I have just spent the best part of my afternoon and evening trying to fix the MESS that Windows 10 made of my laptop after I allowed it to update from my Windows 7. I was apprehensive, of course, but I figured it would be better to upgrade and “embrace the future”.
Well, in my opinion Microsoft need to get back to the drawing board.
Now before you say anything, no it has nothing to do with the interface. I actually don’t have a problem with the panels or dashboard. I also admit that the computer booted up a lot faster than Windows 7 does. (But don’t put it to Sleep/Hibernate, have lunch and then come back because it will be going painfully slow).
But that is where the positives end. After less than 48 hours with Windows 10, I knew I had made a mistake as I undercovered a load of glitches and errors. Let me count the ways:
1. None of my existing files would play in the newer versions of the Windows tools. Most noticeably my videos in Windows Media Player. It was like I had gone back in time with WMP 11. Do you guys remember the original “Windows RG” flash game?
Also an 1b.) Programs that had nothing to do with Microsoft suddenly stopped working when they had been perfectly capable before. Manga Studio for example stopped recognising PS files. Odd considering that it has the ability of saving files as PS files! It was like I had stumbled into that not least because;
2. Error messages galore! If you tried to open a single app on Windows 10, an error message would pop up saying that “Element not found”. This happened for:
+ Internet Edge, Microsoft’s “Not” Explorer browser. Is it as rubbish as Explorer used to be? I don’t know. I never saw the darn thing!
+ The App Store itself. Makes sense seeing as none of the other apps worked.
+ Settings. Yes, the settings. This led to 3:
3. The Setting tab was completely useless and unusable. If you did manage to get a response, the timer would come up before giving you the dreaded “Element not found” warning. This meant I couldn’t update, couldn’t reinstall anything to try and fix the errors and, worst of all, I couldn’t access the tab that allows you to switch back to your old interface!
The issue with the apps is a weirdly reported issue that Microsoft claimed to be working on. My understanding was that they had come up with a fix in the latest update, provided you also ran a downloadable troubleshooter too. However with updates not occurring on the laptop and being unable to prompt them myself, I wasn’t going to give them the benefit of the doubt. Windows 10 had to go.
How did I fix it? I had to load up Safe Mode using the Run command, msconfig. Another archaic feature of Windows 10 is that because most of the buttons don’t work - not just the apps and settings but also links in the troubleshooters and back up - is that you have to rely on the System Run to retrieve EVERYTHING for you. Yes, a feature most of us never used or only used for Task Manager became an essential tool for getting Windows 10 to struggle along.
It also seemed to struggle with remembering my preferences, probably as a result of the settings being broken, as I was asked if I wanted to make Google Chrome my default browser every time I restarted the laptop. Believe me, I reset it a lot trying to make it work.
I have never been happier to be using Windows 7. Using Windows 10 was one of the most frustrating experiences I’ve had in a while. I wanted to cry I was so angry to see my files unusable, nothing working (or working sometimes only to freeze or crash) and not being able to get rid of it without booting up Safe Mode.
Safe Mode is a system people tend to use when there is a serious error on their computer, like catching Malware or a virus. This is what Windows 10 felt like. I checked my specifications - my laptop was perfectly capable of running Windows 10. It just did not install properly and then blocked me out of any means of fixing it quickly.
Windows 10 had serious, game-breaking flaws that need to be addressed urgently. I urge anyone who had a laptop full of memories and isn’t prepared for a Clean Install not to bother upgrading to Windows 10 until Microsoft have fully fixed these issues.
I know now why they’ve been rolling Windows 10 out for free, though. They wanted us to be their beta testers. Windows 10 is free to anyone with a genuine copy of Windows 7 or 8 until (I think) June next year. After that, you will have to pay for it. Presumably by that point, they’ll have fixed most of the issues - or at least one would hope - and goodness knows, no one would pay for Windows 10 in its current form.
Well, in my opinion Microsoft need to get back to the drawing board.
Now before you say anything, no it has nothing to do with the interface. I actually don’t have a problem with the panels or dashboard. I also admit that the computer booted up a lot faster than Windows 7 does. (But don’t put it to Sleep/Hibernate, have lunch and then come back because it will be going painfully slow).
But that is where the positives end. After less than 48 hours with Windows 10, I knew I had made a mistake as I undercovered a load of glitches and errors. Let me count the ways:
1. None of my existing files would play in the newer versions of the Windows tools. Most noticeably my videos in Windows Media Player. It was like I had gone back in time with WMP 11. Do you guys remember the original “Windows RG” flash game?
Also an 1b.) Programs that had nothing to do with Microsoft suddenly stopped working when they had been perfectly capable before. Manga Studio for example stopped recognising PS files. Odd considering that it has the ability of saving files as PS files! It was like I had stumbled into that not least because;
2. Error messages galore! If you tried to open a single app on Windows 10, an error message would pop up saying that “Element not found”. This happened for:
+ Internet Edge, Microsoft’s “Not” Explorer browser. Is it as rubbish as Explorer used to be? I don’t know. I never saw the darn thing!
+ The App Store itself. Makes sense seeing as none of the other apps worked.
+ Settings. Yes, the settings. This led to 3:
3. The Setting tab was completely useless and unusable. If you did manage to get a response, the timer would come up before giving you the dreaded “Element not found” warning. This meant I couldn’t update, couldn’t reinstall anything to try and fix the errors and, worst of all, I couldn’t access the tab that allows you to switch back to your old interface!
The issue with the apps is a weirdly reported issue that Microsoft claimed to be working on. My understanding was that they had come up with a fix in the latest update, provided you also ran a downloadable troubleshooter too. However with updates not occurring on the laptop and being unable to prompt them myself, I wasn’t going to give them the benefit of the doubt. Windows 10 had to go.
How did I fix it? I had to load up Safe Mode using the Run command, msconfig. Another archaic feature of Windows 10 is that because most of the buttons don’t work - not just the apps and settings but also links in the troubleshooters and back up - is that you have to rely on the System Run to retrieve EVERYTHING for you. Yes, a feature most of us never used or only used for Task Manager became an essential tool for getting Windows 10 to struggle along.
It also seemed to struggle with remembering my preferences, probably as a result of the settings being broken, as I was asked if I wanted to make Google Chrome my default browser every time I restarted the laptop. Believe me, I reset it a lot trying to make it work.
I have never been happier to be using Windows 7. Using Windows 10 was one of the most frustrating experiences I’ve had in a while. I wanted to cry I was so angry to see my files unusable, nothing working (or working sometimes only to freeze or crash) and not being able to get rid of it without booting up Safe Mode.
Safe Mode is a system people tend to use when there is a serious error on their computer, like catching Malware or a virus. This is what Windows 10 felt like. I checked my specifications - my laptop was perfectly capable of running Windows 10. It just did not install properly and then blocked me out of any means of fixing it quickly.
Windows 10 had serious, game-breaking flaws that need to be addressed urgently. I urge anyone who had a laptop full of memories and isn’t prepared for a Clean Install not to bother upgrading to Windows 10 until Microsoft have fully fixed these issues.
I know now why they’ve been rolling Windows 10 out for free, though. They wanted us to be their beta testers. Windows 10 is free to anyone with a genuine copy of Windows 7 or 8 until (I think) June next year. After that, you will have to pay for it. Presumably by that point, they’ll have fixed most of the issues - or at least one would hope - and goodness knows, no one would pay for Windows 10 in its current form.
