Windows 10

[Dicer]

So generally I am a Linux guy, but I still have a few games that NEED goddamned windows...

I upgraded last night, and aside from one crazy ass Video driver crash, I gotta say it's a pretty nice upgrade, finally adding shit like Virtual desktops (Lol welcome to the year 1985 Microsoft)

Just figured I'd make a topic in case anyone needed a hand, guess the process isn't as smooth for others as it was for me.

Cheers.

[Nazi NecroPhile]

Seeing as how 8.1 is pretty meh, I'm tempted to upgrade.  Just in case something goes wrong, is there an easy way to start from scratch with a fresh install of 10, or would I have to reinstall 8.1 and upgrade?

And would you say it's worth the upgrade?  I have some free shell thingy to give me back a start menu, but there's a few other things that are annoying (like swipe to close).

[PCEngineHell]

Im going to wait a month or two. Im already set for the fre eupdate from 7, but I want to see how many issues people are having first, and I have a lot of data that needs to be backed up prior to the "upgrade".

[Dicer]

Seeing as how 8.1 is pretty meh, I'm tempted to upgrade.  Just in case something goes wrong, is there an easy way to start from scratch with a fresh install of 10, or would I have to reinstall 8.1 and upgrade?

And would you say it's worth the upgrade?  I have some free shell thingy to give me back a start menu, but there's a few other things that are annoying (like swipe to close).

You have a real start menu again, so classic shell can go the way of the dodo...

When you do the upgrade to 10 you can then make a dvd/usb media install in case you want to go with a fresh install, everyone has been suggesting doing the upgrade and then fresh if you want to afterwards, as the upgrade converts your key over. Once that happens when you do a clean install it's automatically keyed and activated by good ole MS.

I'm debating a fresh install as  I have an SSD I use for my Linux stuff but I could swap that around to the mechanical drive and give windows the speed boost.

Overall, win 10 is nice and snappy, not complaints so far, but it's been 1/2 a day so we shall see lol.

[DragonmasterDan]

So generally I am a Linux guy, but I still have a few games that NEED goddamned windows...

I upgraded last night, and aside from one crazy ass Video driver crash, I gotta say it's a pretty nice upgrade, finally adding shit like Virtual desktops (Lol welcome to the year 1985 Microsoft)

Just figured I'd make a topic in case anyone needed a hand, guess the process isn't as smooth for others as it was for me.

Cheers.

I've been a Linux guy about 16 years at home. However due to work and other things, I have had to use windows as well, and have been doing so on a dual boot machine without upgrading my home desktop since 2008 in part because I didn't want Vista, Windows 7 or Windows 8.

With Windows 10 I'll keep an eye on things and if it looks usable I may take the plunge and finally buy that new desktop I've planned to purchase for the past 5 years.

[Dicer]

Im going to wait a month or two. Im already set for the fre eupdate from 7, but I want to see how many issues people are having first, and I have a lot of data that needs to be backed up prior to the "upgrade".

I have to test it for people I do some work for, they are always itching to upgrade and I need to make sure there are no showstoppers so they aren't left with a bunch of boat anchors in the office. They use some whack legacy software and I gotta make it all plays nice.

[MNKyDeth]

I have been using some form of Linux or BSD since around the year 2000.

Over time as Linux has progressed the one big thing that has finally allowed me to move to an entire Linux as a desktop ecosystem is Steam.
I do everything on Linux even game but obviously for more choice I keep the gaming OS around as well.

I keep one machine with some great hardware in it for windows. I use windows 7 on it. I stream everything over my network that is windows only, gaming wise, using steam. And I only use google chrome for netflix. I am still a diehard Firefox user even though I hate the layout of it. I so want a browser to bring back the functionality Opera 11.5 whatever had in it's user interface.

So, 7 computers, a plethora of connected consoles and phones and the only Windows based product is that rig in the server rack streaming windows only games to the network. I have no need beyond that for a microsoft product personally.

[BigusSchmuck]

This will probably be Microsoft's last locally installed OS. I'm guessing the next version will probably be hosted on the cloud. https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/
I for one haven't started the upgrade to 10 yet, might try it on one of my pcs at home..

