree on:
DirectX if you even need it. And a couple of extra years of updates... but who knows what we will be using in 2025?


Cons:
1. Huge privacy issues. You can disable some but they are reset by mandatory Windows Updates which can hose many Windows 10 modifications, reseting modifications that you may make is a given with every major Windows 10 update download.

2. Unlike on Windows 8 or earlier, all updates (even optional Windows updates and [Non-windows-OS] hardware driver updates) begin installing the *moment* you check for updates without you being able to choose to only install critical Windows operating system updates only. *Everything* is installed before you even realize it's downloading and installing, because it starts the moment you simply visit the Windows 10 update page.

3. Unlike on Windows 8 or earlier, you cannot install any font under Windows 10 unless your Windows Firewall is turned ON, even if you have a better third-party Firewall running and turned Windows Firewall OFF for that reason.

4. Unlike on Windows 8 or earlier, you cannot delete $DATA hidden alternate streams on Windows 10. Files can have hidden data and Windows 10 does not want you to be able to remove hidden data if you choose.


There are pages of Cons that you can easily find on this and other forums. But they may not be relevant to the way you use your computer.


Disconnect all hard drives. Only connect an empty hard drive. Perform a Windows 10 free upgrade thereby registering your Windows 7/8 key for use on Windows 10 at any time in the future. Then format the hard drive if you don't like Windows 10 and reconnect your old hard drives and continue using Windows 7/8.

If you DO like Windows 10, then it should be a painless process to upgrade all your existing setups.

 

[Alaric]

Let me know if that works! You can't download the file w/out upgrading. Are you going to image the drive?

Yeah, I'm going to image my current OS and then "upgrade" and store an image file of the W10 install for future reference. Then I'm going right back to 7.

 

[Viper69]

Pros:
1. End Of Life is 2025 instead of 2023 like Windows 8.
2. DirectX 12.

I tried very hard to find a third Pro in multiple threads and there was no third pro that everyone could agree on. So there are two Pros that most people agree on:
DirectX if you even need it. And a couple of extra years of updates... but who knows what we will be using in 2025?


Cons:
1. Huge privacy issues. You can disable some but they are reset by mandatory Windows Updates which can hose many Windows 10 modifications, reseting modifications that you may make is a given with every major Windows 10 update download.

2. Unlike on Windows 8 or earlier, all updates (even optional Windows updates and [Non-windows-OS] hardware driver updates) begin installing the *moment* you check for updates without you being able to choose to only install critical Windows operating system updates only. *Everything* is installed before you even realize it's downloading and installing, because it starts the moment you simply visit the Windows 10 update page.

3. Unlike on Windows 8 or earlier, you cannot install any font under Windows 10 unless your Windows Firewall is turned ON, even if you have a better third-party Firewall running and turned Windows Firewall OFF for that reason.

4. Unlike on Windows 8 or earlier, you cannot delete $DATA hidden alternate streams on Windows 10. Files can have hidden data and Windows 10 does not want you to be able to remove hidden data if you choose.


There are pages of Cons that you can easily find on this and other forums. But they may not be relevant to the way you use your computer.


Disconnect all hard drives. Only connect an empty hard drive. Perform a Windows 10 free upgrade thereby registering your Windows 7/8 key for use on Windows 10 at any time in the future. Then format the hard drive if you don't like Windows 10 and reconnect your old hard drives and continue using Windows 7/8.

If you DO like Windows 10, then it should be a painless process to upgrade all your existing setups.

C627- Thanks so much for replying! I always look forward to your posts because they are quite detailed with things I hadn't considered.

Why is installing a FONT, requiring Windows Firewall to be on??

Yeah, I recall hearing about privacy issues, NOT a fan of that at all.

RE:

2. I didn't know NON-WINDOWS OS hardware drivers updates would occur. That's a terrible idea IMO because sometimes the latest update is NOT the greatest. I remember one time I updated a vid card drive, and I had to downgrade because it ran poorly for my uses.

3. Can one NOT check for updates in Win10? Maybe not the wisest thing regarding viruses at times, but might be worth a roll of the dice considering all of this automation.
I can't help but think this level of automation is being done to make MS's tech support workflow easier with everyone having the same computer more or less, and make it easier for the gov't IMO to spy on us.
It's NOT a benefit to me at all! I should be able to decided..damn this is terrible news. I'm glad I posted.


Seeing as it does continuous updates, I wonder what size drive I should get. The idea of losing space simply because MS implemented a stupid idea is terrible. I kept my OS drive smallish for a reason, geez.

4. Also bad news.


I had not considered using an empty HD. So basically remove/disconnect my current drives, put a bare drive into rig, install Win7 on it from my Win CD, and get the free upgrade. Nice idea.

 

[EarthDog]

You can't download the file w/out upgrading.

You absolutely can.

And what he is doing is the long way about it.. you image your current setup, upgrade to W10 and activate, then roll back. But I believe there are easier ways around that...

Unless you are overly concerned about your privacy, go get W10. It really shouldn't be much of a question IMO.

 

[Viper69]

You absolutely can.

And what he is doing is the long way about it.. you image your current setup, upgrade to W10 and activate, then roll back. But I believe there are easier ways around that...

Unless you are overly concerned about your privacy, go get W10. It really shouldn't be much of a question IMO.

Hey ED!

Also value your comments over time too!

You an download the free upgrade, on the MS site, the initial file is only 5.5megs, without having to activate Windows 10??? Were you referring to other files etc?

See here https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/windows-10-upgrade?pm=msnhp

Not that I trust MS people that much, but the only person I spoke to said that cannot be done. He's wrong?

 

[EarthDog]

Not sure what you linked me to.

Unless something has changed recently... you should be able to download the ISO. Here no?: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10/

As far as that process, you just drop the original image on the drive.

 

[Viper69]

Not sure what you linked me to.

Unless something has changed recently... you should be able to download the ISO. Here no?: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10/

As far as that process, you just drop the original image on the drive.

It was another MS upgrade page. Both that link, and the one your provided, from all I can tell, only allow the download of a 5.5MEG file. I must not be understanding something re the ISO, DVD/USB link below on that page you linked me to.

I don't see way to download the entire update, w/out involving my PC's hard drive, but I don't necessarily understand everything on that page either.

 

[LutaWicasa]

You d/l the media creation tool (5.5mb) and it makes the iso ....then, burn

 

[EarthDog]

There we go... now we are cooking with fire!