You have heard the hype for a year now. Microsoft will charge for Windows 10 after July 29th, 2016. That time has nearly arrived. So how does this decision affect you?
The FACTS
If you are running Windows 7, 8 or 8.1, you are entitled to a free upgrade until July 29th, 2016. If you chose to upgrade, using the annoying popups on your computer, your product key will entitle you to the equivalent Windows 10 OS. Either home or pro. If you wish to upgrade after this date, you will need to pay Microsoft either £130 for pro or £99 for home.
UPGRADING
To upgrade to Windows 10, you simply click the pop up and the 1.3GB download will start. Once downloaded, the upgrade takes about 2 hours on a good spec computer. Whilst technically you do not need to backup your data, we strongly advise you do. Generally about 80% of computers will upgrade without issue. The remaining 20% can experience corruption, driver issues and other varied problems.
CLEAN INSTALL
A clean install is often the best way to install Windows 10. This ensures there are not any lingering files from the old install and often provides a quicker and more efficient computer. This procedure is more labour intensive as your data needs to be backed up and you will need to install all software such as office and anti-virus.
Our current advice is as follows:
If you are running Windows 7 – Do not upgrade unless you have an I3 or I5 processor and the computer is under 3 years old
If you are running Windows 8 or 8.1, we would advise an upgrade as Windows 10 is far more efficient and reliable.
If you are reading this post after July 29th, then we can provide cost effective alternatives to buying direct from Microsoft.
