Windows 10: Should I Upgrade Now?

Most versions of Windows 7 and Windows 8 are eligible for Microsoft’s free upgrade offer.  Volume license versions of Windows, and some older versions are not eligible for the free upgrade.  If you want to take advantage of the free upgrade, you need to complete it by July 26, 2016.  So the question is, Should I upgrade to Windows 10?  And Should I upgrade now?

Based on our own experience with Windows 10, we believe that many users will appreciate some of the new features, most notably, the return of the Start Menu.  Microsoft also claims performance improvements with the new operating system, but it is probably only true when comparing to Windows 7.  We don’t think there is any noticeable performance improvement with Windows 10 over Windows 8.

If you are currently running Windows 8, then we recommend upgrading to Windows 10.  We also recommend upgrading Windows 7 computers if they are not much older than 2 years.  Otherwise, you might run into video and other hardware driver issues.  In an earlier newsletter we advised our clients to wait a while before upgrading.  Now we think it’s OK to proceed.

In most cases our Windows 10 upgrades have gone very smoothly, but we frequently found that we had to reinstall hardware drivers and some software applications after the upgrade.  So, if you want to upgrade, proceed with caution, and make sure you have the installation software and product keys available for your favorite applications in case you need to reinstall them.