Windows 10 Free Upgrade Deadline Approaching

And Windows 7, not tried it on Windows 10 release version, although it says it works there too... maybe I did try it when I was on the MS Early Access VM testing...but it's been awhile.

Does it do the same on Windows 10? Allow you more control over the actions and Start Menu configuration?

Seems so...
http://www.intowindows.com/use-old-and-new-start-menu-together-in-windows-10/

And, something called Start10:
http://www.infoworld.com/article/29...-10-start-menus-start10-vs-classic-shell.html

 

I guess, but I haven't tried.

Compared to Windows 8 Start, 10 looks very unobtrusive when there are no tiles pinned.

 

Windows 8.1, cleaned up the Start Menu, but I still replaced it with ClassicShell.

Removing tiles was mentioned in those articles I linked in my last post, but they go on to tout additional benefits to the app/tools for replacing the Start Menu.

I heard MS added Tiles to the Start Menu at updates each time, rearranging things, does that need to be undone by you at each update?

 

I upgraded from 14390 to 14393 and nothing changed.

 

Yeah, I don't think it happens all the time, just at the "major/milestone" updates.

 

Even with decent keyboard and pointing device of choice it never hurts to have one. When actually drawing, using touch for rotating and zooming is essential to complement stylus - although I use software different from Photoshop. For me, it is sometimes more pleasant to scroll using touchscreen even when I have keyboard right in front of me, especially when the device is on my lap. Again, touchscreen doesn't cancel-out keyboard and pointing device, but it's a great thing to have, and not to be underestimated.

 

This is what the Start menu looks like in 1607 bulid 14393, swedish variant:

You can add shortcut buttons to the left side of the menu, above the power, settings and account button. This is a new feature in 1607.
After removing 11 shortcuts it looks like this:

After removing all tiles:


...and yes, 5 apps got installed after this.

 

What 5 apps? Ones MS is trying to sell? Or new system apps / tools installed as part of the update? Did they get added to the Start Menu, and you needed to remove them (again?).

BTW, I can't see all the images yet, the server is still having problems, but will look again later:

" NotebookReview - Error
This attachment cannot be shown at this time. Please try back later."

 

5 out of 11 third party apps got installed after I had removed the shortcuts (or, one of them was MS News). They're obviously free apps since I didn't enter an MS account. It took maybe 7 seconds to uninstall them all.

I've seen the feedback, MS is getting so much flak for this. You can argue that MS doesn't listen, but sometimes I think they do. For instance, MS had ZERO reason to update CMD.
You really have to enter the Feedback hub to realize how much suggestions, bugs and complaints they get..

 

And, that's the main reason I don't waste time with Windows 10, all the changes, updates, and development still going on by Microsoft.

I need my daily driver machines to be stable and function without unexpected hiccups and requiring attention to fix / mitigate those problems.

I am not about developing Windows OS, I am about using Windows OS as a tool for my own work. It's not an end unto itself for me.

I do thank all the hapless victim's running Windows 10, improving it to the point I can install it, a couple of years down the road.

 

The touch pad on my laptop does most of that already. Scroll, zoom. rotate, etc. I really do not like fingerprints on my screen either

 

It's nowhere as bad as you make it sound.

I started using W10 in february when I got my new laptop. I don't regret it, and even though there are several builds coming now and then they haven't caused any issues for me. No issues at all with using it as a daily driver.
Mind you, I've been running insider previews to some extent so it's not really what the regular user will face.

The complaint that I understand the most is the data collection, almost everything else I disagree with.

I've seen what MS have accomplished with Windows 10 Mobile in the last 6 months alone, which gives me even more hope for the regular Windows 10 which probably have a higher priority.

I see why MS have changed the way they develop Windows. Instead of starting from scratch (well) every third year, which haven't been working out for them anyway, they keep on developing. Windows will never be finished, because it will be developed continuously for a long time. (Or if you like, Threshold is finished now.)

 

Oh, it is as bad as I have described it for people that aren't technically savvy, which is most users, and that is why the huge backlash from the hapless victims that have had Windows 10 Upgrades forced on them, ruining their productivity, and "losing" data.

You and I are used to rapid development environments, I have worked in them for many decades, and unfortunately that has lulled the developer community into thinking what is good for them, is good for everyone.

It isn't. It's very disconcerting. And, pushes people away from using computers completely. I have seen it happen time and time again.

People expect computers to do what they are used to doing, not changing their interface and usage patterns on an irregular and unexpected basis.

