Microsoft are offering Windows 10 as a free upgrade for anyone who’s currently using Windows 7 Service Pack 1 or Windows 8.1. The download will be available in Australia from 29th July 2015, but a lot of people are worried about whether it will be safe.
For the most part the answer is probably, maybe, with a few exceptions…
Microsoft anticipate at least a few problems – Media Centre won’t be part of Win10, and the DVD viewing software won’t be available straight away. Not all Anti-Malware (Anti-Virus) software will be ready for Win10. Windows 7 games and gadgets will disappear, MDM functionality is unavailable, One Drive will experience some changes, some child safety settings will be lost…
The list of possible and known problems is long and very specific (you can find it here on the Microsoft Website ).
Microsoft also have a general disclaimer that:
“The upgradeability of a device includes factors beyond the system specification. This includes driver and firmware support, application compatibility and feature support…. “
In other words they can’t guarantee that every single thing plugged into (or installed onto) your computer will still work after you do the upgrade – because that depends on whether the other software companies have done their jobs right.
Any software that isn’t legitimate (as well as any software that IS legitimate, but that Microsoft can’t VERIFY) will be uninstalled. If you have a certificate missing or need to renew your Anti-virus you should do that before running the Win10 upgrade.
Win10 will be free for a full year after launch, so our recommendation at this stage (July ’15) is to wait a few months. There are going to be problems with compatibility – all the early birds will report the problems, and the software companies will write updates to deal with them. That’s when we’ll jump on board.
If you would like to go ahead with a Win10 upgrade keep in mind that:
1) Take a backup before you start – that way if everything goes horribly wrong you can revert to the backup, or at least see what’s missing.
2) Microsoft will also release a “Get Windows 10” app that will scan your system and tell you of any KNOWN incompatibilities so you can choose whether to go ahead with the update or not. Note the stress on KNOWN problems!
3)The update will use 3GB so make sure you have enough data on your internet plan.
4) You’ll need 20GB free disk space on your computer.
5) You will also need the Win7 Service Pack 1 or Win8.1 upgrades – the Microsoft link above can check your PC for you and give you the updates if you need them.
6) System requirements: 1GHz or faster processor, 1GB 32bit or 2GB 64bit RAM, DirectX 9 or later graphics card with WDDM 1.0 driver and 800×600 display.
7) Be prepared for slow download times if you haven’t reserved a copy – if everyone’s trying to grab the software at the same time it will slow the servers down.
8) If you are still using XP you will need to pay for Win10. Unfortunately you can’t upgrade from XP – it requires a full fresh installation. That means backing up your data, wiping the computer and installing everything (including all of your other software packages) from scratch.
More Win10 Updates
We’ll be releasing new blogs about Win10 as the situation changes – including a walkthrough of what Win10 feels like to an average user, updates on how our tests are going, an article in WAHP Business Magazine and ultimately a guide to doing the Upgrade.
The easiest way to stay in touch and receive the news is to follow us on FaceBook or Google Plus – we’ll share all of our updates there.