To upgrade or not? Dont want to clean install, dont want to mess up games

[victortsoi]

Just got the windows 10 notification....what to do? i like games, I want to be able to use directx 12, what advantages will windows 10 offer me? I also dont want to be an early adopter. thanks!

 

[USAFRet]

What are you running now? Win 8.1?

Wait.
Win 10 is NOT released in full yet. And if you do not want to be an early adopter....you have until summer next year to think about it.

 

[victortsoi]

If I confirmed my email address with them, and the file downloads to my sdd, and i reformat, will i lose that upgrade?

 

[SchizTech]

Well all you can do now is reserve the upgrade, which won't become available for a couple months. How it will be different depends on whether you're coming from 7 or 8.1. Dx12 will require new games designed to support it, and supporting hardware.

I really like a lot of what's in Windows 10. The default browser is all new. The redesigned start menu is becoming refined in the latest preview builds. It's up to you whether you will use any of the new apps though the distinction between modern apps and traditional desktop programs (from the perspective of the end user) is blurred quite a bit in 10 now that everything runs in a window. There are of course security enhancements. If you use the Snap feature introduced in Windows 7 to run windows side by side that's received a bit update in 10 with snap assist suggestions and options to snap up or down into 4 corners.

 

[SchizTech]

What are you running now? Win 8.1?

Wait.
Win 10 is NOT released in full yet. And if you do not want to be an early adopter....you have until summer next year to think about it.

Evidently notifications have already started

http://www.neowin.net/news/windows-7-and-8-users-are-now-able-to-reserve-their-free-copy-of-windows-10

 

[SchizTech]

If I confirmed my email address with them, and the file downloads to my sdd, and i reformat, will i lose that upgrade?

This step is just a reservation. Once the upgrade is actually ready, it will download the upgrade in the background then re-start a few times to install the new OS. In upgrades between preview builds all personal files are retained and installed programs are retained as well; I'd assume the same will be true of the final upgrade.

 

[USAFRet]

If I confirmed my email address with them, and the file downloads to my sdd, and i reformat, will i lose that upgrade?

If you do not want Windows 10 now, just leave it.
I'm not sure what you did with "I confirmed my email address", but just don't install anything.

Just leave it alone for now.

 

[victortsoi]

thats the thing, i want to be able to have the file so that I can clean install if i want...and what if i upgrade, but want to clean install after the upgrade period?

I like the idea of windows 10, as I have a "main" desktop for gaming, work, thats windows, but i also have a macbook. I'd like some os x "like" features to get built in, but above all i dont want to lose performance or functionality on any of my programs, and, i dunno, maybe im just scarred from vista, even though I was pretty young at the time....

 

[victortsoi]

^ sorry, I'm running windows 7

 

[SchizTech]

Microsoft currently lets you download an iso of Windows 8 or 8.1 if you have a valid key, so I'd guess there will be an option somehow to get an iso when 10 comes out (as long as you have a legitimate key or upgrade key)

 

[SchizTech]

As to refreshing 10, Windows 10 will have a feature that will let it do a refresh based from existing system files such that a dedicated recovery partition won't be needed anymore.

 

[USAFRet]

thats the thing, i want to be able to have the file so that I can clean install if i want...and what if i upgrade, but want to clean install after the upgrade period?

OK. You will be able to obtain an ISO, when it is actually released. Just not yet.
This 'reserve' thing is just to drum up hype.