All the System Admin stuff you do to mitigate living with Windows 10, even the tiniest bit, sets most people off their well worn path, making them dread using their computer.

It's a perspective lost on most developers these days. To the detriment of everyone else.

Windows 10 Mobile is dead, why are you going on about it's improvements? It's irrelevant to the desktop Windows 10 OS.

When Windows 10 is stable, features have stopped coming, and MS figures out that's what people really want to get their jobs done, then I will use Windows 10.

I have enough to deal with on other OS's for development, I don't need my "productivity" OS and "gaming" OS demanding time from me as well.

Windows 7 / 8.1 are feature complete, relatively bug free, and getting security updates for years to come. That's what I want, and that's what they provide.

Windows 10 is a continuing drama queen demanding attention, not my problem

 

I didn't talk about the upgrade from 7 and 8, that thing was carried out in the most annoying way. I was only talking about updates within 10.

I said, given how good W10M has become in just a few months I expect the regular W10 to become even better by time since they're both developed in prarallel, and the latter is most likely prioritized.

"When Windows 10 is stable, features have stopped coming..."
This won't happen. It is part of the plan with Windows 10. Like I said, given the track record of Widnows it's a good thing. Just think about how many versions that have gone wrong the last 15 years (at least) just because MS did it the wrong way. Windows 7 was the ONLY version that was generally accepted out of the box, at launch, partly because it was based on Vista. People may say XP, but honestly, it wasn't that good from the beginning.

Haha, yeah, just like some Windows 10 bashers in this forum! Haven't seen one of them in a while though.

 

So Windows 10 will asymptotically approach feature and bug stability, it's certainly not there yet.

And, really, there is no actual reason to need Windows 10 for me until Windows DX12 is providing better gaming performance of 25% and above on new games. DX11 will suffice for several years.

The much earlier tipping point will be when I can't use new hardware features with Windows 7/8.1, at some point in late 2017, but only if those features are actually useful will I be motivated to use Windows 10 instead of loading Windows 8.1.

Then I will need to use Windows 10, and delve into the mess full force to get a useful OS.

The time I save between now and then on messing with Windows 10 is time I now cherish. It brings me great joy.

Hopefully governments will have slapped down MS's privacy invasions to the point where MS is forced to remove it from all their software, including Windows 10, by the time I need to install it, so I am not forced to Agree to give away my privacy rights just to run an OS on my hardware.

You won't, most of the masses are well programmed as apologists for their victimization. Or suffer quietly.

It's all part of the culture now.

 

I don't know. This is the most anti-windows 10 forum I know of. New posts with "shove down our throats"-lines included every day. I think this forum is full of drama queens, compared to others. Yet they won't jump ship, only making threats about doing it.

Just do it.

 

Just do what? Stop using Windows 10?

Many of us never installed the release version of Windows 10, we learned about the intent of MS from the promises made during the Insider Preview experience and MS going back on their promise to remove the "development telemetry".

For many they discovered this all, or thought about it seriously for the first time, after installing Windows 10.

Everyone is trained to covet and adopt the "new shiny" stuff, as old is "bad" and therefore "new" is good, and do it as quickly and thoughtlessly as possible, people are well trained now.

Then there are those that aren't plugged in to the "scene", and they don't even hear or think about the problems. They trust MS without thought. Until the problems start showing up. Then they seek out help in forums like this.

There are lots of other places like this, with thinking reasoning highly experienced people that aren't going to stop helping others.

We don't get paid for it, but if we stop, are you going step up and donate your time to help keep people from going down the wrong path into Windows 10?

Even if only to help fellow Windows 10 sufferers ease their pain, it would be nice of you to do so, if you aren't already.

 

Microsoft does not really start from scratch every 3 years, more like 6 to 8 years. Windows 2000 is the base for every OS up to windows 7. If I want a mobile OS on my desktop/notebook, I would have bought a tablet. Therefore there is no reason what so ever to run a mobile OS on my notebook, and that is what Windows 10 is. For business environments, it just does not make any sense to install it, especially with its privacy issues. Windows 7 will continue to be the dominant OS used by a majority of the consumers for the foreseeable future.

 

Jump ship, as in switching to Linux instead of just talking about it.

It sounds like you want to misunderstand me. Have I ever said anything bad about people helping? Just hours ago I installed a VM just to show you how 1607 works, but you seem to have forgotten that. Before that I upgraded another VM just to help out TANWare.

