upgrading

Glenda is concerned about upgrading to Windows 10 because when she upgraded from Vista to Windows 8, she lost the capability to print to her older printer and had to buy a new one. Leo says that upgrading to Windows 10 from Windows 8 won't break anything like it did from Vista to Windows 8. It's a more subtle jump.

How long will it take to upgrade? Leo says it depends on her bandwidth, but it shouldn't take longer than an hour.

Chris wants to know if he can replace the processor in his laptop. Leo says no. It's soldered in. Laptops aren't designed to be upgraded.

John got a laptop with WIndows 8 Pro that he got for free through college. He wants to upgrade to Windows 10, but he hasn't gotten the invite. Leo says this is because he has a version that can't be upgraded to Windows 8.1. Leo recommends running the compatibility checker. If he passes that, then he can download the Windows 10 ISO and install it directly without an invitation. But he should make sure that he's compatible first. John should also run the updates until he's completely up to date.

Carlos has been trying to upgrade to Windows 10 on his Mac and it keeps asking for a CD instead of installing with the ISO. Leo says it may be a bad ISO. Boot Camp Assistant will automatically install it. Microsoft will also allow him to download a Windows 10 ISO and it will verify the ISO to be sure it's valid. He can also use this app to download any missing drivers (thanks to Beastmaster in the chatroom).

Chuck bought a new computer, and it runs Windows 7, but it has a Windows 10 DVD. Is he good to install it? Leo says that as long as it is ready for Windows 10, it should be. Does he have to install it right away? Leo says no. In fact, he doesn't have to at all. Windows 7 will be supported until at least 2020. It's confusing that they wouldn't put Windows 10 on the machine. Leo advises contacting Dell and finding out just what Chuck got. Just remember, after July 29th, the free upgrade to Windows 10 will expire. So after that, Chuck may have to buy Windows 10 to get it.

Paul has been waiting for the November update for WIndows 10. He's been waiting to upgrade. Leo says that SP 1, aka "Threshold 2" is out now, so he can upgrade for free and get the November update. Paul wants to know what he can do if he doesn't like Windows 10, though. Leo says that Microsoft gives him 30 days to roll back, but often the roll back button doesn't work. So having his own copy of WIndows 7 to roll back himself would be best. But Leo says he likes it and if he gives it time, he'll probably like it as well.

Larry started upgrading to Windows 10 and it's been frozen for over an hour at 61%. Should he restart it? Leo says that's the worst possible situation as it's definitely frozen. Leo says that OS upgrades will work most of the time, but if it fails 1% of the time, with 111 million upgrades, that's over a million issues. There could be some background processes causing the freeze. But if it's stuck, he's not going to be in worse shape if he turns it off and starts over, especially if he has a backup. It's probably in the process of copying the file and the install hasn't started.

Carol is thinking of upgrading to WIndows 10 but she's worried about compatibility with Quicken 2000. Leo advises to contact Intuit to see if they've updated it to support Windows 10. Looking at the Intuit website, Leo finds that Quicken is focused on testing the latest version of Quicken to make sure it works. Leo guesses that since it's 15 years old, it probably won't. but if it works on Windows 7, why fix what isn't broke? She should stick with Windows 7. She's not missing a whole lot.

Rick is being bothered relentlessly to upgrade to Windows 10. How can he stop that? Leo says that Windows 10 is good and a free upgrade for all Windows 7 and 8 users isn't a bad thing. If he accepts the offer and installs it, he'll still have 30 days to downgrade. But he doesn't have to upgrade if he has Windows 7. If he has Windows 8, on the other hand, he should definitely do it.

Dave is being invited to upgrade to Windows 10, and it's bugging him about it. He's happy with Windows 7, though. Leo says Dave will have up to July 29, 2016 to get the free upgrade. Should he upgrade? Leo says there have been a lot of improvements over Windows 7, and it's far superior to Windows 8. It's more secure and faster. But Windows 7 is pretty rock solid and is going to be supported until 2020.