Anyone running the Windows 10 Technical Preview?

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I now have W10 build 10041 up and running on a very old Dell Inspiron B130 LT! Intel Pentium M 1.7Ghz, with 1.5GB of 533Mhz DDR RAM. W10 is currently only using 672MB of that. Install size is 7.2G out of 74.5G available. I'm guessing this is an 80G HD.

This is a new install after HD reformat. Previously XPSP3 was on it. Total install took between 30-45min. and ran without a hitch. No errors.

First, I'm surprised it would even run on this old machine (2004 or 2005 maybe? I'm not the original owner. It was a freebie from a neighbor). Performance is very good. No waiting for a long spinning wheel/hourglass/etc.

I'm limited to a max of 1024 x 768 on the screen due to the internal Intel silicon (915GM/910ML/915MS). Max graphics mem is 763MB. (I said it was old.....)

Windows key (start) is semi-translucent to background. Lots of aps on right. Very new to me as an XP user. A rt-clk allows you to unpin/resize anything.

Task view is also new to me and I like it. File Explorer is a very different ballgame from XP..hopefully it'll remember how each of my folders is set up. I'll have to add some items to play around with it.

I looked for My computer > properties, device manager, control panel and the HD. All in new places, but find-able. The only icon on the desktop is the recycle bin, so no joy there. Not sure what this looks like in W7 or W8, but very different from XP. No worries though!

Resource Monitor is excellent! So is Task Manager. I regularly use the SysInternals programs instead with XP as they show so much more information. Definite step up here.

No joy though trying to play a DVD! Ha! What is it with MS when it comes to something as simple as playing a movie? This is 2015, not 2000. Perhaps "this feature" hasn't been added yet. I didn't get an option to play the movie, only examine the disc's TOC. According to WMP, the "disc is empty." Does W8 do this out-of-the-box or does it too need an "ap" to play a DVD? I remember XP doing the exact same thing upon a new install more than a decade ago now. Geesh.....it DID know what to do with a CD though....play it.

Well that's my two-cents review from a still-XP user. MS gets a FAIL on the DVD auto-play, but everything else seems to work and on some ancient Dell HW too boot.
 
I know a lot of people are going to disagree with me, and that is fine, but I just downloaded Win 10 and tried it on my Windows 7 netbook with an extra HDD I had. Let me say I am not impressed at all. In my opinion it is another flop, as much of one as Win 8/8.1 was, if not worse. I played around with it for a very short time until I got so frustrated that I shut it down, pulled the HDD, and switched my Windows 7 HDD back in. What is that awful search bar on the taskbar for? And who is this cortana stuff that you need to sign into your MS account for? I don't want that in the way on the task bar! I tried to remove it but couldn't find a way to do that. Also, the start menu is still awful, and I couldn't figure out how to remove the obnoxious tiles from it either.

Since I have to keep a Windows computer around, I will be sticking with 7 on this extra laptop for a long time, probably well beyond it's end of life. In my opinion, Windows 7 was the last "good" Windows version. I was hoping that MS might make one that was closer to Windows 7 again, but that would be expecting to much... No wonder it is free, I wouldn't even take it if they paid me. Glad I broke away from Microsoft on my main computers over a year ago. I don't have to put up with or care what they do anymore!
 
The Cortana search bar can be removed by right clicking on the Taskbar and disabling the search. It took them a few builds to get that corrected.

I'm on build 10074 and the project is not going the way I would like. In my opinion the OS is still geared for tablets and other devices, but is inefficient on the desktop when compared to past versions. I still haven't found a quick way to get to printers. What took one click now takes three.

I still have a small hope that MS will let the user customize the OS somewhat during install, but it's looking more and more like a lot of junk is going to be dumped onto users' system. I still look at that unremovable Xbox app and shake my head and grumble.
 
Originally Posted By: sleddriver
First, I'm surprised it would even run on this old machine (2004 or 2005 maybe? I'm not the original owner. It was a freebie from a neighbor). Performance is very good. No waiting for a long spinning wheel/hourglass/etc.


The specs on your laptop are very similar to my Compaq laptop (Pentium M 1.7 GHz, 2 GB RAM, 80 GB HDD). You're seeing first-hand just how good this OS runs on seemingly ANYTHING you put it on.

ClutchDisc, the Cortana and search boxes are easily removable from the task bar. You literally right-click, go to Search, and Disable it. Microsoft really couldn't have made it easier:

http://www.howtogeek.com/208276/how-to-hide-the-cortana-search-box-on-the-windows-10-taskbar/

If you don't like the Start Menu, just install any of the Windows 7-like Start Menus available. It's really quite easy to set Windows 8/8.1/10 up to act like 7...just much faster.

