OSes Windows 10: Free upgrade for Win 7 & 8 users

Learning a new system doesn't bother me, it's the forced updates that do. My computer got locked in an endless loop from one of their updates and I don't plan on chancing that again. It took forever and a lot of work to get it to stop.

I know the pro version allows you to put off updating for a few months, but not everyone has money to spare to upgrade an OS, plus it still forced you to update eventually.

I'll take my chances with Win 8.
 
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Not upgrading to Windows 10 is one thing, but not doing updates at all is a whole different thing. I'd be more worried about protecting my sensitive data than the off chance of a blotched Windows update. It's easy enough to get to recovery options for a misbehaving update, the latter will make your life a living hell when someone in China uses your remaining bank account balance to buy a few dozen fake Rolex watches.

Why You Need To Install Windows Updates Automatically
 
I dont kow how mine are set up but sometimes they accost me randomly when I am shutting down the computer... so I guess it is automatic.
 
Jeremy said:
Not upgrading to Windows 10 is one thing, but not doing updates at all is a whole different thing. I'd be more worried about protecting my sensitive data than the off chance of a blotched Windows update. It's easy enough to get to recovery options for a misbehaving update, the latter will make your life a living hell when someone in China uses your remaining bank account balance to buy a few dozen fake Rolex watches.

Why You Need To Install Windows Updates Automatically
Click to expand...
There isn't enough money in my account to buy a fake Timex. :p
 
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Since I upgraded my laptop to windows 10, I discovered that Windows 10 does not read an SD card from the digital camera when I try to download photos from it to the computer. I googled this and there is apparently software you can download for free to read the SD card, but it looks complicated to figure out. Anyone else have a similar issue? How did you work around it?
 
Naturebound said:
Since I upgraded my laptop to windows 10, I discovered that Windows 10 does not read an SD card from the digital camera when I try to download photos from it to the computer. I googled this and there is apparently software you can download for free to read the SD card, but it looks complicated to figure out. Anyone else have a similar issue? How did you work around it?
Click to expand...

No. I don't have Windows 10. But I do know a fellow who "upgraded" from Windows 8.x to Windows 10 and lost the use of his DVD drive as a result. He said it would cost him $25 to buy extra software to restore the operation of his DVD drive. The need to install "extra software," whether freeware or payware, to get a Win 10 computer to do things the same computer could do under previous versions of Windows is a reason to avoid Windows 10 IMO.
 
Bob Rankin has an interesting column on how to uninstall or otherwise remove "unwanted" programs from Windows 10.

Windows 10 comes with a myriad of new features in the core operating system and in standalone apps bundled with it. They can make Win10 confusing for some users; others are leery of features and apps that seem to invade privacy. If you don’t want a feature or app, you can get rid of it in most cases, but not all. Here are some things that many users don’t want and how to get rid of them...
Click to expand...

[TWEAK] Unwanted Windows 10 Features
 
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Joe said:
No. I don't have Windows 10. But I do know a fellow who "upgraded" from Windows 8.x to Windows 10 and lost the use of his DVD drive as a result. He said it would cost him $25 to buy extra software to restore the operation of his DVD drive. The need to install "extra software," whether freeware or payware, to get a Win 10 computer to do things the same computer could do under previous versions of Windows is a reason to avoid Windows 10 IMO.
Click to expand...

That doesn't make much sense, Joe. DVD writers and players are very generic removeable media devices. Any and all of them should simply just work. They're so generic that practically all of them are manufactured by two or three companies. Upward of 90% of all DVD drives were built by either LG or Lite-On to the same spec and standard. I would question how this guy was going about using his DVD drive, and in what context... I mean, did he mean he puts in a data disc and it can't be read, or does he mean he pops in a movie disc and Windows Media Player doesn't pop up, or what exactly? Either way, I'm leaning towards user error until I see it for myself.
 
I just tried a burned DVD in my drive ( I have Windows 10) and it read it just fine. Then I dug out an older movie on DVD and my Windows 10 player also read that. Don't know what the problem is for your friend.
 
Chryssie said:
I just tried a burned DVD in my drive ( I have Windows 10) and it read it just fine. Then I dug out an older movie on DVD and my Windows 10 player also read that. Don't know what the problem is for your friend.
Click to expand...

I don't know, either. I am just relating what he told me the last time I spoke with him.
 
I am the person Joe was quoting. My issue is very real. I have an SD card that goes into my digital camera. I can remove that card and insert it into my laptop and it automatically reads the chip/card and asks me if I want to download the photos and videos from the SD card onto the computer. I never had an issue until I upgraded to Windows 10. Now when I insert the SD card, the laptop does not read or even register that it is there. I go to my laptop library folder and C drive and look for it there and there is nothing. So I did some searching online to figure out the problem and found this:
SD Card Reader Doesn't Work After Windows 10 Upgrade - HP Support Forum - 5181267
Apparently I am not the only person who has had this problem. It looks like, from the link I shared, one can dowload a free software program that will read an SD card. I have not tried it yet as I have had such a short block of free time all week but I plan to this weekend. If I can't get the laptop to read my SD card, i am thinking I might just revert back to Windows 7. I am very frustrated with the experiences I am having with 10 so far. I am also getting a critical error message everytime I try to access my start button and log off. This is on the computer though, not the laptop. I am not technically savvy at all so forgive my ignorance. I don't have a ton of time to figure this stuff out. We are having enough time at my place of work ironing out all the glitches since our newest EPIC medical record upgrade. Sighs.
 
