I used the media creation tool to build a USB with both x86 and x64 full versions. I gave Win10 a shot on one of my Win7 Pro machines and was indifferent to it so I've not bothered upgrading my two main Win7 work machines.

Anyway, thing I'm wondering is - as I already have the OS downloaded, will I be charged if I try to upgrade after July 29th or will I be in the clear due to already having the files?

After Leicester winning EPL, the gates on anything being possible are truly open.

That was my point .

It is the licence that costs, not the files.

Several ways to upgrade but carry on using Windows 7

You can image backup windows 7, upgrade and then go back to Windows 7

Install windows 10 as a dual boot option.

Install Windows 10 on a new hard drive (removing old one), then swapping back after windows 10 is activated.

Once upgraded, you can reinstall Windows 10 at any time.

Gotcha, ta. May do the image backup option...

Good Enterprise by Microsoft.

Small business users wanting control of staff PCs get to have their Pro downgraded.
http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-36226372

"Users like to change settings or try to install software by themselves. If they don't know what they're doing or don't have the appropriate experience, they can cause all kinds of issues," he said. "You are going to have to educate staff, tell them not to use the Windows Store unless it really is relevant to the business. How do you manage that policy?"

That move won't endear Microsoft to SMEs and I can see no justification for doing it unless it's an unsubtle attempt to force businesses to move to Win 10 Enterprise which will presumably cost more.

Thats the rub, Windows is vital to business.
For many consumers it is now irrelevent.

Must admit I've been a bit of a refusenik when it came to Win10 but decided to give it a go this afternoon following the constant nagging with updates. So with a disk image made, took the plunge.

Used the MCT and stored the image on a USB flash drive before starting the update. Process actually went quite smoothly and finished in around 45 minutes (i7 processor upgrading Win 8.1 onto an SSD).

No errors reported although I did have to download an updated version of the Nvidia display driver despite the existing driver being only a couple of months old.

As I was using Classic Shell on Win8.1, this remained installed on Win10. There wasn't much in the way of differences in general use between 8 and 10. I did remove Classic Shell just to have a look at what the intended experience was like and I think I prefer the old style but maybe that's just as I'm used to it. Had a look through the privacy settings, played about with it for a wee while, took a disk image and have reverted back to Win8.1.

So I'll maybe go back to 10 one day but would do a clean install rather than an upgrade. Today's exercise was really looking to see what it was like, testing out my backup/restore process and ensuring I could update for free before the July cut-off.

You hardly gave it enough of a road test really. Why not install it as dual boot so you can play with it a bit more?

Yeah, it was really just to try it out and get a first look at it, no more than that. I did encounter a stuck Start menu which is another of the reasons I went back to 8.1 which was always my intention.

Given that there's not much in operating terms between the two systems, especially with Classic Shell installed, it was less of a painful experience that I had imagined. Just need to get into the settings (especially the privacy options) and as you say play with it a bit more.

To answer the BiB, nuke all the shortcuts for the store then block the store app executable from running using a software restriction policy. Its clunky but should work.

Our corporate Win8 and 10 build (admittedly running Enterprise) has the store hidden along with the live tiles. If there is a business case we can put the user in a group and they get store access back but I believe we may have also used Applocker to whitelist a handful of "approved" apps rather than make it a free-for-all.

What's wrong with simply informing your staff not to use the app store?

Because there will always be some who will ignore that instruction

When you have an estate of anything more than a small handful of PCs/Users, simply telling people not to do something rarely works out.

Aside from the issue of people installing any old guff (games, social networking stuff etc) there have been reports that the apps aren't particularly well vetted either so there is a risk of data breaches.

From a support point of view if you clean the build as much as possible and remove/disable unused features it keeps things simple for the user and reduces the amount of tickets logged when people transition to a new computer/OS.

Most companies do not give staff admin rights - can store apps be installed without admin rights?

Obviously there will always be 'human error' to deal with, but there are a myriad ways that an employee could cause problems, so why does this particular problem fall on Microsoft's shoulders? I'm not saying it shouldn't, I'm just genuinely confused.

There are plenty of small businesses where almost any employee would have the capacity to sabotage the system, deleting data and suchlike that would be difficult to recover from. Obviously you'd lose your job but there's nothing to stop you doing it.

I'd just tell my employees what to do and what not to do, and then treat them according to how they behaved. If you suspect that an employee is breaking the rules you have a looksee. Three strikes and you're out, or whatever. I honestly don't see the issue, or that this one thing is a particular issue.

Win10 Cumulative Updates Launched.

Win10 cumulative updates are live and push version to 10586.318. You can download them right away from Windows Update.

UPDATE 2: Windows 10 Mobile 10586.318 is available for download as well, so phones are getting the cumulative update too. Original story below.

http://news.softpedia.com/news/new-w...y-503878.shtml

win10 slow? read on
http://betanews.com/2016/05/10/win10...normally-slow/

I have been running windows 10 pro since it was released & yes it did have bugs & still does to some extent. I'm not a fan of the metro-universal apps & rarely use them at all & wasn't a fan of windows 8 but did like windows 8.1 once I configured it the way I wanted it. On windows 10 I use shutup10 to disable most of the privacy invasive features & have found it to be a pretty stable OS.

If you not sure about windows 10 etc then run it in a VM so you trial it to see if you will like it or not. I guess the point I'm trying to make is that someone like me that hated the metro guff that was in windows 8 & 8.1 ended up grudgingly liking it. At the end of the day I just want a stable OS that does what I want it to do & so far my tamed windows 10 fits the bill.

I want to do a clean install of 10 on my current Win 7 pc. I have downloaded the files onto USB but just want to confirm I can use the current Win 7 license to activate it. Don't want to go through all the hassle only to find it won't activate. Thanks.

Provided you download latest version, yes.

Must be correct version eg home, pro and N, SL as appropriate.

Recommend you make an image backup before you start eg using Macrium Reflrect Free.

Thanks- it scanned and recognized it was x64 Win 10 to download.

If you have already upgraded windows 7 to windows 10 & it was activated you shouldn't need to enter your windows 7 serial, once windows 10 finishes installing & boots to the desktop it should automatically pick up the previous activation.

Ugh! If I'd known that I would have done a clean install of Windows 10 using the Media Creation Tool the second time around. I'm not keen on operating system upgrades. Everything seems fine now that I have Windows 10 motherboard drivers after uninstalling the ones for 8.1 though.

I noticed that when updates are downloaded they monopolise the whole system. Edge does not download pages completely, Store loads incredibly slowly. It's on my Surface Book only, other machines at the same time work fine. Is that common or just a special gift from MS for Surface owners?