10 Reasons Not To Upgrade To Windows 10

Easier Decision For Windows 7 Users

Windows 10 Official Release is July 29, 2015, and everyone wants to know should I upgrade to Windows 10. It all depends on your particular circumstances, but in general… If it works, don’t fix it. ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN so if your PC is critical to your life, think twice before taking on ANY major change.

Here Are 10 Reasons NOT to Upgrade Windows 10

At least not right away…

1. It Could Break Your System

There is ALWAYS the chance that a major upgrade will break something. Early adopters of Windows 10 are already reporting serious issues (See #3). Maybe it’s a small percentage but do you really want to be a pioneer? (Definition of Pioneer: Someone with arrows in their back)

2. You Don’t Have Good Backups

Most people do NOT have good backups. Most people aren’t even sure what data is on their PC that they need. Most who know what they need do not know where it is located on the drive.

Want statistics? Go somewhere else. What I have is over 20 years of experience migrating data for PC users. Here is the typical conversation, probably 90% of the time:

Me: Please make a list of what you need moved over to the new PC

User: Not much, just this, this and oh, yeah, this

Me: Ok, it’s all moved. Hang on to your old system for a few months JUST TO MAKE SURE!

User (at a later date): Where is my {fill in the blank}?

I like iDrive for secure cloud backup, they have the features you want and everything is encrypted BEFORE it leaves your computer. Read my full iDrive review at OnlineBackupSpot.

3. Windows 10 Automatic Updates Are .. Automatic & MANDATORY

With Windows 10 you will NOT be able to postpone automatic updates (unless maybe the backlash against Microsoft is bad enough) or turn them off. Yeah, yeah, Microsoft knows what’s best for us and they NEVER make a mistake. Sure…

… and they told us YEARS AGO that they were going to eliminate the required reboot on updates. Never happened.

According to Forbes, Windows 10 early adopters are already finding that their systems are all but UNUSABLE due to NVidia driver problems.

But WAIT! Windows is SO COOL you can ROLL BACK to a working driver!

EXCEPT! Automatic updates then RE-INSTALLS the faulty driver!

I bet everyone wants faulty device drivers automatically installed and re-installed to make sure you cannot keep a WORKING driver.

4. Chill.. You Have One Year To Get It

Based on what you have already read, are you sure you don’t want to wait until version 10.1, service pack 1 or whatever they call it? Has there EVER been a version of Windows that was solid without a SP1 or .1 after the version?

You can get the free upgrade for one year (unless they extend it). Patience might pay off big.

Let someone else pay the price of being the early adopter.

5. You Have Windows 7

Windows 8 users may be suffering, and lets’ face it, Windows 10 is primarily a fix for a totally BOTCHED Windows 8. If you have Windows 7, fully up to date, what are you missing? No, it’s not solid, but Windows never will be in my lifetime I don’t expect.

If you are using Internet Explorer, please move to Chrome. I used to recommend Firefox but they just can’t seem to get a solid build out anymore and LEAVE IT ALONE (do we really need ‘chat’ in Firefox?)

If you ARE suffering with Windows 8, please see this video to make Win 8 more like Win 7.

6. You Have Older Hardware

We’ve always said, what Intel giveth, Microsoft taketh away.

If you have older hardware, check the Windows 10 Specifications Page to make sure your hardware is powerful enough to run it TO YOUR SATISFACTION. If on the edge, either upgrade the hardware (probably not economical) or buy a new PC with Windows 10 pre-installed and keep your current PC to use when the new Windows 10 one is crashing due to the automatic updates feeding you a faulty driver or patch.

7. Peripherals

If you have a scanner, plotter, or webcam, but even potentially a printer that you love and don’t replace, make sure that there is a Windows 10 driver to support it.

I was furious years ago when I found that Logitech was not going to support Windows 7 with a not-that-old webcam I owned 2 of. Logitech simply wanted people to buy new hardware from them. I chose a different solution; To this day I hesitate to give Logitech money because of their attitude on that webcam, unfortunately there are not that many RELIABLE hardware manufacturers anymore.

8. You Love Desktop Gadgets

If you are using Windows 7 desktop gadgets (which are inherently not SECURE), you will lose them with Windows 10.

I used a few gadgets at first because they were a novelty, then they just got in the way. Yet, I understand that my usage of my PC for work may be totally the opposite of many (or most) users who use their PC for recreation and entertainment.

And gadgets will be automatically deleted upon upgrading to Windows 10.

9. You Use Windows Media Center

Maybe it ain’t much but maybe it’s what you love. Windows Media Center is gone in Windows 10.

10. OneDrive Placeholders Are Not Yet Supported

This is beyond me why, and even though I do not use OneDrive I just cannot believe Microsoft does not yet support OneDrive placeholders in  (also called ‘Smart Files’) in Windows 10.

They claim they will by end of this year. See what I mean by waiting for the SP1, .1 or whatever the ‘fix’ version is called?

Conclusion

So there you have it.

Am I saying DON’T EVER upgrade to Windows 10? No.

I just want you to be fully informed before deciding to turn over a working machine to be a guinea pig for Microsoft to test their new software on. Decades ago I used to be a ‘Beta Tester’ for a number of software companies; back then I had more time on my hands, the companies treated their beta testers to some perks, and I felt I was doing my part for better software.

With Windows 10 there is no advantage to being an early adopter, unless you really get an ego ride out of showing off to friends and family. Of course if those friends and family have seen my post or video they may be wondering just what you are bragging about!

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