Helping is a good thing, asking constructive questions is also good. Whining is not, it's discouraging, it gets tiredsome.

You missed my (well), but that doesn't matter. MS have had a lot of issues with feature creep, and it's time to move away from that.

 

Repeating things to new people, new questions, another Forum page, is responding to the limitations of the medium.

Those of us that live over time in this medium know you need to repeat yourself, as at first new people won't do the searching and reading that would answer their questions.

I have answered the "temp" and "OC" questions thousands of times over the years, and never tire of helping someone new, seeing it for the first time, and giving them all the detail they need - based on interactive feedback with thousands of different people over the years.

Windows 10 is just a point in time opportunity to use what I have learned to help people avoid the whole mess.

Windows 10 provides many failure points to focus in on to help people relate to why it's a bad thing to get into right now.

Not just the privacy issues, but the ongoing ever changing OS under development, which for the average user is *not* a selling point.

And, then there is the overriding truth, Windows 10 offers nothing that isn't already available in Windows 7/8.1 for use today, and for the foreseeable future.

We will know better when the "unsupported" new CPU's and chipset's come out, just how much MS is willing to screw up the computer field to force people into using Windows 10.

It's not going to be pretty, I am sure.

Oh yeah, your name calling of people alerting others to Windows 10 problems was the motivation for redirecting your mis-identification of them.

I wasn't misunderstanding your comments, I was helping you refocus your negative views to the positive intentions behind 99% of the people you included in your insults.

Most of us already use Linux, Solaris, and many other OS's besides Windows, but in these Windows 10 threads, we focus on the problems with Windows 10.

Windows is still the best OS for gaming, with the exception of Windows 10

 

Speak for yourself, you're the one who suggested that I wasn't helpful. You don't even know what an insult is.

There are loads of forums that are helpful, this is by far the most negative one. I actually only speak about the Windows subforum.
I usually come to help others, if I need help I go somewhere else.

 

Wait, what?

Windows 10 is nothing but constant feature creep, it's the worst of the worst, feature creep without end, at least until people are fed up enough with it and tell MS to stop already.

That's the day I consider Windows 10 as a possible upgrade candidate.

I said we were being helpful, not just bashing Windows 10 - it's part of the helping. Warning people of the problems. And, just like any other problem, in the forums it requires repetition.

There are plenty of you apologists for Windows 10, with your loads of time spent fixing problems - but only saying - "works fine for me".

Igoring the fact most people don't want to waste their time tweaking and tuning an OS to stop it from spying on them, disabling new features that annoy them, and continually on the lookout for new or repeats of the same issues to tame time and time again.

I wasn't saying you weren't willing to help people, only that your failure to fully disclose the true full expense of installing and supporting Windows 10 over time, the many hours spent - at a high level of expertise that most don't have available - was not helping anyone.

We do appreciate all the help we can get, and you have been most helpful

 

That doesn't exclude the fact that it has happened before? You know when Longhorn was supposed to be launched in 2004 or so, got postponed several times and then launched as Vista a couple of years later and still not being good enough for most people? Or when XP was so vulnerable to malware that you got it the same second the installation finshed if you were connected to the internet because of the lack of security? Those are examples of feature creep of the worst kind.

Hmm, I'm not sure where you got that from. Could you be more specific?

 

Actually Windows 2000 was the original poster child for "instantly hacked" when connected to the internet, I think it was an average of 20 minutes until hacked.

Vista was a great OS... yes, let that sink in...

If you had the right GPU, CPU, and memory hardware at the time Vista ran great. I built new PC's in anticipation of the release, and upgraded GPU's a couple of times over the life of Vista - mostly for gaming but it helped with Windows GUI responsiveness too.

Upgrading friends computers with better CPU's, GPU's, SSD's, and memory all contributed together to make their Vista computers run fast and reliably.

I still have Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7 machines available should I need them when I am upgrading to new hardware, and they all run quite well, even today.

Longhorn never materialized, and you could see the GUI elements in Vista that weren't fully fleshed out. It's still annoying with all those file tags in columns I need to reset.

I was likely to stick a RX480 into one of the AMD Vista boxes to see how it performs, although after seeing the vast drop in performance of the RX480/1060 for older CPU's, I am rethinking that now.

But, back on subject, be happy with your perfectly stable and happily long running Windows 7/8.1 OS, now isn't the time to "upgrade" to Windows 10, and that day will probably never arrive for your old hardware, if you are lucky.