OK, never mind... I don't want it. LMAO
I have an 8-year-old slightly-smart phone, no other devices that I see everyone glued to everywhere I look, I don't want "that" so no need to upgrade.... old-school's always cool with me. :cool: LOL
 
Naturebound said:
I am the person Joe was quoting. My issue is very real. I have an SD card that goes into my digital camera. I can remove that card and insert it into my laptop and it automatically reads the chip/card and asks me if I want to download the photos and videos from the SD card onto the computer. I never had an issue until I upgraded to Windows 10. Now when I insert the SD card, the laptop does not read or even register that it is there. I go to my laptop library folder and C drive and look for it there and there is nothing. So I did some searching online to figure out the problem and found this:
SD Card Reader Doesn't Work After Windows 10 Upgrade - HP Support Forum - 5181267
Apparently I am not the only person who has had this problem. It looks like, from the link I shared, one can dowload a free software program that will read an SD card. I have not tried it yet as I have had such a short block of free time all week but I plan to this weekend. If I can't get the laptop to read my SD card, i am thinking I might just revert back to Windows 7. I am very frustrated with the experiences I am having with 10 so far. I am also getting a critical error message everytime I try to access my start button and log off. This is on the computer though, not the laptop. I am not technically savvy at all so forgive my ignorance. I don't have a ton of time to figure this stuff out. We are having enough time at my place of work ironing out all the glitches since our newest EPIC medical record upgrade. Sighs.
Click to expand...

No no, I was not doubting your problem. I know that SD card readers have issues in Windows 10. Chryssie's old SD card reader doesn't work in Windows 10 either. Joe was talking about DVD players/burners, which is completely different, unrelated thing.

Pretty much since the beginning, upgrading an OS has been a very sensitive thing. Most of the time even if it's working out just fine it's simply not up to the same level it would be had you done a fresh installation. IT people who have been around the block know that switching to a new Microsoft OS via an upgrade method can lead to problems. The recommended course of action is to format the partition(s) and install fresh from DVD or USB thumb drive. But hey, the Windows 10 upgrade is free. Maybe that's why upgrade vs clean install hasn't been a big discussion.
 
MadamSarcastra said:
OK, never mind... I don't want it. LMAO
I have an 8-year-old slightly-smart phone, no other devices that I see everyone glued to everywhere I look, I don't want "that" so no need to upgrade.... old-school's always cool with me. :cool: LOL
Click to expand...

What? Lol
 
Naturebound said:
I am the person Joe was quoting. My issue is very real. I have an SD card that goes into my digital camera. I can remove that card and insert it into my laptop and it automatically reads the chip/card and asks me if I want to download the photos and videos from the SD card onto the computer. I never had an issue until I upgraded to Windows 10. Now when I insert the SD card, the laptop does not read or even register that it is there. I go to my laptop library folder and C drive and look for it there and there is nothing. So I did some searching online to figure out the problem and found this:
SD Card Reader Doesn't Work After Windows 10 Upgrade - HP Support Forum - 5181267
Click to expand...

Thank you for posting this link.

Naturebound said:
Apparently I am not the only person who has had this problem. It looks like, from the link I shared, one can dowload a free software program that will read an SD card. I have not tried it yet as I have had such a short block of free time all week but I plan to this weekend. If I can't get the laptop to read my SD card, i am thinking I might just revert back to Windows 7.
Click to expand...

Try downloading and installing the free software first.

If that does not work, there is something else you might try before reverting to Windows 7.

Obtain a "live distro" of Unix. The flavor of Unix I am familiar with is Knoppix. You can download this live distribution of Unix for free from the internet if you have a fast connection (after the download you burn it to a DVD) or buy a copy already burned to a data DVD for under $10. Stick the DVD in your DVD drive. Re-boot your computer. As long as the DVD drive is listed before your hard drive in your BIOS, your computer will boot to Unix/Knoppix. When it boots to Knoppix, you will see all these weird utilities. The one you need to look for is File Manager. Yes, it is pretty much like the Windows File Manager/Windows Explorer, only better. Better because it should show you the contents of your SD card, show you all your hard drives, etc. Use it to copy or move files from the SD card to your hard drive, or vice versa. If this does not work, you have risked at most $10. ("Live distro" is slang for live distribution, and this means that you can boot up into Knoppix from your DVD drive without having to install Knoppix on your hard disk.)

I used Knoppix to discover I had a "hidden" hard drive on one of my "messed up" computers, which has software which will wipe my C: drive and reinstall my operating system and all the software that was on my C: drive when it was fresh from the factory.

If you decide you want to revert to Windows 7, you might find this article useful:

How To Undo a Windows 10 Upgrade

Naturebound said:
I am very frustrated with the experiences I am having with 10 so far. I am also getting a critical error message everytime I try to access my start button and log off. This is on the computer though, not the laptop. I am not technically savvy at all so forgive my ignorance. I don't have a ton of time to figure this stuff out. We are having enough time at my place of work ironing out all the glitches since our newest EPIC medical record upgrade. Sighs.
Click to expand...

I'm afraid I know nothing about the "critical message" thingie. Sorry. :(
 

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