Upgrading to Windows 10 and questioning the New York Times

[Karlston]

Recently, the New York Times ran a long article, Why Windows 10 Upgrades Go Wrong, and How to Avoid It, that featured questionable claims and large omissions. This is my attempt to set the record straight. 

 

I was lucky enough to get feedback on the article from Woody Leonhard, who writes about Windows for InfoWorld, and Leo Notenboom who, for years, has been answering questions about Windows on his askleo.com site. Both are experts on the subject and live on the front lines when it comes to battling Windows. Unlike the expert in the Times' article, Notenboom and Leonhard have public presences online, allowing you to judge their expertise for yourself. I trust them. 

 

No doubt many others would have weighed in too, had they been given the chance. For whatever reason, the Times did not allow reader comments.

 

TO UPGRADE or NOT TO UPGRADE

 

The article starts out detailing the problems a few people had after upgrading to Windows 10 and then dives into debugging the process. The issue of whether or not to upgrade a Windows 7/8.1 machine is given a single sentence

... the consensus among information technology professionals is that upgrading to Windows 10 is a wise idea because the system is faster, well built and more secure.

I completely disagree. There is no consensus that upgrading a perfectly working Windows 7/8.1 machine to Windows 10 is a wise idea.

 

Here in Computerworld, for example, when Windows 10 was released, Preston Gralla took both sides, calling it an operating system you can love, while also providing "9 reasons not to upgrade to Windows 10 -- yet." Woody too, wrote both "10 reasons you should upgrade to Windows 10" and "10 reasons you shouldn't upgrade to Windows 10". 

 

In his "Should I Upgrade to Windows 10?" article Notenboom wrote

Should you upgrade? Like so many things, it depends ... If you’re running Windows 8 or Windows 7, and you’re happy doing so, I still don’t see a need to rush into Windows 10. This really is a case of “if it ain’t broke, let’s not fix it” ... While Windows 10 does bring improvements, there’s nothing I’ve seen that would really push me to recommend updating an otherwise working Windows 7 or 8 system that you’re happy with.

Back when Windows 10 was initially released, I wrote that the time to upgrade was when you wanted or needed to run software that was only available on Windows 10. Like Notenboom, I don't think Cortana or the Edge browser rise to that level. 

 

The Times article warned that upgrading to Windows 10 will only be free for the next couple months. In response, Notenboom writes that 

Capturing the “free" upgrade runs the risk of costing you much more in time and energy should something go wrong. Instead, just plan on Windows 10 being pre-installed on your next machine, whenever that might be.

This is an excellent point, and one that has been true for ages: the best way for non-techies to get a new version of Windows is to buy a new computer. Sure, us nerds can upgrade, we know the things in the rest of this article, but non-techies are far less prepared for the problems that might arise.

 

There never could have been a consensus that upgrading to Windows 10 was the way to go because everyone has different needs and priorities, so many of which were not mentioned in the Times article.

 

For example, even if the upgrade works perfectly, the user interface of Windows 10 is different than that of Windows 7 and 8. For many people, this alone is a reason not to upgrade.

 

Techies love change, its a chance to tinker with something new. Many others, who couldn't care less about computers, but are forced to use them, want no part of a different interface. Getting up to speed on the way things work now was difficult enough.

 

One of the biggest omissions in the article accounts for much of the resistance to Windows 10: telemetry, a.k.a. spying. While some don't mind the idea of Microsoft tracking how they use Windows, many do.

 

And, just like ads are the cost of viewing this page for free, so too, ads are part of the reason Windows 10 is free. There are ads on the Start menu and the lock screen and more are on the way.

 

Another upgrade consideration that the article only alludes to is that some software may not work on Windows 10. And, the upgrade process removes some features present in the older versions of Windows.

 

You also lose a bit of control when upgrading to version 10.

 

The older versions of Windows allowed total control over the installation of bug fixes. Version 10 removes this control (except for corporate editions), making it a poor choice for anyone using Windows for something they consider important. There are many circumstances where a computer owner would rather live with known bugs than be interrupted, or, take a chance on new software breaking something.

