Windows 10 Announced - Released 29-Jul-2015

Lol.... I'll have some of what you're smokin' please!

 

Live a little.
Get a breath of fresh air, some sun. Happy thoughts.

There's no need to be so grumpy.

The IT world are moving forward, and progress are not going to stop just because a forum has 10 or 15 users that are refusing to get on the train and keep posting the same old song repeatedly in every thread.

They will be left behind.

They may feel heroic for now, but that feeling will fade with time.

 

I think there's not particularly grumpiness, but mostly astonishment regarding Windows 10 and Microsoft's new approach.
And of course it's not just 15 Wilders members that don't like Microsoft's new approach. Have you ever looked around you? Of course most users are happy with the 'free upgrade', but others don't want the new stuff that Microsoft thinks is good for us.
Don't worry about us being left behind. We are anticipating on alternatives for Windows and Microsoft products. There's no 'heroism' in that, it's just choosing an alternative that suits us better than Windows 10. That's all.

 

Actually yes, I look around daily.

And for the majority of users, you answered the question yourself :

As for looking for alternatives.
I remember seeing this with each generation of Windows.
A small fraction of users will loudly object against the latest edition of the OS and repeatedly make threats about leaving for Linux.

A year later they are happily using the latest edition of Windows like everybody else.

Windows 10 being updated as a service instead of more new generations, will put an end to that reoccurring dilemma.

 

It's not a 'threat' leaving for Linux, it's a promise to myself.
I have given myself the time to enjoy Windows 7, and Vista, still, as long as it lasts, and take my time learning to know about and work with Linux. About four years to go, that must be more than enough.
I have no intention of upgrading to Windows 10. Again, that's not a 'threat', it's a promise to myself. I am really looking forward to enjoying Linux. I liked Windows quite a lot, but for me it's time to move on.
Don't let it spoil your enthusiasm regarding Windows 10, OK.

 

It is also the same old song from MS regarding upgrading to new versions of Windows except that this time it is being really forced upon the less aware users. Having set up two multibooting systems that can switch from Windows 7 to 10 so I can really compare how they both work on the same system, I see no real advantage to upgrading but I can see several disadvantages particularly with driver issues. Things that work well in Windows 7 which the laptop was designed for work poorly or not at all in Windows 10. When I was dealing with one program that the 1511 upgrade deleted, the Lenovo Power Manager, I found all kinds of complaints and horror stories about the 1511 upgrade deleting software without informing or obtaining the consent of users and in at least one case, locking a user out of valuable data because the reversion to the earlier Windows 10 version didn't work.

The song has always been that the upgrade will make things better and faster on an older system and I have always found it to be just a song with basis in reality. If your computer is doing the work you intend to do with it with the OS it has, stick with the OS it came with. Get a computer that comes with the new OS and is designed for it and it will be a happier experience. I post this on an 11 year old IBM Thinkpad running its original OEM install of Windows Xp. It has never failed or disappointed me. For the purpose I've dedicated it to, forum browsing and posting, both hardware and OS are up to the job.

 

After Windows 10 upgrade 1511, 10586, there is no Microsoft Edge at all, basically the button where you can press button of Microsoft Edge but it does not open so I looked at the entire C: partition and it's not there.
Is this because I have deleted Windows.old folder (for previous version of Windows 10) or this is something else?
However it's not a big deal since I use Mozilla Firefox IE 11, and Google Chrome for web-browsers.
But still if I can't open Microsoft Edge and it's not even on C: partition where all the files and folders for Windows 10 are-where is the problem.

Is there a way to restore deleted Windows.old folder, where the previous version of Windows 10 was?
Big thanks to all.

 

@MisterB I disagree regarding not upgrading to a newer OS. I've upgraded a number of computers of varioius brands to Windows 10, the majority of which were running Windows 7 (but some were running XP, Vista or Windows , and they are all running fine, including the ThinkPads I've upgraded. On my T400 with switchable graphics, I had issues with the switchable graphics not letting me switch the the nVidia graphics, but all I had to do was change the BIOS setting so that nVidia video is running all the time (I have no need to ever use the Intel graphics). I use this computer for mamy hours every day, and it working very well, despite having several hundred programs installed.

Just a few days ago I did a clean install of Windows 10, on a X61 which came with XP and it running very well with no driver issues.

It is quite easy to get Lenovo Power Manager to work under Windows 10. After downloading and attempting to install it, go the setup folder (C:\DRIVERS\VISTA\PWRMGRV), copy and paste the setup exe file to make a copy of it, then right click on the setup-copy exe, select properties, go to the compatibility tab and set it to Windows 7. After doing so, you can launch setup-copy and it will install. Also, there are some Windows 10 specific battery management tools from Lenovo, but I prefer using Power Manager.

