Discussion: Would you recommend Windows 10? Why or why not?

So, one of the most recent questions I’ve gotten asked by the Windows Feedback app is whether or not I’d recommend Windows 10, and why. For those of you that are running build 10041 or later, I’m interested in hearing your appraisals based on things up until now—and I’m especially interested to see whether your opinion will change based on 10056 and builds that come after it. (For the record, I’m using the leak of 10056, and my appraisal is based on my experience up until now up from 9841.)

To get the conversation going, this is my take:

When I first started, it was with build 9841, and after my experience with Windows 8.1 on my Surface, I was so skeptical that I didn’t even bother partitioning my hard drive to accommodate an install of Windows 10—I simply installed it on an external hard drive and ran it from there, the logic being that if I decided I didn’t like it, it wouldn’t impact my life.

Then I tried Windows 10 for the first time. Thanks to about six months of use of Windows 8 on my Surface, and having read some news articles about Windows 10, I already knew what to expect. So when Windows 10 booted up for the first time, it was hardly surprising at just how familiar everything looked. The Start menu was back, most things were exactly where they’d been in Windows 7, and there was just enough Windows 8 DNA present that I found myself going, «Hmmm, that’s a nice touch» quite a bit.

That early build was rudimentary compared to what we have now, granted, but it was enough to get me interested, and enough to make me want to have it on a computer that I used on a regular basis. Since the laptop I use most often was already set up to dual-boot between 64-bit versions of Windows XP and Windows 7, I decided to invest in another hard drive, and install Windows 10 there (so now, that computer can triple-boot!). Since then, I’ve used Windows 10’s various builds on both my Surface and on the laptop, an old Acer Aspire 8951G.

The experience along the way has been mixed. Early builds of Windows 10 were highly unstable, with STOP errors (colloquially known as «blue screen of death» errors), and there were enough just plain odd quirks in how it behaved to make a whole roomful of people scratch their heads. But I played the part of a good beta tester anyway and stuck with it, installing official builds from the Fast ring as they were delivered, and occasionally installing leaked builds when one seemed worth it.

Along the way, I’ve done a lot of complaining. I’ve complained about the Start menu XAML redesign that was introduced in 9926; I’ve complained about the instability, and I’ve complained about a lot of other things big and small. But through it all, I’ve continued to use Windows 10, so much so that when I booted the laptop into its Windows 7 install earlier today, Windows Update informed me that I hadn’t checked for updates in well over a month.

So, up through build 10049—the most recent build released to testers on the Fast ring—I’d have described Windows 10 Technical Preview as just that, an operating system beta designed to showcase its technical and operational aspects, with far less attention paid to the user experience. In a phrase, «half finished,» as one look at the Settings app or the network flyout showed plain white backgrounds and very little «fluff» for the look of things. (Meaning, in short, no Aero or any of the other visual effects that made Windows 7 so rich.)

But despite the lack of visual flair, Windows 10 still brings some pretty amazing capabilities to the table. Using the Word Preview app, for example, I was able to task-share between my Surface and the laptop; the document I started typing on the laptop, I was able to access on my Surface and begin editing right where I’d left off. During a recent meeting, I used the PowerPoint Preview app on my Surface to make notations on my slide deck as I presented to a client. More recently still, I used Miracast and Windows 10’s easy-to-use wireless display capability—along with Project Spartan and its pen-notation capability—to illustrate a Web site change proposal to another client. When a coworker needed me to remind her about an appointment she had late in the day, up came my Surface, and as she watched, I said, «Hey Cortana,» and a reminder was made. On the more mundane side, if you set up a particular theme and background on one computer linked with a Microsoft account, and then synch another computer to that same account, that second computer will look, sound, and in most ways act like the first one. (I’ll put an asterisk here by commenting that Start menu layouts and custom sounds don’t carry from one computer to the next, even though I think they should.)

Now, in the present day, I’m using build 10056 on both computers (sadly, I don’t own a Windows-capable phone so I can’t comment on that aspect). Not only does this build bring back the resizeable Start menu we’ve been clamoring for since 9926, it also introduces what I imagine is the first wave of improvements for the UX piece: a new, darker theme for Windows itself, which carries over to the taskbar, Start menu, and the various flyouts (though not to any of the apps). A new Weather app, which retains the functionality of the version we’re used to from Windows 8 but with some tasteful graphical changes. A new Mail app, which is clearly still buggy since it won’t download GMail messages properly, but which is also a VERY tasteful update to the app we know, and which doesn’t make the app any harder to use.