 

Another fallout from the mistaken impression that all techies think "upgrading to Windows 10 is a wise idea" is the failure to mention two utilities that block the installation of Windows 10 - GWX Control Panel and Never10 from Steve Gibson. Both programs are free and highly recommended. Never10 is the new kid on the block having just been released a couple months ago. Yet, it has been downloaded over 738,000 times.

 

That the article calls Windows 10 "more secure" bothers me no end. For one thing, this is standard boilerplate language that Microsoft uses every time they release a new version of Windows.

 

And, while a new version of Windows may, in small ways, be more secure than previous editions, this re-directs attention from the bigger picture: Windows is the least secure operating system in wide use. All the other major choices: OS X, Linux, iOS, Android and Chrome OS are more secure than Windows.

 

In part this stems from the popularity of Windows, but it is also due to the system doing a poor job both of defending itself and isolating applications. And, non-Microsoft software just adds to the problem. Many anti-virus programs have been found to contain vulnerabilities and Duo Security just reported security issues in the software that hardware manufactures pre-install to update their own drivers and applications. They looked at Acer, Dell, Lenovo, HP and Asus and found bugs with all of their software. 

 

A few days ago, Martin Brinkmann of gHacks wrote about Windows 10 Limited Periodic Scanning, a feature that lets you run two antivirus programs. More secure? Really? 

 

COMPATIBILITY

 

The Times article does point out that the basic issue of whether your computer and peripheral devices are compatible with Windows 10 is a crap shoot.

 

Writing recently about the way that Microsoft tricks people into upgrading, Susan Bradley wrote

... if you could assure me that EVERY application would still work, all printers, all devices, everything worked 100% with Windows 10 ... I should be ... glad this is happening ... But here’s the thing, people have old stuff. People can’t always afford to buy a new printer at the drop of a hat or buy new software every time there’s an major release that causes it to no longer work.

Leo Notenboom said by email that he "hears from too many who believed the compatibility test and ended up regretting it."

 

The issue of printers not working with Windows 10 came up twice in the article, and it bears repeating. Notenboom wrote that "The biggest issue I hear about from people who successfully upgrade to Windows 10 is peripherals like printers and scanners that no longer work, and for which there is no plan for updated drivers to make them work."

 

Before considering an upgrade, the onus is the owner of a Windows 7 or 8 computer to check that their printer will still function. Specifically, this means going to the website of the printer manufacturer, finding the Support section, entering the printer model number and reading carefully. The price of the free upgrade may be a new printer.

 

Owners of an all-in-one device need to verify that it will not only print, but also scan and fax after Windows 10 is installed.

 

BACKUP FIRST

 

Nothing in the article got me angrier than this: "Before starting an installation, back up all of your data". Taken at face value, the advice is correct, but it is also woefully incomplete. Any competent techie would advise making an image backup, either in addition to, or instead of, simply backing up data files.

 

An image backup backs up everything which makes it King of the Hill in backup land. The term "image" comes from "picture"; an image  backup is like taking a picture or snapshot of the entire hard drive. 

 

Get infected with a virus, malware or ransomware? Restore the system to the last image backup. Hard drive dies? Buy a new one and restore to the last image backup. Something goes wrong upgrading to Windows 10? Restore an image backup from just before the upgrade. For whatever reason, image backups are the Rodney Dangerfield of computing, they get no respect.

 

Sure, Microsoft has a system to fall back from Windows 10 to the prior version of Windows, but trusting it would be a rookie mistake. Frankly, you should not take advice from anyone who does not recommend an image backup before an operating system upgrade.

 

Woody recommended image backups back in February, writing that "Before you change any operating system it’s a good idea to make a full system backup." Commenting on the Times article he added that "your first task should be a full disk backup before you upgrade. That way, if you don't like your new Win10, you can move back to Win7 without having to rely on Microsoft's rollback mechanism" 

 

Leo Notenboom, also commenting on the New York Times story wrote that

The call to “Back Up Your Data” doesn’t come close to being enough. When an upgrade fails part way through, as has happened to some, you may be left with an unbootable machine. The most reliable way to ensure that you can recover from this, or any type of failure, is to begin the process with a complete system image backup.

Yet another Windows expert, Paul Thurrott, suggests making both an image backup and a separate data backup.

 

Writing for The Guardian, about preparing for a Windows 10 upgrade, Jack Schofield wrote "I use a backup program to copy the whole hard drive. This is the quickest way to recover from a hard drive failure or similar catastrophe." 

