'Free Win 10 upgrade?'
 

A link appeared on my toolbar this morning offering a free upgrade to Windows 10. 'This is a limited offer for a full upgrade not a trial.'
Is this genuine or a scam? I haven't downloaded anything yet.
mmitch.

I got the same thing!! And thought the same thing, is this a scam. Decided not as it just asks for email address to register and nothing else, and it appeared just after a windows update.

It is genuine.

Windows 10 release date: Microsoft offers free upgrade from July 29 - Telegraph

Many thanks.
mmitch.

You can hide the icon by using the 'customize' option.

The Microsoft update responsible for this irritating nag is KB3035583. I deleted it from my Win8.1 device without difficulty, but when I tried to delete it from my Win7SP1 device, it hung up on the 'Preparing to Configure Windows, Please do not turn off your computer' until I lost patience and did a hard shut down and reboot. Not something I would recommend, but I didn't have any real option.

When I finally had my computer back again, it was still there, but hadn't 'installed'. So I'm just keeping it as a 'hidden update' as, having read about Windows 10, I do not want it as it will remove various Win7 features......

If you keep KB3035583, it will probably give you further nags as 29th July approaches.....:uhoh:

I simply clicked to open the bunch of hidden icons and slid the win 10 right from the toolbar and out of sight.

I like 7 and don't know whether I want ten or not. No longer have urge to be first with new gadgets.

"I do not want it as it will remove various Win7 features......"

Google suggests dual-booting?

MS has the following page which might be worth to take a look

How to Upgrade to Windows 10 - Microsoft

I loved the notion our lawyers made us to say that.


Rwy in Sight

From what I've read, Win 10 removes some features that are standard in Win 7, and also removes the option to decide which updates to install (unless you are using one of the upmarket versions).

I'm not sure whether I care about the disappearing features; I'm not happy about automatic updates because I've had to deal with some broken ones (there STILL isn't, as far as I know, a recent competent driver for my nVidia card - I'm using one that's two or so years old. Every batch of updates strongly recommends updating, but I find it hard to work on a black screen with black writing).

I'll wait for the reviews of Win 10. If it does any of the silliness that Win 8 perpetrated, I'll be sticking with Win 7.

I (very recently) had an Intel update that totally disabled the touchpad.

I was staying with my son who is 'qualified' in IT (and has worked extensively therein).

Even with his experience (and referring to the internet on his iPad) it took a while (and a separate mouse) to undo the update (resorting to 'Restore' in the end).

If I had been at home I would have been stuffed!

http://community.acer.com/t5/Noteboo...ed/td-p/361123

The driver wouldn't roll-back so it had to be 'restore'.

The Windows 10 promo video told me nothing, 'cept a lot of hype about things I have no need for, but ......... whilst I will leave Win 7 on our desktop, I did register for Win 10 on the laptop, may or may not take up the offer, but I reckon it gives me the option, and as the laptop uses Win H'eight I don't have a lot to lose - do I ?

You are a very smart and wise man Mr BEagle and no sir I am not being facetious. Most don't think about Win10 being an Upgrade. That means if after your "free" upgrade from Win7, 8 or 8.1 your HDD crashes or file corruption means it is no longer usable, you will have to reinstall your original operating system and then, if you are still within the "free" 1 year upgrade period, do Windows 10 all over again.


Now the big problem is that unless you have physical Recovery Media for your original operating system you will need to obtain a copy from your hardware vendor OR purchase an installation copy of Windows 10 from Microsoft.


I too shall be staying with Windows 7 for as long as possible. Windows 10 from what I have learnt from playing with the Preview versions appears to be heading in the Apple direction in that they seem to be wanting to lock you down and control what you can do with the hardware you purchase. This is not an Apple bash but from what I understand from their Terms & Conditions, not only do you pay a licence to use their software, it now looks like you pay a licence to use the hardware as well. This is the hardware that you paid quite a bit of dosh for. Microsoft looks to be heading in the same direction.

While I wouldn't call this an official MS communication it sounds promising:

"Gabe Aul, an engineering general manager for Microsoft’s operating systems group, said in a tweet that people who upgrade a device to Windows 10 during the first year of its existence will be able to perform a clean reinstall of Windows 10 on the same device “any time.” It’s good news for upgraders who are concerned about what will happen to their devices a year after its July 29 launch.
Also, people won’t need to hold onto their Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 product key in order to perform the restoration. Their devices will reactivate themselves after being upgraded to Windows 10, Aul said."

