Windows 10

[Pisces]

Hi everyone, not been on here for a good while.

Have a question, thought I would put it here as you all seem to look in from time to time. If you want to move it to the correct forum please do.

Microsoft has put a little window icon on my task bar inviting me to 'reserve my free upgrade to Windows 10'

Any recommendations about the new Windows 10? Would it be best to wait until any errors are ironed out?

I am on Windows 8.1 at the moment and am quite happy with it. I don't delve too much in what it can do just stick to the basic things.

Thanks a lot.

[Herbie]

If you reserve a copy, you have up to 12 months to decide if you want to install it.

Herbie

[Pisces]

Thank you. That's what I needed to know really. I didn't want it to download without my permission.

[gem]

Hi Pisces. Long time!

I recon that 10 will be pretty good. MS have to get it right this time although to be fair 8.1 I've found to be good, very stable.

I intend to install it when we get back (and after we visit Scotland - Edinburgh, Limekilns and Lairg) so that will be nearer the end of August. I'll let you know how the install goes - we have two laptops and a PC to do!

[Pisces]

Thanks Gem. Looking forward to getting your result from downloading Windows 10.

Am off to reserve it now.

Have a lovely time in Scotland. Hope the weather is good for you.

[Twinkle]

Thanks Gem. Looking forward to getting your result from downloading Windows 10.

Am off to reserve it now.

Have a lovely time in Scotland. Hope the weather is good for you.

Originally Posted by Pisces

Hi Pisces,

Glad you put the thread up.

I too am looking forward to the results. Hoping also that Gem, has lovely time in Scotland.

[gem]

Thank you both. We are currently in France - another four weeks before we leave for UK followed by two weeks before we set off 'up north'!

It's a hard life

[Twinkle]

Have a wonderful time Gem,

[Herbie]

Hope you have a great time.
Herbie

[Worldlife]

Great to see such an active thread on TS with so many familiar faces!

Excellent articles in current and modestly priced "Computer Active" about Windows 10.

Some suggest that you do not install the trial version as this can cause complications when you download and install the permanent "free" version.

[gem]

I agree with Worldlife, do NOT install the trial version unless you have a spare PC to play with. Wait for the FULL version available from around 29 July.

[jenonnet]

Hi all, great to see so many familiar peeps on this thread. I subscribe to Windows Secrets, a newsletter from the techies who regularly test and check this kind of stuff so that we can eventually get the best version and not any of the dross that usually comes through first.

This subject of Windows 10 was the main one in their latest newsletter... They suggest waiting to download Windows 10. If you click on the little icon MS have placed there it will do a check of your system to establish whether it is compatible with the latest version of Windows and only legal copies of Windows will be able to get the free upgrade, but it won't install anything yet, just reserve a copy. Windows Secrets suggests that as you have a full 12 months to download it anyway, there's little to gain by reserving a copy, as you will be able to obtain one anyway within the year after the full release of it and within that time any glitches should be ironed out before you put it on your system.

May I suggest that if you want to know about the many builds MS is applying through your updates to get your PC ready for Windows 10 and also the glitches that need ironing out, you have a look at the Windows Secrets newsletters, as they go into it in quite a bit of detail. You can access them free online and they're well worth the read. As for me, I'm not jumping the gun, I'm waiting until it's been rolled out and used for a while before I get my upgrade and as we have a full year to be able to do that I think it's the better option. Also, whatever you do, take a system image of your PC before downloading anything, otherwise you will have lost everything and not be able to put it back again if you decide you don't want the Windows 10 upgrade.

Enjoy your hols Gem, sounds like you're doing a difficult job very well so far!!

[Pisces]

Thanks for all that information jenonnet but can you tell me what a 'system image' is please.

I am not all a 'techie':-)

[jenonnet]

Thanks for all that information jenonnet but can you tell me what a 'system image' is please.

I am not all a 'techie':-)

Originally Posted by Pisces

Of course I can Pisces. A system image is an exact copy of a drive. By default, a system image includes the drives required for Windows to run. It also includes Windows and your system settings, programs, and files. You can use a system image to restore the contents of your computer if your hard disk or computer ever stops working, or if you want to take it back to an earlier version of Windows.

