Will you install Windows 10?

[logan01]

We have 8.1 on the wife's ASUS laptop, I don't use it but am the "administrator/troubleshooter," and will upgrade to Win X soon -- mainly because I thought it would be a good exercise for me to 'learn' Windows up-to-date and be informed about it. It works for her email, Skype, photos and such. However, if this sh* gets to be too much with 10, ads and all, even after I configure the various 30-something privacy settings, I'll wipe that hdd in a NY minute and run 14.04 on it for her and never look back. That is to say, we each have our limit about what we can tolerate as acceptable--"learning experience" or not. And, there are details. Like my Skype on my 14.04 is actually nicer and more configurable than her Skype on 8.1.

If she doesn't already have it, you might consider activating "God Mode" / "Master Control Panel". Pretty handy for the troubleshooter / maintainer. https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q...ntrol+panel%22

[Qqmike]

Thanks, I got it bookmarked. Hoping to do the Win X upgrade in the next week or two.

[logan01]

Thanks, I got it bookmarked. Hoping to do the Win X upgrade in the next week or two.

Handy, for the likes of you.

[Qqmike]

Maybe I'll maintain that Windows HDD with my own tool kit. Look what's in it:
dd &nothing.else

[logan01]

Maybe I'll maintain that Windows HDD with my own tool kit. Look what's in it:
dd &nothing.else

Surprise Surprise - NOT!

[logan01]

After this I'll leave you alone. She may have this (Image Resizer) on 8.1 and though not recoded for Windows 10, it works. Just thought it'd be handy since I saw she does photos. It'll be in her drop down menu when right clicking any graphic file icon. A tad slower than earlier Windows but still good. https://imageresizer.codeplex.com/

[Qqmike]

Got it bookmarked, too -- Thanks.

[TWPonKubuntu]

Time will tell if this is real...

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/06..._win10_policy/

But calling them "The Redmond spreadsheet maker..."?

[Qqmike]

Countdown ...

One week left for free upgrade to 10,
http://www.howtogeek.com/263413/you-...should-update/
and some commentary, pro's and con's.

I haven't yet done the laptop here (from 8 to 10), but will do so as soon as I can schedule some Headache&Frustration&Surprise time. The key is turning off all those privacy options prior to hitting Install-Go. Or, turning off as many as you can, that is.

MS is way under its projections for upgrades on this.

[acheron]

I may not bother, as I can always use the insider programme route I have, I think?

Or I may just wipe the disk!

[Qqmike]

Wiping the disk sounds like a good plan! I'm tempted every time I think of that Windows laptop ...

[acheron]

Wiping the disk sounds like a good plan! I'm tempted every time I think of that Windows laptop ...

It's a 1TB Win 8.1 disk that was the original that came with the PC.

I just put a new one in and installed kubuntu on that.

So the Win 8.1 disk has hardly been touched in 18+months. Not even been connected for most of that.

So yes, on that basis a wipe and use as bonus storage might be the thing.

[Qqmike]

Here, the laptop is used only by the spousal unit for completely routine tasks like email (web-based), Skype, photos, and reading news and sports articles. For me, it is kind of an experience thing, seeing what goes on with Windows these days, learning 8 & 10 for the heck of it. It runs on cruise control, basically. No problems. Except when there is a problem, as is common with all Windows systems, a re-boot fixes it 90% of the time. The other 10% of issues I can fix through the Control Center. IOW, NBD. And so far it is free ($$$-wise). But she would also do OK with Kubuntu 14.04.

[Qqmike]

And so ... a done deal here. From start (downloading 3 GB Win X files) to finish (installed, configured) it took about 2 hours (ASUS laptop, 8 GB RAM, i5-4200U). And it looks very nice, clean -- I'm comparing the 10 to the 8 we had. Easy to use, easy to figure out.

Of course, while setting up, I did NOT accept Express Install; instead, I took the the Customized option (which was in small print at lower left of screen). I killed all the main privacy-invasion options, including not turning on Cortana (poor girl).

Interesting: After all this harassment all these months to upgrade to 10, all the pop-ups, all the very confusing forced and fixed choices on Windows update menus and configuring, when I finally did say "Ok, let's go," it came back after several minutes saying that the update to 10 failed! It offered many and several options, including try again, so I clicked Try Again, and it then started the 3 GB file downloads and successfully proceeded from there, for the 2 hours I mentioned above. Talk about a confusing user-communication interface!

But, frankly, although time consuming, with several re-starts, this was smooth, clean, and clear. Of course, I had read and studied half a dozen Internet articles on how to do this and what to watch for and ... tomorrow I'll double-check all the 30-some privacy settings.

[MoonRise]

I upgraded someone this week. Went smooth.

I agree with the comments with how much information M$ tries to collect on people. I deplore that. For the most part from my testing when you install you are given the option to not accept default. It's not obvious so you do have to read the screens but click on manual setup and turn the majority off.

I stay with Kubuntu as that is what I like but I do not have anything bad to say about Win10. To date it has been solid on the 12 systems that I have upgraded for people I know.

Yes, you still have to have AV software on there and that can be a bugger. I have had close calls with some users and opening e-mails that they shouldn't have, but good AV and BitDefender's AntiRansomware helps greatly.