Moving From Windows Vista To Windows 10.....Any Surprises In Store?

[mawnansmiff]

My Dell Inspiron desktop computer running Windows Vista Pro has finally died after about 8 years (refuses to boot up) of good use. I have now ordered another Dell Inspiron that runs Windows 10 64 bit home edition and wondered if I was to expect good things or bad.
I seem to be in a minority in finding Win Vista to be very stable and workable operating system (I moved up from XP Pro) as it never gave me any problems.
I've read a fair bit about Win 10 and opinions seem to be all over the place regards its stability and usability so I'm asking if anyone who might have made the move that I have might put forward anything I ought be aware of......good or bad.
I'm not a 'power user', needing only pretty basic features. The new PC has 8 GB of RAM and 1 TB of Disc Memory which to me sounds ample for my needs so guys, do you have anything to share?
From what I have read, having skipped Win 7 and Win 8 it will be an entirely different experience jumping from Vista.....what say you?
Regards,
Jay.

 

[woodsroad]

Vista and 10 are worlds apart. I'm running 7, but recently configured 10 for a new laptop for my daughter. Lots and lots of glitz and "user friendly" features that can't be undone. Up until 7, there was always a way to revert the interface back to something that resembled Win98, but not with 10.
That said, 10 is very stable and reliable. Get a good book about it and search around for some good support websites. If you aren't pushing the limits of the OS, your transition should be relatively pain-free. You may want to consider going to 16 gigs of memory, though. Install the Widows Widget that monitors memory use (included in the OS) and see if you need more memory. I strongly suggest that you institute backup regime. Use an outboard drive and the backup scheme built-in to 10. Set it to do an incremental backup every night while you sleep. I use Acronis for this, as it creates an exact copy of my hard drive that, when the boot drive in my computer dies, will allow me to install a new drive and then will then restore my entire hard drive from a saved image.

 

[username]

I use classic shell to make it look like older Windows. classic shell

 

[woodsroad]

Username, you got my hopes up and then...this.

 

[jaytex1969]

Dan, I still have a W98SE disk mothballed somewhere.
I can dig it out for you, if you like...

 

[briarbuck]

Windows 10 uuuuugh...shoot me. MAC wannabe

 

[checotah]

I don't care for W10, prefer W7. I found W10 to have too many intrusions into my computer, such as allowing Microsoft to turn on camera and/or microphone without my knowledge. Also allows them access to my contacts, emails, and (I think) documents. Some of those authorities are granted in the EULA, with which you must agree in order to use the software. Most of these can be turned off in Settings, but just the fact that they are there and default set to allow Microsoft those controls bothers me. The suspicious part of me wonders if my turning them off really does anything, meaning they can still do all that. Just a caution to check out those things. I'm putting my tinfoil hat back on now.....

 

[bluto]

Where are the penguin nerds ..

 

[techie]

I have Win7 on my home PC and Win10 on the work PC. I much prefer 7 but 10 has been very stable (despite its intrusive nature). I'll eventually move the home PC to Win10 since 7 is no longer supported.
I didn't care at all for 10 but I had to make it work.
I've considered many times switching to Linux (I build my own computers anyway), but there are too many productivity tools I need to use that aren't available, or the workaround isn't acceptable.

 

[prairiedruid]

I find Win10 very stable but there are a lot of bells and whistles included as others have mentioned. Takes some time to weed some of them out and some you are stuck with. I loved Windows XP.......

 

[warren]

My transition was surprisingly easy, no major problems, no snags, nothing but a bit learning some new "switches" and short cuts. I move smoothly between Apple and PC machines. Graphics are obviously Apple's milieu. But, I can do anything Apple can do with the software I've installed in my desktop PC. You aren't new to Windows, Windows 10 is not new so, I'd suggest any problems will be minimal.
So, it's what you are comfortable with. I think Windows 10 is the best of Windows OS in a couple of generations. Apple handles up-grades less obtrusively but, you aren't a dummy, so jump in and master it with nary a fear. Both Apple and Windows have millions of satisfied users. And each brand has some users who are totally brand loyal, willing to "bad mouth" the other to the ends of the earth with real and imagined differences. Kinda like Peterson and other pipe brands.

 

[ignaciojn]

woodsroad, there's always Start10

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

Been on 10 for quite some time. Windows is slowly but surely moving everything to the cloud. Windows 10 is a big move in that direction. The need is understandable. It is impossible to keep people from pirating your software when it is installed on a machine. They were losing 10's and 100's of millions on their money making Office Applications. So what you're seeing was inevitable and as standard internet speeds increase, you'll see it more and more.
I didn't care for Windows 10 at first but I've gotten used to it and in general, found it very stable. I thought Vista was a horrible Windows release, especially following a XP.

 

[woodsroad]

Ignacio, thank you. I’ll look into that when I build my new, Win10-based workstation.

 

[3rdguy]

I am running Vista..guess I should upgrade.

 

[woodsroad]

I skipped Vista entirely. Started with 3.0.

 

[3rdguy]

I would respond to that but my 56k dialup is acting up.

 

[woodsroad]

56k was a major upgrade. I remember 1200 baud modems!

 

[ssjones]

I went from XP to Win10, hated it....I did install and still use Classic Shell.

I'll keep Start10 in my back pocket, in case Classic goes kaput.

 

[jaytex1969]

I miss the Gorillas game that used to be hidden on early Windows, where you practiced trajectory and velocity by launching exploding bananas at the opposing primate.
Kind of reminded me of watching C-SPAN...