Windows 10: What to expect on July 29

Frank1 said:

If this question has been answered hundreds of times and I missed it, I apologize for asking it again. I have reserved my copy of Windows 10. When it's ready will it download automatically or will they just notify me that I can download it? If it downloads automatically I hope it gives me the option as to when I want to install because I want to back up all of my important data first. Thank you. You guys/gals have been a big help to me.

I believe you will get a notice that it's ready for download.

If I were you, I'd make at least a couple of backups of data. Just for good measure. :) Oh, and I'd download the free version of Macrium Reflect and make an image of your Windows 7 or 8.1 installation too. If you need to roll back, it'll be easier to do with Macrium.

Wynona said:

I believe you will get a notice that it's ready for download.

If I were you, I'd make at least a couple of backups of data. Just for good measure. :) Oh, and I'd download the free version of Macrium Reflect and make an image of your Windows 7 or 8.1 installation too. If you need to roll back, it'll be easier to do with Macrium.

Wynona,

I thought bits and pieces will be downloaded and you are notified when you can install it.

Indianatone said:

Hey Wynona you forgot those of us who run VMWare Workstation. I have 3 PC's with Workstation on and all 3 of them have 4 versions of 10 (there were 5 but Enterprise deleted once it no longer activated) on them The 32 and 64 bit US and 32 bit 64 bit UK. So I am testing 10 12 times on 3 PC's. Be nice to get an ISO and then I'll perhaps blow away my 8.1 partition on 2 of my machines (I never use it) and install 7Pro temporarily and then upgrade that to 10 Pro then wipe it and clean install 10 keeping Windows 7 as my main OS but dual booting as and when. I'll still have the VM 10 OS to play with. I can be in the UK in the morning and the USA in the afternoon and evening........Yes I do have plenty of time to waste on my computer. I am disabled with a bad heart and no longer work. Free copies of an OS to play with and test is also nice. If 10 had Aero, looked like 7 and had media center every single PC in the house would be upgraded.

Nah . . . I just didn't know about you. :) I said, "at least" because I knew there would be more installations than I could either think of, remember or know about.

I'm not going to the trouble of installing my old Windows 7 Ultimate licenses, since I don't intend to go back to Windows 8.1 anyway.

I intend to stay on the Insider Program also, but would like to have one partition as the "final" and the other as Insider. Mostly because I'd like to compare the Preview to the actual. I'm still not sure that will be possible, since I only have one Microsoft Account for all my machines.

Maybe after the upgrade I can change my account. I have seen Aero on this machine at different times, but haven't been able to pinpoint how or why it shows up.

groze said:

Wynona,

I thought bits and pieces will be downloaded and you are notified when you can install it.

Yes, IndianaTone has called me out on that, but my fingers insist on typing it anyway. What I should have said was "installation" rather than download.

Wynona said:

Yes, IndianaTone has called me out on that, but my fingers insist on typing it anyway. What I should have said was "installation" rather than download.

No problem :) I was just getting a little .

Frank1 said:

If this question has been answered hundreds of times and I missed it, I apologize for asking it again. I have reserved my copy of Windows 10. When it's ready will it download automatically or will they just notify me that I can download it? If it downloads automatically I hope it gives me the option as to when I want to install because I want to back up all of my important data first. Thank you. You guys/gals have been a big help to me.

The original plan that I heard was that it would download in the background without any notification - that's what you signed up for when you 'reserved' a copy. But it will definitely not go ahead and install without your say-so, so you'll have the chance to back up an image of your existing installation.

groze said:

Wynona,

I thought bits and pieces will be downloaded and you are notified when you can install it.

That was clearly the plan at the start of the 'reserve your copy' program. Presumably it hasn't changed, but sometimes MS doesn't do things exactly as announced up front. For example, the original plan was for the bits and pieces to be downloaded in advance of the 29th, and on the 29th you'd be notified when ready to install. Now it's 'days or weeks' after the 29th. Who knows what's going on? - Not me!

sgage said:

That was clearly the plan at the start of the 'reserve your copy' program. Presumably it hasn't changed, but sometimes MS doesn't do things exactly as announced up front. For example, the original plan was for the bits and pieces to be downloaded in advance of the 29th, and on the 29th you'd be notified when ready to install. Now it's 'days or weeks' after the 29th. Who knows what's going on? - Not me!

I think what I've read is that for Insiders, the bits and pieces are downloaded to our machines and then after we get it, the rest of the world will. We're special! :)

Wynona said:

I think what I've read is that for Insiders, the bits and pieces are downloaded to our machines and then after we get it, the rest of the world will. We're special! :)

Yes, we're all speshul Insider snowflakes! :) I hope we get it on the 29th - not that I expect to notice any earth-shifting change, but just for that 'end of the journey' feeling. I wonder if there will be some sort of notification on our systems...