How many hours have you spent on learning Windows 10, fixes and problems, features and usage, upgrading and futzing around with it, that you wouldn't have spent, time you could have used for constructive purposes if you had stayed on Windows 7/8.1 instead of upgrading?

You already had Windows 7/8.1 setup as you liked it right? So all that time spent on making Windows 10 work for you was time you could have avoided wasting if you hadn't upgraded.

What could you possible have benefited from by the upgrade to Windows 10? There is nothing in Windows 10 worth spending all that time to get.

That's what I was referring to as undisclosed time you have spent on Windows 10.

 

Jumping ship could be an only option, it is a painful one though. I am trying not to do it but it could be the only option. An OS has one first job, file and hardware IO, when you can not do your first job right what is it worth?

 

Oh I didn't mean hacked, various worms got into the system upon first boot. W2000 wasn't that common though, unlike XP.

I never liked Vista RTM. SP2 was great, but too late.
What you describe is what most people didn't know, ie hardware requuirements.

 

It also helped to have Vista Ultimate x64 with plenty of memory.

That's why I was in the forums of the day letting people know not to go to Windows Vista unless they had more than the minimum hardware requirements listed, as they were not enough for the GPU and IO intensive requirements of Vista.

Just the same as I am in this forum today warning people not to get caught up in the mess that is Windows 10 today.

Let MS sort Windows 10 out over the next couple of years, when it might have some benefits worth upgrading for.

Your current hardware, issued with Windows 7/8.1, will function just as well on the updated original OS, and it will require far less fuss than an upgrade to Windows 10.

By the time Windows 10 is worth getting to take advantage of DX12 performance improvements through newer GPU's - not yet released - and for support of new CPU and chipset hardware, those benefits won't translate to our old hardware.

Windows 10 isn't worth the time spent to upgrade now, and likely ever.

 

I want to keep the stability and the features of Windows 10 as two different things.

I have nothing negative to say about the stability, just like I don't have anything negative to say about Windows 8 or 7.

When it comes to features there are two things I didn't like at the beginning.

1 - Drivers. This was by far the most annoying thing at first. I tried to stop it using gpedit, which is quite easy, but I found out later on that I actually preferred the drivers from MS in many cases, so I changed my point of view.

2 - Data collection. This one still bugs me. I haven't spent that much time configuring it besides PeerBlock and ShutUp.

In the end I've spent hours with testing W10, but it didn't really have to do with how it works, it was more because of my curiosity. I have done the same, and still do with Windows 7 and 8.

That's more of an opinion than a fact, just sayin'.

There are lots of people saying that their computer works much better with Windows 10 that it ever did before. And then there are people stuck in a boot loop, or doesn't have the required drivers.

 

Yes, as a trap for the curious, Windows 10 fits the bill nicely. As an end unto itself, Windows 10 can occupy one for many hours

Once caught, and all the nooks and crannies have been investigated, the trap offers nothing more than Windows 7/8.1.

It looks different, that's about it.

Hundreds of hours over a year or more, that's the undisclosed investment of time you have put in to Windows 10, it's no wonder you recommend others follow your path and upgrade to Windows 10.

Misery loves company

Name one real improvement over the Windows you had before the upgrade to Windows 10.

Would you miss it if you had never upgraded to Windows 10?

There is far more misery with Windows 10 than there is real joy and improvement from Windows 10.

An upgrade to an SSD, adding more memory, getting a better GPU, even popping in a new CPU into the socket are all upgrades to do to a Windows 7/8.1 computer, with far better real performance improvement than can be had by upgrading to Windows 10.

 

Like I said, I could replicate it in 1511 but not in 1607.

When did I recommend it? You have that bitter tone again.

The same could be said about Windows 8.1 compared to Windows 7.

So far I've spent so much more time investigating Windows 7 than any other version.

Those things aren't free. I'd never pay for Windows, and like most others I get it when I buy a new laptop.

 

Yes, then as said, Windows 10 isn't worth the upgrade?

With what you know now, you would have been just as happy with the original OS, Windows 7 or Windows 8.1, and skipped upgrading to Windows 10?

And, if not for you, with your curiosity, it's a least a good recommendation for others, to avoid wasting time on a Windows 10 upgrade?

So you never built your own computer and installed a purchased Full or OEM version of Windows?

 

It's free, that's why it's worth it. If I was running Vista SP2 I wouldn't have paid for Windows 7 either when it came.
I haven't recommended Windows 10 to anyone, or Windows 8.1 for that matter. Helping out people to make it work is a whole different story.

