windows 10 update

Michael has a ten-year-old HP laptop that he finally upgraded to Windows 10. But in doing so, his trackpad isn't operating properly. The scroll feature isn't working. Leo says that Synaptics trackpads need a driver to work with Windows 10, and most likely, HP will be the source to get that. If it doesn't, then you're out of luck with a ten-year-old computer.

But that computer is a great candidate for Linux, which has flavors that can work with older hardware. And since it's open-source, it's kept up to date by enthusiasts. 

Dwight wants to know if he should install the latest 2004 Windows 10 update or wait. Leo says that 2004 is like 1909 and 1903 before it: a FEATURE update. There's nothing in there you absolutely have to have. And since many people are complaining that many things get "broken" with 2004, it's perfectly OK to wait. But Leo also thinks it's largely safe to update if there are a few features you have to have.

Don recently upgraded to Windows 10 on his Dell laptop, but now he's being told by his upgrade screen to go backward to 2004. Leo says that's the most recent update to Windows 10, version 2004, which stands for April of 2020. So the latest update is Windows 10 vs. 2004.

Roger really doesn't want to move to Windows 10. He likes Windows 7. Leo says he has to bite the bullet and upgrade. Security alone makes it vital and since Microsoft isn't supporting Windows 7 anymore, he runs the risk of getting infected every day and infecting others. Windows 10 gets updated with security patches every Tuesday. So it's just important.  The good news is, if he already has Windows 7, he can download the Windows 10 Media Installer and upgrade for free. He will then have a legitimate copy of Windows 10. 

Michael is having issues upgrading to the latest Windows 10 update. It keeps failing. What can he do? Rich says that Mike can take his computer to a nearby Microsoft store and they'll do a free diagnostic to see what's going on. It sounds though like it could be some sort of virus or malware. Worst case, he can back up the data, format the hard drive, and start over with a clean install.

Tom wanted to learn Linux, so he loaded up Linux on his PC. After a month, Windows now wants to install a feature update 1903 and now he's lost a partition. Leo says that Windows is being "bossy," thinking that it's the only OS you should have. So it "clobbers" your boot record and causes a boot-up issue. It's a common, yet complicated issue. You need to have a boot manager to sort it all out. Leo recommends GRUB. It gets loaded first and then asks you which OS you want to use. Most likely, the update redid the master boot record, damaging it.

Dale bought a Windows 10 DVD upgrade disc because he couldn't download it. Leo says he should be able to download it by pressing the Windows Key + "Update and Security." Then he can enter the new Windows 10 Pro product key, press "next", and it should download for him.

Dale updated to Windows 10, but when the January update came out, he ran into a lot of issues. Should he go back to Windows 7? Leo says no. That's not the answer. Lately, there have been issues with updates coming from Microsoft, and it's not unusual for some computers to have issues with large updates. A simple fix is to start fresh with Windows 10. Dale should back up his data, then format the hard drive and reinstall Windows. He should first go to Microsoft and download the Media Creation Tool. Then he can put that on a USB key and plug it in.