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THE

HELPFUL BOOK

COMPANY

What you should know about:

• What’sWindows10allabout?• What’snew?What’schanged?• IsitbetterthanWindows8/8.1?• Doyouneedtoupgrade?

Windows10

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Contents

1. Introduction ............................................................................3

2. The big changes ......................................................................4

3. Some smaller changes you need to know about too .............10

4. When is all this happening? ..................................................13

5. Should you upgrade your existing computer? .......................14

6. If you’re buying a new computer, tablet or smartphone ......18

7. How to upgrade ....................................................................20

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1. Introduction:Windows 10 is the latest version of Windows, and it’s going to be released this July. They’re making a big song and dance about it, and seem to be so excited that they’ve jumped the version number all the way from 8 to 10, missing out 9 entirely! I haven’t managed to find out why – no one seems to know. Maybe it’s because they think they’ve finally got it right this time so are giving themselves 10/10 for effort.

Anyway, what’s it all about? Well, they seem to have gone for keeping the best bits of Windows 8/8.1 and getting rid of the bits that people found really annoying, while bringing back bits of Windows 7 that people didn’t want them to get rid of in the first place.

It hasn’t changed massively in looks – it’s pretty much a compromise between Windows 7 and Windows 8/8.1 – but I do actually think they’ve done a spot on job of it this time.

(The keen-eyed among you might notice that they did something similar when they moved from XP, which people loved, to Vista, which everyone hated, then on to Windows 7, which combined the best bits of both and people were happy again. Maybe they like to give us all problems to worry about, just so they can solve them all at the next version and we’re so relieved we all rush out and buy it. Maybe.)

Tim Wakeling

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2. The big changes1) The really big one – they’ve got rid of the Start Screen!One of the things people got most annoyed about with Windows 8 was that when you started up the computer, all you saw were a few big tiles, and no Start button or Taskbar, which people have got very used to over the years. You had to click one of the tiles to get to the Desktop – you got a taskbar and a Start button, but all the Start button did was take you back to the Start Screen, which still didn’t have what they expected there. The idea behind it was to make it more touch-screen friendly than Windows 7. And it’s true that the Start Screen was much easier on the fingers… but it was really annoying if you were using a normal computer and didn’t need big tiles, and just wanted to be able to work like you used to.

So they listened to all the complaints. And now, when you start the computer, you get a traditional-looking desktop again – hurrah! With a Start button. And when you click on that, it brings up a Start menu that looks much like it used to in Windows 7, Vista and XP:

...plus it has an extra bit to the side that looks very like the Windows 8 Start Screen – with those big live tiles on it. A brilliant compromise.

And the good old taskbar is always visible at the bottom of the screen again!

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I have to say, I did wonder why they didn’t do this in Windows 8 – it would have made much more sense!

There’s just one “but” – if you’re using Windows 10 on a mobile device – a tablet, phone or one of those convertible laptops without its keyboard connected (see p18-19) then when you start it up, you WILL see the Start Screen. Windows 10 actually switches into different modes, depending on what kind of computer/device you’re using. More about that below.

2) No more confusing “RT” version – Windows 10 fits allWith Windows 8/8.1, if you were buying it on a “tablet” computer (see p19-20) you could choose to have a slightly different version, Windows RT, which made better use of battery life, but which couldn’t run any but a few basic desktop programs.

This was confusing for a lot of people, and I’m sure it led to a lot of people buying the wrong version for their needs because they didn’t quite understand the difference.

Thankfully Windows 10 has done away with this distinction – there’s just one version of the operating system that can run on all devices, from phones to desktop computers. It just switches into a different mode called “tablet mode” when it detects that there’s no keyboard and mouse attached. Don’t worry, tablet mode isn’t too different, it’s just more geared up for being used with a touch screen – things like buttons being a bit bigger, so they’re easier to hit with your finger, and some menus being hidden out of the way so the screen isn’t as cluttered.

I think this will make life easier for everyone, so I’m in favour of it!

3) You can get it free.Yes you read that right – Windows 10 is going to be free if:

1) you’re upgrading your computer from Windows 7 or 8.1, and

2) you do the upgrade within the first year of the Windows 10 release.

If you leave it till after that date to upgrade, you’ll have to pay for it, even if you were upgrading from Windows 7 or 8.1. If you’re upgrading

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from an older version of Windows, you’ll also have to pay for it. By the way, if you’re using Windows 7, you will need to make sure Service Pack 1 is installed before you do the upgrade. And if you’re upgrading from Windows 8, you’ll have to upgrade to 8.1 before you qualify for the free upgrade to Windows 10 – it’s not available directly from Windows 8.