To get a system image you will need either an external hard drive or a writable disc, as it won't make a system image on the same hard drive as you are trying to take the image of.

To create a system image backup for your computer, follow these steps......
1. Click Start/Control Panel.
2. Under System and Security, click Back up your computer.
3. Click Create a system image.
4. Choose the location to save your system image and then click Next.
5. Confirm the settings and then click Start backup.

Once it has finished you should have a full system image backup on either your external hard drive or a disc, this will enable you to restore your system files if you need to. Hope this helps.

[Pisces]

Thank you very much. I think that I could do that

Just one thing more. What size disc would I need? I have found some 700MB recordable discs in my cupboard.

If the information didn't fit on one disc would I be able to put another one in and carry on copying?

Thanks for helping me.

[jenonnet]

Thank you very much. I think that I could do that

Just one thing more. What size disc would I need? I have found some 700MB recordable discs in my cupboard.

If the information didn't fit on one disc would I be able to put another one in and carry on copying?

Thanks for helping me.

Originally Posted by Pisces

As I have never done a system image onto disc I can't answer that one for you Pisces. I did mine on an external hard drive. I would presume that it would prompt you for another disc if it didn't fit on one, just the same as it does when you do a system restore backup... I know it does that because my system restore backup is recorded over 4 discs and it prompted me every time it needed another one.

I'm not near my external drive right now but as soon as I am I'll have a look and see how large the file is on my system image backup and let you know. If I was you, I would also do a backup of your files, just in case you lose them during the Windows 10 upgrade... you shouldn't do but there's no guarantee with computers, they're unpredictable beasts!! You can copy any files you want to keep onto a disc.

Sorry I couldn't be of more help. As soon as I get to my external drive I'll let you know how big my system image is, it will give you an idea of whether it will fit onto one disc or not, although your system image will probably not be the same size as mine, as our systems will be different because we will have different software installed, but it will give you a ball park figure to work with.

[Twinkle]

Thanks for more information jenonnet,

[jenonnet]

Thanks for more information jenonnet,

Originally Posted by Twinkle

You're more than welcome Twinkle. I've just had a look on my external drive, my system image is over 120GB so you will either need a drive with at least 150GB space on it or a disc that will take at least that much. Everyone's system image will differ in size according to their system but that's a ball park figure. Hope it helps.

[Pisces]

Thank you for all the information you have given us, much appreciated.

Will now have to consider how to create a system image back up.

[jenonnet]

You're welcome Pisces, hope it helps some. Good luck!!

[Pisces]

Just another question if you don't mind. Is there a way of finding out how much my system is using?

Looking at my computer specification it shows hard drive 1TB and a memory of 6GB. Does that help?

Thank you.

[jenonnet]

Just another question if you don't mind. Is there a way of finding out how much my system is using?

Looking at my computer specification it shows hard drive 1TB and a memory of 6GB. Does that help?

Thank you.

Originally Posted by Pisces

Do you mean how much RAM your system has, or how much physical memory you have left on your hard drive?

If it's RAM (Random Access Memory), the 6GB is what you have. Your hard drive is 1TB, which is a large size, so you should be able to get a load of stuff on there before it gets full... if it ever does!

If you want to see how full your hard drive is, go to Start > Computer and when the window opens, right click on the (C drive then left click on Properties. This will bring a window up that will show you how much of your drive you have used and how much you have left.



The above link shows you what you'll be looking at.

Is this what you need or did you mean something else? Hope it helps.

[Pisces]

Thanks for that information.

I was thinking that you say you used 120GB to save your system image. Does the above information show what I need or is there somewhere I have to look to find that out.

Sorry for being such a nuisance but I am still learning, am not a youngster so it takes time for it all to sink in :-))

[jenonnet]

Thanks for that information.

I was thinking that you say you used 120GB to save your system image. Does the above information show what I need or is there somewhere I have to look to find that out.

Sorry for being such a nuisance but I am still learning, am not a youngster so it takes time for it all to sink in :-))

Originally Posted by Pisces

Bless you! You're not a nuisance, I don't mind helping at all and if what I know can help then ask away and I'll be glad to tell you.