 

There are many image backup programs to chose from. Leo Notenboom likes Macrium Reflect. Woody Leonhard notes that while many recommend Acronis True Image, "Windows 7 and 8.1 have good system image programs as well". Steve Gibson likes Drive Snapshot. Jack Schofield also suggested EaseUS To Do Backup Free and CloneZilla. I use Shadow Protect.

 

Finally, when making image backups, the Defensive Computing approach is to backup all the partitions, not just the one with Windows in it. 

 

BEFORE STARTING TO UPGRADE

 

There are many things we can do to increase the chances of a Windows 10 upgrade succeeding. None of these were mentioned in the article.

 

Jack Schofield, of The Guardian, suggests un-installing anti-virus software, writing that "AV programs have hooks deep into the operating system, and AV companies therefore tend to create new versions of their software for new versions of Windows. It makes sense to uninstall the old version for Windows 8 and install the new one for Windows 10." 

 

He also suggests running Windows Update "to make sure you have installed all the essential patches for your current operating system. Windows 10 will install updates before it installs itself, but it’s simpler if it doesn’t have to." Simpler is better.

 

Another simplification Schofield suggests is removing old logs, error reports and browser caches, either with Windows’ built-in Disk Cleanup tool or Piriform’s free CCleaner. And, he suggests unplugging peripherals before upgrading to "stop Windows 10 from spending ages trying to find up-to-date drivers: it can do that later, when you plug them back in." 

 

I would also suggest running the Windows Check Disk utility; we don't want to perform thousands of file operations unless the underlying file system is in perfect shape. If it finds any issues, run it again to insure that the problems were fixed. You may also want to check Device Manager to insure there are no problem devices before upgrading.

 

After the upgrade, Windows 10 needs to be activated, a process that can fail either initially or at a later time. To prepare for this, you should make a note of the Windows product key before upgrading. Knowing the key should also allow you to do a clean install of Windows 10 should the need arise.

 

The product key may be on a sticker, stored in the in the BIOS/UEFI or in the Windows registry. Lowell Heddings has a good article on tracking it down.

 

My final suggestion is to reboot the system just before upgrading. It's best to start off clean.

 

INSTALL PROCESS

 

As for the actual process of installing Windows 10, the article says "Microsoft designed the Windows 10 upgrade to be seamless — a push of a button and you get going." It is not that simple. There are at least four ways to upgrade.

 

This was a lesson I learned the hard way. After reading other equally non-informative articles about upgrading to Windows 10, I tried to upgrade a Windows 7 machine only to have the upgrade fail with an "unknown error". No harm, no foul - Windows 7 continued to work fine.

 

A few months later, I tried again, only to suffer another "unknown error" while upgrading. Some research turned up the fact that you can also download a utility from Microsoft to run the upgrade, something very few articles mention. For whatever reason, this worked for me.

 

In fact, there are two different upgrade-to-Windows10 programs offered by Microsoft.

 

One downloadable program to upgrade to Windows 10

 

At the Get Windows 10 page (above) clicking the blue "Upgrade now" button downloads Windows10Upgrade9252.exe.

 

Another program you can download to upgrade to Windows 10

 

At the How to Upgrade to Windows 10 page, clicking on the white Download now button downloads GetWindows10-Web_Default_Attr.exe.

 

I don't know how these two programs differ, but an online search turned up one person for whom the first program worked after the second one did not. 

 

If upgrading from Windows Update and both of the above programs fails, you may still be able to get to Windows 10 by doing a clean installation. Software that Microsoft calls the Media Creation Tool can be downloaded from the Get Windows 10 page to create either a bootable DVD or USB flash drive. It can also create a Windows 10 ISO file. 

 

IF THE UPGRADE FAILS

 

The way to deal with failed upgrades, according to the expert the New York Times consulted, is to "consider upgrading the parts".

 

I've seen this before; software people blaming hardware. It's easier that way, and it can cover up their own failings.

 

My own experience shows that an upgrade that fails one way, may work another way, assuming you know that there is another approach. So too, did my experience with an Apple laptop.

