Windows 10: Has anyone else here thought about installing 7 or 8.1 over Windows 10

I'm going to respond to this thread by saying things that are probably unpopular ...

I started out with PCs many years ago -- back when folks actually built them; back when the first PCs came with books that actually contained the printed source code of the OS. I spent many years supporting mainframes and minicomputers before that. So, I am one of the less than 1% of PC users that really has any understanding of what is going on "under the hood" -- and even then, I get disgusted when MS pushed out an Update that trashed folks' PCs.

And yeah, I KNOW that MS can't test the millions if not billions of combinations of hardware out there to ensure that no one's PC craps out because of a Windows Update -- which is WHY, they need to make WU bullet-proof by doing the following:
1) creating some kind of restoration image prior to the Update -- to be used to restore the PC later, if needed
2) creating some kind of test scenario to be run AFTER the Update -- to confirm it worked
3) To then automatically invoke a Restore function to revert the PC back to its former state if the Update failed

My guess is that most likely, less than 1% of the current PC users out there have any idea how their PC works, so it's unreasonable to expect them to know ANYTHING about making preparations for system failures. Really.

They expect it JUST TO WORK -- as is the case with anyone who has no clue about how something complicated really operates.

The very small percentage of us that frequent sites like this are the rare exception -- and while we certainly can advise folks to do certain prep work, we can not expect that most of them will do this in advance of a major system failure.

As an example, of my extended family of over a dozen folks, all with PCs and tablets, I am the ONLY person who does any system backups -- and some of the other people consider themselves "techies".

MS needs to do a better job of protecting folks against Windows Update failures -- that's just how it is.

 

Having suffered data loses from crashes/hardware failures in the past, I take precautions. When My W7 was about to be upgraded to W10, I made 2 backups of W7 on different storage devices. I let Win10 install and then again made 2 backups. Invested in a duplicate SSD for this purpose, where I have W7 on 1 SSD and W10 on another SSD. I swap them out depending on which os I want. That one machine stays 99% on W7, only switch to update etc . I have a second machine that is 100% W10, 2 SSD's 1 for AU and 1 for insider. At this point in time, this method has worked well. I do a backup once a week on W10 using, IMHO, one of the best out there Macrium.

 

Mark - I have to agree with you

Microsoft has not been prepared for general releases to the masses every 9-12 months when considering Windows 10. I've been around alot longer than most of the posters here. I started in Data Processing (as it was called that back then) in 1964 on a System 360 Model 20 writing RPG. We will see how many respondents know what that means ? I've gone thru every generation of Main frame/server/mini-computers. I've also gone thru every version of M.S. software from MS/DOS days.

But M.S. needs to to a better job at Windows 10. This site is proof of it. Every major update results in 1,000's of users having issues. I really don't think this model that M.S is thinking about is going to work. Constant upgrading with millions of issues, will only lead to 1,000's/millions of dis-grunted users. Today I still get calls from many old users from the early 2000 that are complaining about W10. Most of them are small business users and are not Happy (Even though I don't do support for them anymore).

I guess time will tell.

JMHO

 

There's more of a problem of pushing those updates which are essentially service packs and contain new stuff along with regular updates for fixing bugs or for security. Any new features should be separate packs downloaded and installed on voluntary basis. Those are ones that make majority of problems. Those "Feature packs" should be not only voluntary but also easy to uninstall either as whole pack or individually thru own menu.

 

Sure, but how? That's the problem. If a system is unstable or has an underlying issue, there's real no way to protect against this. I get your points about system images, etc, but not everyone has that kind of drive space available. Then new issues arise.

It would also be great if everyone learned how to manage their computer and keep it running in tip-top shape, but we know that isn't possible either.

For using all three major OSes on a corporate level, Windows still, by far, offers the best user experience.