1024 bytes = 1 KB (Kilobyte)

1024 KB = 1 MB (Megabyte)

1024 MB = 1 GB (Gigabyte)

1024 GB = 1 TB (Terabyte)

1024 TB = 1 PB (Petabyte)

As my system image took approx. 120GB and if we assume yours will take about the same, considering your hard drive is 1TB capacity, 120GB won't make much of a dent in it as there are 1024GB in 1TB.... unless you've got absolutely masses of stuff already on there in very large files, which I don't think you'd have.

If you look on the picture I posted, it shows you in the blue area how much you have already used and the pink area shows how much you have got left. The window above the blue and pink circle tells you in GB's how much space you have used and how much is left.

For making a system image this information is useless because you need to make your system image on an external hard drive or on a disc. It won't let you make one on the PC you're making an image of because if the PC then breaks down or the Windows upgrade messes it up, you won't be able to access the system image to restore it.

[Pisces]

Well, I found out all that information and here it is:

'C' drive used 37.2GB Free 418 GB
'D' drive used 149MB Free 456 GB

So would this indicate the size of external hard drive or discs I would need?

Thank you.

[jenonnet]

Well, I found out all that information and here it is:

'C' drive used 37.2GB Free 418 GB
'D' drive used 149MB Free 456 GB

So would this indicate the size of external hard drive or discs I would need?

Thank you.

Originally Posted by Pisces

The system image contains a complete snapshot of everything on the computer’s hard drive at any given time. So, if you have 500GB of space used on a 1TB drive, the system image will be about 500GB. Some system image programs use compression to shrink the system image’s size by as much as possible, but don't count on saving much space this way.

So in your case the system image of your C drive would be approx. 37GB or thereabouts and the one for your D drive would be approx. 149MB. Neither of which is very large at all.

To keep the size down you need to disable hibernation. You can either do so permanently, or do it temporarily, each time you are about to create an image. The file used to store hibernation data, HIBERFIL.SYS, is equal in size to the amount of physical memory you have installed and can often add significantly to the size of the backup.... Although by the look of the size of your system files already used you wouldn't really need to do this because you haven't used a massive amount anyway.

To disable hibernation Windows 7:
Click Start. Type cmd in the Start Search/Search programs and files box.
In the search results list, right-click Command Prompt and then click Run as Administrator.
When you get the UAC prompt, click Continue or Yes to proceed.
At the command prompt, type powercfg.exe /hibernate off and then press ENTER.
To close the command prompt, type exit and then press ENTER.
The file HIBERFIL.SYS should then be removed automatically by Windows.

I would also suggest that you regularly copy any files saved on your hard drive that you want to keep... photos, work you are doing, saved emails, etc., onto an external hard drive or disc. That way you will have a backup of anything you don't want to lose, as the system image won't copy everything and you can guarantee that if you need to restore your system the files you really wanted to keep won't have been copied! That's the law of sod!!

If it's easier for you and you have your Windows 7 disc, backup all your files, photos, etc., onto external hard drive or discs and then if you need to restore your system you can just wipe the hard drive and re-load Window 7 from your disc... bearing in mind that this will not restore any hardware you had installed before, such as your printer, scanner, etc., these will need to be installed again by you one at a time.

Sorry for the long reply, hope it isn't too complicated.

[Pisces]

Thank you so much for all your help.

I will look into getting an external hard drive as I do have photos on the computer but at the moment store them and any personal files on a couple of memory sticks.

[jenonnet]

You're most welcome Pisces, anytime I can help.

Memory sticks are ok too but an external hard drive is better as you can store more on it, all in one place, instead of numerous memory sticks all over the place.

I just select everything I want to save and drag and drop onto the external hard drive via Windows Explorer and tell it when prompted to merge folders and replace all files with the new ones... if I tick the 'do this for all further conflicts' box it will automatically copy and replace all the files. As I have quite a lot of files and photos on my laptop, it takes quite a time to complete it but I just let it get on with it while I'm busy doing other things.

[Pisces]

I have just ordered a 500GB external hard drive. I think that should be enough to cover my requirements.

Thank you once again for your help.

Will keep in touch once I have decided to download Windows 10 but that won't be for quite awhile.

[jenonnet]

Good call Pisces. Yes I too think it will be more than satisfactory for all your backup needs.

Good luck and as they say, watch this space!