Windows 10 upgrade will allow clean installs on the same device for free | PCWorld

IT ~ Windows 8 users info
 

If like me you are cursed with Windows 8 on your PC, you may be pleased to know that next to your clock on the bottom menu bar you will see the x4 white boxes of the Microsoft logo.

For a limited period only; you can via clicking MS badge bank a free upgrade to Windows 10 in July. The key word is 'Free'.

Otherwise you will incur a charge of £99 if you want shot of Windows 8.

Apologies for drifting off the aviation theme, but if like me you despise W8 this will be good news, and I only found out because of advice given by someone in the IT business.

Is there a catch?

Is Windows 10 moving towards a subscription pay scheme, like office?

Win 10 was supposed to be free fir a year and subscription free for those that upgrade. I saw this reaffirmed last week.

Same for windows 7

Catch is you get to Beta test windoZe 10 for free...

Everything on my Win7 PC works.
After 15 minutes of searching, I cannot find a single good reason to change to Win10.
I do not need compatibility with phones, tablets, etc.
I have several programs I used for robot design/interfacing which I cannot guarantee will be Win10 compatible.

I was obliged for work to use a Win8 laptop for 2 months - if I had still had access to nukes, Redmond would have been a glowing hole in the ground.

Can anyone give me a good reason to upgrade?

Windows? who the hell uses that?
 

Coughs

The leading OS for PC, tablet, phone and cloud | Ubuntu


never looked back since installing it.

Machine runs fine and despite the fact that it's almost a DECADE old; well it's very quick!!

However I can understand that it's not for everyone.

Yep agree with GR re Ubuntu, and variations thereof, even my old eee seems fast

If I had Windows 7, I would probably stay put - but Windows 8 is a royal PIA and I cannot get rid quick enough. I see the free upgrade as being as close to an admission by MS of a c0ck-up as anyone is ever going to get.

We are still selling Windows 7 Pro machines, new from Dell with 3 year next business day, on site, warranty. Why anyone would buy Windows 8 is beyond me.

If MS don't get a grip real soon, Win7 might be the last version of windows with a big user footprint. They are driving businesses and people away, and Apple might just be the next big thing.

The two main drivers for retaining windows are:

Familiarity and the ability to run applications like SAGE.

New user interfaces make the next Windows as foreign as an Apple device so there's no difference between learning Apple or learning new Windows.

With multi OS development languages coming on stream and more web based applications, the strangle hold of windows is being broken.

Hmmmm decisions, decisions. Try Windows 10 in beta 'for free' or bite the bullet and cough up for an Apple Mac?

That link isn't for a Beta, it's for the full release version on Jul 29. You can get the beta version already.

As someone on Windows 8.1, I probably have little to loose, but do fear that whilst the software may always work on my current machine, things like security updates may become a) unavoidable to take, and b) not free, and subject to e.g. a new annual subscription service.

https://redmondmag.com/articles/2015...ion-model.aspx

"windows 365" trademark has been registered, noting it might be for defensive purposes only.

interesting times, a subs based model would annoy me enough to make me go elsewhere.

I have a laptop with W7 and another,secondary one,with W8.1

I installed 'Classic Shell' on the W8.1 laptop and now it works just like the W7 unit.

Not a problem for me.If I had tried to persevere with the original MS 8.1 layout then I would also be tearing my hair out.

JFZ90You could go to OpenOffice, as I have done. It includes a text editor, spreadsheet, slide-preparation / presentation, etc. All compatible with MS and OO runs on the various incarnations of Windows, Apple, and Linux. Known to work on Win XP, 7 and 8/8.1, as well as OS X and Ubuntu/Mint Linux. I can show you OO* running on all these.

Its user interface doesn't change every time there is a wind-shift at Redmond.

And it's free.

* Ubuntu/Mint use LibreOffice, which is a 100% clone.

It's good, but not right. For example, it still does not seem to handle PDF files properly eg it does not 'recognise' pdf click options eg check/text boxes.

It's worth noting that Microsoft have been going cloud-heavy .... Azure, Office365, Skype for Business (rebranding of Lync), so I suspect Windows following is inevitable.

Also note Terry Myerson, chief of Microsoft’s operating system group, said shortly around the time of the trademark filing: “With Windows 10, we think of Windows as a service. Windows 10 is so much more than the latest version of Windows. Windows 10 changes the rules of the game and redefined the relationship between us and our customers.”

However Microsoft no doubt know what side their bread is buttered, and I'm not entirely sure we'll be seeing a wholesale shift to subscription Windows just yet.

