Windows7 vs Windows10

[JEB]

Hi Folks,

 

I would appreciate advice regarding upgrading from Windows 7 to Windows 10.

 

I use Windows7 on my iMac via Parallels only for PTE so have up till now resisted the kind invitations from Microsoft to upgrade to W10 for free on the basis that if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. However, MS I believe are presently saying that if you don't upgrade by the end of July the free offer will laps.

 

Are there any known issues with W10 that would cause problems with PTE?

 

Are there any benefits?

 

Thanks

 

John

[JudyKay]

I have been using Win 10 quite a while and am only happy with the choice.  Initially there was an issue or so, but those have faded or been fixed.  No problems with PTE.

I decided not to upgrade my Dad who is 82, because He doesn't do those kinds of changes well.  Then recently, I changed my mind and did anyway.  He adapted without a hitch and likes it much better.

[JEB]

Thanks JudyKay,

Well, there is hope for me. At seven years short of your father's age you have convinced me that I should go for it before i'm too old!!

John

[Barry Beckham]

If you're only using Windows 7 solely to make PTE work on a Mac and it is working ok, what would be the point of upgrading to W10?

PTE will work fine on W10, but what is the gain from upgrading an operating system just to run PTE.

 

[JudyKay]

Just trying to remember, was there ever or DOS version of PTE?  Did it run on NT 4?  Earlier?

[Balloons]

Hi. I will be 85 this year and I now converting my computer for 2 monitors I also use a Sony phone (It's got a good camera). and w10.So I don't think that age matters. By the way I find that Bridge CC will down load from the Sony camera.

[JEB]

Hi,

Just to wrap this up.

I'm pleased to have raised a few hackles. Little else gives an old man like me as much pleasure!

Barry, I used to believe that XP was great but for some reason that escapes me now, I moved to Windows7.

Regarding the upgrade to W10. I can report that it is now up and running though not without problems. Despite having followed all the advice from MS in preparing for the upgrade it failed twice. I searched their help pages using their error code without success. I was not able to find any MS telephone support either.

To be fair I am running Windows on an iMac with Parallels but with the resources MS have I would have thought that they could have catered for that. As in the past it appears that they still have their head in the sand! (just a joke, don't get excited).

Eventually I went to Parallels and found that they had a platform for upgrading which worked without a hitch.

Finally, Balloons, you have reminded me that I have recently been struggling with some Sony software for connecting my GPS equipped Cyber-shot camera to my iPhone and iPad.. I've got it sorted out now but it was a bit of a nightmare getting there.

I'm away for a lie down now as this has been all too exciting!

I need to get ready for PTE9 which my diary tells me I can expect sometime this week according to a recent post of Igor's!!!!!!

Cheers and thanks for the interest everybody.

John

 

[Barry Beckham]

I am confused, whose hackles have been raised by such a non controversial question. I hope you don't think it was me because I said why bother. I only asked why bother because I wonder how an upgrade on a mac from W7 to W10 will impact your making of slide shows with PTE? 

 

[JEB]

Life is too short.

[tom95521]

Why bother upgrading an operating system? Why use Photoshop CC when you could be using Photoshop 1.0?

Security updates are important if your computer is connected to the internet or you share files between computers.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/13853/windows-lifecycle-fact-sheet

 

[Lin Evans]

Hi Tom,

Actually, there are sometimes good reasons for not rushing to upgrade operating systems or the latest and greatest version of Photoshop CC. For example, a number of people who are currently upgrading to Windows 10 and Photoshop CC are having fits with getting some of their other mainstream software to work properly with the combination. Software which worked just fine with Windows 8.1 and earlier and with earlier versions of Photoshop. A number of plugins which worked with earlier versions of Photoshop are now inoperable. Panos, of PanosFX had to rewrite a number of his very good actions because of a bug in Photoshop CC which took nearly a year for Adobe to resolve.  