 

A couple years ago I took a Macbook to an Apple store to have them do a clean install of the latest edition of OS X (the laptop was two generations back). The first step of their procedure is some type of system check that the laptop failed. The geniuses at Apple are programmed that, if this system check fails, it must be a hardware problem, so they offered me a detailed hardware analysis for a few hundred dollars.

 

But I wasn't born yesterday and was fairly confident the hardware was fine. I took the laptop to Tekserve where they ran the same initial check and found the same error or warning. But, since I was paying for the service, they went ahead and clean installed a new copy of OS X anyway. The laptop has been problem free since.

 

Woody Leonhard also questions this advice (emphasis mine) writing 

I've been wrangling with Win10 upgrades gone awry for more than a year. Most of the time, upgrading from Win 7 or Win 8.1 goes easily - the only problem is getting used to the new operating system, its forced updating, and its apparent propensity to snoop. But many people I deal with report a wide array of problems with the upgrade. The killer upgrades are certainly not confined to old, cheap hardware, and the solutions don't involve buying new components.

If an upgrade fails, the first thing to do is not buy new hardware, but check these two pages from Microsoft: Troubleshoot common Windows 10 upgrade errors and Get help with Windows 10 upgrade and installation errors. 

 

According to the New York Times expert, the best hardware for Windows 10 is a ThinkPad with an SSD (Solid State Hard Drive). My laptop, that twice suffered an "unknown error" while upgrading, was a ThinkPad T410s with a factory installed SSD.

 

BACKOUT

 

The Times article offers one method for restoring the previous version of Windows and assumes it will work. This is a bad assumption that ignores other fallback options.

 

Leo Notenboom, discussing the standard backout procedure wrote "There’s a possibility that Windows 10 may be able to accommodate your desire to go back to Windows 7." That's the voice of experience.

 

Woody has said "If you performed an upgrade using Microsoft’s tools and anointed techniques, rolling back should be easy. Operative term: "should." Unfortunately, many people find that Win10 is a one-way trip -- sometimes for very good reason."

 

The standard Microsoft procedure for restoring a prior version of Windows may not be available, may not work, may delete some of your files, or it may restore a problematic version of the prior system.

 

Unlike New York Times readers, anyone interested in Defensive Computing will make some backups before falling back.

 

Woody Leonhard suggests a full image backup using the utility built into Windows 10. Image backups take longer and require more storage space, but they insure that you have backed up every file you might care about later. At the least, you should backup every file that was created/updated while Windows 10 was active.

 

For more about rolling back, see Four ways to go back to Windows 7 or 8 from Windows 10 by Leo Notenboom and How to roll back your Windows 10 upgrade by Woody Leonhard.

 

UPGRADE PROMPT

 

There is no better way to lose credibility than to make excuses for something everyone knows is wrong. When it comes to the Windows 10 upgrade prompt presented to users of Windows 7 and 8.1, even the most ardent fans of Windows and Microsoft are mad as hell and not going to take it any more. Every public defender of the company has come down hard on Microsoft for this.

 

Except the New York Times.

 

The article quotes a Microsoft spokesperson, takes what they say at face value and moves on. Specifically, it says 

Mr. Dennis said the company had heard feedback about it being too aggressive with encouraging people to upgrade. So Microsoft recently clarified the wording of the upgrade reminder...

Everyone following this knows that Microsoft has not been encouraging upgrades to Windows 10, they have been tricking people. Notenboom went so far as to write that Windows 10 Behaves Like Malware.

 

Woody added - 

I'm not anti-Windows 10. I use Win10 all day, every day, on all of my production machines, I've written a 1,000-page book about it, and I'm about to start on another. But I've come to terms with Microsoft's new forced upgrade policy, and I can live with the snooping. My big beefs are that people who upgrade to Windows 10 should understand what they're getting into, and that Microsoft has no business pushing upgrade nagware on perfectly usable Windows 7 and 8.1 machines.

Back in March, Mary Jo Foley wrote How existing Windows users can refuse Microsoft's Windows 10 update, because resistance appeared futile. More recently, she said "I feel users shouldn't be tricked or pushed to move to a new PC OS release if they don't want or need it." 

