If you’re running Windows 7 or 8, you’ve probably noticed the Windows 10 upgrade alerts. At first it started off as a small icon that might have gone unnoticed but now there’s a pop up that should get your attention. If that wasn’t enough articles are appearing on the net now that Windows 10 will become a recommended update and could start automatically downloading or installing on your system depending on your settings…
If your update settings are set to “Install updates automatically” then there is a chance that you could wake up or come back to an entirely new Operating System (OS) on your computer. Updates are a good thing to do on your computer, keeping it up to date is highly recommended but maybe you’re just not ready for Windows 10, so what should you do?
Through the control panel you can access the Windows Update page and on the left hand side you’ll notice a few options. One of them is to “change settings”, this is where you can change the default setting of “install update automatically” to one of the other choices. “Download updates but let me choose whether to install them” is a good one but this could use up some of your data from your plan by downloading Windows 10 and prompting you to install it. One of the better options is to select “Check for updates but let me choose where to download and install them” but this means you need to remember to check in on updates and to initiate them which can sometimes be forgotten.
What you would like to do is simply up to you as there are no right/wrong answers really but just preference. What Microsoft would like you to do and what you probably should do are a different story altogether.
Why upgrade?
Forget about the differences in appearance and how Windows 10 looks and behaves different from both Windows 8 and 7 and look under the hood. Unfortunately this is not really an option when it comes to some programs but with each major release of a new operating system or program in general there are typically several security updates and Windows 10 is not any different. There’s a major advantage with anyone running newer hardware as Windows 10 & 8 both are capable of utilizing it to add further security to your computer over Windows 7 which can’t. Each Windows version also comes with a shelf life, Windows 7 will stop receiving patches/updates in 2020 and Windows 8 in 2023, Windows 10 not until 2025. By upgrading you extend the life of your operating system for free but don’t forget this offer is only available until July 2016…
Some options
Although I can’t guarantee this will work at a later date there is a possible option for people that want to continue using their current OS but don’t want to lose their free upgrade to Windows 10. Although Microsoft says you have the option to revert to your current OS for 30 days after upgrading things can go wrong and this might not happen. So first off before you do anything create a current system backup you can restore to should things go wrong?
A great program that’s free for doing this is AOMEI Backupper. Now that you have your backup go ahead and upgrade to Windows 10. If you’re satisfied with Windows 10 and want to continue to run it then feel free to do so but if you’re just not ready for it yet, make another backup of your system with Windows 10 installed on it. Make sure it’s been activated and now create a backup of that system. Now you can switch back to your old OS and you’ll have a backup with Windows 10 on it that should work when you’re ready to put it in place and should work well after the expiry date of the free upgrade but again this isn’t something that can be tested right now and is just a theory…