The final version of Microsoft’s upcoming Windows 10 operating system is all set to launch on July 29th of this year. Hundreds of millions of PC users around the world are running Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8.1 eagerly waiting for the release.
It may come as a surprise for most users, but millions of PC users are not ready to upgrade to the latest version of Windows 10 despite owning a capable PC. I find it strange that users who have been using Windows 7 or now dead Windows XP are not ready to upgrade just because they are happy with the version of Windows they are running.
The following are some of the reasons why you should upgrade your existing Windows installation to Windows 10.
# You don’t need to upgrade your PC’s hardware
If your PC can run Windows 7 or Windows 8.1, it can smoothly run Windows 10 too! If you want to confirm the same, go ahead and use the Upgrade Advisor present in the Get Windows 10 app to check if your PC and installed devices can run Windows 10.
# The return of the Start menu
Unlike Windows 8/8.1, there is a Start menu in Windows 10. The Start menu of Windows 10, although it is not identical to the one in Windows 7 or Vista, works more or less the same. You can turn off your computer right from the Start menu and launch applications using the search box.
And if you prefer the Windows 7-style Start menu, install the free Classic Shell on Windows 10.
# It’s free
Although Windows XP and Vista users are not eligible for the free upgrade, users running Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 can upgrade to Windows 10 for absolutely free in the first year after the official release. In other words, if you upgrade your existing Windows 7 or Windows 8/8.1 installation to Windows 10 before Windows 10 turns a year old, you’ll be able to use Windows 10 for free for life. By the way, if you prefer a fresh install, you can clean install Windows 10 after the upgrade.
However, note that Enterprise edition users can’t avail of the free upgrade offer.
# Upgrade without losing data
While it’s a good idea to backup important data before the upgrade, you won’t lose your personal data such as documents and pictures when you upgrade your existing Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 installation to Windows 10.
# You can keep most programs
Most of the programs that are compatible with Windows 7 and 8.1 work great on Windows 10, as well. You might be asked to remove your antivirus software during the upgrade, though. We encourage you to check what all programs you can keep during the upgrade by running Windows 10 Upgrade Advisor tool included in the Get Windows 10 app.
# Free upgrade is available even for pirates
Not everyone is running pirated or non-legitimate Windows, but there are millions of users using pirated Windows. The good thing is that even users running pirated Windows 7/8.1 will be able to upgrade to Windows 10, but a watermark will appear on the desktop to alert the user that the version of Windows is not genuine.
# Features, features, features
A bunch of features available in Windows 7 is not present in Windows 10, but there are hundreds of new features and improvements in Windows 10. You’ll undoubtedly notice a boost in performance after upgrading to Windows 10.
Are you upgrading to Windows 10? If not, why?