[ClodBusted]

Back then in the 90s, I had virtual desktops on my 80486 computer with Win 3.11 thanks to a Trident graphics card.

On topic, I'll see if Dell brings Windows 10 drivers for my Vostro 3360 laptop and hear from others how (good or bad) it performs. Until than, I stay with Windows 7

I so want a browser to bring back the functionality Opera 11.5 whatever had in it's user interface.

I'm still running Opera 12.17 with its old engine. Any other browser, even the new Opera with the Google engine and reduced functions, is trash.

[viper0hr]

I'm holding off with 7 for a few months just to see how people like it. But with Microsoft they tend to release a shit OS then a great one.

[Dicer]

Back then in the 90s, I had virtual desktops on my 80486 computer with Win 3.11 thanks to a Trident graphics card.

Amiga 1000 had that back in 85, fuck I miss the Amiga days....shit was like a time warp.

[o.pwuaioc]

I don't care for the tabletization of desktops, so I'm probably going to hold off for now. I have an ISO of it saved, that's good enough for me. My Surface Pro is upgraded, though.

[SuperGrafx]

I have it 'reserved' for my Surface Pro 3.
When do I actually get to download and install it?  I don't see the option to do so, just yet.

[wilykat]

I have signed up for 5 free Windows 10 but only one will get upgrade for sure.  8.1 is meh and even though it's better than 8.0 it still sucks for desktop.  I will sit on the upgrade for a few weeks after it's live to iron out some major bugs. Then if it's still highly praised and better, I will go for it.

[SuperDeadite]

Sticking with 7 over here.  Unless you have a touch screen I really see no point to anything later.  Plus I still use some old ass Yamaha MIDI software as there is no modern replacement.

[NightWolve]

I have 2 Windows 8.1 tablets that can be upgraded and I will do it. It's always been fun to see what new bugs features Microsoft has in store for us next.

[CrackTiger]

I upgraded my desktop from Win 8 and it now runs like a proper modern computer (webpages now load instantly, like on my freaking phone).

[SuperGrafx]

I upgraded my desktop from Win 8 and it now runs like a proper modern computer (webpages now load instantly, like on my freaking phone).

Does it just update from the Windows Update panel, or are you forcing the update somehow?

[jeffhlewis]

Windows 8 was fine. People are whiny and just like to use MS as a punching bag.

I've been using it at home and at my job since day of release and literally have only had one blue screen.

That being said I'm waiting to back up all my shit before running that upgrade to 10 - I trust no one ;)

[SuperGrafx]

Alright, I forced the update and now I'm posting from Windows 10
So far so good. 

I too had no issues with 8.1  --- in worked great on my Surface Pro 3 and this new version is just more of the same, only better.

[Dicer]

Windows 8 was fine. People are whiny and just like to use MS as a punching bag.

I've been using it at home and at my job since day of release and literally have only had one blue screen.

That being said I'm waiting to back up all my shit before running that upgrade to 10 - I trust no one ;)

8 was shite, forcing a mobile/table OS on people...Metro is unusable flat panel garbage, 8.1 made 8* a lot more tolerable. the proof that 8 was garbage is how scaled down Metro is in 10, it's like an afterthought and easily hidden and done away with.

 That said, 10 is nice so far, at least performance wise.

[jeffhlewis]

Windows 8 was fine. People are whiny and just like to use MS as a punching bag.

I've been using it at home and at my job since day of release and literally have only had one blue screen.

That being said I'm waiting to back up all my shit before running that upgrade to 10 - I trust no one ;)

8 was shite, forcing a mobile/table OS on people...Metro is unusable flat panel garbage, 8.1 made 8* a lot more tolerable. the proof that 8 was garbage is how scaled down Metro is in 10, it's like an afterthought and easily hidden and done away with.

 That said, 10 is nice so far, at least performance wise.

Yeah, but it's not like they force you into that interface. I just saw it as a minor annoyance.

I get what they were going after with Metro but I think they were banking on Tablet computing replacing desktop computing at a faster rate than it did.

[SuperGrafx]

8 was shite, forcing a mobile/table OS on people...Metro is unusable flat panel garbage, 8.1 made 8* a lot more tolerable. the proof that 8 was garbage is how scaled down Metro is in 10, it's like an afterthought and easily hidden and done away with.

