So, you have been prompted to get a free upgrade to Windows 10. Do you push “yes” or do you just stay safe on Windows 7…. If you have Windows 8 there really is no question. Change and change now ! : )

Back to the basics though. You can only upgrade with the basics in place. This is what you will need to cope with the installation:

• A processor of 1 gigahertz (gHZ) or faster
• 1 gigabyte (GB) (32-bit) or 2 GB (64-bit) RAM
• 16 GB of free hard disk space
• Microsoft DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM driver
• A Microsoft account and Internet access

Problem number one is that all Windows 10 updates are automatic and users do not have a choice when it comes to system updates. Although this means your computer is always up to date and all security patches are uploaded without your intervention, Microsoft does then have full access to feed any application into your PC at will. There is no real solution to this but to use the Enterprise business solutions which then give the user an opportunity to accept or deny an update.  This is just one aspect of the windows update but a second instant to watch out for is that a Windows update can clash with a third party driver management software update and this can result in a crash. Third party software updates can be halted, so keep this in mind. When you upgrade to Windows 10 watch out for the Setting  Screen which  will pop up asking if you want to use the new Photos, Movies, TV, and the Microsoft Edge browser. Your immediate reaction would be to click yes, but give it some thought. If you check “yes”, all your default applications will be Microsoft. It would then be wise to select only the ones you want to use from Microsoft.

Windows 10 also has this great feature called Wi-Fi Sense which was present in Windows 8.1 which allows users to share wi-fi network access with your contacts in Facebook, Skype and in your mail, Outlook. This feature also shares your encrypted password to anyone who connects with your.. and could be a security issue.  To disable this setting, go to Wi-Fi > Network Settings > Manage Wi-Fi Settings and clear all the boxes there.

Mail is another slight hiccup.  Many who've previewed Windows 10 say that Windows Mail available on version 8.1 was superior. This is because you could create folders and subfolders, which you can't do with the Mail app in Windows 10. If you like to customise your mail more than you can do on Windows 10 at the moment, use Thunderbird instead. This is compatible with Windows 10.

Browsing … Windows 10 comes with a new web browser called Microsoft Edge.  This has become standard on PC’s, tablets and smart phones. It’s a versatile browser but your favourite pages which are on your current browser will not be transferred across. Bookmarked pages are a little easier to move. Open Microsoft Edge, and click on "import favorites." Your favourites should now be loaded onto the Edge Favorites tab. If you like Chrome for most of your browsing.. you might have to adapt. It’s problematic on Windows 10 and is particularly difficult to use for YouTube. It can crash and not reopen as normal and it might need a complete reinstall. If you hate pop-up adverts, you might get very annoyed with the Microsoft Edge.. it is king of pop-ups.  To disable this function you will need to go into your internet options. Under Privacy select the option to “turn on Pop up Blocker”… even that is a bit confusing : )  That’s not the end of it either as you still have to go just below that “inPrivate” section and click on the “Disable Toolbars and extensions with InPrivate browsing starts”… So they are making it as difficult as possible to stop those ads !  Remember that Microsoft Edge is a universal app.. so if you minimize it , it is actually suspended and is no longer working. This is very irritating if you are streaming something and you just, out of habit minimise the window to work on something else.  There is no way to fix this at present but it is suggested you use another browser then for streaming. Some users have also reported that the touchscreen abilities on Windows 10 are not as fine-tuned as they should be.  Dropping and dragging in particular require fine motor skills and it just comes with practice.

A very common issue after upgrading is that your printer won’t respond and you might have to install the printer drivers all over again. Ensure that your printer is compatible with Windows.

The worst scenario with Windows 10 comes in the form of the blue screen of death.  If you unfortunately are faced with this, you need to reset your PC. In the Recovery Section of your PC settings search for “reinstall” and click on “remove everything and reinstall Windows”. 

If your PC has Windows 7 SP1 or Windows 8.1 installed and you’re still waiting for your free upgrade, there’s not much you can do about it.  Your PC is probably in the queue and it will soon be your turn. Just make sure you haven’t miss the notification .. check for updates and see if the upgrade message is in your Windows Update feature.  Sometimes a Windows 10 installation fails and as long as you have a legitimate version of Windows with a product key, this will be a temporary problem.  You can still use it but will not be able to change themes and colours. 

A little oversight is that Windows 10 was launched without a DVD player app.  This is a mission if you use your PC to watch films. Microsoft has realised this is a problem and have provided this suitable application in their Windows store as a free download. 

The best news of all is the Windows 10 is faster than earlier versions of Windows and it should be getting even better as Microsoft gives it more attention and optimises all the applications which are not 100 percent, to perform better.