Windows 10 - March Update

Microsoft has been ever increasingly aggressive in its attempts to push consumers to download Windows 10. Starting recently, the company is upping the ante once again. As of now, Windows 10 is now classified as a “Recommended” update, which means many Windows 7 and 8.1 users will download and begin the installation automatically.

The upgrade process is less problematic now, some users have managed to upgrade with no problems. But there still remains a small risk if upgrading, we can normally sort out any problems for you.

By default, Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 shipped with updates enabled and a second box — “Give me Recommended updates the same way I receive important updates” checked as well. Plenty of users have changed these settings, but you can bet millions of people haven’t. 

Microsoft has stressed that end users who begin the upgrade process will still have the option to say “No” before the upgrade begins, but we're dubious of this for several reasons:

First, we’ve already seen what Microsoft’s version of “No” looks like — it looks like this:

Microsoft have made it nearly impossible to NOT upgrade to Windows 10. The company’s opt-out for Windows 10 installation is unlikely to be much better. Even if it is, however, there’s still a larger issue — specifically, the people this upgrade is going to hit are those who are the least likely to know it’s coming.

There’s no way this doesn’t create headaches for at least some Windows users, as well as Microsoft. Some drivers still won’t update properly if you upgrade to Windows 10. Some people will misinterpret the installation as malware, since Microsoft hasn’t historically updated its operating systems in this fashion. Some will click on “Get Windows 10″ without realizing that it’s an entirely new operating system that makes massive changes to how basic system functions work and look. 

All of these issues are issues with any system upgrade upgrade, but OS updates are typically something the user initiates and wants. Microsoft clearly wants its entire user base on Windows 10. But think about this: This move targets users who don’t know enough to disable Recommended updates, but have also rejected Microsoft’s previous offers. This could create a nasty snarl of blowback if the upgrade push starts making life difficult for large numbers of people.

Microsoft has published a KB article detailing how end-users can control the upgrade prompts and disable them in the future, available here.

We are still advising customers to only upgrade if they have newer computers and have taken a full backup before they start the process. Sometimes it is possible to downgrade back to your old OS, but a lot of the time it is not, so think twice before upgrading.