Wednesday, December 23, 2015

10 THINGS TO THINK ABOUT BEFORE UPGRADING TO WINDOWS 10

Has that Windows 10 Upgrade popup pushed you close to letting it happen, just to make the prompts go away?

Before you give in, consider these questions:

1. Do you have a current complete backup of your data - anything you don't want to lose? Photos, documents, music, emails and contacts? Upgrades can go wrong, and if it stalls during the upgrade and you have to force a restart you data would be in jeopardy.
2. Have you checked to see that all your hardware and software (graphics adapters (video cards), printers, scanners, photo, financial, work programs) all work well with Windows 10? There are still a lot of computers with video issues in Windows 10, for starters.
3. Do you have the Recovery Media for your current operating system? If something goes wrong, you'll need it.
4. Do you have a good reason to install Windows 10, other than getting rid of the annoying prompts to install it? I haven't found many, but having Windows 8 or 8.1 is one.
5. Are you ready to give up more privacy and personal information to Microsoft and others? There are a lot of privacy setting to configure in Windows 10 - though not the right ones - and scant information to help you decide.
6. Are you aware you NEVER have to upgrade to Windows 10? If Windows 7 is working well for you, there's no compelling reason to install the upgrade. If you're using Windows 8, 10 is better.
7. Are you aware you have until the end of next July to install the free upgrade, so there's no hurry? Why not give everybody more time to fix the issues before diving in? It's quite possible that free offer will be extended, too.
8. Are you comfortable answering installation questions and making decisions during the upgrade? If you run into questions you can't answer, will you simply click "Yes" and continue? Will you look them up after the upgrade, and fix any you shouldn't have allowed?
9. Do you have another Internet-connected device handy to look up questions during the upgrade?
10. Are you sure you can't live with the Windows 10 Upgrade Now popups a little longer?

If you're satisfied you're ready, give it a try. If you're not happy with the changes you can revert back to your previous operating system for 30 days after the upgrade. Or, anytime after that with your Recovery Media. You have the Recovery Media, right?

If you want Windows 10 on your computer and would like it to just appear with all the updates and new Recovery Media and your data in the right places, I can help.

Cathy Contant              315-573-4905               cathy@cathycom.com

1 comment:

maxwellcreekinn-bnb said...

ALl excellent reasons not to install Windows 10. Thanks Cathy.