I would never buy a new computer to upgrade to a newer OS. I'm more than happy with used ThinkPads which I've upgraded. If I ever feel the need to for faster laptops, most likely I'll opt for newer used ThinkPads from eBay.

 

@MisterB : 11 year old hardware that came with XP installed, you mention - that is quite old.

But I agree with @roger_m in his post just above.

And the only way to find out if it works, are to try.

My personal record so far are a 8 year old Mini-ITX system that are running Windows 10 Pro x64.
I have mentioned it before in another thread here at Wilders.
Have done several clean installations with various Windows 10 builds on it.

Every time the Windows 10 installation will correctly identify all hardware and download the correct drivers.

A funny thing are that Windows 10 are able to find newer WHQL drivers for network and audio, then NVIDIA has officially released to the public.
So NVIDIA must have improved those drivers, submitted them to Microsoft, had them approved - but never released them on their own site.

Now Windows 10 install these newer drivers automatically, and that mini-ITX PC are running better with Windows 10, then it ever did with Win7 and Win8.x.

So you never know. Perhaps even your 11 year old PC will run smoothly with Windows 10.
The main thing to do a little research on are your CPU. If it doesn't meet the minimum requirements, then there's no reason to try.

 

@Martin_C I installed on a nine year old Toshiba XP laptop and it ran very well. On a an old Dell laptop, the Windows 10 installer warned me that the video card was unsupported under Windows 10. However, I ignored the warning, and was able to install a very old driver with some driver update software, and the driver worked.

 

Power Manager works in the first Windows 10 release but with a few bugs in one of the two Thinkpads I've put Windows 10 on, the W520. The 1511 update removes it and Lenovo recently put out a kludged version 4 that is compatible with Windows 10 but is pretty crippled compared to the version number 6 that the W520 came with. I returned to Windows 7 last night after playing with Windows 10 and was really impressed on how well Power Manager works in Windows 7. The W520 can use up 150 watts or so but Power Manager keeps that to around 19-26 under a light load. I was working in a VM and the host system at the same time, I checked consumption and it was around 50 watts. I dialed down the power lever, got power consumption to around 24 watts, increased the brightness a bit and it was at 26 watts. I can't do any of that on this machine in Windows 10, even in the build that Power Manager works on. In that version, the Wattage meter works but the power lever doesn't. The 1511 compatible version lacks the wattage meter and the power lever is just a brightness control, it doesn't throttle anything else. That is what I'm talking about when I refer to loss of functionality. Sometimes it is not all that obvious but it always happens. And I've seen no improvement at all in performance in Windows 10. Boot time is about the same. Network bandwidth waste is much much worse. I had to disable the BITS(Background Intelligent Transfer Service) because I would suddenly find that Windows 10 was sucking up the whole connection after loading the news app. That is without updates being downloaded which also can slow the system to a crawl. If I want to see better performance on my W520, I boot Ubuntu which is noticeably faster and more responsive than either version of Windows.

So my general advice to anyone is that if the system you have works for you, you don't need Windows 10. It is a pushy and intrusive OS that will limit your choices compared to older versions of Windows and has no practical advantage at present for most users. The free upgrade did have one advantage for me. I set up a dual boot 7 & 10 system on the W510 I replaced with the W520 and it sold quite quickly for a pretty decent price. I think I'm not the only one that likes choice and control in an OS which Windows 10 sorely lacks.

 

@MisterB Version 6 of Power Manager works under Windows 10, you just need to follow my instructions to get it to install.

As you can see, I need a new battery.

I can understand you not wanting to use Windows 10, as many others do. Each to their own. But, as I like Windows 10, I'll keep upgrading old laptops until Microsoft start charging to upgrade.

 

C:\Windows\SystemApps\Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe
https://www.techish.net/create-a-microsoft-edge-desktop-shortcut-in-windows-10/

 

I've given 10 about 5 months of trial, and just recently concluded that it's basically garbage. I know some folks like it, but a lot more just don't. After using 10 thru various insider previews and the 2 major release builds, I find the list of things I dislike about it is huge, and the list of reasons FOR using it is virually empty. Of course that's just my take on it, but I know I'm not alone.

 

I like Win10 and although I liked Win7, there is no going back for me.

 

Dynamic Update for Windows 10 Version 1511: December 17, 2015 (KB3124260)
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3124260

Cumulative Update for Windows 10 Version 1511 (KB3124200)

 

Yeah, I can understand that too. For me, 7 is now just too much trouble to maintain. I've moved 100% to Linux...