Yes, there are still some things about Windows 10 that need work. (And for benefit of any Microsoft employees out there who might be reading this, one word: AERO!) But for all the complaining I’ve done, for all my suspicions early on in the process, Windows 10 managed to win me over, and has managed to keep me as a fan and supporter ever since. Count me as one of those users who would’ve loved for Gabe Aul’s suggestion of a «Ludicrous Speed» ring to have become a reality; the more I use Windows 10, the harder a time I’m having loading up Windows 7 to keep it updated.

Do I recommend Windows 10? Not only do I recommend it, I take every opportunity (as you see) to show off its capabilities to everyone I can, every chance I get. I can’t think of a more ringing endorsement than that.

There’s one man’s take, at least. What does the rest of the user base have to say about it? Do you recommend Windows 10? Why or why not?

Перешел с Windows 10 LTSB на Windows 10 May 2020 Update и очень пожалел — объясняю почему

В блоге «5 причин, по которым я окончательно перешел с Windows 10 LTSB\LTSC на Windows 10 Pro» я подробно описал преимущества обычной Windows 10 Pro, однако совсем забыл про ее недостатки, которые снова и снова заставляли меня откатываться на что угодно, только не на Windows 10 Pro.

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Я писал много блогов про использование Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows 10 LTSB на новом «железе» и главная претензия к ним была одна — новые игры не идут. Остальные их недостатки можно компенсировать сторонними программами и утилитами. Об этом я писал в блоге «Делаем Windows 8.1 такой же удобной, как и Windows 10».

Но установив Windows 10 May 2020 Update я столкнулся с таким количеством багов и косяков, что окончательно разочаровался в Windows 10 в том виде, в каком она существует сейчас. Заметьте, что я установил Windows 10 May 2020 Update осенью, когда, казалось бы, все баги должны быть исправлены, но нет. Похоже мелкие баги вообще сидят в ОС годами, о чем я расскажу ниже.

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И если старые стабильные версии Windows можно «допилить» до уровня Windows 10 Pro по функционалу, то «допилить» Windows 10 Pro до уровня Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows 10 LTSB по стабильности практически невозможно.

Уже предвижу критику в комментариях — «Zystax меняет свое мнение«, но я уже не раз писал, что все свои блоги я пишу на основе тех выводов и действий, которые сделал для себя и проверил на себе. Поэтому в них я описываю ситуацию и продукты как есть, со всеми плюсами и минусами.

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Но обо всем по порядку. Начну с самого начала, с установки.

Установка Windows 10 May 2020 Update проходит быстро, без сучка и задоринки, но уже при первоначальной настройке вы можете столкнуться с изменениями, которые отличают ее от более старых версий Windows 10. В этой текучести — один из главных минусов Windows 10. Что-то меняется и вы можете выкидывать старые гайды по ее настройке «на помойку».

Первое, что делают многие пользователи — это отключение пароля при входе. Проще всего сделать это раньше было запустив апплет netplwiz через команду control userpasswords2 в окно «выполнить» (win + R).

Теперь отключить ввод пароля при загрузке через эту команду не получится, там просто нет нужной галочки.

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Самый простой выход из положения, который я нашел, это использование утилиты Autologon от Sysinternals. Sysinternals по сути является частью веб-сайта Microsoft Technet и доверять их утилитам можно безоговорочно.

Пароль отключается буквально в три клика.

Теперь нельзя отключить антивирус Microsoft Defender строчкой в реестре. Соответственно старые «твикеры-отключальщики» работать больше не будут. О плюсах и минусах такого решения можно спорить, но то, что оно ограничивает свободу действий пользователя, мне не нравится.

Кстати о твикерах. Я не одобряю использование сторонних твикеров, «отключалок телеметрии» и прочего подозрительного софта для настройки ОС.

Во-первых, никто не знает, что на самом деле делает этот софт. Яркий пример, твикер Destroy Windows 10 Spying или DWS, который использовал каждый второй умник с форума, из тех, что любят читать нотации новичкам менторским тоном. DWS устанавливала свой корневой сертификат в ОС, что является серьезной уязвимостью и совершенно не было нужно для ее работы.

Во-вторых, никто не проверяет, действительно ли отключилась телеметрия после его работы. А независимые тесты показывают, что телеметрия не отключается популярными твикерами полностью.

В-третьих, ОС восстанавливает многие настройки после обновлений, и включает отключенные службы, так что эффективность работы этих твикеров под большим вопросом.

В-четвертых, «сломать» ОС таким твикером можно одним нажатием кнопки, после чего вас вполне может ждать переустановка системы.

Если вы хотите уменьшить поток телеметрии, то идите стандартным путем, через групповые политики.

Конфигурация компьютера > Административные шаблоны > Компоненты Windows > Сборки для сбора данных и предварительные сборки.

И меняйте параметр «Не задано» на «Включено», с уровнем — «0».

