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Windows 7 and 8.1 PCs will get direct upgrade to Windows 10
Tech Radar Pro ^ | 01/05/2015 | By Desire Athow

Posted on 01/05/2015 9:01:05 AM PST by SeekAndFind

Microsoft's head of Windows Insider program, Gabriel Aul, has confirmed that Windows 10 will require a fresh install on Windows devices older than Windows 7.

Revealed in a reply from his Twitter account, Aul wrote that there won't be any full upgrade paths as these will be solely available for Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 users.

It makes sense given that some of them might be on older filesystems (e.g. FAT32). That's also assuming that Windows 10 will run on these systems, which although they may have enough resources (RAM/CPU) to power Microsoft's newest OS, may well run into compatibility issues with legacy components/peripherals (rather than software).

Upgrade path

That said, you can upgrade Windows XP to Windows 10 (Technical Preview) and still keep some (if not all) of your applications and settings in place. You will need to adhere to three rules (same bit and language versions) and have access to older Windows ISOs.

Microsoft is set to reveal more details about Windows 10 at an event scheduled on January 21 at its campus in Redmond. There's even talk of an updated version of Office for Mobile being announced there.



TOPICS: Business/Economy; Computers/Internet
KEYWORDS: microsoft; windows10; windows7; windows81
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To: AppyPappy

I’ve slowly adjusted to 8.1 and for the most part like it now.

It handles Sony Vegas and 4K editing pretty well as long as too many effects aren’t invoked.

The shell extension for the W7 look and feel helps a lot.


41 posted on 01/05/2015 9:59:28 AM PST by wally_bert (There are no winners in a game of losers. I'm Tommy Joyce, welcome to the Oriental Lounge.)
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To: Enlightened1
I think Microsoft is in big trouble and they know it.

I think I don't care what Apple does and would rather not have it cluttering up reading about something I do care about.

42 posted on 01/05/2015 10:00:07 AM PST by tacticalogic
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To: firebrand

Last I checked, around 45 days ago, Amazon still has new computers with Win7 installed.

Our local computer company that does sales and service will put it on any machine they sell and on one already owned for a small fee.


43 posted on 01/05/2015 10:00:36 AM PST by leapfrog0202 ("the American presidency is not supposed to be a journey of personal discovery" Sarah Palin)
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To: newfreep

I never had a blue screen of death with XP.


44 posted on 01/05/2015 10:02:49 AM PST by Mr Rogers (Can you remember what America was like in 2004?)
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To: Lazamataz

No joke, I want ‘95 back.


45 posted on 01/05/2015 10:03:41 AM PST by bgill (CDC site, "we still do not know exactly how people are infected with Ebola")
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To: Mr Rogers

XP was pretty stable for me too, I even liked Windows 98... mostly because I played games on it that I still remember


46 posted on 01/05/2015 10:03:51 AM PST by GeronL
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To: Lazamataz

Only Luddites don’t like change.


47 posted on 01/05/2015 10:05:40 AM PST by usconservative (When The Ballot Box No Longer Counts, The Ammunition Box Does. (What's In Your Ammo Box?))
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To: usconservative
Only Luddites don’t like change.

Strippers don't care much for it either, especially if it's cold.

48 posted on 01/05/2015 10:07:44 AM PST by tacticalogic
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To: SeekAndFind
I have the Win10 beta and it looks pretty impressive so far. I would NOT upgrade any of my Win7 machines to Win8.1 and I have not (got a lappy on it, and it's usable). I will upgrade to Win10 on all of them.

One interesting feature - those apps I used to drag down to the task bar for one-click access are now popping up in a sort of Metro-like panel off the Start button. I'm guessing in time that panel will get cluttered and need tending. Obviously that hasn't happened yet.

So far no driver issues, no obvious incompatibilities with fairly new peripherals. Whether that will support my friend's Spinwriter (remember those? Yes, he has one) is quite another issue. Sometimes you just gotta get with the times.

49 posted on 01/05/2015 10:08:47 AM PST by Billthedrill
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To: GeronL
and many newer computers cannot utilize more than 8 GB of RAM if I understand correctly, I guess some computers probably can and having more probably means you can edit videos and play games you couldn’t otherwise.