3½) And that’s not all...Not only can you get Windows 10 free, Microsoft are promising not to bring out another operating system for the foreseeable future. Instead they’re saying that they’ll bring out future improvements bit by bit, via Windows updates that automatically install as they’re available.

So once you’re on Windows 10 you can stay there – no more worrying about paying for the next version in a couple of years. For non-techies, this is great news for another reason of course – no more worrying about learning a new system every few years either! If they stick to their promise, Windows 10 is here to stay.

4) Windows 10 has brought windows back!A very strange thing about Windows 8/8.1 was that its new apps all opened full-screen and not in windows (begging the question of why they still called it “Windows” at all!). To see more than one app on the screen at the same time, you had only a couple of options for how to do it. On touchscreen devices you could swipe between them, but it was quite fiddly to do with a mouse.

And to confuse matters further, if you opened any old programs in Windows 8, they opened in the desktop in separate windows, just like in previous versions of Window. It was very confusing – one rule for new apps, one for old programs.

But Windows 10 has gone back to opening programs in separate windows again for all programs – even the new modern apps. And everything opens in the desktop, so you can have as many as you like open at once, and you can resize them and move them around, just like in Windows 7 and earlier. Or if you prefer the full-screen look to the new apps, you have that option as well.

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I’m still flabbergasted that they took this away in Windows 8, and I’m relieved that they’ve brought it back.

One thing to point out, though, is that in “tablet mode”, the apps will still go full screen, like in Windows 8/8.1. Most tablets and phones have smaller screens than laptop and desktop computers, so it’s much easier to see what’s going on if each window has the whole screen to fill. And it’s pretty easy on a touchscreen device to swipe between apps, whereas with a mouse that’s quite fiddly.

These options let you minimise or maximise the window, or make it “full screen” (i.e. without any window edging), or close it. And you can resize it by clicking and dragging the corners of the windows.

In tablet mode, the apps will appear full screen, and you swipe the screen from left to right to move between them.

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5) Windows 10 has a voice assistant called “Cortana”If you’ve got a iPad or other tablet or smartphone, you might have come across voice-controlled assistants – and even if you haven’t you might have heard of them – the iPad and iPhone have Siri, Android devices have Google Now. They let you talk to the tablet/phone, and it’ll follow your instructions – e.g. to search for a restaurant or phone number for you.

Until now, Windows didn’t have an equivalent, so it’s nice that they’ve finally caught up. This will be good news for people who struggle with keyboards and mice, and people who’d like to get Windows on a tablet or smartphone, who might not have a keyboard at all and have to make do with the onscreen one.

Microsoft are saying that Cortana will provide more than just voice control though – the personal assistant should make lots of things easier for you. For example, apparently it jumps up and helps when you’re searching the web too – things like volunteering directions and a map for the restaurant you’ve just gone to the website of. You can also let Cortana know what interests you, e.g. flight delays, Formula 1 results, etc, so that it can show you the latest news about them. And Cortana will gradually learn your voice, so you might find that it doesn’t understand you too well at first, but it should get better over time.

There are a whole host of big grand claims, and it could be quite exciting. But as I’m writing this, the technical preview of Windows 10 doesn’t have all of Cortana’s features available yet, so we’ll just have to wait and see.

6) Internet Explorer is no more – the new browser is called “Edge”You might have heard stories that Windows 10 is going to be released with out Internet Explorer – that’s true, but don’t panic! It will still come with an internet browser, it’s just they’ve given it a new name. I suppose since Microsoft have been using Internet Explorer since before I started writing books about computers, they maybe decided it was time for a change.

Their new internet browser is called “Edge” (although until very

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recently it was called “Spartan” – so if you’ve heard that mentioned, now you know what it is...well, was!). It’s got a brand new look, and some added features. It’s quite like the Google Chrome browser to look at, but it’s got integrated features such as Cortana, who chirps up with extra information that you can view in a handy side bar. From what I’ve seen so far, it looks like it’s just as easy to use as Internet Explorer, so I don’t think there’s anything to worry about. It’s just that there are extra things you can do with it. And the main point is that it should be quicker and less likely to crash.

At the moment I’ve seen a video of it in action, but I haven’t had the opportunity to actually use it yet, because it hasn’t been released to the public for testing yet.

