Q: Should we be upgrading to Windows 10?
A: Not yet. We often see issues in earlier versions of operating systems. Not just technical, but also user experience issues that can be more difficult for Microsoft’s extensive preview testing to reveal. Only once there is a more general release do these issues become evident. Therefore we believe it’s sensible to let early adopters discover any usability issues and wait a little while for Microsoft to fix them.Q: Is the Windows 10 upgrade really free?
A: Yes, the upgrade to Windows 10 software will be free for one year until July 2016. However, your time and our assistance are not free, so we know there will be costs associated with the upgrade.Q: Will the upgrade improve my computers performance?
A: There are situations when a clean Windows installation can help improve your computer’s performance, but that’s not what’s being offered by Microsoft at the moment. This is an in-place upgrade which will (should!) bring forward all your existing configuration settings, and that will include any problems. Microsoft haven’t yet told us how a clean installation can be carried out with the free upgrade – we hope that information is forthcoming soon. Bear in mind too that older hardware which is running slowly with Windows 7 or Windows 8 is unlikely to find a new lease of life if new, more feature-rich software is installed.Some advice for Excellimore clients:
- This free upgrade notification will not be visible to computers which are connected to a network managed by a Domain Controller server. The network server controls and manages the alerts which you see, and manages the roll-out of software to be installed, patched, or upgraded.
- If you see the free upgrade notification it is likely that you are working in a smaller business where a network server is not yet necessary, or you’re seeing it on your own personal home computer. If you are a smaller business without a network server, please remember the likely cost in time and money of having us correct any errors which occur if you try this upgrade without proper planning.
- Unfortunately, Microsoft have not allowed us to turn off the free upgrade notification on non-networked computers – all we can do is ask you to ignore it.
- Your Sophos Anti-Virus together with Excellimore good network management practice prevents the installation of new software by the everyday computer user. This is the easiest and simplest way to keep your computer system free of trouble, and it also means that most of you on Excellimore Service Agreements do not have the freedom to run the Windows 10 Upgrade yourselves.
- Excellimore will manage Windows 10 Upgrades for our Service Agreement clients when we are confident that the software is fit for purpose and that your business applications will work with it.
- In general, it is likely we will suggest waiting until you need new hardware rather than opting for an in-place upgrade in the meantime. There might be cases where a clean installation is needed for another reason and it mght be reasonable to use the free Windows 10 Upgrade software for that. Generally speaking, however, we would not ask you to incur costs and business disruption for this upgrade.
It is likely that Microsoft Windows 10 is going to become the most widely-used personal computer operating system within the next year or two. Excellimore will be keeping an eye on developments around the Windows 10 upgrade from our office here in Edinburgh. We will, of course, keep all of our Excellimore Service Agreeement clients up-to-date at our regular IT Management meetings with you.
If you have any further questions please call us on 0131 476 0000 or email helpdesk@xlmr.co.uk. We look forward to hearing from you!
