Next year's Windows 10 auto-upgrade is MSFT's worst idea since Vista (Win7/8 -> Win10 surprise!)

The Register ^ | Oct 31, 2015 | Iain Thomson

[dayglored]

Microsoft's decision to push out Windows 10 upgrades as automatic Windows Update downloads is one of those ideas that sounded great in a Redmond meeting room, but will cause more problems than it solves.

Right from the get-go Microsoft has made it clear that it is looking for a very fast rollout of Windows 10. The new operating system was offered as a free upgrade for some users – a first for Microsoft – and ever since the launch, Microsoft has been hustling people to upgrade, by fair means or foul.

Earlier this month El Reg's tips inbox hit overload with readers complaining that Windows 10 was downloading itself automatically whether or not the end user had opted in or wanted to install it. For people with suddenly crammed hard drives, this was a huge pain in the backside and it caused a lot of anger.

Nowadays, if you boot up a Windows 7 or 8 system you'll see a variety of popups encouraging you to upgrade – roughly every few days, based on Vulture West's experience. These are annoying but perfectly legitimate advertising.

But deciding to make the upgrade part of the patching cycle is a grave mistake. True, it's only going to be an optional upgrade at the moment, but by early next year the pressure is going to be raised, and anyone who automatically installs recommended security patches will find themselves with a new operating system waiting to start.

And just about everyone installs recommended updates automatically because Microsoft insists on it...

[Paladin2]

Gate$ and the possesed Balmer are largely gone.

[Bull Man]

Watch - after they “upgrade”everyone’s computer to Windows 10 within a year there will be annual fees for the OS updates. They are going to a different distribution model based on usage fees rather than purchasing.

[RFEngineer]

“Turn off Automatic Updates”

The Win10 upgrade forced me to do exactly that. I’m sure I’m not alone.

[GingisK]

...checking for and declining anything related to Windows 10...

KB10238765986 ... Windows 10 or something else?

[TomGuy]

That is the very reason I turned off auto-update on Win7.

I use an old tabbed IE-based browser, because it is excellent for FR and has some add-on editing features no longer available.

One day, I noticed it would no longer work. As I began trying to find out why, I noticed a new version of IE on my computer. I never upgraded to IE10 because I knew it would not work with my old browser. When I uninstalled IE10, my Win7 reverted to IE9, which does work with my old browser.

Occasionally, my Win7 starts acting kind of wonkie. When I do a system restore, I notice several ‘critical’ updates have been made recently to my Win7, even though I have Updates turned off.

Most times system restore will work. Some times I have had to revert to restoring my OS drive with the last Image backup.

==

As for Win10, I did upgrade an extra hard drive from 7 to 10. First try failed because I tried to enter my computer’s Win7 product ID. Several days later, I tried again and selected ‘skip’ at the product ID, and it installed.

Basically, I am not impressed.

MS removed the ‘classic’ theme in one of the earlier beta versions and never put it back. The current theme is crap. Menues are difficult to locate, buttons are non-existent so one has to search for linkables, the slidebars are invisible until one moves the mouse pointer and even then they are too narrow. The window frames are so narrow that it is difficult to tell which frame is which, if more than one is opened. The Win10 GUI is crap.

When I returmed to the Win7, it was refreshing to actually see buttons, visible links, scrollbars, etc.

Win10 is more of the glitz and glitter from 8. Windows 7 is better for productivity.

[TomGuy]

it works just fine once you discover where they hid all the stuff this time around

That all seemed to start with Win7 when they went from obvious buttons for links to more subtle text links. Even the text links were okay, as long as they were blue, but MS went further an made many of the same as the regular text, that causing one to have to move the pointer around the window just of find the links.

Then, there are those ludicrous ribbon menues. Whoever created that idea should be summarily shot! and don't even wait for sunrise. They are horrible, as they interfere with productivity. More glitz and glitter over productivity software will be part of the downfall of the mighty Microsoft.

[TomGuy]

But eventually there will be no support for W7.

I have called MS exactly one (1) time for customer support. That was about 10 years ago when I was installing XP (legally purchased disk) on a new computer. During the install, it would not register the disk Product ID. The CS guy at MS entered it manually, and the new install registered and worked.

I have not had another occasion where I needed MS support.

[texas booster]

I have a tablet - 32 gb - that simply can't hold what it has and the Windows upgrades that have been downloaded.

I have it strictly for the grandkids to play with.

Now it has so little free space that I have just tossed it onto the pile of things I will get to one day to fix.

[Windflier]

Turn off Automatic Updates

I've looked and looked, and still can't figure out how to do that. Can I bother you to post a step by step procedure for turning off Automatic Updates in Windows 7? I really don't want to wake up one morning and find my computer's been upgraded to Windows 10.

Thanks.

[Windflier]

Turn off Automatic Updates

Belay my earlier request. I finally found it. MS sure doesn't make it easy.

I set my updates so that they only download or install when I choose.

Thanks.

[berdie]

I haven’t needed MS support to speak of either. Thank goodness. They all sound and act like “Peggy” on that commercial.

What I meant was no further updates. I really don’t know how valuable they are...but I hesitate to not let them upload.

[dayglored]

>> But eventually there will be no support for W7.

> I have called MS exactly one (1) time for customer support. That was about 10 years ago...

The "support" that everyone with Win 7 will lose in 2020 that is worrisome are the monthly security patch updates.

This has nothing to do with customer or tech support from Microsoft. It's about Windows Updates security patches.

When "support" stops, it means that as of the next Zero-Day or other exploited vulnerability, Win 7 WILL NOT GET FIXED. It will remain vulnerable to the exploits, and Win 7 users will not have an option to patch their systems.

That said, it doesn't mean Win 7 stops working. It just means we're skating on increasingly thinner ice.