This post is by no means meant to persuade you one way or the other as such, but for those of us that have taken to plunge to post our experiences with the process and our thoughts for others to consider.

Bear in mind, every PC is different so try and avoid generalisations where you have encountered issues, and be as specific as possible as to how you addressed the issue, or if it is a show stopper.

I'll start...

Hardware;

Intel i7 3930K
Gigabyte GA-X79UD3 main board
16GB g.skill Ripjaws Z DDR5
2 x Gigabyte 3GB GTX780 OC
Samsung EVO 850 500GB SSD
Panasonic 65" @ 4K
Logitech G930 7.1 Wireless Headphones
Logitech G510 Keyboard

Thrustmaster Warthog HOTAS
Saitek X52
Saitek Command Unit
Saitek Pro-flight Pedals
Logitech G27
Microsoft XBox 360 Wireless controller
Track IR 5


I performed an in place upgrade from Windows 7 Home 64bit edition by downloading the Windows 10 installer files to a USB drive.

The installation took about 30 minutes with 2 reboots (one caused because I forgot to unplug the USB and the stand alone installer started when my computer booted from USB)

Windows fetched all the new drives required during the installation where necessary and everything worked ok. The only issue with hardware that I have faced is that my controllers have been re-enumerated. Not an issue where the controller is explicitly identified, but a pita for those where it isn't...

I started all of the apps up that I primarily use upon booting to the new UI and everything ran as expected with a couple of exceptions. If you run applications in fullscreen mode everything will be fine, but if you run in Windowed mode and you have let Windows re-scale the UI of the desktop, it will do the same for your Windowed games and you may not see your menus and options...

Programs;

Virtual LSO (for FSX) this started and I could see that it was running OK, but there was no Window. I found that holding shift and right clicking the task bar shortcut allowed me to move the window and maximise, then drag to where I wanted it.

JSGME. Same as Virtual LSO.

VoiceAttack wouldn't start, changed the compatibility to Windows 7 mode and everything works OK.

TrackIR no longer started upon boot, added it to the start up options.

VRS Superbug for FSX. Needed to re-register.
VRS Tacpack for FSX. Same as Superbug.

So far I've played DCS, FSX, Rise of Flight, The Witcher III and Project cars and everything gets about 10% better frames on average, some are getting close to 30% better frame rates with the same settings.

Mine has been an overwhelmingly positive experience so far...!

100% Working games, no issues.
FSX
Elite Dangerous
Kerbal Space Program
Witcher III

Minor issues
DCS - Had to reload control configurations
IL-2 Battle of Stalingrad - UI was oversized. Set to full screen mode and fixed the problem. Had to re-map controls (different Joystick ID)
Project Cars - Had to re-map controls (different Joystick ID)
Warthunder - Had to re-map controls (different Joystick ID)
Rise of Flight - Had to re-map controls (different Joystick ID)
Dirt Rally - Had to set the Graphics Quality to Ultra Low Windowed mode to get the game to stop completely locking up Windows. Then upping them again to preferred settings works. Edit: Found out that this was the 'Advanced Blending' graphics setting causing the problem.

Nicely done Highwayman.
Appreciate it.

Excellent review Highway...I have a copy of Windows 10 reserved but I'm waiting on positive reviews before going forward with the install...so thank you for your input.

Installed, no dramas so far.

Upgraded today. With only one black screen the update went pretty smooth. I fired up my HOTAS Cougar, CH Pro Pedals and TrackIR in DCS and everything worked so I dare to say ithe update was a success.

Thanks for the reviews. I'm seeing that you have to disable all modules in DCS before installing...it this true and how do you disable??? I'm slowly moving towards installing. I had a heck of a time jumping straight into Windows eight before all of the bugs were worked out so I'm being extra cautious...

Some people at the ED forums reported having to re-activate modules, I only had one, the MiG-21 which seemed to randomly ask me on Occassion before I upgraded to which I just pressed cancel, and it still works.

I didn't de-activate anything at all and I'm pretty sure most of the Aussies that have so far didn't either and had no issues.

Thanks Highway...so I think I'm hearing just install Windows 10 with no preparation (as a computer challenged individual...that's music to my ears)...if so, I think I might install it tonight.

Thanks to all

I did no prep, just ran it and so far so good.

Thanks Kiwi...I think I'm feeling better about the install

Did the update with everything enabled aswell. No problems so far

There is apparently a major issue with Realtek sound drivers and Ws10.   That's a deal breaker for me.  Hope its sorted out soon.

Upgraded from windows 7 to 10 two days ago. Everything is working fine and I got a nice FPS boost in DCS.

Can someone tell me why it is free to ugrade win7 to win10?

Apple, Seriously...

PC sales are in the biggest decline ever. The consumer now rules the roost when making business IT decisions and with the success of iPhone and iPad in a lot of places around the world, people are saying 'Hey, why not get a Mac when we need our next computer, these iPads work great'.

These people then become used to using Macs at home and then want to use them at work, whether they want to bring their own into work or complain to their bosses and more and more work places are now buying the IT kit that their users want rather than the traditional 'Here is your PC' when you join a company.

Our office for example had no Macs at all 4 years ago. Today we have about 1/3 of all of our computers being Macs and to be honest, in my experience, they do just work better. That said, most companies buy AU$700 workstations from the likes of HP or Dell whereas the Macs are typically AU$1,200, so you are buying a 'better' computer if you compared Apple's to Apple's, pardon the pun.

Finally to add to that, Apple have been offering free upgrades to their operating systems now for 3 years and Microsoft are at last seeing the threat to their business.

So you may ask, if they give Windows away for free, how will they make any money?

New copies will still cost money, computer manufacturers like HP and Dell will still pay a license fee and the biggest reason is the back end Server infrastructure where businesses data resides.

In Australia for example, 90% of servers run Windows, 70% of company email is hosted on Microsoft Exchange, 80% of business office documents are created in Microsoft Office and that is where Microsoft really makes its money.

TLDR? Here's the summary

So, give away the Home PC operating system to try and keep the consumer market happy, then they will want Windows at the office. If they keep using Windows in the office, the Companies are more likely to stay with a Microsoft back end rather than looking at alternatives like UNIX and Linux and Microsoft protects its biggest piece of the cake!

Thanks for the explanation HW

I finally installed my Windows 10 and all is well.

Great news Flyer Did you see any performance increases?

I got a reservation but still no notification that it's ready to install...

If you want to, you can go download it directly from Microsoft and install it onto a USB key or run it directly on the computer that you download to.

Not really sure yet but I believe so...I'm just happy it didn't do bad things to my system and hardware.  All games work as required and nothing really changed other than the way Windows 10 looks. So far I'm happy with it.

(C/229) Highwayman wrote:If you want to, you can go download it directly from Microsoft and install it onto a USB key or run it directly on the computer that you download to.

Thanks, I'm doing that now.