Before you Upgrade your current PC to Windows 10

Microsoft has made a giant push forward for all of its Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 owners.  A free upgrade to the new Windows 10 Operating System (OS) can seem pretty attractive.  Many users I know have upgraded to Windows 10, and most have been pretty happy with it.
However, There are a few considerations to make before taking the upgrade plunge.   I hope to shed a little light on the subject today.

hardware & software environment

1. Is your computer capable of running Windows 10?  Most are since the OS has similar requirements to previous versions of Windows
2. Is your hardware supported?  I am speaking here about the peripherals on your computer (like your video adapter, sound card, network card, etc.)  In many cases there are updated drivers (software that helps your hardware to the OS), many times from the manufacturer (Dell, etc.)
3. Are your programs supported?  If you use programs like MS Word, or a specific word processor, it would be good going in to know if they are compatible with Windows 10.  If not you have to choose to leave it behind or try to find a replacement or upgrade for the program.  This one can be especially tricky, since often times people don't find out about compatibility problems until they have already upgraded.
4. What about peripherals?  Webcams, printers, Scanners, and such all need to be able to communicate with your new hardware.  If not, your usefulness of that hardware will be limited or restricted altogether.

Further muddying the water

This last one can be further complicated by "basic" drivers or Windows "plug & play" drivers.  They may allow the peripheral to work, but it might lack the advanced features and options that you had with the older Operating System.

In a small percentage of cases, the installation of a windows upgrade has caused irreconcilable damage to the OS, a hardware failure, or both, which can result in data loss, time lost, and the need for hardware warranty support (assuming the computer is still under warranty, {you did pay for the extended warranty, didn't you?}.  If you still have warranty support, then you would be covered for such an event.  Otherwise an expensive repair might be in your future.

What should I do?

Assuming you have some concerns,or if the above questions raised some concerns, you still have options.

1. You can choose not to upgrade the PC for now.  The free upgrade offer is valid until this coming June, so you can delay until then.
2. You really don't have to upgrade at all.  If you computer is built on older tech (more than 5 years old) and you are happy with its performance, you could just continue to use it as-is.  Microsoft still has update support slated until 2020 (4 more years).
3. If you do decide to upgrade, I would first make a backup of important data before beginning.  That way in a worst-case scenario you wouldn't risk losing your data

final thoughts

I hope this has helped to make decisions regarding upgrade paths.  Making the decision is always easier after having a more complete view of risks and benefits.  As always, you can contact me with specific questions, etc.