 

Paul Thurrott's article, Upgradegate: Microsoft’s Upgrade Deceptions Are Undermining Windows 10, includes this

For months now, I’ve complained about the software giant’s heavy-handed tactics in trying to trick customers into upgrading to Windows 10. But a recent change to the Get Windows 10 advertisement that is forced on Windows 7 and 8.1 users takes things entirely too far. This is indefensible. Frankly, this entire episode has been indefensible, with Microsoft introducing a non-stoppable, non-hideable advertisement on several hundred million PCs from around the world. And then upgrading that advertisement to thwart those who do seek to remove or hide it. It has changed the language of the ad, made no clear cancel choice available, and jammed it into the “recommended” updates that auto-install via Windows Update.

Susan Bradley, another huge Windows fan, recently wrote

... Microsoft is being a bully on the Internet. A big bully. The manner in which Windows 10 has been pushed out the patching channel has me seriously questioning if I want to be associated with this Company going forward ... I really don’t appreciate the heavy handedness of the Windows 10 push that has gotten to the point now that Microsoft is scheduling the 10 update for you. No update should install without your explicit permission to do so.

DEFINE X

 

The elephant in the room is the X. Microsoft's latest change involved closing the upgrade notice window by clicking the X in the top right corner. Previously, this meant the user did not want to upgrade, now it means they do want to upgrade. The reason Microsoft talks about clarifying the wording in the upgrade notice is to shift attention from their new treatment of the X, something they do not clarify.

 

Gordon Kelley wrote about this in Forbes, with the great title Windows 10 Dirty Trick Hits Windows 7 And Windows 8 Users:

For the last six months Microsoft has presented Windows 7 and Windows 8 users with a Windows 10 upgrade pop-up that seemingly gave you little choice: ‘Upgrade Now’ or ‘Upgrade Later’. The only way to skip the upgrade was to close the ‘X’ in the top right corner and, given the regularity of the pop-up, dismissing it via this method has become second nature to millions who are happy staying where they are. Well not anymore. Now the Windows 10 upgrade pop-up has been changed and if you dismiss it using the ‘X’ in the top right corner it sends the message to Microsoft that you WANT to install Windows 10 and the upgrade will begin ... Sneaky in the extreme ... in continually changing what users have to do and even how specific buttons behave, Microsoft is deliberately causing confusion and increasing the chance the wrong option will be picked. This is a tried and trusted tactic of malware.

This really hit home for Brad Chacos, Senior Editor at PCWorld: 

This morning, the unthinkable happened: My wife, an avowed PC user who long ago swore to never touch an Apple device, started shopping around for a Mac Mini ... [because of] ... the nasty new way that Microsoft’s tricking Windows 7 and 8 users into automatically updating to Windows 10 ... The annoying “Get Windows 10” pop-up began using deceiving malware-like tactics months ago, but it recently received an overhaul that seems purposefully designed to confuse users who have been wearily slogging through the nagging for half a year now. That nasty change trick resulted in my wife’s beloved Windows 7 PC being sneakily upgraded to Windows 10 this morning. Sure, she has 30 days to roll it back to Windows 7, but she feels so betrayed ... that she’s strongly considering embracing the Dark Side and buying a Mac, instead.

And, if you thought that my earlier "mad as hell and not going to take it any more" reference to the movie Network was too much, a week after the above article appeared, Chacos wrote that he has "'received more contact from readers about this issue than I have about everything else I’ve written over the rest of my career combined."

 

The nagging and trickery about upgrading to Windows 10 has gotten so bad that people are disabling Windows Update to avoid it.

 

WHY?

 

So, why did the Times not say anything critical about the Windows 10 upgrade notices?

 

With the groundswell of outrage, why was nothing said about blocking the upgrade using either GWX Control Panel or Never10? Why does the article blame cheap hardware for so many problems? Why no mention of Windows 10 telemetry/spying? Why does it even include the words "Microsoft said that the Windows 10 release had been smooth ..." Well, duh. 

 

And since most people get a new version of Windows when they buy a new computer, why even write about upgrading existing machines? I had no intention of doing so, but I felt the Times article needed to be rebuked. It got so much wrong and left out even more.

 

Source: Upgrading to Windows 10 and questioning the New York Times (Computerworld - Michael Horowitz)

 

[straycat19]

8 hours ago, Karlston said:

There is no consensus that upgrading a perfectly working Windows 7/8.1 machine to Windows 10 is a wise idea.