Not really.  Metro did help bridge the gap for a hybrid PC/Tablet OS.  It was an experiment, but I found it to be rather useful and intuitive on the Surface.

[SuperDeadite]

I upgraded my desktop from Win 8 and it now runs like a proper modern computer (webpages now load instantly, like on my freaking phone).

I have no speed issues with 7.  Cold start to desktop in less then a minute and everything is fast and snappy.  Having an SSD does help quite a bit though.

[BigusSchmuck]

8 was shite, forcing a mobile/table OS on people...Metro is unusable flat panel garbage, 8.1 made 8* a lot more tolerable. the proof that 8 was garbage is how scaled down Metro is in 10, it's like an afterthought and easily hidden and done away with.

Not really.  Metro did help bridge the gap for a hybrid PC/Tablet OS.  It was an experiment, but I found it to be rather useful and intuitive on the Surface. 

It's worse on Server 2012, they somehow thought it was a great idea to base it off Windows 8. I'll probably wait until this weekend before I make the plunge..

[Dicer]

I upgraded my desktop from Win 8 and it now runs like a proper modern computer (webpages now load instantly, like on my freaking phone).

I have no speed issues with 7.  Cold start to desktop in less then a minute and everything is fast and snappy.  Having an SSD does help quite a bit though.

If you think 7 is fast, you are in for a treat lol

[BlueBMW]

I backed up my 7 installed and did the upgrade to 10.  Seems to be ok though honestly I kind of prefer the look of windows 7 aero instead of the flat matte utilitarian look of 8/10.  Overall they didn't seem to break too much or remove access to too much stuff so it should be ok.

[DragonmasterDan]

I get what they were going after with Metro but I think they were banking on Tablet computing replacing desktop computing at a faster rate than it did.

They were also hoping the interface familiarity would help resuscitate the dying Windows mobile market.

[Nazi NecroPhile]

Windows 8 was fine. People are whiny and just like to use MS as a punching bag.

Heh, go fuck yourself.

[GreatBlue Swirlof99]

  I still use Windows 98 ( to play Army Men II and I haven't got a reason to upgrade so yeah.. ).

[wildfruit]

Having only been a recent uptaker of windows 8.1, I have to say I really like it. Having no problems whatsoever it's fast, responsive and, I confess, I like the Start screen. I'll leave my desktop for now and try 10 on an old laptop to see what it's like

[DragonmasterDan]

Windows 8 was fine. People are whiny and just like to use MS as a punching bag.

I was half expecting you to add "And Microsoft Bob was amazing, having Rover bring me the news in my virtual chair was a big innovation that was just too ahead of its time for the mainstream."

[jeffhlewis]

Windows 8 was fine. People are whiny and just like to use MS as a punching bag.

I was half expecting you to add "And Microsoft Bob was amazing, having Rover bring me the news in my virtual chair was a big innovation that was just too ahead of its time for the mainstream."

Sticking to my guns on the MS Punching bag comment...they've been making good moves (sans the xbone launch) since they got rid of Ballmer and hired Satya Nadella. Some people will never be convinced though

[DragonmasterDan]

Sticking to my guns on the MS Punching bag comment...they've been making good moves (sans the xbone launch) since they got rid of Ballmer and hired Satya Nadella. Some people will never be convinced though

They're a bit of a punching bag. I just hated the Win 8 interface as did most of the general public. Their lambasting was completely deserved.

That interface is the GUI equivalent of the parking at VGS

[jeffhlewis]

They're a bit of a punching bag. I just hated the Win 8 interface as did most of the general public. Their lambasting was completely deserved.

That interface is the GUI equivalent of the parking at VGS

Ooph, good analogy heh. Still mad we didn't make it to the balloon conference down the hall.

The look on the auto sales lady's face when we described VGS to her (they were having a sales manager's conference on the upper floor) was priceless.

[NightWolve]

Windows 8 was fine. People are whiny and just like to use MS as a punching bag.

Heh, go fuck yourself.

There goes NecroPhile the Charmer. ;)

BTW, anybody know how to force an upgrade now with the stupid Win10 reserve app ? You're supposed to have to let it sit and it'll eventually/randomly let ya know when it is deemed time for the upgrade to occur ?? ... Very interesting way to do this, I must say...

