Thinking about switching to Windows 10? Now’s the time to act

If you’ve been sitting on the fence about whether to move to Windows 10—either by upgrading your current PC from Windows 7 or 8.1 or by buying a new system—the next couple of weeks present a rather unique opportunity. It’s a patching perfect storm.
If you upgrade to Win10 or buy a new system before April 11, you’ll get Windows 10 Anniversary Update, version 1607, which has become remarkably stable. Wait two weeks and you likely end up in the unpaid beta testing phase of Win10 version 1703, the Creators Update. Creators Update problems will sort themselves out over the next few months, but why subject yourself to the drama?
I’m not going to tell you to upgrade from Windows 7 or 8.1 to Windows 10. There are plenty of good reasons to stick with what you’ve got. But if you’re ready to move on, the timing’s right.
If you’re running Win7 or 8.1 on your PC, there’s a free upgrade to Win10 waiting for you. Yes, it’s still free–that warning about free upgrades ending on July 29, 2016 was just a marketing ploy. To get your free, and perfectly valid and legal upgrade from a genuine copy of Win7 or 8.1, go to the Download Windows 10 page and either upgrade your current PC or create a bootable USB flash drive that’ll do the dirty deed.
If it turns out you don’t like Win10, and want to revert to Win7 or 8.1, there are some details and potential pitfalls to rolling back your upgrade, but by and large you can go back within 30 days.
If you buy a new PC, make sure you run it through Windows Update once before April 11, to bring it up to the latest build of Win10 Anniversary Update. Then lock it down. I’ll have ongoing, monthly instructions for updating version 1607 without getting tossed to the not-yet-satiated 1703 wolves.
Get 1607 while it’s hot—before 1703 locks you in its steely eyes.
Questions? Hit me on the AskWoody Lounge.