Yes I have, no, only Linux.

 

So you aren't recommending that people upgrade to Windows 10?

It's not bitter, it's plaintive

I'm sad and mournful for those suffering with Windows 10, suffering with MS's attempts to force Windows 10 down their throat's with deceptive upgrade tactics.

I'm trying to help those considering upgrading to Windows 10 from becoming embittered from the experience.

So, you don't recommend most people upgrade to Windows 10, only if they are curious?

In fact the only reason I can see for people to upgrade to Windows 10 is that they don't want to chance missing something they don't know about.

But, you're already there having upgraded to Windows 10, and have found there is nothing worth going through the upgrade to get.

That's all I was trying to discover with you, with my curiosity, with my experience in already going through this conversation in real time many many times already, with them always coming to the same conclusion, only to find there is nothing there worth upgrading for.

 

It's not like Windows 7 was perfect either just because it is the west version at launch to date. Anyone remember the battery killing bug?
(Please note it's thread number 11, the first 10 threads reached their maximum length and got locked.)

https://social.technet.microsoft.co...ng-your-battery-part-11?forum=w7itprohardware

I haven't recommended it to someone actively, ever. I could do it, but it haven't happened yet. You see, poeple I know don't really care about operating systems in general.

 

But, the point is Windows 7 and 8.1 have already gone through the teething issues of being a "new" OS, and are well functioning and stable now.

There is no advantage to Windows 10 upgrade other than it's free and new, no new features or performance improvements worth upgrading for, certainly nothing for 99% of the potential upgraders.

 

And how many years did pass before those teething issues vanished? You didn't check the link..

Operating systems that causes hardware failures is a pretty bad thing. I think W10 messed up some displays on Nvidia systems, dunno how common that was tho.

YES THERE IS. You have nothing to lose by getting the free upgrade. This doesn't mean that you have to use it. Grab it while you can.

Even you say you might use it a couple of years from now, and still you tell people not to get the free upgrade. Hypocrisy.

There's a big difference here between getting the upgrade and using the upgrade...

 

You missed where I said several times that it's not going to be worth upgrading to Windows 10 on old hardware, I was very clear about that.

And, that's right now, at this time, noone can predict the outcome of events in the future untold.

If and when new hardware comes out that Windows 10 enhances the performance over running Windows 7/8.1, then and only then would it be worth using Windows 10. But, it wouldn't be an upgrade, it would be a new OS install on new hardware.

What I am saying is burn the free upgrade, let it pass, and get Windows 10 with new hardware.

Your old hardware will do just fine with Windows 7/8.1.

There is no reason to "grab it while it's free", it's going to cost you in time now, and you don't need it now.

And, there is nothing on the horizon that will need it, not for another GPU generation at least, but by then you will already have upgraded your base hardware, and your old CPU / motherboard chipset hardware won't be able to keep up with feeding the generation of GPU's following after Pascal.

Pascal doesn't offer much benefit for DX12, and DX11 will continue to run the same or faster than DX12 for quite a while. Not until DX12 offers more than 35% FPS performance improvement over DX11, and does it on a couple of dozen games, is it worth moving to DX12,

You need to do the upgrade, which takes time, and it takes time to backup your existing install, and restore it once you have gotten the upgrade token registered on MS's database servers.

And, there might be a tendency to stay on the upgraded system, because it takes time again to downgrade to the backup you made.

And, one thing leads to another and you have wasted a ton of time for what will likely be a $99 OEM license for Windows 10 years from now, when Windows 10 might actually be useful for new hardware.

Then you might want to try a new GPU on your old hardware for DX12 acceleration, more wasted time to find out your system can't keep up feeding the new GPU.

Instead of getting a new motherboard, CPU, Optane memory and storage to go with your new Series 200/300 chipset, all to properly feed your hot new DX12 GPU - not Pascal, what follows Pascal, more than a year from now.

Doing/getting the Windows 10 upgrade, and leaving your Windows 7/8.1 install behind is a fools errand, and a total waste of time.

 

That's all speculation. My 2600K is still going strong. Anyone with a 4790K may not see the need to get a Kaby Lake.

I said that what you did was hypocrisy. Calling you a hypocritical person would have been name calling. You made stuff up and said that I recommended people to follow me because misery loves company. As long as you make up things about me you can't expect me to treat you to higher standards.

No, no, no and no.