7) You can’t play DVDs on it yet, but don’t panic!Just like with Windows 8, when Windows 10 is released, it won’t include software to play DVDs. Microsoft are saying that this option might be available later this year, though – so if you want to get Windows 10 but aren’t desperate for it right now, it’s probably a good idea to wait until later this year.

Or, if you do get a copy before then, you’ll just have to get separate DVD software to be able to play DVDs on the computer. One of the best known ones to get is called VLC, and you can download it from the VideoLAN website: www.videolan.org

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3. Smaller changes it’s worth knowing about too1) Better SearchingThe search feature in Windows 8/8.1 was very clever – as well as using it to search for files, programs/apps or settings, it also searched on the internet as well. All just by going to the Start Screen and starting typing. But a lot of people didn’t realise you could do this, and thought you needed to bring up the Search box first, from the Charms bar – and that was quite fiddly with a mouse. Also, the search results were displayed in quite a confusing layout.

So in Windows 10, they’ve solved both of those problems – they’ve put the search bar on the taskbar, so it’s nice and obvious. And when it finds results for you, it displays them in a much more useful way than Windows 8/8.1.

Not only that, but the voice assistant Cortana is controlled from this box too – click on that to talk to her instead of typing.

The search results are listed under headings – or if you want to search the web you can click on one of the search options in the list, or simply click on “Search the web” above the search box.

Or if you want to use the voice assistant to search, you can click here:

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2) There’s an improved side-bar of notifications/toolsThe “Charms bar” from Windows 8/8.1 has been replaced by the Action Centre in Windows 10. It has a lot more useful stuff on it than the Charms bar had, and it’s easier to get at for people who aren’t using a touchscreen. In Windows 8/8.1 you had to point your mouse at one of the right-hand corners of the screen, which was fiddly to do when you tried to, but easy to do by mistake when you were trying to do something else!

In Windows 10 there’s just a button to click in the taskbar – much easier! Or on a touchscreen you can also get at it by swiping in from the right, just like you could to bring up the Charms bar in Windows 8.

Up here at the top, you get notifications for all of your apps – so things like if you get an email, it’ll tell you here, or if there’s been a missed Skype call, or if someone’s mentioned you on Facebook, or if an app update has successfully been installed. You can go into the Settings to choose which apps give you notifications, so if there are some you don’t want you can turn them off.

Down here at the bottom, you can get at various settings, like wi-fi, screen brightness or switching tablet mode on and off. You can expand or collapse this list by clicking here:

To bring up this notifications panel, you click on this little speech bubble here. To close it either click away from it on the screen, or click this bubble again.

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3) Most of the modern Windows 8 apps have been updated for Windows 10 tooMail:

A lot of people couldn’t use the Mail app in Windows 8, because it wouldn’t handle their email address. Unfortunately it looks like that’s still true in the Windows 10 version. But if you did use the Mail app in Windows 8, you will see some changes in the new version. It’s now much fancier, rather than being the basic program it was. And it includes more editing features – everything you’d get in Microsoft Word in fact, all built in to the new Mail app. There were some editing features in the previous Mail app – bold, underline, etc, but in the new version you get the works. So you can lay your email out like a proper letter if you like – with your own paragraph styles, line spacing and everything. That’s what they’re promising anyway – the new app isn’t available to test yet, though, so time will tell...

Photos:

The Photos app has also been changed, to make it easier to use the automatic photo enhancement feature, and to add “filters” to the editing options. They’ve also changed the way it lists your photos, and I can’t decide if it’s better or worse – I suspect it’ll be down to personal choice.

Maps:

This is updated too, and now it does a lot more than the previous Maps app did. For example, if you search for a postcode, there’s a button to click on that lets you ask it for extra information on things near that place – e.g. places to eat and drink, things to do, parking information, etc. Personally I think this looks like a big improvement to the app.

4) Plus you can get cut-down versions of Microsoft Office – freeThis could be quite big news. Microsoft Office is an expensive program, but a lot of people feel they have to buy it because they work with people who use it. There are free alternatives made by different companies, but some people still feel happier using the Microsoft

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programs.

And now, with Windows 10, Microsoft are making it free to download a “Preview” version of the main 3 Office apps – Word, Excel and PowerPoint. You don’t get the full set of features that you’d get if you paid for it, which is fair enough – and there are some features that you’ll get at first, but which will be removed when the Preview period ends, unless you upgrade to the full version. At the moment the preview versions are still being developed, but from what I’ve seen so far the Word one looks pretty good.