The bottom line is, if you don't want to like Windows you won't, period.
 
Originally Posted By: Saleen0679
The Cortana search bar can be removed by right clicking on the Taskbar and disabling the search. It took them a few builds to get that corrected.

I'm on build 10074 and the project is not going the way I would like. In my opinion the OS is still geared for tablets and other devices, but is inefficient on the desktop when compared to past versions. I still haven't found a quick way to get to printers. What took one click now takes three.

I still have a small hope that MS will let the user customize the OS somewhat during install, but it's looking more and more like a lot of junk is going to be dumped onto users' system. I still look at that unremovable Xbox app and shake my head and grumble.


I'm hoping they add printers to the right-click menu that comes up when you right-click start. They've got basically everything else there.
 
I've been waiting for the Devices and Printers to show up on the right click Start since they've been adding to the menu but it hasn't happened yet.
 
Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
ClutchDisc, the Cortana and search boxes are easily removable from the task bar. You literally right-click, go to Search, and Disable it. Microsoft really couldn't have made it easier:

http://www.howtogeek.com/208276/how-to-hide-the-cortana-search-box-on-the-windows-10-taskbar/

If you don't like the Start Menu, just install any of the Windows 7-like Start Menus available. It's really quite easy to set Windows 8/8.1/10 up to act like 7...just much faster.

The bottom line is, if you don't want to like Windows you won't, period.

It's not that I don't want to like Windows, I have just seen enough that I know that I will be staying with Windows 7 on my windows computer for a LONG time. Even if you can add the better start menu, and remove the search box, there is still a lot of Windows 8 in it. In fact, MS might as well have just called it Windows 8.2.

But that is just my extra computer anyway... I would never run any version of Windows on my main desktop and laptop again.
 
Originally Posted By: ClutchDisc
It's not that I don't want to like Windows...


Based on your signature line, I think your mind's already been made up...
wink.gif
 
Well, for all my computer needs, Linux is perfect for me. Once in a while, I need to use a Windows computer, so I keep my netbook with 7 on it, but other than that I don't use it anymore.

I realize that everyones computer needs are different. I don't hate windows, it's just when I found something that is so much more efficient for my everyday use, I am not going to keep running Windows.
 
I installed it on my pfsense box that aborted itself the other day on a minor update that was bugged.

Currently using my netgear r7000 as a router... working fine.

the pfsense box was a celeron 1037u, 4gb ddr3 1600, corsair 80+gold power supply, and I swapped the 2.5" 320gb scorpio black hdd for an old 128gb crucial m4 ssd I had extra.

It installed in 12min... looks um interesting.
smile.gif
 
I've made three attempts to update to Windows 10 Preview and it has failed each time. Way to go Microsoft, send me a preview update that doesn't work.

I've installed Windows, OS X, and Linux on dozens of computers. But the update system for Windows is a joke, it has always had issues. I'll leave Windows 7 on my 1st partition for the occasional use and my Ubuntu (MATE version) on the other that I use 90% of the time and never has a problem with updates.
 
I copied the ISO onto a bootable USB per their instructions and the install worked perfectly onto an older Core2Duo laptop. Did not attempt the update method.

After using it a while I would still prefer a Win 7 interface with the latest underlying technical updates.
 
Originally Posted By: BikeWhisperer
I've made three attempts to update to Windows 10 Preview and it has failed each time. Way to go Microsoft, send me a preview update that doesn't work.

I've installed Windows, OS X, and Linux on dozens of computers. But the update system for Windows is a joke, it has always had issues. I'll leave Windows 7 on my 1st partition for the occasional use and my Ubuntu (MATE version) on the other that I use 90% of the time and never has a problem with updates.


make bootable usb stick.. install.. its a beta anyway so you might want to even install a spare hdd and install/run it off that.
 
Originally Posted By: Rand
Originally Posted By: BikeWhisperer
I've made three attempts to update to Windows 10 Preview and it has failed each time. Way to go Microsoft, send me a preview update that doesn't work.

I've installed Windows, OS X, and Linux on dozens of computers. But the update system for Windows is a joke, it has always had issues. I'll leave Windows 7 on my 1st partition for the occasional use and my Ubuntu (MATE version) on the other that I use 90% of the time and never has a problem with updates.


make bootable usb stick.. install.. its a beta anyway so you might want to even install a spare hdd and install/run it off that.


Nah...I barely use Windows anyway. I just was curious for the same reasons I am curious with new Linux distributions. I don't see myself using 10 any more than 7.
 
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