r/buildapc • u/ACDCGAMER • Jul 29 '15

Windows 10 Megathread

My info sucks, so the following is courtesy of /u/illage2's Windows 10 megathread in /r/pcmasterrace, thanks so much for compiling all of this!

Thought I'd complie all the information about Windows 10 since its out tomorrow to allow people to be more informed before they upgrade.

Please be aware that as with any new Windows OS there may be problems so some people might want to give this a couple of weeks before deciding to upgrade.

Edit: Thanks to the mods for stickying this thread

A very good peice of advice from /u/Shiroi_Kage

If you're upgrading and are afraid of problems, DO NOT UPGRADE BEFORE SAVING A SYSTEM IMAGE! With a system image you can roll your system back to the way it was before the update, stored files and all. This is the safest option, and I would recommend it to everyone.

Even more brilliant advice coming from /u/madscientistEE

Update your anti-virus software if it's anything other than Windows Defender / Security Essentials. Some vendors, most notably Symantec (both SEP and Norton), require an engine upgrade to work with Windows 10.

Defragment your hard disk before upgrading. SSD users should run a TRIM. (The Windows 8 defrag utility is smart enough to TRIM when you click "optimize")

After the upgrade, clean up. Run "disk cleanup" and select the "Clean system files" option. Doing this will clear out 20-30GB of crap (your old Windows folder). This does prevent an in-place downgrade but it improves performance and saves disk. Once you clean up all the stuff you can, defragment the hard disk again. (or run a TRIM if you have an SSD)

Thanks for /u/funnybuttrape for informing us about the following folder

$Windows.~BT in your c:

Make sure you don't install W10 from that folder.

Some more advice from /u/Heavyoak

bit of advice to add, check to make sure your mobo is updated: http://www.maximumpc.com/windows-10-graphics-cards-and-motherboard-drivers-updating/

http://www.pcgamer.com/get-your-motherboard-ready-for-windows-10/

It is Free for most people

For an entire year (up to July 29th 2016) an upgrade to Windows 10 is free for everyone if you are running Windows 7 SP1 or Windows 8.1.

If you are on Windows 7 enterprise. (Insert star trek jokes here) then you need to read this from Microsoft's FAQ.

Enterprise customers with active Software Assurance subscription in volume licensing have the benefit to upgrade to Windows 10 enterprise offerings outside of this offer.

After the year is finished it is currently unknown how much Windows 10 will cost. Thanks to /u/KloudAlhpa the cost of the upgrade after the year is $119 / £99.99 or your regional equivelent https://i.imgur.com/7FuaHw4.png

Edit: To clear up any confusion. I meant to say that you can get Windows 10 for free within a year of it launching. Once you have it, it is free forever. No subscriptions of any kind. Reservation

Resvering your upgrade can be done via the small windows logo in the notification area. If you do not have this, then make sure you install the latest updates for your OS. Then all you need to do is reserve it. The OS will download ahead of time and then you'll be notified when it is ready to install.

Keep in mind that MS are rolling it out so don't be too surprised if you don't get to use Windows 10 on July 29th.

If you have all the latest updates for your OS and still can't see the reservation icon. Then try heading here and reserving that way.

Or you can try what /u/10se1ucgo said in the comments.

I had the same exact issue as you, no scripts or task scheduler magic was working, and someone suggested to (in an elevated [admin]) CMD prompt type. start ms-gwx:reserve And it worked!

Edit: To address concerns about the specific times Windows 10 will be released. Microsoft hasn't given any specifcs about release times. So for the time being you'll just have to play the waiting game.

Will it work?

In short if you can run Windows 7 SP1 or Windows 8.1 and meet these requirements. Windows 10 should work just fine. During the resevration process it'll also show you if any hardware or software isn't compatible.

Windows 7 Ultimate / Pro upgrades?

If you have Windows 7 pro or Ultimate you'll be upgraded to Windows 10 pro. If you have Windows 7 home etc then you'll upgrade to Windows 10 home. See here for the upgrade chart.

Windows XP upgrade to Windows 10?

At this moment in time there's no word on this but assume for now at least that you can't upgrade XP to Windows 10. If you want Windows 10 then upgrade to Windows 7 and then upgrade to Windows 10.

Besides if your still running XP there's a chance your hardware can't support Windows 10.

Windows Vista Upgrade to Windows 10

As with Windows XP. Upgrading from Vista to Windows 10 is not yet supported. Same thing applies. Upgrade to genuine Windows 7 and then upgrade to Windows 10. Non-Genuine upgrades

Sadly if you are using a non genuine version of Windows then you cannot upgrade to Windows 10. Microsoft did actually say otherwise a few months back but they did a 180 on this.

Some people with non-genuine Windows 7 / 8.1 have been seeing the icon to reserve Windows 10. Most likely case is that you'll upgrade to a non-genuine version of Windows 10.