I asked MS representatives precisely that question at a recent event in London where Windows 10 was being showcased, and the response was a definite no to a subscription model for consumers for Windows 10, although they didn't say that it would never happen.

There is already a subscription model in place, in a sense, for corporates with a select / volume agreement with software assurance, where the subscription component allows upgrading to the latest version.

Contrast that to the consumer model, where MS provides updates and service packs, but to upgrade to the next version costs ££ (present give-away excepted!).

While MS do seem to want to push all important updates & patches out to consumers without option, apparently, this won't include the next release of Windows. Whether the mandatory update push is the precursor to a subscription model for the next OS, only time will tell.

SD

I kind-of see where Microsoft is coming from here. Supporting older versions such as XP and Vista is taking up resources that could be better spent elsewhere.
- XP is officially dead and M$ will pretty much ignore you if you're still on that.
- Vista is dying, which is no less than it deserves.

Windows 7 took years to establish a foothold in the corporate world, and businesses are in no hurry to change again so "soon". (Microsoft's definitions of terms like "recent" and "old" are not the same as those used in the corporate world of "change control"!)

For "consumers", on the other hand, it's in M$'s interest to get them on Windows 10. If they do it right, the reasons why people held off from Windows 8 won't be a problem. The new Start menu is a hybrid of old and new: it appears to suit the hunt-and-peck user and the Win 7/8 "Windows key, start typing" method I've gotten used to by now.

I'm waiting to see how they cater for the granny who got a XP PC back in 2005 and only needs it for email with the grandkids and a spot of browsing. It's an "appliance", why should she spend any more time or money on an "upgrade" she never asked for?

I have a laptop running Windows 7 and a 7" tablet running 8.1. I think I'll leave the laptop as it is.

On the tablet I can't see any windows icon related to 'Get Windows 10'. Just wondering where I should be looking!! (no keyboard attached to the tablet, if that makes a difference).

Pelikal....... "On the tablet I can't see any windows icon related to 'Get Windows 10'. Just wondering where I should be looking!! (no keyboard attached to the tablet, if that makes a difference)."

Don't want to burst your bubble, you must remember a tablet is NOT a computer, in the sense of a laptop or pc capabilities. Your 8.1 Windows op would be a 'cut down' version designed for a tablet. I doubt Windows 10 (cut down software) will not be available for maybe eight/twelve months at best.

Pelical,

If its smaller than 8 inches, Microsoft don't want anything to do with it. :E

That might be your problem, maybe combined with some of what dazdaz says.

dazdaz1, cheers for that!! No bubbles burst!:O

Gosh, the ms bashers are out in force.

Win 10 is aimed at everything. Windows 'proper' will work on everything down to 8". Yes, everything. Quite how it will work on Win7 devices I don't know, but at the moment it looks promising.

Below 8", contrary to opinions expressed earlier, is Windows 10 Phone. Which is, as near as possible to the full version. It is also to be launched this year.

From what I've heard from beta testers, it is truly impressive in the way that all Win devices talk to each other. You will be able to run full, proper Office on your 'phone.

MS have been left standing in that respect, but seem to have more than caught up.

It also fits loosely into the 'make one good one and then one terrible one' that MS seems to have as a proven track record.

Oh, and. It's free.

There are some basic minimum requirements (as always) for 10 to be offered up in the free giveaway. If your device doesn't meet those specs you won't get the little icon inviting you to "the party".
Here is what MS says Windows 10 Specifications ? Microsoft
And here is a bit of a Q & A Windows 10 FAQ & Tips ? Microsoft
I had the icon pop up on my desktop unit, but it wasn't showing up on my laptop, which as far as I could see met the specs as per what it says in that above link. It wasn't until I had downloaded an insider preview image and started loading it on the laptop that it then came up and said it couldn't continue because the processor didn't have NX capability, which wasn't stated anywhere obviously in the required specs.
So if there is something that doesn't meet specs, you won't get the invite to the party.

NX, SSE2 and PAE are also requirements for Windows 8/8.1. Intel started shipping compliant CPUs in 2004, a little after AMD. So I'm guessing your notebook is quite old.

He, he, he.
What ever makes you think that!:O
Yes, by most standards it is indeed. However it seems to be running 7 SP1 within reason for most all I need, which isn't a lot. Certainly nothing processor or graphics intensive.
I bought it new with XP home on it and a 40GB HDD and 256meg RAM just about 10 years ago.
I have since put in a 160GB HDD and stacked it up to the limit of 2GB RAM. Other than those increases I have only bought another battery as the original doesn't last long - not that it really lasted very long when it was new (by current standards). It is not my main PC.