Windows 10: Big Brother is updating on you

[Rusty Edge]

Has anyone missed this and gotten burned?

Uh.. Well I updated before this announcement. 7 to 10.

My machine was accruing bad sectors, getting sluggish, etc. I was trying to stretch it a little longer.
I eventually decided to go with 10. I think it helped.

HOWEVER, BE WARNED. THE DEFAULT SETTING FOR WIN 10 HAS NO SYSTEM RESTORE, A FEATURE PRESENT IN EVERY WINDOWS OPERATING SYTEM BEGINNING WITH MELENIUM EDITION !!!

Well, freeing up that capacity might account for the improved performance.  If you do get a WIN 10 system at some point, I strongly encourage you to look up online how to change the hidden  settings to restore one of the most important emergency features of a computer. Operating without System Restore is like driving without a spare tire.

[DrazharLn]

Eh, I've never found system restore to actually help.

My machine was accruing bad sectors,

Do you mean that your hard drive is reporting bad sectors? If so, you should immediately replace your hdd if you have any useful non-backed up data - your hdd is on its way out.

Internal hard drives are cheap and easily ordered over the internet. A local techy friend or the internet can help you reinstall windows or clone your existing drive onto the new one.

I use win10 on my one windows computer and it works fine: it removes most of the annoying things about win8 and keeps some of the few useful changes.

[Rusty Edge]

Eh, I've never found system restore to actually help.

My machine was accruing bad sectors,

Do you mean that your hard drive is reporting bad sectors? If so, you should immediately replace your hdd if you have any useful non-backed up data - your hdd is on its way out.

Internal hard drives are cheap and easily ordered over the internet. A local techy friend or the internet can help you reinstall windows or clone your existing drive onto the new one.

I use win10 on my one windows computer and it works fine: it removes most of the annoying things about win8 and keeps some of the few useful changes.

Thanks.

Yeah I figure it's on the way out. I'm just trying to stretch the machine, kinda like a car with over 200K miles. I've put some money aside and some data in the cloud. Really, my machine is mostly for e-mail, web surfing, games, and forums. I can everything but the games on my Fire, and those I have on Disks or STEAM storage.

[Buster's Uncle]

Installing an internal hard drive and cloning is not too hard to figure out with pretty basic mechanical/computer skills - and the drives are not terribly expensive.

[Buster's Uncle]

SO - the reminder thingy has been getting pushier lately, and I read that free downloads of the OS end on the 29th - I'm thinking that to be safe, I'm going to download in about a week.  I understand you can do that and not install, so I'd have the option w/o getting held up for Lord knows how much.

It makes me sore that I'm going to have to go to a new machine all too soon, and there's just no way I won't get stuck with this turkey, 10.  -It's just a matter, I figure, of managing to time it right that I've waited long enough that it's stable, finally, and not so long that they're already pushing the NEXT unstable OS that changes everything around.  I HATE! having to learn a new OS every few years.  Takes me a good six months each time to stop being constantly irritated...

[E_T]

Just be sure that the key for the download doesn't quit working after the free period is over...

[Buster's Uncle]

If it does, I shrug and delete some crap hogging space on my hard drive, and hope I'm not sorry later.

[Valka]

I won't be getting Windows 10 until my next computer. There are far too many BFG games that won't run on 10, even though they're advertised as compatible. And my other computer is an XP on purpose, so I can play Civ/SMAC without having to tear my hair out over compatibility problems. I've disabled automatic updates on both of them.

[Buster's Uncle]

Base Fender Guitar games?

[Valka]

Big Fish Games.

[Buster's Uncle]

So - I've messed around about as long as I can without getting stuck in a rush of people downloading at the last second - does anyone know of anything I should look out for tomorrow, like anything they don't tell me I have to do to keep the nasty thing from auto-installing?

[Rusty Edge]

Thanks.

Yeah I figure it's on the way out. I'm just trying to stretch the machine, kinda like a car with over 200K miles. I've put some money aside and some data in the cloud. Really, my machine is mostly for e-mail, web surfing, games, and forums. I can everything but the games on my Fire, and those I have on Disks or STEAM storage.

Still stumbling along, waiting for Firaxis to come out with specs for VI. Meanwhile, my machine will likely crash on the first attempt to save a picture.

[Buster's Uncle]

So - I've messed around about as long as I can without getting stuck in a rush of people downloading at the last second - does anyone know of anything I should look out for tomorrow, like anything they don't tell me I have to do to keep the nasty thing from auto-installing?

?

Well, I'll give y'all a little more time to set me straight, but I gotta do this tomorrow to have any hope of avoiding the rush...

[Buster's Uncle]

-Okay, looks like no advice is going to happen, and I'm taking the plunge.

I gotta say that the big starting download screen that won't background or minimize while I do other things for several minutes already, just dots whirling in a circle, is a very unpromising start...

[Buster's Uncle]

So, roughly three hours later, no change...  I assume it's doing what it's supposed to, but the complete lack a green progress bar is not inspiring confidence...

-Repeat: still the Starting download screen that won't go to the background or minimize, and what were they thinking if the thing's even working...