 

There has always been consensus that messing with a perfectly  working system is stupid, regardless of what OS it is running.  I, like a lot of people, have spent hours fine tuning my systems and the very last thing we want is for Microsoft to fuck it up.  30 July can't get here soon enough.

[Ryrynz]

3 hours ago, straycat19 said:

 

There has always been consensus that messing with a perfectly  working system is stupid, regardless of what OS it is running.  I, like a lot of people, have spent hours fine tuning my systems and the very last thing we want is for Microsoft to fuck it up.  30 July can't get here soon enough.

Messing with? I updated all my systems without hassle, thank you. Having the best performance, best security and best features available in a Windows OS doesn't seem stupid to me.. in fact I propose the opposite is likely more true.

C'mon Karlston.. you're straight up liking this too? You disappoint me.

[vibranium]

54 minutes ago, Ryrynz said:

Messing with? I updated all my systems without hassle, thank you. Having the best performance, best security and best features available in a Windows OS doesn't seem stupid to me.. in fact I propose the opposite is likely more true.

C'mon Karlston.. you're straight up liking this too? You disappoint me.

 

When straycat19 says "messing with" he means that the results are unexpected or beyond control.

 

Many users I know had stuff that broke after the upgrade, especially the ones who had their computers and software configured to a specific customized work environment. In fact their workplace policy is not to move to Windows 10 until further notice. Stupid?

 

 

[Ryrynz]

4 hours ago, vibranium said:

 

When straycat19 says "messing with" he means that the results are unexpected or beyond control.

 

Many users I know had stuff that broke after the upgrade, especially the ones who had their computers and software configured to a specific customized work environment. In fact their workplace policy is not to move to Windows 10 until further notice. Stupid?

 

 

I know, and as I said, I've had no unexpected results or anything changed beyond my control.

Work policy is oftentimes dictated by costs more than anything else. Sure there's reason to not jump on the bandwagon right away but what if everything upgraded without a hitch?

Sure it takes some planning but it's almost been a year now, any way if you don't give the techs something to do they'll just be sitting on their ass browsing imgur/Reddit or playing Doom anyway. 

Stupid? Well, that all depends, certainly the level of stupidity on this forum makes me think this is sometimes the case. I can only really comment on what I notice first hand.
I haven't seen anyone really weigh up legitimate reasons not to, against doing so to my satisfaction, just typical forum asinine remarks and FUD.

[vibranium]

27 minutes ago, Ryrynz said:

I know, and as I said, I've had no unexpected results or anything changed beyond my control.

Work policy is oftentimes dictated by costs more than anything else. Sure there's reason to not jump on the bandwagon right away but what if everything upgraded without a hitch?

Sure it takes some planning but it's almost been a year now, any way if you don't give the techs something to do they'll just be sitting on their ass browsing imgur/Reddit or playing Doom anyway. 

Stupid? Well, that all depends, certainly the level of stupidity on this forum makes me think this is sometimes the case. I can only really comment on what I notice first hand.
I haven't seen anyone really weigh up legitimate reasons not to, against doing so to my satisfaction, just typical forum asinine remarks and FUD.

 

You apparently work in some computer shop, and have a few computers. So now you speak for the IT world and all businesses with mission-critical IT applications?

 

Your last comments are ridiculous. Just so you know, nobody gives a hoot whether you're satisfied or not.

 

 

[Conley Powell]

     Is Ryrynz dishonest, or irrational, or both?

[Ryrynz]

15 hours ago, Conley Powell said:

     Is Ryrynz dishonest, or irrational, or both?

Dishonest, about what? Irrational, about what? Please provide specific points that I can address.

 

17 hours ago, vibranium said:

 

You apparently work in some computer shop, and have a few computers. So now you speak for the IT world and all businesses with mission-critical IT applications?

 

Your last comments are ridiculous. Just so you know, nobody gives a hoot whether you're satisfied or not.

 

 

So you apparently sit in front of a computer and speak for the IT world and all businesses with mission-critical IT applications and all home users? 
*Gets down on one knee*

My leige, your comments are ridiculous and nobody gives a hoot whether you're satisfied or not.

[vibranium]

Sorry man. I don't particularly like people kneeling in front of me, and I'm straight.