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Windows 10 upgrade advice

maranello
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Windows 10 upgrade advice

I'm considering upgrading my laptop from Win 8.1, and would appreciate any advice.
Does the upgrade process preserve existing account and profile/setup information? In other  words, will I need to recreate user accounts, preserve IE favourites, contacts, etc.? Will any user data (documents, photos, music) be preserved?
Will Windows Live Mail still work under W10?
How user friendly is the upgrade, and how long should I allow for the upgrade itself and any post upgrade set-up?
Apart from performing a backup before upgrading, is there anything else I should do beforehand?

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Mal08
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Re: Windows 10 upgrade advice

I've done 3 seperate computers now and it preserved all the user information and applications. But of course you should back everything up in case.
Update time depends on speed of internet download - I did it on a 2M line and it all took about 4 hours but did another on a 76M fibre line and it took abnout 2 hours.
I found the update very user freindly - it gives plenty of feedback - and reboots the computer several times.

Good luck
shutter
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Re: Windows 10 upgrade advice

You may find that some of your "old" apps that you used on Win8.1 don`t work,.... or are not available in Win 10....  for example..
If you download pics from your camera... at present, you get a little box saying they are being downloaded, at bottom right corner... and you have options on there for deleting from camera after downloading ...  also you may notice that your pics in your folders  have a date on the folder, and the pics are numbered 001 to 150 or however many there are.  this feature is missing on Win 10,...  you may have to date the folder after you have downloaded the pics..... you will definitely have to erase them, either in camera.. or use another app to do that... and you will only get the "camera number" as a number from the download...  so you will  need another app to renumber them...  (loads of extra work in this "new improved" version of windows ...........  Huh )
You may also find that your touchpad driver no longer switches off the touch pad when you plug in a mouse...  
Just little things like that..  you may also find that some of the games that were shipped with Win 8.1  are no longer available,... unless you buy them...  
annoying isn`t it....... but hey..... if you believe Microsoft...." This is the best Windows yet...."     Shocked
rongtw
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Re: Windows 10 upgrade advice

Shutter BUT yes it is the best so far , ok some games dont work , Photo,s should be backed up so solves the problem , as for the touchpad well thats up to the manufacturer to update their drivers 99% of people have no problems  Wink
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ReedRichards
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Re: Windows 10 upgrade advice

Quote from: maranello
I'm considering upgrading my laptop from Win 8.1, and would appreciate any advice.
Does the upgrade process preserve existing account and profile/setup information?

Yes.
Quote from: maranello
In other  words, will I need to recreate user accounts, preserve IE favourites, contacts, etc.?

No, although you will be steered away from using Internet Explorer
Quote from: maranello
Will any user data (documents, photos, music) be preserved?

It will all be preserved unless you ask otherwise.
Quote from: maranello
Will Windows Live Mail still work under W10?

Yes
Quote from: maranello
How user friendly is the upgrade, and how long should I allow for the upgrade itself and any post upgrade set-up?

It's not hard.  Allow at least an hour from start to finish.
Quote from: maranello
Apart from performing a backup before upgrading, is there anything else I should do beforehand?

Not particularly.  But if it is easily put back, it might not be a bad idea to uninstall your security software.
nanotm
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Re: Windows 10 upgrade advice

@OP
enable cloud sync on your pc for i.e. settings before you do the upgrade, after you do the upgrade to 10, authorise the pc (account verification) open windows store hit the my account link in the top of the page tell it to check for updates, then open the edge browser (the funky e symbol that should of appeared on the taskbar) hit the 3 dots in the top left of the page choose settings and import from your old browser, it will sync everything through including saved passwords and hotlinked pages, scroll through the settings and rearrange the top of the browser page (menu keys /favourites bar /address bar etc  visibility) disable flash player (you can enable it for known secure sites like iplayer  if you use them) this will stop random drive by downloads from displayed advertising in web pages (especially for things like facebook) if your going to get malware that's the most likely route given how infrequently adobe patches known active vulnerabilities....
just because your paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you
shutter
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Re: Windows 10 upgrade advice

Quote from: rongtw
Shutter BUT yes it is the best so far , ok some games dont work , Photo,s should be backed up so solves the problem , as for the touchpad well thats up to the manufacturer to update their drivers 99% of people have no problems  Wink

I fail to see your logic here.........  how come an " upgrade"  needs the installation of  three  separate apps, and three times more work to complete,  what the old system did in one operation.  Backups dont do that.. they just "copy" what has already been done...
How come an  "upgrade" makes older games not work? and then claim to be "the best windows yet" ? 
How come that, drivers already in use, suddently become obsolete, because microsoft decided to "upgrade" their operating system... and that is "BETTER" ? ? ?   
Sorry... Windows 10 is a "downgrade" when it stops things working, that worked before the "upgrade" ....
 