[Sadler]

Windows 8 was fine. People are whiny and just like to use MS as a punching bag.

Heh, go fuck yourself.

There goes NecroPhile the Charmer. ;)

BTW, anybody know how to force an upgrade now with the stupid Win10 reserve app ? You're supposed to have to let it sit and it'll eventually/randomly let ya know when it is deemed time for the upgrade to occur ?? ... Very interesting way to do this, I must say...

You can download it directly from HERE.

[SephirothTNH]

Yeah the rolling it out in waves is a little odd.  I can only assume they are trying to avoid their servers getting hammered.  I'm keeping my main gaming desktop on 8 for now.  I'm happy with it.  But I signed up to get the free upgrade on my old gaming now family desktop.

[NightWolve]

What are the pros/cons of upgrading from 32-bit to 64-bit (Sadler's link lets you choose between 32-bit/64-bit) ?? Has their emulation layer improved enough to maintain decent compatibility with 32-bit apps or are you gonna break too many to make it worth it ?

[SephirothTNH]

I've been running 64bit since Mojave!  I haven't really had any problems with compatibility for a few years now.  The only exceptions are the occasional old piece of hardware without signed 64bit drivers, and there is no compatibility for older 16 bit applications at all.  So no Chips Challenge for you.  Though that may be the case for 32 bit OS versions now too?

[BigusSchmuck]

What are the pros/cons of upgrading from 32-bit to 64-bit (Sadler's link lets you choose between 32-bit/64-bit) ?? Has their emulation layer improved enough to maintain decent compatibility with 32-bit apps or are you gonna break too many to make it worth it ?

As far as I know, 32-bit apps work fine in 64-bit versions of Windows. Been like that for about a year or so. Used to hate 64-bit Windows when I had to setup Point of Sale PCS..

[Sadler]

If your processor is 64-bit, you should probably be running 64-bit. There's almost no reason not to and lots of good reasons to do so. XP64 was a bit shaky, but since Vista 64-bit Windows seems to be pretty damn solid.

[ClodBusted]

My old computer had Win XP Professional 32 bit, my current machine runs Win 7 Professional 64 bit. As it has 6 GB of RAM, the 64 bits are needed to address them anyway.

The majority of applications run perfectly fine, be it 32 bit or 64 bit programs. Just don't expect to run DOS games without relying on DOS box emulation. Also make sure that your machine has all the drivers available for the OS and its bitcount. Also peripherals can be bitchy about the OS version they run on, especially printers and scanners don't get longtime support by their manufacturers.

So if you've got a laptop computer or any exotic peripheral, doublecheck driver support before upgrading your OS.

For old games from the DOS to early Win XP era, don't throw away your old dusty big tower PC. Keep it.

[NightWolve]

Hm, sounds good, I'm trying, but looks like I gotta make my tablets boot off the microSD card. The setup exe is 64-bit and can't execute from the default 32-bit 8.1 install and the Win10 app made no mention if it was gonna keep 32-bit form or let me upgrade. All my CPUs have been 64-bit, even my 2008 PC tower, but they all came with 32-bit versions of Windows.

Learned the hard way when I bought two 2GB RAM sticks to make my tower go from 3GB to 4GB system memory, but that it didn't matter cause 32-bit Vista couldn't make use past 3GB so I had bought the sticks for nothing... Told a friend about it, and he realized his 4GB total wasn't doing anything for his 32-bit XP, so right then and there he upgraded to 64-bit and after looking at Task Manager could see that the full 4GB was being reported as available. Heh.

Alright, I gotta see how to boot off a microSD card or USB memory stick with my tablets.

[BigusSchmuck]

Hm, sounds good, I'm trying, but looks like I gotta make my tablets boot off the microSD card. The setup exe is 64-bit and can't execute from the default 32-bit 8.1 install and the Win10 app made no mention if it was gonna keep 32-bit form or let me upgrade. All my CPUs have been 64-bit, even my 2008 PC tower, but they all came with 32-bit versions of Windows.