Дополнив это контролем трафика, о чем я уже писал в блоге «Берем обновления Windows 10 May 2020 Update под полный контроль», вы можете забыть о телеметрии.

Теперь о более неприятных моментах с Windows 10 May 2020 Update. Настроив ОС и, как обычно, начав делать ее образ, я столкнулся с ошибкой. Образ не создавался, рапортуя о недостатке места.

Места у меня немало и диски пробовал разные, но ошибка вылазила постоянно. Баг это не новый и его корни растут еще из 2014 года, но, как видите, может появляться и на Windows 10 May 2020 Update. Я не стал чинить его, так как доверия такой системе архивации быть не может и воспользовался софтом от Acronis.

А вот замедление работы браузеров по сравнению с Windows 10 LTSB очень заметно. Каждый переход на новый сайт заставляет браузеры «задуматься» на секунду-две, с чем это связано и как чинить, пока неизвестно.

UWP приложения при свертывании и развертывании неприятно мерцают. С этим багом я сталкивался еще на Windows 10 версии 1909 и баг так и сидит в ОС. На видео очень заметно эти мерцания.

Некоторый софт «теряет» свои иконки и в панели задач или на ярлыках имеет только белый квадрат.

Главный баг последних лет, который преследует разные версии Windows 10 — это проблемы с веб-камерами. Вот и моя Logitech C270 перестала нормально работать в Windows 10 May 2020 Update. Она не включается автоматически, для того, чтобы она заработала, надо или выключить и включить ее в диспетчере устройств, либо в настройках софта, который пользуется ей, например Viber.

Работа с множеством графических файлов стала просто ужасна. Сохранение картинки на диск, в папку с сотнями картинок, вызывает паузу в несколько секунд, пока ОС не прорисует миниатюры.

Да, Horizon Zero Dawn, которая не шла у меня на Windows 10 LTSB, теперь запускается, но доволен ли я, постоянно сталкиваясь с этими багами? Конечно же нет, они оставляют впечатление, что я пользуюсь сырым и недоделанным продуктом, бета версией.

И я попал в затруднительную ситуацию, когда для меня нет идеальной ОС. Единственный выход, который кажется мне практичным — это держать Windows 10 May 2020 Update для новых игр, а работать и пользоваться основное количество времени ПК под управлением старых, стабильных и надежных версий Windows.

Пишите в комментарии, какой версией Windows пользуетесь вы? И довольны ли вы ей?

Should You Upgrade to Windows 10 Now or Wait?

This is one of the most frequent questions being asked at the moment… “should I upgrade to Windows 10 now or wait?” In most cases I would say wait. While the vast majority of upgrades have been successful there have also been plenty of reports of ensuing issues, most common among them being agonizingly slow boot-up times, system lag, wi-fi issues, and an unresponsive start menu.

According to widespread reports, Microsoft is working on a major Windows 10 update, code-named Threshold and expected to be delivered some time during the next two months (November is currently favored), which will almost certainly include fixes for the most common problems. So, for most, I would suggest waiting until after this major update has been released before upgrading.

Upgrading from Windows 7 to Windows 10

Upgrading from Window 7 to Windows 10 appears to be the most problematic at the moment, which, considering it is an older operating system more often than not running on older hardware, makes sense. To date I’ve been involved with three of these upgrades and each one has been successful but not without issues.

It should also be pointed out that after experiencing issues following an upgrade, users who have tried to utilize the rollback option to return to Windows 7 have often been unsuccessful. Apparently, in some cases, whatever issues are affecting the upgrade can also affect the rollback process. So, if you are upgrading from Windows 7, it is strongly recommended that you create and save a full system image beforehand.

Another option is to utilize Windows 10’s Reset feature which has pretty much the same effect as performing a fresh install. You will lose all your installed programs as well as current settings and configurations of course, but this method has been entirely successful on all 3 upgraded machines I’ve been involved with. By the time I got to the third machine, I’d realized that the Reset method is in fact quicker than spending hours trying to resolve issues, even with having to re-install programs, etc.

I’ve no doubt there will be a loyal band of Windows 7 fans who flatly refuse to upgrade, and while I appreciate their position, I’d also urge them to reconsider. Windows 7 will only be supported for another 4 years, which might seem like a pretty long time right now but will go by quickly enough.

Also bear in mind that the Windows 10 upgrade is only free until 29th July 2016 after which time users will have to pay – currently $120us for Windows 10 Home and $200us for Windows 10 Pro.