Whether this is good news in the long term really depends on what features they leave behind after the preview ends, though. It might be that it’s enough for most people to get by with, or it might be that it’s so simple you’d be better off downloading one of the more comprehensive alternative free programs like OpenOffice.

4. When is all this happening?Microsoft has now announced the date of release – 29th July 2015. That’s the date from which people can start downloading the upgrade from Windows 7 and 8.1. But they will give priority to people who’ve reserved the upgrade, and will limit how many people can download it on the very first day. If you like, you can reserve it (see p##), but it might be sensible to just wait a couple of weeks after the release date to try and download it (if you choose to – see p14 for help on how to decide).

It’s not yet clear when you’ll be able to buy a new computer in the shops that’s got Windows 10 already on it. I assume it’ll be this summer as well, although it’s unlikely to be before the end of July.

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5. Should you upgrade your existing computer?If you’re wondering whether you should upgrade to the new version, there are a few questions to ask yourself first. Going through these will make it much easier to decide whether it’s worth it for you.

What specification PC do you have?In the past, when a new version of Windows came out, you needed to have a faster, more powerful, computer to run it than you needed for the previous one. But the last few versions have kept the same minimum specifications – in fact, since Vista came out back in 2007, you haven’t needed a more powerful computer for any version since then. And Windows 10 is no exception – if your computer can run Vista, it should be able to run Windows 10. But – if you still have a computer running Windows XP, it might be that it’s old enough to have lower than the minimum specifications for Windows 10.

To check what you have:

1) In Windows 7/Vista, go to the start menu. Or in Windows 8/8.1, go to the Desktop and click on File Explorer (the yellow folder icon on the taskbar).

2) Right-click on “Computer” or “This PC”, then choose “Properties”. It’ll list all the specifications of your computer.

This is what you need:

• A processor at least 1 GHz*.• At least 1GB* of memory (RAM)• 16GB* of available hard drive space• A DirectX 9 graphics device with Windows Display Driver Model

(WDDM) 1.0 or higher In practice, you’d probably want a better computer than the basic specifications to get the best out of it, but it’s up to you.

* 1GHz is roughly 1000 MHz, 1 GB is roughly 1000 MB.

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What are you using at the moment?Windows XP:

If you’re still working on XP, it’s probably now time to upgrade. Since April 2014, Microsoft haven’t supported XP – which means that using it on the internet is a security risk, because they aren’t bringing out security updates. If you don’t use the internet, that’s no problem, but if you do, you really do need to upgrade to one of the modern versions of Windows.

I can certainly see why a lot of people didn’t fancy jumping from Windows XP to Windows 8 – Windows 8 was a big change in the way everything worked. But I think Windows 10 is a lot more approachable than Windows 8 – they’ve gone back on some of the more radical changes, making it a lot easier to get to grips with. So I would recommend giving Windows 10 a try, even if you were put off Windows 8. See also the bit about buying a new computer, on p18.

Windows Vista:

If you’re using Vista and you only use your PC for emails, browsing the Internet, and occasionally using a word processor or spreadsheet, then you may not fancy changing. And you don’t have to – it would mean learning all the bits that are different, and you won’t qualify for the free upgrade anyway. You may as well wait till you’re ready to buy a new PC, and then it’ll come with the new system on it anyway.

Bear in mind that in 2017, Microsoft will stop supporting Vista altogether. So if you’re using your computer on the internet, you’ll need to upgrade by then – although there’s still nothing to stop you carrying on as you are until then. By that time you might want to buy a new computer anyway.

Windows 7:

If you’re using Windows 7, you can upgrade to Windows 10 any time in the first year for free. If you leave it till after that, you’ll have to pay, or just wait till you next have to buy a computer to get the new version.

So really it comes down to whether you like Windows 7 – if you really like it and know how to use it, there’s no big reason to change it – and it’ll be supported until 2020, so it’s not going to be obsolete any time

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soon. But if you like to keep up to date and quite fancy trying Windows 10, now is a great time to get it, while it’s free. It really is up to you.

Windows 8, 8.1:

Like with Windows 7, if you’re using Windows 8.1, you can upgrade to Windows 10 any time in the first year for free. If you leave it till after that, you’ll have to pay, or wait till you next have to buy a computer to get the new version. And if you’re still using Windows 8 you’ll need to upgrade to Windows 8.1 before upgrading.

If you’ve already been using Windows 8/8.1 for a while, Windows 10 will be less of a shock to the system than if you’re starting from one of the earlier versions of Windows, so I’d be inclined to say it’s worth a go.

