upgrade

Windows 10 is a free upgrade to Windows 7 and 8 users until July 29, 2016; if you own Windows 7 or 8 Pro (or higher), then you can receive Windows 10 Pro for free. Conversely, if you own Windows 7 or 8 Home ( or anything less than Pro ) then you ... will by default receive Windows 10 Home as your free upgrade. With that said, Windows 10 Home users can also upgrade to Windows 10 Pro for a $99 fee. So, is the upgrade from Hone to Pro worth it? Here are some of the differences and whether they may be worth paying for. Fewer Forced Updates In Pro Edition Every feature in Windows 10 Home is part of ... (view more)

Microsoft has confirmed it has downloaded Windows 10 to some Windows 7 and 8.1 computers without express permission. The download comes through the Windows Update process and takes up space, but doesn't install the new system unless the user chooses ... to do so manually. The issue came to light when some users noticed that their hard drives had less free space than expected, then dug down into hidden files and folders to discover data related to Windows 10. In theory the Windows 10 installation file should only be 3GB, but some users have reported a 6GB file. The situation has been the ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Stacie M. writes: " Dear Dennis, I upgraded to Windows 10 over the weekend, but unfortunately many of my programs appear to be incompatible. For example, a program either gives me an error and immediately exits, or it runs but ... doesn't work properly. If I would have known that my programs won't work with Windows 10, I don't think I would have upgraded. Is there anything I can do to make my programs compatible with Windows 10? " My response: When I first upgraded to Windows 10, many of my favorite programs wouldn't work properly, either - similar to what you describe. For ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader 'Tom' writes: " Dear Dennis, I recently upgraded my computer from Windows 8.1 32-bit to Windows 10 32-bit. This past weekend I purchased Windows 10 64-bit because I want to upgrade from Windows 10 32-bit. For the upgrade, I ... understand I will have to do a complete reinstall. That said, each time I put the Windows 10 DVD in my system and I run the setup.exe (via my desktop), it says 'This app can't run on your PC'. How do I perform the upgrade to Windows 10 64-bit? " My response: Before I answer the question, there are a few things I need to get ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Sam T. writes: " Dear Dennis, I have clicked on the 'Get Windows 10' app in my tray bar and it still says it's reserved. I read that I can force the upgrade by using entering 'wuauclt.exe /updatenow' in the command prompt -- ... however, I keep getting a message that Windows 10 Upgrade Failed, with error code 80240020. I searched for 'windows 10 upgrade failed 80240020' on Google and have read a number of posts, but I can't seem to figure out how to make this work. I keep getting an access denied error. Can you help? " My response: Many ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Meagan S. writes: " Dear Dennis, Thanks for your coverage on Windows 10. I plan to upgrade to Windows 10 but I prefer to do a clean install, rather than in-place upgrade. I say this because I would much rather start from a clean ... slate, rather than worry that bugs from my previous Windows install might port over onto my new Windows 10 upgrade. So my question is: can I do a clean install of Windows 10 using a Windows 7 or 8 license? If I download the Windows 10 ISO and format my hard drive, how will Microsoft know that I am in fact upgrading to Windows 10, and therefore ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Susan K. writes: " Dear Dennis, With regard to the free Windows 10 upgrade : will I receive Windows 10 32-bit, or Windows 10 64-bit, or will I have a choice? I ask because I am currently running Windows 8 32-bit and I'd like to ... upgrade to Windows 10 64-bit. A friend of mine told me that the 64-bit Windows is faster. Can you tell me what is the difference between 32-bit and 64-bit Windows 10? " My response: As with all previous versions of Windows, you can only change the operating system architecture (for example: from Windows 7 32-bit to Windows 10 64-bit) if ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Tim P. writes: " Dear Dennis, How do I cancel my Windows 10 reservation? Also, how can I prevent Windows 10 from downloading onto my system? I see the 'Get Windows 10' icon in my tray bar, which has been there since June 1st. ... Originally I wanted the upgrade to Windows 10, but now I'm not sure it's a good idea because I'm concerned that the upgrade might fail or cause problems. I read on the Internet that the 'get windows 10' icon has to do with Microsoft patch KB3035583, whatever that is. Can you tell me how to remove the Windows 10 ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Tim A. writes: " Dear Dennis, When will the full retail version (OEM) of Windows 10 be available as an .ISO file, so I can burn Windows 10 onto DVD and install it that way? I would much rather install Windows 10 clean using my DVD ... drive than to install it using Windows Update. A colleague of mine says that installing Windows over top of Windows (I.E: doing a Windows 'upgrade') is never a good idea. He says that upgrade installs usually leave left-overs from the previous Windows installation which can interfere with the new Windows 10 install - or worse, cause ... (view more)

A key PC hardware firm has let slip that Windows 10 will be ready at the end of July. That may not be the date the public will get its hands on the new system, but suggests that Microsoft has taken additional steps towards the final launch date. The ... timeline revelation came in an investor conference call from AMD, one of the leading makers of computer processors. Chief executive officer and president Lisa Su made reference to the company's forecasts - particularly, when it will need to supply processors to computer makers with respect to Windows 10 launch date. "What we also are ... (view more)