upgrading

Bob recently upgraded an old Dell computer to Windows 10. He did an upgrade, which didn't work, then tried a clean install and it worked flawlessly. So he's quite happy to breathe new life into an old PC. Bob also likes the new backup and recovery feature. Leo says that Microsoft finally has backup down, and it's as good as Apple's Time Machine. He also says that Windows has profile based language support, so you can change languages by changing profiles, including Cortana.

Bob got a message in Safari the other day that his browser was "depricated." All he's been told is that he should update to OS X Yosemite or El Capitan because it will include a version of Safari that has WebKit, which many websites rely on. Leo says that could work, but if his hardware doesn't support Apple's latest OS, then it becomes a money grab by Apple when they abandon this older hardware. Then again, Apple doesn't fall into the end all be all trap that Microsoft fell into for a long time. Sometimes, developers have to move forward and leave older platforms behind.

James wants to know how long it will take to get Windows 10 on his computer. Leo says that Microsoft is rolling the update out, so it may take a few days to get it. But if he doesn't get it by next week, he could download it directly and install it. The down side of that is that he may not get all the drivers and Leo has found that it doesn't activate. So James should let Microsoft push it to him. That's the best way. There's over 100 million users who are waiting and it's going to take awhile to roll it out. Meanwhile, take the time to get ready by backing up data.

Simon has decided to wait to update Windows 10, but he wanted to download it for a later date. But according to Simon, he only has a three day window to install. What happened to the year? Leo says that the Windows Scheduler is in Windows and it may be listed there. Or he can go into his update settings and turn off the automatic install. But if Microsoft is ready to update his computer, then why not backup the data and install it?

Ted keeps getting a popup to update the Flash player, but it keeps quitting while upgrading. Leo recommends going directly to adobe.com and get the direct installer to upgrade it.

Ron wonders why he hasn't gotten a Windows 10 invite. Will he get left out? Leo says no. Although not everyone is getting that invitation, and Microsoft isn't saying why, they do say that everyone with Windows 7 and above will get a free version of Windows 10.

Gail has decided to "learn to love" Windows 8.1, and is now wondering if it's worth upgrading to Windows 10. Leo says he merely tolerates Windows 8.1, and the good news it that several of its annoying features such as the charms bar are going away in Windows 10. The Start button will also return with a hybrid menu that combines the traditional Start menu with the Windows 8 tile interface. Leo foresees some issues with that interface, though, since it will cause more clutter when adding programs.

Rich really likes Windows 7, but he's been getting a notice asking if he wants to upgrade to Windows 10. He's not so sure if he wants to, though. Leo says he doesn't really have to. That icon is really just for signing up to reserve a copy. When it's time to install, he can always choose not to.

Alan would like to take the existing system he has and wipe it to get ready for the upgrade to Windows 10. He's wondering how Microsoft is planning to do the upgrade. Leo says that there will be a clean install upgrade available, but nobody really knows how it will work. Paul Thurrott has an article on it. He'll download an ISO disc image, put that on a bootable USB (great idea) or burn it to a DVD, save the key, and activate it. It'll be pretty straight forward.

Dennis bought a used Lenovo T61 with Windows XP and recovery discs. He bought Windows 7 64 bit and sought to install it, but he can't. Leo says that Dennis may want to try 32 bit instead because of the age of the machine. Leo suggests wiping the drive because XP can't upgrade past Windows 7. So he should wipe the drive and give it a native installation.