If you loved Windows 8, then you’ll probably find Windows 10 pretty straightforward – the big obvious difference is that instead of having the Start screen, it’s now confined to a start menu within the desktop. If you really liked the Start screen, you can work in tablet mode, which gives you a full start screen when you press the windows key, and in general works much more like Windows 8/8.1 than non-tablet mode. But given how new Windows 8/8.1 is, you certainly don’t need to worry about it becoming obsolete any time soon – so if you really don’t fancy upgrading, don’t feel like you have to.

If you hated Windows 8, then Windows 10 should come as a welcome relief, and I would recommend upgrading. It either removes or tones down most of the more jarring features of Windows 8 that lots of people complained about – and it feels much more like the Windows of old. Let’s face it, if you don’t like what you’ve got, you’ve not really got anything to lose!

Are you likely to buy a new PC soon?If you are then there’s an argument for not worrying about doing the upgrade to Windows 10 yourself now, even if it is free. Instead you may as well wait until you’re ready to buy a new PC and you’ll get one with Windows 10 already on it – which saves you the effort of installing it yourself.

Would you feel comfortable doing the installation?It looks like Microsoft are planning to make it as easy as possible

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to install Windows 10 – but you do have to be careful to back up everything on your computer first, including emails if that’s the only place they’re stored. If you’re nervous about installing software then you might want to get someone else to do it for you.

What programs do you use?Some older programs may not run properly on Windows 10. You can check with the supplier whether it should work or if there’s an updated version (and whether you have to pay extra for it). If you don’t use the program much you may be able to get around it by using an alternative. But if it’s crucial to what you do, you might want to wait until there’s a Windows 10 compatible version, even if it means you missing out on getting the upgrade free.

Are you nervous about bugs?Usually with any new big software like this there’ll be bugs in it when it first comes out. After 6 months or so Microsoft will have ironed them out so I’d generally advise you to wait a few months unless you really need to have it straight away.

Just don’t leave it too long if you qualify for a free upgrade and are planning to make use of that – remember, you can only upgrade free within 12 months of Windows 10 being released. So if you think you might forget if you put it off now, there’s no harm in updating straight away while you remember about it. In any case, whenever bugs are discovered, Microsoft will find fixes for them, and those fixes will install as automatic updates – so you won’t miss out.

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6. If you’re buying a new computer, tablet or smartphoneAfter Windows 10 is releasedIf you’re needing to buy a new computer after Windows 10 is released, I would definitely recommend getting one with Windows 10 on.

Before Windows 10 is releasedIf you need to buy a computer before Windows 10 comes out, your best option is probably to get one with Windows 8.1 on and upgrade when Windows 10 comes out. But if you really can’t face doing the upgrade yourself, you’ll have to either stick with Windows 8.1, or get someone to help you upgrade it, or just force yourself to wait until you can buy a computer with Windows 10 already installed.

Think about what type of computer you need before you get to the shopDesktops, laptops and “hybrid laptops”

It’s probably also worth knowing about the different types of computers available now – as well as the traditional “desktop” and “laptop” computers:

...there are now lots of “hybrid” computers, which can be used like a traditional laptop, but which also fold up or detach to become more like a “tablet” computer (a bit like an iPad only bigger) with a touch-sensitive screen (see next page):

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From this: to this:

to this:

Touchscreen or normal screen?

Added into this, even if you do get a traditional desktop or laptop, you can choose whether to get a touch-sensitive screen or a normal one. You do pay more for a touch screen than a standard one, and you might find this just a gimmick, or you might think it’s worth the money because it’s much easier than fiddling round with a mouse. Windows 10 works well both using the touch screen and using a mouse and keyboard, so it probably depends mostly on what you find comfortable to use. And you can always try out some touch screens in the shop if you’ve never used one before.

Tablets and Smartphones

If you’re buying a tablet or smartphone, you have lots of extra choices to make, and you might find that you don’t need to worry about Windows at all. Most of the tablets and smartphones on the market don’t run Windows at all – the Apple products (iPhone and iPad) run something called iOS instead. And most of the rest of them run an operating system called Android. There are only a handful of tablets available that run Windows 8/8.1, although that may well change when Windows 10 comes out. And there are also some Windows smartphones, but not as many as there are Android ones. But again, Windows 10 might change all this if it’s really popular – we’ll just have to wait and see.