Learned the hard way when I bought two 2GB RAM sticks to make my tower go from 3GB to 4GB system memory, but that it didn't matter cause 32-bit Vista couldn't make use past 3GB so I had bought the sticks for nothing... Told a friend about it, and he realized his 4GB total wasn't doing anything for his 32-bit XP, so right then and there he upgraded to 64-bit and after looking at Task Manager could see that the full 4GB was being reported as available. Heh.

Alright, I gotta see how to boot off a microSD card or USB memory stick with my tablets.

This might help:
http://www.redmondpie.com/how-to-create-bootable-windows-10-usb-flash-drive-guide/

[NightWolve]

http://www.tabletroms.com/forums/winbook-tw100/7314-custom-reload-tw700-800-801-win-8-1-win10.html

Well, no go, I had to upgrade the normal way with a 32-bit version. My tablets are of the "fortunate" ones that came with 32-bit UEFI "ONLY" apparently so I'm stuck with 32-bit OS versions. Ah well...

[MNKyDeth]

It's a good thing you mentioned UEFI Nightwolve, it reminded me of something, maybe some advice for others.

Never ever buy anything that is UEFI only with secure boot.

Go ahead and buy UEFI products but if they have secure boot on them stay clear of them. Most likely that device if it's a desktop, laptop, phone or tablet will be locked into the OS it comes with no changes at all.

Going form Linux to windows or windows to linux or a BSD just isn't possible on locked devices. Don't support the companies that force this draconian non-secure method that only hurts end users. People that want to harm you're computer will still do it even with secure boot.

[BigusSchmuck]

Might want to wait a bit before installing:
http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/jul/31/windows-10-microsoft-faces-criticism-over-privacy-default-settings

[NightWolve]

It's a good thing you mentioned UEFI Nightwolve, it reminded me of something, maybe some advice for others. Never ever buy anything that is UEFI only with secure boot.

Yeah, it locked me into staying 32-bit which I guess is OK - I haven't run into a 64-bit only app that I really wanted or something. I think the secure boot is off by default (what I heard) but yeah...

Well, I have my progress report on the upgrade...

The one failure that will occur with Microcenter branded WinBook tablets revolves around a file called "TouchSetting.gt" in the "C:\Windows\INF" folder! You must copy this file right now, save it, upgrade to 10, and copy it back to the "C:\Windows\INF" folder and reboot. What happens is the tablet touch mousing operation will be inverted. If I touch the center, that works, but as I move outwards like say to the upper right, the mousing action will occur on the bottom left... Spent an hour or more to figure it out but luckily someone in the MicroCenter forums learned the trick messing with the preview versions of Windows 10 months ago!

http://www.mctsol.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1372

So all the models from TW700 to TW100 (I have both, it's 7" to 10.1") need to have that done for them to work properly... If I didn't have a USB Keyboard and a wireless USB mouse, it would've been pretty hard to control the tablet after I did the upgrade, pretty much would've been stuck. You needed another computer to research what the problem was...

This wasn't that big of a deal compared to say upgrading an Android phone... You have to completely rely on fans to make a new build for your particular model and sometimes that may never happen, so your phone will pretty much be left behind... But yeah, these tablets were sold at great prices because of lacking all the extras that come with the big boys like HP, Dell, etc. You need to be a bit techy for something like this.

Anyway, I always enjoy an upgrade actually just to see how things progress. But I also like to keep all my old computers with multiple partitions that are able to boot to older versions. My 2nd PC tower which is mostly retired can boot to Win98, NT4, NT2K and XP with a simple boot manager I found ages ago by a good programmer. Sometimes it's good for testing, but on my current PC tower, I get by with Microsoft Virtual PC and emulating 98 or 2K for such tests of my software.

Well, good luck to anybody else! My problem is not really a problem if it was a desktop or tower that always has a USB keyboard and mouse connected to it actually. It would've been a totally smooth upgrade if not for the touch screen aspect.

[Dicer]

Might want to wait a bit before installing:
http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/jul/31/windows-10-microsoft-faces-criticism-over-privacy-default-settings

Nothing that isn't already being done by your smartphone, and there is ways to opty out of a good chunk of it, it's a "free" Os they had to make that money back somehow, it's shit but it's not unexpected or New, hell even Ubuntu has a shitty privacy setting, but that's easily remedied.

If Microsoft wants to know I look at retro gaming shit and modern porn, so be it...