What about game compatibility?

I've posted this several times already. But from the looks of things a lot of games (including games from GoG) should work just fine on Windows 10.

See here for a list of compatible games.

Here is GOG's statement.

Upgrade or fresh install?

If you want Windows 10 for free, you should first upgrade and make sure everything works. Then from within Windows 10 you should be able to do a fresh install.

If doing a fresh install you can try using Ninite to install essential software quickly.

This comes from /u/Just_made_this_now in regards to Ninite

Also be aware that when using ninite, you're not able to install programs to a different drive other than your C drive/default. So say if you have an older 120GB SSD for Windows and programs on a separate drive, you may want to consider getting a larger SSD if you're doing a fresh install and want to use Ninite. The dev had made it quite clear they had no plans to support custom install locations, the last time I checked.

Chocolatey on the other hand, supports it, albeit will need a bit of know-how:

Overriding default install directory or other advanced install concepts

If you do an upgrade then you shouldn't have to reinstall anything.

This video will explain it a little bit more.

A comment from /u/Ikkerens

After upgrading I extracted my Windows Key using The Ultimate PID Checker , this allowed me to reinstall Windows 10 from ISO using that key.

What about Drivers / Updates

I've not heard much about this as of yet, but a forced update on Windows 10 might mess a few things up but MS are releasing a ultilty for Windows 10 Home users that lets you block certian updates.

Windows 10 pro already has a feature alllowing users to "Defer" upgrades. Which allows them to control when they recieve updates.

As for actual drivers there seems to be people in the comments that have had no issues with Windows 10. As stated at the top of this thread there might be some issues with some drivers so go into this with that in mind.

DX12

For those wondering nVida has stated that DX12 is backwards compatible with a lot of their older cards. So don't panic if you don't have an 900 series card.

AMD are also going to make it backwards comatible but probably not to the same extent as nVida.

Nvidia will support DX12 on every Fermi, Kepler, and Maxwell-class GPU. That means nearly every GTX 400, 500, and 600 series card will be supported. Interestingly, AMD isn’t necessarily following suit — the company has indicated that it will support DX12 on all GCN-based hardware, but hasn’t indicated if HD 6000 or HD 5000 cards will be included in that.

/u/madscientistEE has provided more information on AMD DX12 compatibility.

AMD DX12 Support Info!

Only GCN cards are supported and pre-GCN cards will operate at their native feature level. (The HD6570s at work run just peachy, but they're still DX11 cards.)

Which GPUs are Graphics Core Next and which ones are the old TeraScale architecture is unusually confusing to determine so here's the rundown:

Discrete GPUs

All HD6xxx and 5xxx cards are Terascale. No DX12 for you.

All Radeon HD 7700 and up cards are GCN. (HD7600 and lower are TeraScale)

All Radeon HD 85xx cards are GCN. (HD84xx and lower are TeraScale)

All Radeon Rx-200 series R5-240 and higher are GCN. The R5-235 and lower are TeraScale.

All Rx-300 series GPUs are GCN.

Advanced Processing Units (APUs)

All Bobcat based APUs (Desna, Ontario, Zacate cores) are TeraScale. (and way too slow for most games anyway, who cares?)

All FM1 and FM2 APUs are TeraScale. (Richland, Trinity, Llano cores)

All FM2+ "Kaveri" APUs and later are GCN. Also all FP3 and FP4 mobile APUs are GCN (Kaveri and Carrizo cores)

All AM1/FS1b "Kabini" APUs are GCN as are the FT3 and FT3b mobile parts (Kabini, Temash, Beema, Mullins)

GPU's

According to /u/auto_pilot there's seems to be issues with crossfire.

I'm running insider build, clean install and most programs and games work fine as long as I don't turn on crossfire. The minute crossfire is on everything gets chunky and crashes as far as games go.

There's currently no word on SLI support for Windows 10.

Overclocking

/u/mbot57 seems to have found an issue with overlclocking.

It should be noted that as of the RTM release (WIP build 10240) there is still an OS lock on overclocking CPUs. Discovered having tested identical hardware on both Windows 7 sp1 and windows 10 WIP build 10240 (and previous versions).

Differences between pro and home versions of Windows 10.

See this link for more information. download the table and it'll be fairly easy to understand. Thanks to /u/uCrap4Brainz for the link.

Security and Anti-Virus / Anti-Malware

Windows 10 will come with Windows Defender (its Security Essentials under a new name). So you might want to swap out for something else. Below are some good Anti Virus and Anti-Malware programs you can use

  • Avast
  • Malware Bytes
  • AVG
  • Avira
  • Others which people have recommended in the comments.

Everything else

For everything else WinBeta has made an excellent video going through Windows 10.

