During the past few days and over the past years I have had to install Windows 10 on laptops that either needed repairing or upgraded. Neither process is swift but please ensure you make a backup USB or DVD of your system. This could save hours in re-installation.
Windows 10 has a MediaCreationTool.exe program that enables you to install Windows 10 on your machine. But be warned – it does take a long time! So always plan to have lots to do while the install takes place.
In every case the install always gives unexpected results. Today the system I upgraded from Windows 7 had not pins and the start button didn’t work. Right mouse click over the Start menu icon ( bottom left) worked and so was able to run some system software but couldn’t understand why this didn’t work. The solution I came to was to re-install again in the hope the problem resolves itself!
For long periods the install doesn’t seem to be doing anything- stuck on a percentage – but its wise to leave it running. It will eventually come good despite the long wait.
Antivirus software. Well Windows 10 does appear to be pretty good but I wonder why my trusty laptop failed spectacularly. Not sure if that was due to having only Windows Defender on ( that’s Windows 10 antivirus software). On the safe side I am running a different antivirus software – McAfee which I think slows my machine down- especially when it updates. I did notice a massive improvement on speed when NOT using McAfee but that could be due to the age of the machine.
I have to say it’s brought a new lease of life into my 6 year old laptop to have it re-install Windows 10. That has save me a few quid! And now with the aide of a lot of cloud apps I can keep on using this machine for assessment, demonstration and training.
Drivers that are needed on your laptop can be a pain as well. Even though Windows 10 is pretty good at locating them it can still throw something of a wobbly. On my laptop the intell graphics driver ghosted my laptop producing a myopic display. Once the Intel Graphics card was disabled everything was back to normal.
As I have written this article the desktop I am currently upgraded to Windows 10 is still on 80% install. That is maybe 20min- 30mins it’s taken…. oh, well time for lunch!
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