Morning all and welcome to 2016!!
Whilst you get settled back at your desk and are avoiding digging into that pile of un-opened emails here’s what we call at Swan Solutions a ‘quick heads up’...
Free Windows 10 upgrade ends this year.
Specifically 29th July 2016. At that point the free upgrade stops being free and starts costing money.
Sounds like I should get upgrading then? Hold your horses! A few things to check first…
1. Have you backed up all critical data?
The upgrade process is normally seamless but sometimes an upgrade can go wrong. From there you can’t retrieve the data on your machine. Before doing anything think what critical data do you have on the machine and perform a backup. Good practice is always worth following!!
2. Just because it’s free is it right for you?
Your hardware might not be able to use Windows 10. A lot of our clients run bespoke software; check with your software provider if your software is compatible with Windows 10 before you proceed with the upgrade. If it isn’t compatible and it’s your business’ bread and butter, stay away from Windows 10…
Additional tip from Techradar; Before upgrading “When you get a notification in your taskbar to reserve your free copy of Windows 10, you can click the hamburger menu on the top left, navigate to Check Your PC and run the Advisor to ensure that your hardware and software will work with the latest version of Windows”
Use this as a basis of checking if it’s OK for your machine.
3. Programme compatibility
Most programmes should work fine once the upgrade is complete. But it’s worth checking you have the license keys so that if the programme doesn’t work you can uninstall and reinstall it correctly.
Point of note; you might also need to reinstall some drivers as this is one of the main issues we see once users are on Windows 10. This is covered under your support agreement with us so call us when it’s convenient and we can get it done.
4. Microsoft ID – are you signed in?
What now? Ah yes, you have a Windows ID and it can help with this upgrade. Sign in to your Windows ID before upgrading and then once the upgrade is complete your settings and customisations will synchronise with the new system automatically - meaning you don’t have to make those little changes again.
If you want to discuss the best options for you give us a call and we can advise what’s the best course of action.
Call Swan on 0845 643 60 11 or email us via enquiries@swan-solutions.com.
All the best for the new year from the team at Swan.