Sticking with Windows 7 Professional....... and I`ll probably be dead before it stops being " supported" by microsoft... and if I`m not...I`ll be too old to worry about that  Grin Grin Grin
If your electric company decided to "Upgrade" the power supplied to your home.... you would expect your lights and microwave and t.v. and all the stuff you already have, to still work,...... or would you be happy to say... ok.. I`ll just have to go out and buy some stuff from the electric company that will work... cos there`s no way they are going to work now the upgrade has been done, and they don`t think it is their responsiblity/problem...    especially when it "ties" the consumer to the supplier of the upgrade.....    BIG BUCKS ..... not a FREE UPGRADE at all really.... just another BIG CON....
maranello
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Re: Windows 10 upgrade advice

Thanks for all the help, greatly appreciated.
The upgrade took 2 and a half hours, and seemed reasonably straightforward. I went for the custom install so I could switch off some defalt settings.
I'm not so keen on Edge, will see if IE is still there and set it as my default browser.
First impressions are that start up is  bit quicker and everything else seems snappier too. WLM works seemlessly, and I like the new start button.
I'll add to this thread if I come across any issues and solutions.
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rongtw
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Re: Windows 10 upgrade advice

It cant be that Bad Microsoft recently touted getting the system installed on over 200 million systems, as of early January 2016. Wink  nice review here
http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/software/operating-systems/windows-10-1267364/review
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nanotm
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Re: Windows 10 upgrade advice

@rong @shutter
its a difference of opinion thing,
I found 8 was brilliant on tablets and phones and even on a pc with a touch screen it was pretty decent, unfortunately most games required running in windowed mode to stop them crashing constantly and charms screwed them up badly, 10 removed that and brought a bunch of major improvements..... MS was poor however at communicating that a lot of older devices wouldn't be compatible with 10 and many ex life products that the manufactueres stopped supporting don't operate correctly, the same thing happens with every operating system change though, and we know that windows has fundamentally changed a lot of its core processing
just because your paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you
shutter
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Re: Windows 10 upgrade advice

@nanotm....
So. you are happy for microsoft to change ( downgade ) your system, by removing the ability of it to continue to be as functional as it was, and see that as an improvement? or an upgrade?
Assume you would be just as happy with your electricity company if they did what I mentioned in my posting, and you had to "upgrade" your equipment.
The whole point of Windows 10, FREE UPGRADE was a "super con" and it has worked..... Microsoft have designed an operating system, that removed functions from it`s previous versions,.... then done a brilliant job with the hype of the advertising, of it`s FREE UPGRADE , cleverly not mentionoing the loss of functions, and functionality from your existing system... and left customers to find out about those things
.  I call that "Sneaky" to say the least...
those functions, and games, and apps that have "disappeared, from the previous versions, now have to be purchased from Microsoft, or forgotten about, which is how Microsoft sees the future funding of it`s O.S.  customers will be "given" WIndows10 ... but they will have to pay for functions that were previously installed as part of the O.S. and existing drivers that worked with the previous versions have to be re-designed by the manufacturers... causing problems for the Win 10 (suckers) users at no extra cost or workload from Microsoft... BRILL !... hiding under the umbrella, that it is not Microsoft`s fault, that drivers don`t work... but the driver manufacturers fault, for not anticipating the way the new O.S would work with their product. 
Of course... in a couple of years time... nobody will remember anything about this... and Microsoft can do further changes to it`s O.S. as necessary, with the non-optional installation of their " updates "... 
nanotm
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Re: Windows 10 upgrade advice

