Windows 8.1 /10

[DigiCorn]

Fuck fucking MS, man. I set up my MAME machine to run 10, and MS fucked me over on the free upgrade. Even though I downloaded an .iso, burned a disk and made a clean install, they wouldn't give me a key without making me buy it first. I had a hardware issue where it kept locking up, so I swapped motherboards and added RAM, and that's why they fucked me. If you do the free upgrade, you can't upgrade your hardware... like ever... or else they make you buy a new license.

...then, on my main computer running 8.1, they did a fucking upgrade that basically wiped all .exes unless they were branded MS. Yeah. And not only did it wipe and reset my restore backup, it wiped my NAS , the .exe for all NAS software, and all access to my NAS, so I couldn't roll it back. I contacted support, and in much nicer terms, they said," I'm fucked," without offering any compensation. I literally lost dozens of pieces of legitimate software I paid for, was legal and licensed and had downloaded.

I have spent the last week rebuilding this box on 10 (fuck it... I went ahead and did the upgrade from 8.1 to 10 since I got wiped anyway). All my files remained (docs, pics, etc.) but I lost ALL .exes that weren't MS (All of Adobe CS 5, ALL my DVD burning software (DVD Fab), ALL my video editing software (Nero), Plex (which was a paid-for app from the MS Store), PlayON, my TomTom GPS software... even the Leap Frog shit I had on here for my kids' toys.). Bunch of fucking bullshit, man.

[Farabomb]

I doubt the upgrade deleted your .exe files. If it was the internet would have lost it's collective shit and we would have heard about it by now. What is more probable is that you managed to get a rather nasty virus that went after your .exe files.

You have just made it clear why I have all those old drives and externals I use as backup and park on the shelf.

[Farabomb]

Any chance you have antivirus installed and running? I've had that delete .exe and other important files on my systems before.

[Joe]

I kind of have to agree with Farbomb. I've updated 5 PC's from either Win 7 or Win 8.1 and never had any of the issues you have had.

As far as the MAME box....wasn't that running Vista? Vista was never offered as a free upgrade.

What You Need to Know About Upgrading a Windows Vista PC to Windows 10

Microsoft won't be offering a free Windows 10 upgrade to any old Windows Vista PCs you might have around. Only Windows 7 and 8.1 PCs get to join the new Windows 10 era for free.

But Windows 10 will certainly run on those Windows Vista PCs. After all, Windows 7, 8.1, and now 10 are all more lightweight and faster operating systems than Vista is.

The Cost

Upgrading a Windows Vista PC to Windows 10 will cost you. Microsoft is charging $119 for a boxed copy of Windows 10 you can install on any PC.

Still considering upgrading? You might have used — or still be using — the Windows 10 preview as a "Windows Insider." Microsoft has made some confusing statements, but the reality is that you won't be able to upgrade to the final release of Windows 10 unless you have a Windows 7 or 8.1 license. Windows Vista licenses aren't allowed to upgrade.

However, it seems you can continue using preview releases of Windows as a Windows Insider. If you upgraded a Windows Vista machine to the Windows 10 preview, it'll remain on the unstable, preview release path unless you pay for a Windows 10 license. Want to use Windows 10 for free on a Windows Vista-era PC? Stay on the unstable, Windows Insider testing builds! You'll continue getting new features before everyone else — but they won't always be stable.

It's Time For a Hardware Upgrade, Not a Software Upgrade

If Windows 10 was free, it'd be a fine upgrade for your old Windows Vista PCs. But it isn't. So you have to consider whether $119 for a Windows 10 license is really worth it.

Windows 7 was launched in July 2009, which means all those Windows Vista PCs out there will be six to eight years old when Windows 10 launches.

Those Windows Vista PCs are getting quite long in the tooth and lack modern processors, graphics hardware, and — most importantly — solid-state storage. Modern computers are becoming less and less expensive. There's a good chance you can get a laptop or desktop PC that comes with Windows 10 for just a few hundred bucks. At $119 just for a Windows 10 license, it's really not worth the upgrade unless you have a big, beefy, powerful PC that for some reason still runs Windows Vista. But, even if it was powerful back then, that old PC has been far surpassed by modern hardware.

That $119 you'd put toward a software upgrade just isn't worth it — you'll get much more improvement out of a hardware upgrade. Yes, it costs more than $119, but you're better off putting that $119 toward some new hardware that will come with Windows 10 and saving up for a while.

If you do decide to shell out for a Windows 10 license, you'll have to perform a clean install instead of an upgrade install. You should back up your files ahead of time. Windows won't attempt to automatically migrate your settings and files.

When an Upgrade Might Be Worth It

If you plan on building your own computer instead of buying one that comes with Windows 10, you'll need to buy a Windows 10 license anyway. So, if you are sure you're building your own computer, you could buy a Windows 10 license now, install Windows 10 on your Vista computer, and then remove Windows 10 from your old computer when you get a new PC and use the Windows 10 license on the new computer. That's the only situation where it would make sense to upgrade a Windows Vista computer to Windows 10 — and most people won't even want to build their own PCs.

