Windows 10 free?

[Noa Put]

I just logged out of hotmail to see a link to an article about getting windows 10 for free and indeed, Microsoft is giving Win 10 away for win7 and 8 users for a limited time, I"m still running win 7 pro it has been very stable the past years, not sure what benefit win 10 will give me eventhough my edius 8 WG supports win 10. Anyone noticed performance gains using win 10 and is it stable enough?

[Robert Benda]

I have no idea about any actual benefits. Here is an article about the differences from Windows 7: Here?s What?s Different About Windows 10 for Windows 7 Users

Most seem like things I don't really care about or would be a nuisance to me, personally, rather than a positive.

I have heard of issues about it resetting privacy settings or uninstalling or installing apps (why can't we still call them programs, darn it? Also, get off my lawn you kids!). That's pretty annoying sounding. There are also some who have installation problems. Over all, though, the news seems to be that its reasonably stable and not too buggy.

[Ron Evans]

It runs EDIUS 8.1 WG a little snappier I think. Not done any real measurements but it just feels quicker. As far as Microsoft updating things automatically most can be turned off. Lots on the WEB about how to do this. On my laptop a DELL 14" touch screen i7 model ( the only place I have 8.1 at the moment as the my main editor is still on EDIUS 7.5 on a WIN 7 PC ) I first updated EDIUS 8 WG to EDIUS 8.1 WG ran CCleaner uninstalled AVAST including AVAST clean program to get rid of all . Backed up. Then let Windows upgrade to WIN 10. Took a little while but no input required from me and it all just worked fine. Did another backup and reinstalled AVAST.

You have until Jul 29 ( I think ) next year to get the free upgrade.

Ron Evans

[Pete Cofrancesco]

I bought 8.1 to get native usb 3 support but i'm glad I kept 7 on another drive I like 7 better. I didn't want to buy a newer version of Quickbooks so I'm doing a dual boot to switch between the two. I'm also considering running virtualization software to avoid the work of maintaining multiple OSs.

You're probably asking about 10 because microsoft has been pushing really hard lately with annoying pop ups. I wouldn't do it. Very little to be gained.

[Noa Put]

It didn't see on the windows page how long the offer stands, it only said not to miss this temporary offer. I have a new pc since a few months and got it without windows (win 10 was standard) and installed my own win 7 pro copy on it, good that I did since I still can upgrade to 10 now and I saved money by not getting win 10 when I got my pc. :)

Also one of the reasons why I didn't upgrade to win 8 when that came out was that I still run an important ms access 2000 database which has been working fine on all my windows versions but refused to install under win 8 and I guess that should be the case in win 10 as well.

I might do a dual boot with win 7 pro and win 10 (on 2 separate ssd drives) just to run some legacy software, like that access database. Only not sure how easy it will be to install windows 7 again after win 10 has been installed and if it still will accept the key after upgrading to win 10.

I also have a image from my start up disc so should be able to return to the way it was if it doesn't work out.

[Noa Put]

Originally Posted by Pete Cofrancesco

I wouldn't do it. Very little to be gained.

You are probably right, there is no reason to fix anything that isn't broken. :)

[Ron Evans]

With the latest download of WIN 10 you can install clean and put in your WIN 7 serial number so no need to go through the upgrade process. I will stay with WIN 7 on my main editor as there are so many programs on it I do not want to get into any hassles. On my second PC also running WIN7 it will also stay WIN 7 too as I am running EDIUS 6.08 on it so that I can still use TMPRo titler. EDIUS 6.5 dongle will never have a driver for WIN 10 !! My laptop is a touch screen and came with WIN 8.1 so WIN 10 is better. When I make another PC for editing next year I will start with WIN 10 and then load EDIUS 8.1 WG on it. Until then I will stay with WIN 7 and EDIUS 7.5 for my main editing.

Ron Evans

[Noa Put]

I just thought about my old editing pc which also has win 7, will install it on that one to try.

[Jack Zhang]

Guys. You're forgetting something.

