If I try W10 and don't like it, is there any problem reverting back to Win8.1? Thank you.

There are many question with the Windows 10 upgrades that haven't been answered yet, so you might wait a bit. You have a year to upgrade and you might want to wait and see how many bug reports there are once W10 is released and especially what happens to all of your existing programs and drivers with the new upgrade. We don't yet know what will and won't work. Chuck

If you liked Windows 7 (like most of the rest of the world), then Windows 10 is probably something you'll like also....

Just found a place you might be able to get your questions answered. I'm not sure but suspect you will have to register to post questions.http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10?tab=Threads or herehttp://www.tenforums.com/ I have used these folks often for problems with my Windows 7.

Sure you can. What I always do before upgrading the OS is to make sure to have a full system image backup. If you don't like the new OS, or worse, encounter issues, just restore the old one from the image. End of life support ends in 2023 for WIN 8.1, 2020 for WIN 7. Free updates end for WIN 10 on 2025.

The one issue I have with the W10 upgrade is the forced updates. You have no way to turn them off. It isn't about the updates themselves but being forced to update can eat up big chunks of my data plan without my control. Now we do our updates when we have access to WiFi, and defer them when we are using our data. These updates cab be hundreds of MB's and you won't be able to stop them. We just may stay with our Windows 7 since there have been no issues with it and the support will still be there until this computer bites the dust. But of course, this is just my opinion and we all know what opinions are like. Chuck

If You Don't Like Windows10? | Good Sam Community

46 Replies

AsheGuy
Explorer
Jul 22, 2015
Gdetrailer wrote:
I would give the free classic shell a try but the PC with Win8.1 is my company issued PC.

Too bad. :( I haven't tried Classic Shell because I found StartIsBack recommended first and use that on both my laptop and desktop with Windows 8.1. StartIsBack isn't free but at a cost of $2.99 it is the equivalent.

I can't speak for Classic Shell but StartIsBack eliminates all the things you (and I) don't like about Windows 8.1. It really does make Windows 8.1 better than Windows 7 in my view. I am quite happy with Windows 8.1 (with StartIsBack). I also have installed it on several friends new PCs with Windows 8.1 and they all have loved the way it makes 8.1 behave (like their previous systems did). :)
Gdetrailer
Explorer III
Jul 22, 2015
1775 wrote:
crcr wrote:
1775 wrote:
I finally found out on Win 8.1 on my laptop how to shut off all updates and when we travel I now do just that - after one trip where to read email I had a two hour session of automatic updates to wait through before I could shut down. I expect that Win 10 will have the same thing - or, if not, someone will come up with a way to turn off automatic updating. I will not update my Win 7 pcs to Win 10. If MS wants to stop supporting Win 7 they will further be shooting themselves in the foot. I will update the Win 8.1 laptop to Win 10 as I do not like 8.1 and before that happens I will have a final complete backup of the Win 8.1 computer to restore it to if Win 10 stinks even worse.

Then there is always Linux which if not using Windows specific software packages - runs faster, and has open source software duplicating just about everything needed in software - including compatibility with Windows file formats.

I had Win 7, liked it, then when I bought a new computer, did not like 8.1 either. The solution is simple: download "Classic Shell", a free software. It makes 8.1 look like 7, but 8.1 is much faster, so now I'm fine with 8.1 (since it looks like 7). Google Classic Shell and you'll find it. It's extremely popular.

There is no way I will ever be updating to Win 10, not a chance.

There is no longer any need for Classic Shell. Win 8.1 Update which came out this past winter can boot to desktop and has a pseudo-Start menu at the bottom left just like Win 7 - all from Microsoft without running an overlay shell. But beyond that Win 8.1 has lots of quirks and is still a PITA. Move on the screen in the wrong way and the side menu keeps opening up, plus more that gets in the way.

Sadly with Win 10, MS is not dumping their apps that no one wants and are far from comparable to what is on Andriod and IOS - which they will never compete with in the tablet/phone market.

8.1 "update" only gives you a CRIPPLED "desktop".

You DO NOT get the "Start menu".

Instead a left click on the stupid Window button sends you directly back to the stupid "metro" screen.

A right click on the Window button gives you a FEW (and I mean FEW) options like restart, install updates and shut down and some very limited settings.

Completely gone is the organized PROGRAMS menu!

To get around the lack of the programs menu I ended up having to search the computer for the program exe files on the hard drive. Then send that to the desktop (this creates a shortcut icon of the program on your desktop)..

Sure, you can access your programs from the "metro" screen but who really wants to switch back and forth from Desktop to metro and back to desktop?

Can't create a program shortcut from the Metro screen to the desktop either, it only allows you to "pin" the program from metro screen to your taskbar? How darn stupid is that!

Now my desktop is loaded to the hilt of the programs I would have accessed from the start menu..

I would give the free classic shell a try but the PC with Win8.1 is my company issued PC.. Not really sure the IT group would be happy about Classic shell..

There are many things that I miss from Win7 and so far have not found anything that is better, improved or good about Win8.1..