It's not that you can't install more than 8 GB in most new PC's -- most will gladly accept 16GB or even 32GB -- it's just that for the workloads that the average person puts on a PC, Windows will rarely consume more than 8GB. 8GB is at the point of diminishing returns right now.

50 posted on 01/05/2015 10:14:19 AM PST by Sparticus (Tar and feathers for the next dumb@ss Republican that uses the word bipartisanship.)
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To: usconservative
Problem is too many of MSOS's are dogs.

XP was a winner. Win7 looks like a winner. So NATURALLY they shut XP down and now target Win7 for the same treatment.

51 posted on 01/05/2015 10:14:36 AM PST by Lazamataz (With friends like Boehner, we don't need Democrats. -- Laz A. Mataz, 2015)
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To: Sparticus

I think some earlier computers won’t even recognize a certain size hard-drive or more than a specific amount of RAM


52 posted on 01/05/2015 10:15:26 AM PST by GeronL
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To: Sparticus

thanks bump


53 posted on 01/05/2015 10:15:52 AM PST by GeronL
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To: SeekAndFind

I WANT XP!


54 posted on 01/05/2015 10:23:59 AM PST by SWAMPSNIPER (The Second Amendment, a Matter of Fact, Not A Matter of Opinion)
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To: HamiltonJay

You do realize, however, that Apple is the only approved computer and tablet hardware vendor for running OSX or iOS, right? I “could” actually install OSX on a PC, but it is against Apple’s EULA.

Also, please note that except for the Microsoft Surface, Microsoft does not make hardware at all, rather hardware vendors like Dell, HP, Asus, Lenovo, etc. make the hardware.

If Microsoft made their software for free, they’d be out of business. They are capitalists, after all, and expect to have cash flowing in to make payroll, pay bills and return a profit to investors. The comparison of “free” Apple OS’s (when you HAVE to buy THEIR hardware to use that OS) to Microsoft’s paid for OS is like comparing Apples to oranges—at least partly literally!


55 posted on 01/05/2015 10:27:05 AM PST by Alas Babylon!
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To: SeekAndFind

Reminds me to buy a backup copy of Windows 7 so I can live happily in my non-upgraded world.


56 posted on 01/05/2015 10:32:19 AM PST by OrangeHoof (Every time you say no to a liberal, you make the Baby Barack cry.)
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To: Lazamataz

Laz, the XP kernel cannot be patched beyond a certain point. The malware threats out there are just too sophisticated for it. You’re a computer guy, look it up and you’ll see just how vulnerable it had become.

The kernel is version 5, after all. That is one up from Windows NT 4.0. Incidently, the name for Server/Professional 2000 was supposed to be Windows NT 5.0, but Gates changed it to glom onto the Y2K scare (focus groups showed that anything named 2000 back then was thought to already be compliant). XPs version number is actually 5.1. Windows Server 2003 is 5.2.

The next kernel release was 6.0, which came out with Vista. Windows 7, Windows Server 2008, Windows 8 and Windows Server all are part of the Kernel 6 specification. There are tons of new security modules built in and active, such as elevation of privilege checks. XP just doesn’t have the ability to do that in the kernel.

Windows 10 is kernel 10. They skipped 7, 8 & 9 for marketing reasons. Again, lots of kernel features added.


57 posted on 01/05/2015 10:33:49 AM PST by Alas Babylon!
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To: Lazamataz

AMEN!!


58 posted on 01/05/2015 10:35:17 AM PST by paladinan (Rule #1: There is a God. Rule #2: It isn't you.)
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To: Alas Babylon!
...Windows 7, Windows Server 2008, Windows 8 and Windows Server all...

Should read:

...Windows 7, Windows Server 2008, Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 all...

59 posted on 01/05/2015 10:35:18 AM PST by Alas Babylon!
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To: Alas Babylon!

I am going to apply for jobs and declare I was intimately involved with developing, and almost solely responsible for Kernel 8.0.


60 posted on 01/05/2015 10:39:34 AM PST by Lazamataz (With friends like Boehner, we don't need Democrats. -- Laz A. Mataz, 2015)
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