For now, at least, if you’re thinking of buying a tablet, it’s worth looking at the full range available, rather than assuming you have to get a

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Windows based one, or assuming you have to get an iPad (looks great, very popular, very expensive!). There are lots of factors to consider, such as screen size, built-in cameras, screen quality, etc.

So it’s worth having a think about what you want to do with it first, and how much your budget is, and then going into a good shop to try them out before you buy, and maybe reading some online reviews before you decide for sure. If you want to know more about these modern gadgets and are a bit confused by it all, it might be worth having a look at our “Ordinary Person’s Guides to PCs, Laptops, Tablets & Smartphones” – give Laura, Louize or Simone a ring on 01229 777606 for more information.

7. How to upgradeAs far as I can tell, they’re intending to make it as easy as possible for you to upgrade from Windows 7 or 8.1. It’s looking like it’ll appear as an optional Windows update, in the same way as smaller updates happen to fix security issues or bugs.

Normally these smaller updates happen automatically without asking you, but this one is something most people would want a choice over, so probably you’ll find you turn your computer on one day and it’ll ask you if you want to upgrade to Windows 10. If you don’t want to just yet, you can choose to do it at a time that’s convenient for you.

Reserving an upgrade:If you like, you can reserve the upgrade so that you’re able to download it on the very first day it’s out (July 29th 2015). Personally, I don’t think you need to worry about it, because without reserving it, you can still get Windows 10 as a free upgrade, it’s just that you might have to wait till after July 29th. They’ll give priority to people who have reserved it, so that they can get it as soon as possible. (If they let everyone download it at once, it might cause problems.)

So unless you’re really bothered about getting it instantly, then just skip this step. But if you’re mad keen to get your hands on it, here’s what you do.

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1) Click on the little Windows icon that will have appeared on your desktop, on the taskbar, in the system tray on the right:

2) This will open a little window explaining what to do:

3) So all you do is click on this button, and wait for a notification saying that you can download it. When that happens, though, make sure you read the “Before you Upgrade” section on the next page before you actually go through with the upgrade.

Cancelling your upgrade reservation:If you want to cancel your reservation, you can. To do this:

1) Right-click on the Windows icon that should still be where it was before, on the right hand side of the Taskbar.

2) Select “Check your upgrade status” from the little menu.

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3) Click on the menu button at the top left:

4) Click on “View confirmation”.

5) Click on “Cancel reservation”. It’ll check you meant to and once you confirm it, you’re done. It’ll confirm you’ve cancelled the reservation, but the little icon will still be there on your taskbar in case you change your mind again.

Before you upgrade:1) Make sure you’ve backed up all your files (photos, videos, text

documents, etc.).

2) Make sure you’ve backed up your emails, if they’re stored on your computer.

3) Make sure you have copies of all the email addresses in your email address book/contacts list. You could just write them all down on paper, or if there are too many to do that, you can back up the whole address book.

4) Make sure you have copies of all the programs you’ve put on the computer. If you’ve bought programs on a disk, make sure you’ve still got the disk. And if you’ve paid to download something onto your computer, you’ll need to make a back up of the set up files, so that you can reinstall them on the computer after the update. Look for the a file with the same name as the program, which has the ending “.exe”. If you’ve got a lot of free software on there, that you’ve downloaded from the internet, you don’t need to worry so much, as long as you know how to download it again once you’re on the new system.

5) Make sure you have your own original disk(s) to install the version of Windows that you’re currently running – just in case you need to.

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Legal bit: © The Helpful Book Company Limited 2015. All rights reserved.Written by Claire Armstrong, with a bit of help from Tim Wakeling.Under the Copyright Licensing Association agreement, this book may not be photocopied. Thanks!This book is not associated in any way with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. Screenshots reprinted by permission from Microsoft Corporation. Ta muchly!Published by The Helpful Book Company Limited, registered company number 08747103.

If you’re upgrading from Windows Vista, you’ll have to put all these files and programs back on the computer after you’ve upgraded.

If you’re upgrading from Windows 7 or 8.1, in theory it should keep all of your files and most of your settings and apps. But upgrading the operating system is a big thing, and just occasionally something goes wrong. If it does, you might have to go right back to square 1 and reinstall your old version of Windows and start again – then put back all your files and programs afterwards. I’d be very surprised if that happened, but it’s not worth taking chances – you probably wouldn’t want to lose all your photos and email contacts.

Leave yourself plenty of time to do the upgrade:It’s likely to take a while to transfer all your files and settings over to Windows 10. If I were you I’d give yourself a good hour or two, as it could well take that long, especially if you have a lot on your computer.

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The End