Is it Time to Upgrade to Windows 10?

windows-10-upgradeLast summer I wrote an article about Windows 10 prior to its release, warning people that Microsoft was about to start nagging them with notifications to upgrade to their latest operating system. At the time, I was concerned that people would perform the upgrade without knowing the full ramifications of what they were getting themselves into. While I did have a few instances of clients performing the upgrade without full knowledge of what Windows 10 was going to do to their PCs, luckily it seems that there was not a tidal wave of users jumping off the Windows 10 cliff without a parachute. As well, it seems that Windows 10 has been a relatively stable operating system so it should be relatively safe to upgrade at this point. The question is, now that Windows 10 has been out for over 6 months, should you upgrade?

Only Six Months of Free Remain

One reason you may want to upgrade to Windows 10 sooner than later is that it will only remain free for about 6 more months, until the one year anniversary of Windows 10’s release of July 29th. At this point in time, if you want to get Windows 10 free (assuming you have Windows 7 or 8), you must upgrade soon. However, I have a sneaky suspicion that Microsoft will extend the free offer as the deadline nears. It really is in Microsoft’s best interest to have as many people on Windows 10 as possible. As soon as they start charging for it, I doubt many people will be interested in paying for it. That being said, we must assume Microsoft will keep their word and end the free giveaway period this summer so if you want Windows 10, don’t wait too much longer.

New Features

Free is all well and good, but realistically your main reason to upgrade to Windows 10 should be the features. If there are features in Windows 10 that you really want to use, then that should be the reason to upgrade, not just to take advantage of a freebie. So take a look at the Windows 10 features Microsoft is touting and decide if any of those are worth the upgrade.

If it Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix it

If you’re perfectly happy with the way your Windows PC works currently, then it may not be worth upgrading. While it appears that for the most part Windows 10 has rolled out smoothly, there are always going to be problems that happen to various computers. It is certainly possible that you could encounter a problem during the upgrade process that causes you to lose a lot of time and money troubleshooting. Also, the upgrade process takes at least an hour if not longer so do not decide to upgrade to Windows 10 when you are on a deadline with your PC.

Privacy Concerns

If you do a Google search on Windows 10 and privacy issues, you will see a lot of people concerned with the way Windows 10 persistently communicates with Microsoft servers. While the final decision is up to you whether or not these concerns are with merit, for the most part it appears to me that Microsoft isn’t capturing any truly personal information. Regardless, you should at least be aware what kind of information Microsoft is harvesting from your computer with Windows 10 before making a decision to upgrade.

Nagged to Death

Unfortunately the worst part of this whole situation is the fact that Microsoft really, really, REALLY wants you to upgrade to Windows 10 very badly. So badly in fact, that they’re constantly nagging users of Windows 7 and Windows 8 to upgrade to Windows 10. This is probably the main reason many users want to upgrade to Windows 10 – just to get Microsoft to shut up about it already! Seriously, I’ve been asked by several clients if they should upgrade to Windows 10 because they keep seeing the nagging notifications and just want them to stop. Microsoft has even gone so far as to pre-download the entire 6 GB of the Windows 10 installer for the “convenience” of users, and some people have reported that Microsoft’s notifications are aggressively suggesting to users that they have no choice but to install Windows 10. The good news is that there is a free utility that will disable all the nagging notifications, which I will cover in my very next article. So if you are considering the Windows 10 upgrade only to get rid of the annoying notifications, don’t do it. Disable the notifications and move on with your current operating system.

Windows 10 Undo

One of the best features of Windows 10 is the ability to reverse the upgrade. I am pleasantly surprised that Microsoft included this feature and that it actually works well. Simply put, if you upgrade to Windows 10 and you have glitches or simply don’t like it, you have 30 days to completely revert back to your previous Windows 7 or 8 operating system. Simple, clean, and no fuss. Not a common thing to say about Microsoft software for certain. But the bottom line is that this feature should make users feel more comfortable about upgrading to Windows 10 since they can back out if they like.

Want to Upgrade to Windows 10 But Don’t Want to Do it Yourself?

If you live in my area and want to upgrade to Windows 10 but are not comfortable with doing the upgrade yourself, don’t worry. I am happy to help you. I would recommend that people who have slow Internet connections consider hiring someone like myself to do the Windows 10 upgrade as it can take a very long time to download. Regardless, if you have any questions about Windows 10, please ask and I’ll be happy to answer.