I have been resolute so far with remaining on Windows 7pro but am now wondering if the time has finally come to shift to Windows 10. I would be interested to hear some informed opinions about methodology (upgrade or clean install), version (home or pro) and pitfalls (how to avoid bloatware, intrusive monitoring etc).
Apart from E D - I use three flight simulators which have a LOT of addons so a clean install would mean a lot of work re-installing. The other consideration is that I have twin computers networked - any issues about networking (both need W10 or can I keep W7pro on one)?
I am not a tyro in computing but I have not kept up with Windows 10 since the WX nag issue yonks ago.
Cheers
Windows 7 is end-of-life as of
tomorrow and if you call Microsoft asking for support all you will get back is laughter.
I would install Pro but then, I
am a pro (admin). You might, just
might be able to get Windows 10 for free,
see this article.
A clean install is always best. Yes, it is a lot of work but it removes any bloatware, hidden cookies, report-ware, viruses or "extra data" that might have been installed over the years, cleans up and defragments the hard-drive and erases your browser history, too.
Perform a full backup before upgrading, just in case and once you have the new OS completely installed, updated, software installed, etc. perform another full backup.
I use the built-in Windows Security feature and have not had any problems, I don't even run a 3rd party antivirus as the Windows solution does both antivirus and anti-malware.
Windows 10 computers will network just fine with Windows 7 computers, networking has little to do with the OS but, see my first comment. o7
PS: If you do not have one and can afford it, this would be a
really good time to install a
Solid-State Drive (SSD). You will notice a
great improvement in general drive performance (programs loading/files loading) and free up your old spinning-disk HDD for file-storage and/or backups, somewhat reducing your risk of data loss.