@shutter
did you read what I said or just decide to rant the same biased junk as every other thread about windows 10 you posted in so far ?
nobody cares to hear how your laptop is so old and junk and its creators don't provide support for newer operating systems, if you want to slag something off for performance failures then you should buy decent kit from a reputable supplier that doesn't consider a support lifecycle to end the same day the next iteration of the product is showcased.
I have a pc that has 5 year old hardware in it and its upgraded to w10 without any problems, I have a laptop that's 6and a half years old and installed windows 10 on it and zero problems,
then I have an android tablet that's less than 9 months old and wont upgrade to a newer version of its operating system..... the difference the laptop had a list price of more than 1k, the tablet had a list price of under £100, cheap is considered "disposable", people who buy it should understand every tiem a new version of software arrives they will need ot buy a new cheap pice of junk to run it on as updates wont work. if you want things to "just work" then stop deing a cheap ass and buy something that's both upto date and decent !
just because your paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you
shutter
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Re: Windows 10 upgrade advice

@nanotm...
Yes I did read what you said.... but that also means that you did not read what I said....  ( and I am entitled to give my opinion which was not a rant, as you so insultingly suggest )..
you seem to think you are an authority on every subject on every board...
Quote

nobody cares to hear how your laptop is so old and junk and its creators don't provide support for newer operating systems, if you want to slag something off for performance failures then you should buy decent kit from a reputable supplier that doesn't consider a support lifecycle to end the same day the next iteration of the product is showcased

I think that DELL would really appreciate your advice and comments about their product.

But  again, you are making rash assertions about my laptop...  it is, actually, less than 1 year old.  was shipped with Windows 8.1..  you proudly claim you have a 5 year old machine, and  ridicule mine.  ha ha ha...
What I have stated in my previous post, is how Windows 10 has reduced the functionality of that  less than 1 year old machine. 
Bragging about how much your laptop, and how little your other equipment, cost, and slagging off other peoples , does you no credit or favours, in fact, it is quite insulting, and you should be ashamed of yourself. 

nanotm
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Re: Windows 10 upgrade advice

your laptop is less than a year old huh ?
funny you posted this on here before
Quote from: shutter
I have tried it..... and I don`t like it.....
Several features of Win 7, and prior versions, are missing, which means, to me, a 3 or 4 times more work, to do the same job.
e.g.  Downloading pics from my camera... ( I take about 3,000 to 4,000 in a year ).with Win 7 and VIsta, and XP, I just put my card in the laptop, and it downloaded them... renumbered them ... put them into a dated folder,..... into  a folder destination of my choice... and then erased them....
On win 10 DOWNGRADE.... I had to do each of those jobs manually... to achieve the same end result... 
There are other features too, that have been added/changed that I don`t like....
On my "old" (8yrs) laptop.... it even "blocked" the touchpad driver, so that when I plugged in a mouse... the touchpad was still active... and there was no "updated" driver for it... so when typing, and the touchpad sensed movement... it moved the cursor.....
Why did Microsoft do that ?
Apparently, that driver was "dangerous to Windows 10, and therefore we have blocked its use"........ Erm? ? ?  and they call Windows 10 an UPGRADE  ? ? 
either you just lied or you magically got a newer one that suffered the exact same problem which you didn't find it necessary to create another thread about ...... unflaminlikely!
your outrage at having the truth pointed out just proves the point, combined with your making up things to somehow appear to hold the moral high ground reinforces it, your attempt at derision over Dell (who realised their mistake several years ago and ditched rimbus) is equally stupid since its not a secret they screwed the pooch (trying to copy apple in a failed way)
the price of equipment has a direct correlation to how long its supported by a manufacturer, cheap prices = disposable higher prices = longer expected support, i said my gear was released with the list price above 1k not what i paid for it, and i used them as illustrations of examples of supported or disposable tech, and that its not a problem confined to one company or another, heck even crapple tablets stop being supported when there 5 years old yet their price should indicate they are supported for a lot longer /
just because your paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you
shutter
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Re: Windows 10 upgrade advice

Once again, nanotm resorts to insults to acclaim his authority on all subjects.
I was not lying when I said I had an "old"  8yrs old laptop... nor did I "magically got a newer one..... "  I have had them both at the same time, and put Win 10 on both....  really.. nanotm... you should curb your assumptions.( and insults) ..  and read the posts properly.

I stand by what I have posted.... I have not lied... nor have I "made things up"... I have no need to claim the "moral high ground"...  and do not deserve the insults that you have posted. 
Further insulting posts will be treated with the contempt that you deserve.