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Issue #421: August 16–22, 2015

Q: How about a review or comments on Windows 10?

– Johnny W.
Miramar Beach, Florida

Q: What are the pros and cons of “upgrading” to Windows 10 from Windows 7? I don’t use a smartphone or tablet, only the desktop. My wife has a newer desktop with Windows 8.1 and she does use a smartphone and a tablet in addition – same question for her.

– Ed F.
Shalimar, Florida

Q: I have some problems with automatic sleep plus restarting after shutdown with my Dell 64 bit laptop with an i7 processor running Windows 7. A lid close will put computer to sleep and will wake up with no problem but after a shutdown the restart takes nearly 30 minutes.  If I install Windows 10, moving the current operating system to an old windows folder – setting the new operating system as the default, will all of my programs and files (which are all backed up on a flash drive) move over and at the same time, might the auto sleep / slow restart problems be resolved?  I would like to avoid reloading all my programs if I re-install Windows 7 or install a new OS.

– Bob N.
Charlotte, Vermont

 A:  I suppose it is about time for me to cover Windows 10 in a bit more depth than I have in previous columns.  For anyone living under a rock, Microsoft released their latest offering in the long line of Windows Operating Systems on July 29, 2015.  Of course, there’s not enough available bandwidth for everybody to simultaneously begin downloading it, so Microsoft is rolling it out slowly and you should get an indicator in your system’s Notification Area when your copy is ready.

Ed, the primary “pro” of upgrading now is that for most people this is an absolutely free upgrade.  The only ones left out are those who are still clinging to older versions of Windows, such as Vista, or XP, who will need to purchase it to finally upgrade.  The free offer is not indefinite; it is slated to last for 1 year from the official release date.  If there is any “con” I would think it would be the small risk of incompatibilities with your legacy software or hardware.  I have heard of only a handful of game software that wouldn’t work, and about the only hardware incompatibilities I’ve heard of were caused by out-of-date drivers.  I can’t imagine what interoperability issues you might encounter with existing smartphones or tablets, as PCs don’t generally interact directly with these devices.

Bob, you’re making an important distinction between installing an OS and upgrading one.  By all means, feel free to make a back-up of your operating system files before you begin the process, but don’t feel like you have to “move the current operating system to an old windows folder” or anything like that.  The OS will upgrade in-place, bringing most, or all your current programs along with it.  For more information on upgrading, and for details on a few rare situations where your installed applications will not port over during an upgrade, visit tinyurl.com/IGTM-0421.  By the way, it sounds like you do indeed have a bad driver for one or more of your devices.  The services you mentioned in your system description (which are not published here) will not update device drivers, just Windows itself.

I’m out of space for now, so I’ll continue this discussion next week, with an introduction to some of Win 10’s new features, including Cortana, the Edge browser, the Action Center, and the return of the venerable Start menu.


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