First of all, you can use keys, and if that doesn't work you can use gatherosstate. You can use a spare HDD, no reason to mess with your current install. Don't give me this talk about the average user don't know how to do it. Fine, then don't do it. There are possibilities, and if you don't know how to do it, don't have the time to do it then don't do it. You said Vista was pretty good if you knew what to use, and the same applies here, even though it's a different situation.

If you do a traditional upgrade, sure it takes some time but you don't really have to something actively.

 

The point is you are recommending upgrading to Windows 10, and I am recommending not to do it as it's a waste of time.

You said:

"YES THERE IS. You have nothing to lose by getting the free upgrade. This doesn't mean that you have to use it. Grab it while you can."

That's a current or delayed recommendation to do the Windows 10 Upgrade. You said you hadn't told anyone to do it, and now you just did.

So, now that you are recommending people upgrade to Windows 10, now or in some undetermined future where it actually makes sense, you went on to describe a number of options for performing the upgrade.

As you know most people won't take the time to backup their existing system so they can recover to it. They also won't go through the trouble to swap in another drive - besides that costs $$$ - and we are talking about taking advantage of a "free" OS upgrade.

All I am saying is there is no reason currently in mind that would require Windows 10 on old hardware, so there is no reason to waste time getting the upgrade now, to use now, or to use later.

It's an exercise in futility, only to get something for "free".

I hang up the phone on solicitors trying to give me something free, Unsubscribe and mark as SPAM emails that offer me something for free, and I am generally suspicious of anyone that offers me something for free.

Experience has proven that nothing is free, it's gonna cost me, often much more than I could have possibly imagined when the offer was made.

That's why I am saying, and will continue to say, getting the Windows 10 Upgrade is a waste of time.

 

You have my answer here.

I still haven't recommended it to someone to upgrade and use it. In general I think it's a good idea to get the free upgrade, but again, that doesn't mean that you have to use it for now.

A spare HDD doesn't cost money if you have one, that's what spare means. Like I said, if you don't feel like it don't do it.

 

On old hardware, 8.1/10 works much better than 7. Especially if you have a HDD. I installed 8.1 on many machines and it was always an improvement over 7; 10 on less number of systems, but even on those it behaves much closer to 8.1 than to 7.

 

And, I've seeing hundreds of posts like this, and that tells me it's not worth the risk to try upgrading to Windows 10:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/dell-e6420-e6430-windows-10-problems.794161/

Why take the chance, when Windows 10 offers no benefits, and is only wasting time that could be put to productive use on a fully updated Windows 8.1/7 system.

Windows 10 Upgrade sneaks up and ruins the day for so many (Edit 3 note at bottom of post):
http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/clevo-overclockers-lounge.788975/page-424#post-10298620

 

I will comment on 1607 once it is out on the open market. Right now I have to go on the version installed and what others have reported from earlier versions.

 

Upgraded from win 7 to win 8.1 with the start button app back in the day & it was a faster and more responsive OS. So I kept it.

Upgraded from win 8.1 to win 10 August 2015 & felt it wasn't ready, kinda buggy, so went back to win 8.1. Tried upgrading to win 10 again in May 2016 & loved it. Solid, clean, more efficient & responsive. I haven't looked back & love win 10. To each their own, but this is how an OS should be.

As for the privacy issues. I guess u don't use Facebook, instagram, or Google search, as those are much more intrusive than Win 10 data gathering. Ofcourse, u can always turn off most of the data gatherimg in Win 10. Takes all of 2 min.

 

Does it show all applications by default now?

 

To fairly represent the other side, to get the key now in case some miracle happens and Windows 10 is useful in the future, I found this article.

After reading it, I still don't see any feature worth the upgrade, but maybe you will feel differently

You Only Have a Week Left to Get Windows 10 Free. Here’s Why You Should Update
http://www.howtogeek.com/263413/you...windows-10-free.-heres-why-you-should-update/

Get Windows 10 for Free After July 29th, with a Little Prep Now
http://www.howtogeek.com/253901/get-windows-10-for-free-after-july-29th-with-a-little-prep-now/

Have fun

 

2 minutes I wish. Yes you can turn a lot of it off if you know your way around a computer. To do all the fixes and tweaks you are talking a few days. We have a few great threads by @Phoenix and @Mr. Fox

 

@toughasnails couple hours to setup everything if you're familiar with the process. Of course, on more complicated machines with unexpected driver problems it may take more.

 

Or just invest in a decent external firewall and whitelist as you go.

 

Yes, you scroll up / down.