DenverBrian

I think you're worried about the wrong things. Windows 10 isn't going to flatline in the low to mid teens, since more computers are switching out of XP, Windows 7 and Windows 8 to Windows 10 every day; and Windows 10 is the "last" OS from Microsoft.

I'm running Windows 10 with no need for Classic Shell at all. You can choose to run it in desktop mode; you can use the Quick Launch toolbar just like I do; and if you don't like to see tiles when you click on the Start button, you can delete them all.

I think you're on the weakest solution right now: Windows 8. You should upgrade to 10, or 8.1, or downgrade to 7; but Windows 8 itself is kind of the Windows ME of the 2010s.

WillCAD

I've always preferred to do migration manually. It's very time-consuming to manually move files and re-install applications, but I'm a bit of a control freak, and I like knowing exactly what's going where and why on my computer.

Besides, I have all of my files very organized, so the migration goes pretty quickly.

nkedel

I've started using two SSDs in my laptop -- one for OS+Programs, one for documents/pictures (and some programs, like my Steam library and certain other games, that don't need a reinstall program run.)

Made my last two upgrades easy-peasy -- just pop the drive out of the old one, pop in into the new one, and run a batch file that resets the permissions.

Would be even easier if I ever got around to setting up a domain controller, so that I could just keep one set of permissions associated with a domain account.

Sadly my next machine looks like it will only have space for one SSD.

WillCAD

Ive been doing that with regular hard drives for years. Its the standard configuration for all of my computers.

But if you have only have one physical drive, you can partition it into separate logical drives and get mpst of the same benefits.

nkedel

Yes, I used to do it that way, and will probably need to on my next machine (the cost of a 2TB SSD is not going to be fun!)

piper28

Seen them down to about $570 recently, so it's making progress. Still pricey, but the 1TB ones are down to the point where I'm kinda tempted to replace the secondary drive in my laptop with one.

nkedel

There were a couple of 960gb (which is close enough to 1TB) for $199 or $249 sales back around the holidays.

For the 2TB ones, $570 is a nice little drop from around $650 which is what I am seeing on Amazon/Neweggg. Sadly, seems to purely be a Samsung size -- I prefer Crucial, of the current generation of drives, but going down from 2X 1TB (not that I really need that, but I do need about 1.5TB) to 1x 1TB isn't in the cards.

Stewie Mac

I've been using win 7 for ever, actually uninstalled w8 on this laptop when I got it 3 years ago to put w7 pro on it, as I was/am familiar with w7 and didn't want to learn anything new (and had heard only bad things).

Now that w10 has been out for 6 months, is there any reason why I shouldn't make the move?

nkedel

Pretty much the only reason not to is you have more obscure hardware or systems software which won't work with 10.

Stewie Mac

hmm - tried to install today, and got a message that Samsung Easy Settings is incompatible and needs to be uninstalled. Did some searching and found various reports that this feature (which basically controls the function of all the Fn keys, including screen/key backlighting brightness, volume and wifi/bluetooth) is not supported under W10, and that Samsung aren't going to update it. It's a three year old laptop, cutting edge when I bought it.

So that's me sticking to W7, and another reason why I'm not going to buy Samsung again....

How can I remove the 2GB+ of win10 install files sitting on my system??

DenverBrian

Just run it in Windows 7 compatibility mode:

http://the1ent.blogspot.com/2014/10/...windows-8.html

nkedel

Crappy manufacturer drivers are hardly unique to Samsung, and I often find myself happier without them. I'd actually suspect that if you did upgrade, a lot of that functionality may be native, but it's hard to be certain and if (for example) you are bothered having to change brightness via the GUI rather than key combinations, that may not be for you.

Show hidden directories, and then delete it. It'll be like WIN.$BT or something like that in the root; google for more specific directions.

piper28

I still tend to subscribe to an "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" mentality. There's just not enough of an upside to really make it worth upgrading a laptop that's working perfectly fine on windows 7 that's a couple of years old already. (I would do the upgrade from a machine running windows 8 though.)

tanglin

Maybe OT but I have a lifetime experience of PCs and Microsoft OS and am pretty good technically.

The things MS has done since version 8 to Windows with the user interface and built-in monetizing applications have really turned me off.

Last month I succumbed to a new iMac, thinking at least much of the stuff I need Windows for I could probably find Mac applications to replace. To my surprise, I managed to replace every application and import data/documents with a Mac substitute (often the same software written for Mac). Now I have my screaming, home built desktop with 8 processors and 32GB of memory sitting idle, and I am not disappointed at that. I never thought I would, or could, do this, but I'm afraid MS has probably lost me for good.

YMMV but Mary if you had your time again, and I saw this thread earlier, I would have recommended OSX as an alternate platform.

DYKWIA

How exactly would she be able to install MacOSX on her new Windows 10 machine?

Not that I disagree about MacOSX... I'm now converted back