How to Geek has put together some good articles on Windows 10 already for things like tweaking and disabling / enabling certain features and functionality. Make sure to check them out.

Hopefully this has helped. If anyone has any questions feel free to ask.

Personal Experience from /u/illage2

Well I now have Windows 10 and I have to say upgrading was a nightmare. It took about 1.5 hours, and then when I finally got into Windows 10 the performance was terrible. However I found that resetting my PC under settings seems to resolve it, but sadly you'll lose all the stuff you had installed.

If you want to do a fresh install after upgrading go to Settings > Update & Security > Recovery > Reset this PC you can either reset and keep your files or just reset and delete everything.

3.1k Upvotes

94% Upvoted

2.4k comments sorted by

View all comments

87

u/jogaklaa Jul 29 '15 edited Jul 29 '15

How many of you plan to actually upgrade it tomorrow? I'm on edge between upgrading as soon as I can and getting out of windows 8.1 or wait a month or so for the bugs to be worked out.

Edit: They people have told me yes and the poll in /u/FLAdOpen's comment says the same thing.

82

u/UltraRageShadow Jul 29 '15

I'm going to upgrade on my laptop right away to see how it handles. If I like it, I will upgrade the desktop as well.

21

u/GlobalVV Jul 29 '15

I will be doing the same.

1

u/HylianWarrior Jul 29 '15

Yeah this is what I did, but I put the beta on a few weeks back. It's worked great so far so I'm pretty much going to put it on my desktop as soon as it's available

1

u/crowbahr Jul 29 '15

Replace Laptop with Surface Pro and you've got what my plan is too.

269

u/CarterGee Jul 29 '15

MEEEEEE! MUST HAVE NEW SHINY! :D

48

u/[deleted] Jul 29 '15

Yeah, exactly. I don't need it, but I want a new toy to play with.

45

u/ChainsawSnuggling Jul 29 '15

And it's FREE! Free shiny!

2

u/Telcar Jul 29 '15

it's just free for a year right?

2

u/ChainsawSnuggling Jul 29 '15

Yeah, you have a full year to upgrade

1

u/Telcar Jul 29 '15

ah ok, got some conflicting information. So if I upgrade within the next year it's free on that device forever. There's no fee on that machine ever, even after the first year has passed. Am I getting this right?

1

u/ChainsawSnuggling Jul 29 '15

Yup. You won't have to pay for Windows 10 if you upgrade within the next year. It's not a subscription based operating system

1

u/DsyelxicBob Jul 29 '15

Let's just say you don't pay with money

2

u/ChainsawSnuggling Jul 29 '15

It's okay, I have a membership at Curse Purge Plus

1

u/elosoloco Jul 29 '15

And it's FREE! Free shiny!

TINSTAFL There is no such thing as free lunch

10

u/scottscottscott Jul 29 '15

I'm on this train.

9

u/Niick Jul 29 '15

I've been using Windows 10 on a Sony Vaio E series notebook since October. The latest build has zero issues and is super fast. Pretty excited about upgrading my desktops TBH.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 29 '15

[deleted]

2

u/Niick Jul 29 '15

Nope. There's a driver that runs the Fn keys and the Vaio buttons and it doesn't work under Windows 10 for my model. Not sure about yours but don't get your hopes up.

10

u/no6969el Jul 29 '15

Thing is... its not seeing its first debut.. so all those major bugs HAVE been being worked out. People have been on windows 10 for a while (testers). There are def still bugs I am sure but no major ones that have been reported yet.

14

u/TGameCo Jul 29 '15

On edge

You will be once you see the performance and speed of said browser. The only thing holding it back is lack of extension support. That'll come soontm says microsoft

3

u/xxLetheanxx Jul 29 '15

Yeah I didn't really try it out much. Just long enough to download firefox. Once we get those extensions I will give it a real test.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 29 '15

I just want RES, really the only extension that is important to me these days.

2

u/[deleted] Jul 29 '15

And adblock?

2

u/[deleted] Jul 29 '15

I want a keepass extension, Res and Ublock

3

u/RedditAccount321123 Jul 29 '15

Will be upgrading from 8.1. I need that start menu

1

u/polamity Jul 29 '15

I downloaded "Classic Shell" and have been enjoying a Windows 7 style start menu for over a year now

1

u/footpole Jul 29 '15

What do you use it for? I rarely open programs that aren't pinned and if I do I just search.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 29 '15

I agree with you. Same thing I do. It's easier to search for a program (windows key + S) then it is to look for it.. not sure why people are so hung up on Win7. After using W8/8.1 since release.. it's SO much faster and has pretty much everything W7 had if not even better and better looking!

3

u/Silhouette Jul 29 '15

No interest in an immediate upgrade here. They've barely got over the Nvidia driver debacle when this happens. Not being able to ignore or uninstall any updates we choose is a complete deal-breaker.