Obviously, as time goes on and technology advances we must install newer versions of operating systems as well as upgrading our application software to avail ourselves of newer hardware innovations which are not supported in earlier versions. The problem is deciding when. It's like buying a first run edition of a new automobile design. There are almost always issues which get ironed out over time. So whether to jump immediately from a very stable and plugin friendly version such as Windows 7 to Windows 10 or wait until one is certain that the majority of bugs are ironed out and then upgrade becomes the issue. 

There are some issues with the newer operating systems which are truly exasperating. For example, how about when you want to search for a file which you know should be in a particular folder but can't find it. With Windows XP you can tell the OS that you want to search only in a particular folder on a particular drive. How does one tell Win 8.1 to do that? I haven't yet discovered a way. Because Win 8.1 now has indexed search that shouldn't be an issue, but it is. In my experience Win 8.1 doesn't alway find files which I know are on my drive. I can go to the drive and find them only because I remember their full name and extension, but the indexed search, even after a fresh re-index, fails to find them. 

It's not always a straight-forward and easy job to decide IMHO...

Best regards,

Lin

 

[Barry Beckham]

Tom

Surely there is a lot of difference when you upgrade to a software you actually use to produce something, like PS or PTE. The incentive is new tools, better ways of doing things and sometimes ways that change your workflow and even your ability to create images more effectively. I am thinking of how PS now deals with contrast and PTE animation

An OP doesn't have any impact at all, unless they claim its much faster, which they always do anyway. There is always some risk when updating Windows. So, when you only use W7 just to run PTE, I am interested to know what Jeb felt he would gain. He could have said that he realises there is no measurable gain, but wanted to see what W10 was like while it was free, but he started to worry about life being short.

I recently did much the same thing and broke my own ideas of only upgrading when a new computer was built, but W10 said my laptop was compatible and it was free. I had a bit of time on my hands and decided to take a look because I felt i could not ignore it forever.

it installed OK, but after a few days i realised no graphics card software had been installed and that impacts my ability to use the  laptop to demo photoshop. Some things will not run. Sadly, the laptop, which doesnt seem really old to me is not destined to have drivers written for one  of the two cards in the laptop. 

The upshot is I either live with the upgrade and genetic drivers for the ATI Radeon cards, but that prevents the laptop from being used for the main purpose is was originally bought, or return to Windows 7

So, back to Jebs question and mine. When your only using W7 to drive PTE on a Mac, where is the gain, apart from curiosity. 

[JEB]

Hi,

 

Perhaps a fuller explanation from me as to why I have upgraded from W7 to W10 is needed.

 

Way back in the past, before I saw the light and moved to Mac (joke), I vaguely remember a number of crises surrounding MS OS’s (ME, 2000, Vista). I stuck with XP for as long as possible before moving reluctantly to 7 (I think under a degree of MS duress at the time). When 8 came along I decided not to jump. When 10 was released, similarly I decided to bide my time. However during this time I have heard favourable reports of 8, 8.1 and 10 from PC users. As I said in my original post when MS announced that they were withdrawing their FREE offer to upgrade I thought it prudent to consider making the move now.

 

Additionally, since moving to Apple I have had the benefit of 6 OS upgrades, all free and with no significant problems plus where needed excellent customer support.

 

With all the above in mind I felt that now may be the time to make the move to 10 given that it appears to be stable and at this time free.

 

Curiosity regarding W10 or expected operational gain for PTE are not a priority.

 

I hope that clarifies things.

 

Regards

John

[Barry Beckham]

Basically the same reason I tried it, but with better success than me. My laptop must be just old enough to slip outside the timescale where Radeon will upgrade the two graphics cards. They have an upgrade for one, but not the other and the machine needs both.

Apart from this it works OK and I found my way around easy enough 

[JudyKay]

The time even comes to upgrade a computer 

[tom95521]

My day job requires me to patch linux servers. Skipping software updates due to end of life product is not an option for me. At the same time I try to wait a few months after a new version is released before upgrading so the early adopters can find the bugs.

Tom

[Ken Cox]

 what i am reading here in the colonies, if you dont take the free version by mid July you have to pay for update -3 systems - different in the  usa/uk/euro area?

