Windows 10 - another question[s]

[vector 7]

A couple of days ago I was talking to my brother-in-law who has recently decided to go for the Windows 10 upgrade.  He was previously running Windows 7.  I asked him how it all went and, as expected, he said there were no problems.  I then asked him how he would re-install Windows 10 if his hard disk went south and he had to buy a new one.  He had absolutely no idea!!

 

So I decided to look on the Internet to see how this could be done and I have to say it is a bit confusing.  I could not find anything from Microsoft which addresses this scenario in one straightforward and easy to understand article.

 

Has anyone had any experience of doing this and, if so, would you care to let me know how you did it, please?  No need for every detail to be listed, a broad picture will suffice.

 

I'm toying with the idea of going over to Windows 10 [i did think of going back to XP but have since abandoned that idea] but at this stage of the game I have to say I'm by no means convinced that I should give up Windows 7 purely for the techie problem I've just mentioned.

 

Many thanks for any contributions.

 

Dijvid

[Andreas Stangenes 1,628]

Good question. I wanted to do a clean install of win10 when I upgraded. I couldn't find a way to download a flashdisk iso from microsoft because I only had the upgrade version of win10, so I decided to buy the home version instead of going for the free upgrade. I did this to make sure I had a flash disk available to use should I need it.

[Peter Webber 339]

All you have to do is download the Windows Media Creation Tool..it loads an image of Windows 10 and you can burn it to a DVD or flash drive for future installs..no need to purchase!. It's free..and I upgraded my PC to windows 10 and no issues at all with my P3D flight sim...just had to install nvidia and intel drivers for windows 10....

[Andreas Stangenes 1,628]

Well, that's nice, Peter, but I called Microsoft to ask them, and I was left with the answer that the iso download service from microsoft was not available to me. That's because my initial win7 installation was not a retail version, but the lisence type what-you-may-call-it that is sold to stores pre-installed on the pc. That left me kinda stuck, so I went ahead and bought it. I didn't really have time to figure out all the by ways of it since I was sitting there with a pc that wasn't working properly.

[vector 7]

Well, that's nice, Peter, but I called Microsoft to ask them, and I was left with the answer that the iso download service from microsoft was not available to me. That's because my initial win7 installation was not a retail version, but the lisence type what-you-may-call-it that is sold to stores pre-installed on the pc.

 

See what I mean about it not being straightforward!!

 

I have three PCs here and all of them I have built myself.  The copies of Windows 7 for each of them are OEM copies sold to me as part of the mobo bundle so that will probably mean that I'm in the same boat as you.  If so then I won't buy Windows 10 yet as there are still about 4 years of support left for Windows 7.

 

BTW, many thanks for the replies from everyone so far.

 

Dijvid

[vector 7]

Update ....

 

Not having much to do on a Sunday afternoon I decided to install Windows 10 on my laptop.  As I no longer use it I wasn't bothered if it got screwed up in the process.  It has an i3 processor which whilst not the fastest gun in the west is not exactly a slouch either.

 

The upgrade reported the laptop as OK for the upgrade and after 1 hr and 15 mins I was at the update 99% installed stage.  And there it has stayed for the last 3 hours!!  So, total time for the upgrade thus far is 4 hrs 15 mins, assuming that the process hasn't crashed out.

 

No way am I going to even think about moving my sim PC to Win10 now - too much of a chance by my experience.  However, it has been an interesting exercise and helped me to realise that I'm better off with Windows 7.

 

Dijvid

[Andreas Stangenes 1,628]

The problem if it crashes on the last 99% is that the installation might bee corrupted, and you need a flash disk to recover. However, being an upgrade from win7 oem version you cannot get the iso download from windows to make the flash disk, and so you are stuck with a pc that doesnt work. It's why I bought mine and didn't take advantage of the free win 10 upgrade offer.

 

With that said, I do notice from time to time that upgrades on win 10 interfere with my simulator. That is indeed a big downside to win 10, since you cant reserve yourself from those upgrades. They happen when and how microsoft sees fit. On the positive side I feel that this is perhaps the most stable and well functioning windows I have ever tried. I love it, even though it takes away a little bit of controll from me.

[vector 7]

Good comments, Andreas, and very much appreciated.  I was also afraid that Win10 might interfere not only with the sim but possibly other things as well.  I don't like the total control that Win10 has and, as you say, you cannot select just those upgrades you want.

 

I'm happy to stay with Win7 as it will be supported with security patches for about another four years.  After that, well who knows?  I might continue with it even though there will be no more patches issued.  Right now I haven't been installing any of Win7's updates as I've been concerned that with the deadline for the free version of Win10 coming up something "might just happen" to my sim PC without my intervention.

 

Dijvid

[Wobbie 938]

My update from Windows 7 to Windows 10 went perfectly. P3D & my 3x versions of FS9 all worked immediatly.(All installed in their default directory, with UAC turned right down) All I needed was a graphics driver update.

Well, I just wanted an updated operating system.

[vector 7]

Love your signature!

 

I have one based on the motto of the Royal Air Force - "per ardua ad infinitum"!

 

Dijvid

[bamba 0]

Windows 7 was a pita for some addons as is, but after quite sometime got it in 90% working order with occasional hiccups. Everything beyond that, just not motivated to troubleshoot W10 bugs that might appear. My best advice for anyone building a new desktop not laptop or even modding an existing desktop is side boot. 

 

1) Keep an SSD for the main OS Core Files and X number of HDD (SSDS if your budget allows it)

2) Keep the SSD to include your main OS, all other drives or a single other drive divided would be holding your other OSes and your main OSes user data

3) Install like no other to your heart's content. Install oldest to newest and then install your flight sim in your preferred os

4) I know some people who prefer XP to hold their FS8/9, W7 and above for FSX and P3D, X plane on OSX along with other titles in an OS during the original Launch date.