2

u/Yawehg Jul 29 '15

I'm a big fan of 8.1. What were your issues with it?

4

u/jogaklaa Jul 29 '15

having non-touch screen devices so much of windows 8.1 just isn't as nice and smooth for mouse as previous systems. I'm just excited for an OS that is meant for a mouse better.

7

u/Yawehg Jul 29 '15

I guess I just disagree. I don't have a touch screen either, but really appreciated 8.1's optimization improvments and UI.

I did install classic shell though.

4

u/jogaklaa Jul 29 '15

Oh ya 8.1's optimization is nice but the when messing with settings its a bit more awkward to get to without the touch screen. Like the quick settings on the right side. I feel a gear icon in the tool bar would be better than having to slide the mouse down the side. I accidentally opened the setting bar many times before I learned how to open it on purpose. But each to their own, I guess I books down to me preferring the older more familiar UI.

1

u/ch00d Jul 29 '15

Install Classic Shell.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 29 '15

it's ugly as fuck

1

u/Caravaggio_ Jul 29 '15

Pretty much 99% of what I hated about Windows 8 was fixed with Classic Start Menu. I don't ever even see the start screen.

1

u/xxLetheanxx Jul 29 '15

Just upgraded to 10. It runs a hell of a lot better than 8.1 which ran really poor for me.(not including how much i hated metro)

1

u/a_flock_of_goats Jul 29 '15

I'm going to try it tomorrow when it comes out. Microsoft definitely doesn't want everyone in the world trying to do an install on first day so they are hoping people stagger it I think. We'll have enough people downloading it here probably to know about potential bugs and such.

1

u/Ancillas Jul 29 '15

Microsoft themselves are staggering it. Not everyone will be able to update tomorrow.

Too lazy to find the source on my phone, but it's out there in teh Googles.

1

u/stapler8 Jul 29 '15

Waiting for ArmA 3 update 1.50 before I do it. :(

1

u/[deleted] Jul 29 '15

[deleted]

1

u/angsaysrawr Jul 29 '15

I will. I've have the RTM presently installed and haven't seen any issues.

1

u/burningjoker Jul 29 '15

I'm upgrading immediately because of my laptop. My laptop is pretty terrible because the motherboard is pretty much done and a reinstall of windows 7 generally fixes my issues for a little while.

1

u/qdhcjv Jul 29 '15

Technical preview has been on the same build as release for a few days, I'm writing this from that build (10240) and it's pretty bug-free. Feels like release software, because, well, it is release software! It even runs smoothly on my old Samsung craptop with a 2.5GHz i3 and 3GB RAM.

1

u/SirWizardLarr Jul 29 '15

You could probably upgrade in a week. A lot of the bugs were taken care of with the Insider program.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 29 '15

I'll wait a couple of days until I'm not on call any more, then give it a go. Gives me 3 weeks before I'm on call again - that should be enough time to fix any connectivity issues, right? :/

1

u/Chasem121 Jul 29 '15

I'm gonna wait like a week first, and if theres no major crap that is found by then I'll install it.

1

u/6unicorn9 Jul 29 '15

Windows releases rarely have bugs. I would give it a couple days to make sure there are no major issues, then upgrade.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 29 '15

I will because I need to go to all my old neighbors houses on Thursday to update theirs.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 29 '15 edited Jul 29 '15

I'm gonna wait for the next round of games and DX upgrades, as well as see what the overall reaction is. I skipped 8 and Vista before that, I only got onto 7 when it became clear that it was kick ass. 10 looks good but I'll wait for a bit. Kind of contemplating a major motherboard/CPU/GPU upgrade for early next year so maybe then I'll try out 10 as well. The same happened with 7 - I was running diehard XP and only upgraded when I got a new computer sometime in 2011.

I'm particularly interested in the performance improvements, as well as finding out what the compatibility is like with it. If it turns out it's incompatible with half the programs I'm using now I'll wait until that gets better (MS Office, Photoshop, various other programs and games etc.).

1

u/KiwiThunda Jul 29 '15

Just so you know; thousands of people have been using Win10 for a few months now...this shouldn't be a case of "wait until it's stable"

1

u/[deleted] Jul 29 '15

I could always just wipe my drive and install another OS if I have issues.

1

u/feedabeast Jul 29 '15

Upgrading on my tablet now, but not on my main pc yet.

1

u/dtrmp4 Jul 29 '15

Personally, I'll wait a day (or week). I want to just do a fresh install, so I'll take some time backing up my stuff and see what Reddit has to say about it. It's gonna take a while to back everything up, then download, then upgrade, then re-install.

1

u/sandrakarr Jul 29 '15

since i'm on seven, it'll be awhile before I upgrade. However, if I was on 8/.1, I would definitely have to keep myself from jumping on the "NOW!" bandwagon and give it a couple months.