This month (March 2016) we have noticed a push from Microsoft to get Windows 10 upgrades installed, including upgrade attempts that unless you happened to see them in time, would go ahead and install the Windows 10 upgrade automatically. This article describes how the upgrade works.
The Windows 10 upgrade is free for most Windows 7 and Windows 8 users and brings some advantages and new features which we’ve outlined in a separate article this month. On the downside, there is a small chance that your printer or scanner may not work with Windows 10, or you may experience some issues throughout the upgrade process. Also, although many things stay fundamentally the same, there are some changes to the layout that you will need to adapt to.
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For your interest, our upgrade went very smoothly and the entire process took about 2 ½ hours with very little interaction needed on our behalf once the upgrade started. Microsoft have been distributing the Windows 10 upgrade through the regular Microsoft updates, so you most likely have already seen a notice about upgrading to Windows 10 already.
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To start the upgrade, locate the Windows 10 icon in the system tray next to the computer time and double click it to bring up the upgrade window if it isn’t already open. Click the “Upgrade Now” button and the process will prepare the upgrade, displaying a final window with a “Start the upgrade now” button which will start the upgrade process.
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Make sure your computer is plugged into a power source, and once ready, click the upgrade button. The computer will now go through several upgrade stages which will happen automatically, restarting several times during the process. Once it is complete, it will display a “Welcome to Windows 10” message with a “Next” button in the bottom right hand corner.
The next step is to accept the license terms and then connect your computer to the internet if it isn’t already. The next step offers you the chance to personalize some of the computer settings, or choose the Express settings which is what we did. The next step is to choose the default programs for websites, music and pictures.
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We clicked the “Let me choose my default apps” link in the bottom left hand corner which then let us untick the four programs Windows 10 wanted to use to open pictures, websites, etc. We did this because we wanted to keep using the browsers and picture viewers we were using prior to the upgrade. After this step, the upgrade is complete!
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Microsoft gives you 30 days to revert back to your previous operating system if the upgrade isn’t what you expected, or something goes wrong. Click on the Windows icon in the bottom left hand corner and select the Settings menu from the start menu. Select the “Update & Security” option, then the Recovery menu. Here you have the option to revert back to your previous system.