Corporations with Windows volume-licensing agreements will also get access to Windows 10, and they could upgrade their Windows Vista PCs to Windows 10 for what might be no extra licensing cost. This might be worth it.

If, somehow, you can get your hands on a cheap Windows 10 retail license, you could absolutely use it to upgrade an existing Windows Vista PC. As long as you remove it from the old PC in the future, you can then use that license to install Windows 10 on a new PC.

Vista PCs Get Security Updates Until 2017

Windows Vista is still under "extended support" until April 11, 2017. This means your old Windows Vista PCs are still getting security updates for a few more years. They aren't completely unsupported, like Windows XP PCs are.

If you are on Vista, you have some time before your PC becomes completely unsupported. Modern software does still support Windows Vista, too. Vista will never get Microsoft's Edge browser, but it can use the latest versions of Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox just fine.

Those old Windows Vista PCs can make good Linux PCs, too.

Yes, if Microsoft offered Windows 10 for free — or even for a small fee — to Windows Vista computer, it would be worth the upgrade. But, even then, you'd probably want to consider replacing that aging hardware anyway. If you're still using a Windows Vista-era PC, Microsoft wants to encourage you to upgrade your hardware to have a better experience with Windows 10.

In some cases, hardware may not work properly if the manufacturer fails to provide Windows 10 drivers but does provide Windows Vista drivers. But Windows Vista and 10 have similar driver architectures — the big change was from Windows XP to Vista — so this problem shouldn't be as common as was with the shift from Windows XP to Windows 7.

[Farabomb]

Has anyone played with 10 yet? All my honest OSes are too old to qualify for the free upgrade so I haven't played around with 10 yet.

Ok, not that I'm replaying Fallout 3 has anything to do with it.

Wait, I think my netbook is running 7...

[Joe]

I like it but one annoying thing that I can't seem to get straightened out is on my XBMC PC hooked to my TV. When I switch from speakers to bluetooth and back I almost always lose the sound and have to reboot. Or if I just switch from HDMI2 (XBMC PC) to HDMI1 (TV) I lose the sound on the TV which is directed through my PC speakers via the headphone jack. Other than that everything has been fine. And running on an SSD it takes about 10 seconds to boot after pushing the power button.

[delooch]

wow joe, im having the same issue, i thought it was just my old hardware.
same thing, routes audio output to the MB speaker or on-board jacks.  sound card still shows up as active, but it takes a reboot to get the audio back to the proper output port.

all the apps that worked in 7 still seem to function properly.  not crazy about tying a MS account into it for full functionality, but since it is a legit copy..

other than that, 10 has been very nice.

[Farabomb]

Funny, I used to have a similar sound issue when I was using the Laptop to drive the TV. I'd bring it upstairs at night to watch netflix and sometimes it wouldn't switch from the HMDI sound to the internal speakers. I'd have to go into the sound and set the laptop speakers as default to get sound back. For a long time I was just rebooting and it would come back most of the time but it was quite annoying.

[Joe]

wow joe, im having the same issue, i thought it was just my old hardware.
same thing, routes audio output to the MB speaker or on-board jacks.  sound card still shows up as active, but it takes a reboot to get the audio back to the proper output port.

all the apps that worked in 7 still seem to function properly.  not crazy about tying a MS account into it for full functionality, but since it is a legit copy..

other than that, 10 has been very nice.

Yeah if you google Win 10 sound problems you'll see a lot of others have the same issues and many have posted fixes. None of which works for me. I have the typical VIA sound built into the MB and I think a lot of the problems are with that hardware setup. VIA sound is built into almost every MB on the planet I think. I've tried the MS generic sound drivers up through the VIA Win 10 drivers and all of them seem to have the same problems.

Oh yeah, the Microsoft account. You don't have to use it. You can still run Win 10 with just a local account though they don't make it easy for you to figure it out.

[Farabomb]

I'm going to have to read up on that option Joe. I want m$ in my life just as much as I want the government in it.

I've been watching person of interest lately so that's really not helping my feelings. <tinfoilhat>

[delooch]

I'm going to have to read up on that option Joe. I want m$ in my life just as much as I want the government in it.

I've been watching person of interest lately so that's really not helping my feelings. <tinfoilhat>

if you really want to freak out, take a moment and log into your google account settings (if you use google)...into the history (not just websites, GPS tracking, etc..) it will show you EVERYTHING youve ever done under that account, since forever...

[Joe]

I believe you can turn that option off.

[Farabomb]

I'm glad I couldn't find the history button. The GPS got the town correct but are way off on location.

[Joe]

That innocent little Facebook Like button isn't so innocent either. It has code that tracks everywhere you go on the internet and feeds ads accordingly to you.

[David]

need a new tinfoil hat...