Ken

[tom95521]

We have until July 29, 2016 to upgrade for free (from Windows 7 or higher).
Then you will need to buy an OEM version (about $100) or a new PC with Windows 10 installed.

https://www.amazon.com/s?field-keywords=windows+10+oem

[Ken Cox]

TOM WAS NOT SURE THE EXACT DATE

then got another reminder this aft with the date  July 29, 2016

i have 3 systems to update 

 

thks 

ken

[steven62]

So far I have not heard one valid reason to upgrade to Windows 10 from Win 7 pro. As far as security I have been installing security updates as they come.

PTE runs excellent on my system as well as Photoshop CC, Lightroom CC, DxO optics pro 9, Affinity designer Beta for windows, Fast raw viewer, several Amateur Radio Programs, all of my web design programs all run as advertised

By the time win 7 is no longer supported in 3 1/2 years I will be ready to upgrade my computer and then I'll get Win 10 along with it.

If it ain't broke then don't fix it and Windows 7 pro is not broken by a long shot.

If you are having problems with Win 7 then by all means a person should upgrade.

Steven

[Barry Beckham]

Steven

I think that ain't a bad idea and I have always done that in the past myself. This time I broke my rule out of curiosity and it's cost me a lot of time so far.

1. Upgrading to W10 and finding only generic graphics card drivers are installed. The originals are too old to be upgraded by Radeon. This impacts on Photoshop and filters and probably other stuff I never got to discover.

2. After talking to Radeon tech guys over a number of days and being certain there was no help there, I took the laptop back to W7 as Microsoft says we can.

3. Windows 7 installed, but now NONE of the USB's work, so no graphics tablet, no mobile internet while we are away.

4. So, now another factory re-set from the backup built into the laptop by HP. That is underway as I type  

Later: That seems to have got all systems functioning again, USB's all OK, graphics cards back in play.

 

[wideangle]

If you tried to make a decision on whether to upgrade based on user comments over the last few months you would never be able to decide. The only good advice is to wait until the dust settles on new products then go for it if it is going to move you forward.

For me this has been a no brainer while it is free. 

Find some free software to make a disc image of your hard drive, just in case of problems. Update to Windows 10 and away you go. Superficially you see very little difference so it is easy to get used to. 

Ok, I've oversimplified the situation! If you do have issues then you just use your disc image and go back to as you were, and think of the best way forward again. Problems are usually associated with older hardware and driver issues, as already indicated above, in which case a new computer at some point is the only real answer. 

Sticking with an old operating system is only making your system more vulnerable as time moves on. 

Regards

wideangle

[Barry Beckham]

Vulnerable to what?

[davegee]

1 hour ago, wideangle said:

.........Find some.........software to make a disc image of your hard drive, just in case of problems..............................If you do have issues then you just use your disc image and go back to as you were, and think of the best way forward again................

+1

[JEB]

Hi,

 

Having started this debate on Sunday I am keenly following it though within a few hours of posting I took the decision to proceed. So far I have no regrets and have heard no compelling reasons for not having taken this decision though who knows what the future may hold.

 

In my initial post I asked if there were any known issues with PTE and W10 and if there were any benefits. It appears to me that subsequent posts have suggested that the answer to both these questions are NO.

 

Living in Scotland you may be aware that we have gone through two referendums in the past couple of years. A feature of all sides of both arguments involved has been FUD (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt), which I suggest may be unintentionally evident here.

 

I also suggested in my initial post that I was conscious of the old axiom “if it ain’t broke don't fix it”. However, I have in recent years convinced myself to take advantage of most of the upgrades, I consider safe, offered by software suppliers such as Wnsoft, Apple, Adobe, MS etc. This has rarely as far as I am aware been detrimental. I decided against Windows 2000 and Vista fortunately. To my simple mind if upgrading within a release of software is generally recommended then upgrading from one release to the next is logically very similar though clearly more thought and judgement is required. After all we all upgrade other products though I accept there are still a few Model T Fords about. Not so sure about DeLoreans!

 

Finally, thank you all for your contributions and I hope that others may also find this thread interesting, informative and hopefully helpful.

 

Regards

 

John