Upgrading from Windows 8.1 to Windows 10

As far as I am concerned this is a no brainer, Windows 10 is like Windows 8 on steroids. This upgrade also appears to be less problematic than the Windows 7 upgrade. That said, I’ve only been involved with one Win 8.1 to Win 10 upgrade and that was on my own machine – and guess what, yep, I experienced issues. After hours of unsuccessful attempts to solve these issues, including long periods of time spent with Microsoft support, I ended up Resetting and re-installing all my programs, etc. Again, this method proved to be successful and, although somewhat inconvenient, starting off with a clean slate is not a bad way to go.

So, even when upgrading from the newer Windows 8.1, creating and saving a full system image beforehand is still a wise precaution.

Final Thoughts

Microsoft is working hard on fixing issues associated with the Windows 10 upgrade based on feedback through the Windows Insider program. Insider builds have already included a number of fixes and these, plus any additional fixes, will eventually be rolled out to all Windows 10 users as part of the major update – some time in November being the current expectation. So, unless you’re competent and confident enough to deal with potential issues following the upgrade, my advice is to wait at least until after the major update has been released.

About The Author

Jim Hillier

10 thoughts on “Should You Upgrade to Windows 10 Now or Wait?”

RE: “I’ve no doubt there will be a loyal band of Windows 7 fans who flatly refuse to upgrade, and while I appreciate their position, I’d also urge them to reconsider. Windows 7 will only be supported for another 4 years, which might seem like a pretty long time right now but will go by quickly enough.”

Most (all?) people with Windows 7 will need to obtain a new computer by the date that extended support ends, anyway.

There are still quite a few people running XP. One of my machines is getting on for 7 years old, started off with Vista which has since been upgraded 3 times. So, while I agree there will be some looking to upgrade their hardware in that time, definitely not all.

I upgraded from Windows 8 to windows 10 purely because:
A) I disliked 8 and a replacement system was too good to turn down.
B) It’s a free upgrade
C) I was familiar with Windows 10, being in the Insider Program.

If I weren’t particularly savvy with PCs I’d wait a while.

I’ve found quite a few people that didn’t know Windows 10 was free or even available to them. Interesting part is about 3 out of 4 of those were way behind on updates. Once I explained they could have it if they wanted they were excited to get it.
Kinda puts a different viewpoint on the automatic updates in Win 10.

I have a portable with win 7 and a Desktop PC with Win 8.1. I’ve made the transition to none.
In light of the inconvenience faced by many, accept an OS free of charge for the short life of a used PC seems useless to me… not to mention the problems emerged at the level of privacy.
By Juli 2016, one of my PCs (or both) can fall down a hundred times and I may need to buy another… with Win 10 installed!

anybody tried dual boot 7 w/10? FSX finally running perfect in 7, hate to have that all collapse on me again as it did with 8.1 and the dropped joystick nightmare.

I have never known Microsoft to release any of their products that function correctly at the time of the initial release.

The releases are driven by $$$$ and the greed in the first instance and the releases tend to not be fully functional and at the end of a final Beta stage released for, it seems, public testing to sort out the final bugs in the software which Microsoft fails to do.

Although I install the new releases of the OS’s, this is for a look see, to see what they have stuffed up and not fixed contrary to popular believe that they really did listen to the outcry of the detailed feedback and in reality did not fix.

Then there are the new Privacy issues that were implemented in Win 10 that they failed to inform us of, etc., etc., Let’s face it folks Microsoft is so big that their software seems to run the world and by the display of their arrogance they believe it and rampantly do as they like.

My advice, NEVER install to use an new release of any software including OS’s when first released . By all means install a fresh installation it on a spare Workstation, never use an upgrade (they seldom do it right) to have a look at it to determine what is missing and what has changed.

Wait 6 month after the OS is first released and then again do a fresh installation on a spare workstation to see if all or at least 99% of your concerns have been fixed and implemented in the latest release, before you implement it as a full OS to use in a Home or Office environment.
– Note also, do not waste your time with Home versions always buy and install the Professional versions of the Operating System. If you don’t have a spare workstation, then contact a very reputable Reseller or highly experienced Service Technician with at least 10 years experience in installing OS’s, and ask him or her if the latest is stable and if the bugs have been fixed.

After you do install the new OS, ensure that you run Windows Update and keep running it until no updates for the OS are left and they, the updates are fully installed. Additional, I have never recommended nor do I use Automatic Updates of any Software Applications including OS’s and perform these tasks manually on the second Wednesday of every month and also use a 3rd party utility like “Update Checker” (correctly configured) to tell me of the other non Microsoft software that is installed on the workstation that has updates available.

Win 10 at this stage, don’t upgrade at this time, keep Win 7 or Win 8.1 and wait another 4 month before you look at it again remembering to perform a clean install when you do implement it.

Have fun Folks and be kind to your Mother-In-Law(s) ☺☺☺

Roger H. / PC-Bug Fixer / Sydney, Australia.