The way you saw this "upgrade" was force fed to you via "recommended updates." There are so many IT professionals telling people to hold off on Windows 10 because driver and software support just isn't there.

Plus, if you care about privacy, prepare to have none. Even if you turn off all the "privacy" controls in Windows 10, it still phones home. And they attempted to backport those features to 7 and 8.1.

My advice: DON'T FIX WHAT AIN'T BROKE. Imagine if you weren't ready yet. This pop-up takes focus and if you're typing on something and you press space, it starts it and there is no cancel option. After the upgrade, it says it'll keep your previous install but 1 out of 2 times it will not. And it downloads 5GB of data even if you said no, so if you're on cellular, you will overrun your data caps.

Stay clear of Windows 10 if you are on 7 right now, especially if your current setup works.

[Noa Put]

It was not forced upon me, I installed and updated windows 7 pro when I got my new pc and after that turned of the user account control feature and disabled automatic updates, this windows 10 offer I saw while surfing the web and there is also a option to just download windows 10 but not install it yet.

[Dave Blackhurst]

There is a fairly noticeable speed increase from 7 to 8, and a little additional one with 10. There are improvements "under the hood" that improve speed and stability for most people.

The Interface can be set to look like W7 by using aftermarket options like Start Menu 8. the 8 interface was horrid, the 8.1 "better" and actually 10 feels pretty good once you get used to the different paths you may have to use to get to things like Control Panel. I've used StartMenu8, but haven't bothered to "re-skin" Windows 10, just doesn't feel like I need to, where 8 was a nightmare to use...

There's a lot of FUD out there about security, and one thing to consider is that MS will be trying to phase out updates for W7 (and probably 8) ASAP to reduce support costs, and then you'll have little security!

I've upgraded a bunch of machines, and know others who have done the same, with few glitches... I've got my main desktop that gagged out on the upgrade, never got around to figuring out why, as it's being retired. There are some driver hiccups, some older hardware may not be supported (I noticed firewire was not supported on the machines that had it.... haven't used it in ages, but there are probably tapes sitting around I never got around to dumping... Generally, I'd say the upgrades went smoothly, and in most cases resulted in a more usable machine. Did have a problem with laptop touchpad gestures, as they conflict with new W10 gesture/functions, there are still some bugs being ironed out of drivers here and there, but overall installs and running W10 is mostly painless.

If you've got legacy programs or hardware that you have to run, there may be problems (I've still got an XP machine sitting around for a few silly things I need to use it for... products that no longer have driver support/updates... ugh). I'm hoping to retire the last couple machines with older windows versions, just to simplify "support" of the family fleet, Won't miss 8 or 8.1 one bit, and only a little sad to see 7 go.

Your W7 Pro with automatically get you W10 Pro, with a few additional features over the non-pro version.

[Bruce Dempsey]

Easy update to 10 from 7 on the editing machine
I think it uses less space on the os ssd and somethings seem snappier.
The first attempt to upgrade stalled half way thru and I read about unplugging all usb drives
2nd attempt went from start to finish without an issue. All programs worked.
I'm happy I did it now although fraught with indecision for months really deciding if it was worth the risk
The new layout is sweeter once it becomes clear to you
I have a laptop running vista 64 which I wish they would provide a 10 upgrade

[Kyle Root]

I get those pop ups everyday to go to 10.

I'm keeping Win 7 Pro as long as I can because I have not had any issues with it.

[Karl Walter Keirstead]

We transitioned reluctantly from W7 to w10. During the early days, I found on my machine that I had to start up Sony Vegas first, otherwise it would not load. That problem got fixed so today no issues worth pointing out and we currently have 6 computers on W10. Over time, MS will get tired of putting out updates to W7 so you might as well move now.

W10 loads a lot faster. It runs pretty good on 2 screens with the taskbar kept on the 2nd.

[Battle Vaughan]

I don't think there is any "free lunch." It is my guess ---and ONLY that --- that by MS saying this is the last Windows version but will be updated, that they are going to go the "rental" route that Adobe has done, where you have to pay continuously to use the software. MS is not in the business of giving the store away.