I have no reason to move to Win8.1 on my home PCs.
joebedford
Nomad II
Jul 22, 2015
Ozlander wrote:
All these experts on Win 10 and it's not even released yet.
I, and others here, have been running W10 previews for months.
Romer1
Explorer
Jul 21, 2015
crcr wrote:
... There is no longer any need for Classic Shell. Win 8.1 Update which came out this past winter can boot to desktop and has a pseudo-Start menu at the bottom left just like Win 7 - all from Microsoft without running an overlay shell ...

So how does one fire up this feature in 8.1?

Start windows 8.1 to desktop
crcr
Explorer
Jul 21, 2015
... There is no longer any need for Classic Shell. Win 8.1 Update which came out this past winter can boot to desktop and has a pseudo-Start menu at the bottom left just like Win 7 - all from Microsoft without running an overlay shell ...

So how does one fire up this feature in 8.1?
1775
Explorer
Jul 21, 2015
crcr wrote:
1775 wrote:
I finally found out on Win 8.1 on my laptop how to shut off all updates and when we travel I now do just that - after one trip where to read email I had a two hour session of automatic updates to wait through before I could shut down. I expect that Win 10 will have the same thing - or, if not, someone will come up with a way to turn off automatic updating. I will not update my Win 7 pcs to Win 10. If MS wants to stop supporting Win 7 they will further be shooting themselves in the foot. I will update the Win 8.1 laptop to Win 10 as I do not like 8.1 and before that happens I will have a final complete backup of the Win 8.1 computer to restore it to if Win 10 stinks even worse.

Then there is always Linux which if not using Windows specific software packages - runs faster, and has open source software duplicating just about everything needed in software - including compatibility with Windows file formats.

I had Win 7, liked it, then when I bought a new computer, did not like 8.1 either. The solution is simple: download "Classic Shell", a free software. It makes 8.1 look like 7, but 8.1 is much faster, so now I'm fine with 8.1 (since it looks like 7). Google Classic Shell and you'll find it. It's extremely popular.

There is no way I will ever be updating to Win 10, not a chance.

There is no longer any need for Classic Shell. Win 8.1 Update which came out this past winter can boot to desktop and has a pseudo-Start menu at the bottom left just like Win 7 - all from Microsoft without running an overlay shell. But beyond that Win 8.1 has lots of quirks and is still a PITA. Move on the screen in the wrong way and the side menu keeps opening up, plus more that gets in the way.

Sadly with Win 10, MS is not dumping their apps that no one wants and are far from comparable to what is on Andriod and IOS - which they will never compete with in the tablet/phone market.
8_1_Van
Explorer
Jul 20, 2015
On my PC I have a myriad of OSs on it.

Vista is used by my wife with a program called Paperport that works best with Vista since they never upgraded it for the latest Windows OS.
APT
Explorer
Jul 20, 2015
I have windows 8.1 on my main PC, a desktop that I originally built for Windows XP and upgraded various components over the years. I bought an SSD and did a clean install of 8.1. If I didn't like it, I could swap boot order and go back to XP. I would follow that same approach for Windows 10. Buy an SSD for $50 and clean install. Easy to switch back.
CA_Traveler
Explorer III
Jul 20, 2015
8.1 Van wrote:
While there are concerns, the advantages far outweigh any of the negatives.

If you’re used to family members calling you for technical support because they’ve failed to upgrade to the latest Windows service pack or some malware disabled Windows Update then those days will hopefully be over.

Windows 10 updates will be automatic and mandatory, so the OS should act more like Google's Chrome browser.

Google updates Chrome regularly, and everyone gets the latest version once they close the browser or restart their machine.

It keeps everyone up-to-date and secure, and now all Windows 10 users will benefit from the same approach.

Windows 10's forced automatic updates are a good idea

While there are pros you left out the cons. I suspect the author is on a high speed link so data bandwidth and size are not a significant concern. And he may be a Enterprise customer so that he doesn't have to update.

Why do you think that Enterprise customers DO NOT have this requirement? Is it because faulty or incompatible updates could disrupt their business? Sure windows has gotten better but I just finished a 150MB W7 update that was all related to security. And that was not the first this month. It would be great if W10 is a quantum leap in good code but 33 years of MS code doesn't suggest that.

Windows users are concerned over two potential scenarios: forced downloads and faulty updates. Windows 10 will automatically download updates, so those with capped internet connections won’t be able to manage the date downloads are made. Windows 10 updates won’t just be security patches, but they’ll also include feature updates making the download sizes a genuine concern for some. The real worry is over faulty updates, but that’s less of a problem thanks to Microsoft’s "Windows as a service" model. Failed or faulty updates are already very rare, and Microsoft can lean on its 5 million Windows 10 testers to try out updates before they’re distributed more broadly. I can’t remember the last time I had to restore my Windows machine because of a bad patch.
8_1_Van
Explorer
Jul 20, 2015
While there are concerns, the advantages far outweigh any of the negatives.

If you’re used to family members calling you for technical support because they’ve failed to upgrade to the latest Windows service pack or some malware disabled Windows Update then those days will hopefully be over.

Windows 10 updates will be automatic and mandatory, so the OS should act more like Google's Chrome browser.

Google updates Chrome regularly, and everyone gets the latest version once they close the browser or restart their machine.

It keeps everyone up-to-date and secure, and now all Windows 10 users will benefit from the same approach.

Windows 10's forced automatic updates are a good idea