 

I'm curious about what makes Linux the better choice for you? Is it because it's open source and free? I haven't tried any version of linux and can't comment on features and stability, but it's hard for me to believe that it doesn't have its share of problems. I know this is OT and if there are existing threads just point me

 

I've been using Linux off and on for over 10 years now, but have never really considered switching full time until recently. Yes, there are plenty of bugs and glitches in Linux, so for sure, it's not perfect either. My biggest problem with Win is the unbelievable amount of processing and disk thrashing that goes on, not just in 7, but 8.1 and 10 also. It's to the point where it actually impacts performance quite a bit and limits what I can do on the machine. I have a 6 year old Asus laptop with a core 2 duo 2.2 GHz, so it's not very strong, but when I bought it, it ran Win pretty well, and for years after, until about a year ago. Nowadays, Win is just too much for it.

Linux, on the other hand, runs quite well, any distro in fact. Linux boots up, and when it gets to the desktop, it's done. No disk thrashing and processing of who knows what for 15 minutes or longer after startup, it's just there, and it waits for me to run something or do whatever I want. The point is, when I run Win, it feels like Win is in control of my machine too much, but when I run Linux, *I* am in control of things, and it runs quite well. Not much overhead.

Also, I don't do gaming of any kind, nor do I use Photoshop, or any other apps that I'd need Windows for, so I really don't *need* Win at all.

At first, I liked 10, but the more I used it, the more I thought it was just trash. Ads here and there in the notification area, the photo app making unwanted "albums" for me that I never asked for, and to top it off, MS will be doing 2-3 of these huge "upgrades" per year on 10 machines, which don't go well for many people, making them have to do a complete clean install etc. Who wants to go thru that several times a year? The way they're doing almost everything in 10 just isn't going to work. Believe me, I've given it a lot of thought, and just decided I'm done with Microsoft. They're trying to destroy 7 and 8 users' setups as well with their upgrade garbage. I think MS's business practices are worse than terrible nowadays.

So.. that plus a lot more, leads me to switch to Linux, and say "Hasta la vista, baby" to Microsoft... I'm not alone either. More and more people every day are going this route. I don't think the Linux desktop will take over anytime soon (haha), but many people now are unhappy with MS and what they're doing.

 

That CPU should be fast enough for everyday use if you don't want to do anything too demanding, unless you don't have enough RAM installed (e.g. less than 3 to 4GB), which will make any computer run slower than it should. The computer I use daily has a 2.53GHz Core 2 DUO, and I runs Windows 7 and 10 really well. Installing a SSD helped, but it still ran okay with a hard drive. Some antivirus software causes a big peformance hit (even Windows Defender), but with others there is very little impact.

 

For me, after buying SSDs for my machines I've done clean installations of Win10 which is working much better than when I initially upgraded over Win7. I'd recommend to those having issues with Win10 to consider the clean install, even on a HDD.

 

Yep, it is pretty much ok for daily use, and to be honest, Win 10 did run pretty well on it. I just don't care for what they're doing with 10 at all. I don't think I'll bother with an SSD (although that would make a huge difference, I know), and when the time comes, I'll spend more money on a stronger machine next time. For AV I just went with Defender in 10 and 8.1, in 7 I used Avast, which seemed fairly good. To be honest, when I compare this pc with Win (any version) vs Linux, Linux always seems MUCH lighter and easier on the resources.

Oh, also yes, I have 4 GB ram, which has always been enough as far as I can tell.

 

Totally agree... clean install wins for me hands down, every time. Upgrades have never worked for me. I always opt for clean installs.

 

@Kerodo If you can do everything you need with Linux, then you've made the right choice. I need to have a play with Linux again one of these days.

You are right - 4GB of RAM is plenty for Windows.

 

Are you referring to the 1511 upgrade. It works on the earlier version but not on 1511. I have it fully working on an X201 tablet but not on the W520. As I said, the on the fly throttling doesn't work right but everything else does.

I'm actually pretty open to OSes. I wouldn't have tried Windows 10 if I wasn't. And more than likely I will end up helping others with it even if I despise it. It does have some things I would like to play with like built in virtualization capabilities but I wouldn't put it on every computer I have. At the moment I'm using every version of Windows from Xp to 10 except 8 and several Linux distros. The irony of this is that all the real work I'm doing with computers--ie work and business that generates income--is being done on Xp and Vista. Everything else is experimentation or entertainment. Business means things like working in a familiar environment where everything is going to work right. Things like knowing the software is going to print a shipping label correctly are important. Reliability is far more important than using the latest OS, whatever it is.