TECH TALK: Helpful Windows 10 Info, MultCloud.com Advantages

Yes, I have upgraded my touchscreen Ultrabook computer from Windows 8.1 to Windows 10. I did the typical “in place” upgrade where the upgrade takes place over an existing Windows 7 or 8.x installation. For me, I would say that the upgrade went…okay. It didn’t go perfectly, but it did go okay.

After the upgrade, I did encounter some touchpad and display issues. However, I was able to quickly resolve them by visiting my computer manufacturer’s website and downloading and installing some recently released Windows 10 drivers, and making some settings tweaks that I learned about in some users forums. During the process of searching for updated touchpad and display drivers I also came across some additional Windows 10 drivers and other Windows 10 related software for my computer. After installing the latest computer manufacturer-provided Windows 10 related drivers and software that were available for my system, everything now seems to be running smoothly.

Note: During the installation of some of the “new” Windows 10 drivers that I found, I was presented with messages that warned me that the driver/software that I was installing was OLDER that the drivers/software that was currently installed on my computer. Since I was having trouble with the current drivers/software, I ignored the warnings and continued with the installations. For me, and my issues, these decisions appear to have been the right ones. I haven’t tested everything yet, but so far things are now working well for me (I’m knocking on wood).

Should you upgrade? My quick answer to the question would be, “No, not yet (for most people).” The longer you wait, the more likely that bugs will be fixed via software patches, new drivers, etc. Therefore, if you wait a bit longer before upgrading, you’re likely to encounter both fewer problems, and more solutions/workarounds to issues that may be common with your particular computer model.

Tip: If you do some pre-upgrade research, like visiting and exploring the support area of your computer manufacture’s website for Windows 10 software, drivers, user forums, etc. and you don’t see many significant problems being encountered by others, then I would say that if you want to upgrade…backup your computer…then go for it! Good luck! (Millions of users have already upgraded and to varying degrees seem to be making out okay with the new operating system.)

Windows 10 Related Articles

Whether you have or haven’t upgraded to Windows 10 yet, I thought many of you might be interested in reviewing some recent Windows 10 related articles (reviews and tips type of articles). The following link will lead you to a short list of links to some articles I’ve come across and think are worth taking some time to review. Tip: When you get to the page with the list of links, take a look at the links themselves as you can get the gist of the article topics from the link text. Here’s the link to the list of articles…www.multiurl.com/l/nOr

How to Install Windows 10 on a Mac

Do you have a Mac and want to upgrade the version of Windows that is currently installed on it to Windows 10? Do you want to install Window 10 on a Mac that doesn’t already have Windows already installed on it? If so, the following link will lead you to a web page that contains three links to other web pages. One link leads to an Apple.com support page on the topic. Another link is to a good step-by-step article, and the last link leads to a YouTube video that “shows” you the process of installing Windows 10 on a Mac. Here’s the link…www.multiurl.com/l/nOK

Booting Into ‘Safe Mode’Using Windows 10

“Safe Mode” on Windows computers is probably most often associated with troubleshooting problems. Hopefully, you never or will rarely ever have a need to get your computer into “safe mode.” However, if you ever do need to get your computer into “Safe Mode,” the following link will explain what “Safe Mode” is, and how to access it. I recommend that you consider printing out the article for future reference. Here’s the link… www.tinyurl.com/qztlelw

Reverting to Windows 7 or 8.x After installing Windows 10

Yes, within 30 days of upgrading to Windows 10, you can revert back to your Windows 7 or 8.x Windows installation. If things just aren’t working out for you after you perform the Windows 10 upgrade, the following article will help you to return your computer back to the state it was in before you performed the upgrade. I think everyone who plans on doing the free Windows 10 upgrade should read this article, so you understand what’s involved in the process. Yes, if you do revert back, you can upgrade to Windows 10 for free again in the future (as long as the upgrade is completed within the year that the free upgrade offer is in place). Here’s the link… www.tinyurl.com/opte9xc

Performing a Clean Install of Windows 10

When you upgrade a computer to Windows 10 from an earlier version of the Windows operating system, you will likely be performing what is often referred to as an “in place” upgrade. Some people prefer not to install new operating systems over pre-existing installations of Windows, and prefer to do what’s commonly referred to as a “Clean Install.” However, when upgrading a computer to Windows 10 from Windows 7, or 8.x, you’ll need to go through some extra steps to achieve the “Clean Install” goal. The following link leads to an article that will explain the process… www.tinyurl.com/odjpzr3

MultCloud Transfer File Service

MultCloud.com is a free service that enables you to manage files between a number of popular online data storage providers. For example, if you want to move files from a Google Drive account to say a DropBox account, MultCloud can help you to do this. A particularly nice feature of MultCloud is that you don’t have to leave your computer on while the data transfer operation is in progress. The answers to two questions that I think many of you may have about the service are: 1) Yes, your data is encrypted as it transfers between your online service providers, and 2) No, MultCloud doesn’t limit the amount of data that you can transfer between the services it supports. If you need to manage data between any of the online storage service providers that the service supports, I think that MultCloud.com is worth considering. To learn more, please visit www.multcloud.com

Reminders

This column is eventually made available at www.realestateindepth.com (Technology column section)

If you have comments, suggestions, tips, questions or just want to say “Hi,” you are invited to contact me at john@johnvrooman.com. (I always enjoy hearing from you!)

John Vrooman
John Vrooman keeps an eye out for cool new hardware, software, apps, gadgets; SaaS solutions; social media developments, trends as well as personal/SMB productivity and related solutions. He gathers information for his column from a diverse range of resources and he enjoys sharing his discoveries with others. He has been authoring this column since August 2000 and welcomes feedback from his readers.