Free Windows 10 upgrade

[DisaFear]

So apparently anyone with a legit copy of Windows 7 or above gets a free upgrade to Windows 10. I've registered for it, said it'd be released 29th July. Has anyone got it installed yet? Was wondering what it's like.

[Zealous]

I've upgraded on my laptop which had Windows 8 preinstalled. I'd say it's overall a lot nicer to use since I really couldn't get used to the drastic changes in the Windows 8 design.

I only ever use my laptop at uni for uni work, so I think the most important improvements are the multiple virtual desktops, command view (think that's what it's called) and being able to snap things to any corner. I just think that really helps out at uni when having documents, internet and pdfs all side by side.

I think it's a must if you're using Windows 8 and you want something more familiar to previous versions, but if Windows 7 is doing fine then I think it's better to wait it out a bit until bugs are fixed (and I've had a few minor issues).

[Floatzel98]

So apparently anyone with a legit copy of Windows 7 or above gets a free upgrade to Windows 10. I've registered for it, said it'd be released 29th July. Has anyone got it installed yet? Was wondering what it's like.

Yeah, I reserved mine when it was available. I let a couple of my friends at school upgrade first and tested it out on their computer and I upgraded my PC last night. It was really quick and didn't take much mucking around. I did play around with all the settings for like an hour though. I know they are bridging the gaps between mobile OS's and PC but a lot of the features seem lost for me on a PC. Like, I don't think I'll ever use Cortana tbh. A lot of the settings seem to actually be for tablets and laptops as well, or just worded as if they are for them. I upgraded from WIndows 7 btw and never actually used windows 8 so the windows 8 features that jump across to W10 still seem a bit weird to me. It's all pretty fast though. Doesn't look bad. Haven't had any problems with it so far. Although some of my friends said that when they upgraded their trackpads and mouse buttons weren't working, they had been turned off in the settings. Thats the worst I've heard of it though.

[DisaFear]

Did it tell you guys when it starts downloading? I've got the 'Okay, notify me when ready' thing, so it hasn't reached me in the queue yet. May just download the image from the Microsoft website and install it manually

[Aaron]

If you go to the Windows 10 page, you can download the Media Creation Tool to get an ISO disc image file and manually upgrade. At least when I did it, it automatically activated and recognised that my device was previously 8.1. No product key required.

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

(No guarantees guys, it worked for me on my Surface Pro 2). This is probably a bit technical so it's best to wait if you've never done a fresh install yourself before. The ISO image is about 3.1gb in size so be prepared to download a bit.

It's quite nice so far! Only issue I have is that i'm unsure on whether it voids the previous product key on upgrade. I really can't be bothered reading through Microsoft's updated terms agreement, and articles online provide conflicting responses.

[slothpomba]

Windows 8 got a bad rap just because they tweaked the UI and everyone lost their minds. Under the hood it was a lot better than the previous versions. All you needed was to download a start menu replacement program (which also disabled metro stuff) and you were good to go!

I haven't had mine given to me yet but i did reserve it. My C drive only has like 5gb of space though, i hope its enough for it to download and process the upgrade...

I also hear there are a lot of privacy issues with it. It sends a lot of information about what you do by default unless you explicitly opt-out. I'm not sure if i like that either..

For those who haven't got it yet, i wouldn't worry. There are millions of users, not everyone can get it on the first day. I've even heard like 3-5 weeks to get everyone on to it.

[Dejan]

Anyone having trouble installing it? Because it won't complete the download..

[DisaFear]

Downloaded it off the Microsoft site last night and installed it on my PC and my brother's laptop, works beautifully

I've heard about the privacy things, as slothpomba pointed out. I've turned everything off following this guide I found on OCAU: https://www.reddit.com/r/Windows10/comments/3f38ed/guide_how_to_disable_data_logging_in_w10/

Dejan, did you try to download the USB boot file or the ISO image?

[Dejan]

Downloaded it off the Microsoft site last night and installed it on my PC and my brother's laptop, works beautifully

I've heard about the privacy things, as slothpomba pointed out. I've turned everything off following this guide I found on OCAU: https://www.reddit.com/r/Windows10/comments/3f38ed/guide_how_to_disable_data_logging_in_w10/

Dejan, did you try to download the USB boot file or the ISO image?

I am not sure but I tried to download from the little Windows icon (if that helps)

[pi]

My computer just started updating on it's own accord... -_- was planning to wait until exams were over but w/e, let's see how this goes. Cheers for reddit link, I'll use that ^_^

[grannysmith]

Oh yeah -  if battery runtimes are important, then perhaps think twice about upgrading. Especially if your laptop already has meager battery life. I hear even the Win10 Battery Saver mode drains juice faster than Win8 (balanced).

Downgrading shouldn't be a problem however.

[pi]

Running smoothly! I actually have more battery life now compared to my win7 Also gained (somehow!?!) 25gb of free space

[Aaron]

I upgraded my Surface Pro 2 as a tester and it works fine. Although before I did the updates projectors wouldn't connect, so i'm glad they managed to fix that bug early.

Downgrading is only an issue if you are impatient like me and use the media creation tool to upgrade manually and not via the Windows upgrade/reservation system.