Windows 10 or not to Windows 10, that is the question?

With Microsoft launching their latest operating system this month the long-awaited Windows 8 replacement is here.

Here at Pearce IT, we have been testing the new operating system against many different applications to try and find and rule out any system issues prior to our customer coming across them.

Windows 10 has many great features, first of all, its footprint on the PC is around the same size as Windows 8.  It is very light on system resources and very fast to boot up.

The new start menu is a mixture of windows 7 but with ‘live tiles’ to the right which give the small glimpse of updates available within them.

The new screen layout is very intuitive in its use and very easy to pick up.  The action centre offers an easy click button options to turn windows features on and off as necessary.  Applications can all be found in one simple reading pane.

The Alt and Tab feature shows all your windows that are open, as thumbnails and also allows you to close the applications you wish at a click of a button.

Internet Explorer – where has it gone?

It’s still there but you have to search for it now.   There is instead a new browser called Edge.  Edge is a fast seamless browser which runs well with initial testing, however, does struggle with some websites.

Should I upgrade I hear you cry?

From our initial tested we have not found any major issues but would recommend caution when upgrading.

Five top tips for upgrading to Windows 10:

1. Make sure your business applications and services comply with Windows 10. Just because they run ok on windows 8 does not mean they will run on windows 10.

1. Make sure your printer/scanner and any other peripherals are fully compliant as not all manufacturers are, so check their websites for updates first. This is essential if you are using a laptop, not all drives are available for Windows 10. Check with your manufacturer to make sure they are supporting Windows 10 with the hardware you have.

1. Make sure your system is stable prior to upgrade. If you are having issues with your PC, shutting itself down with no notice or applications popups happening you need to resolve these issues first. By upgrading your PC this will not resolve issues you have but may hinder or prevent the upgrade from being successful.
2. Backup your data. – Although Microsoft state that you can roll the operating system back to your previous version there may be hiccups along the way.   We recommend our online backup for this process.  If all fails you can reload your PC back to its previous settings and then restore the data from the online backup.
3. Ask for help, just because it is a free upgrade doesn’t mean the upgrade will be trouble free.

Our rule of thumb is as long as your PC/Laptop is under 3 years old and it stable and trouble free your upgrade should run as smoothly as possible. It is important to make sure your applications are fully compliant, make sure you have a full data backup and preferably an image backup of your PC/Laptop.

Pearce IT are only a phone call away and are always happy to help. So whether it’s a bit of advice or to perform the upgrade for you we are here for you and your business.