windows 10

According to Microsoft, 75 million devices are already running Windows 10. That's an impressive total, though the company still has a long way to go to hit its target of one billion users within the first three years. The figures came in a series of ... Twitter posts by Yusuf Mehdi, the Microsoft executive responsible for marketing Windows. The 75 million figure comes just under a month after Windows 10's release, with 14 million downloads alone on launch day. (Source: windows.com ) It's hard to compare the Windows 10 early adoption rate with Microsoft's previous operating system. While ... (view more)

A newly published study suggests the vast majority of Windows 10 users "love" the system and most of its features. However, the methodology of the study is shaky to say the least. The figures come from Brandwatch, a company that tracks public ... sentiment about particular products and companies online. It claims its methods help find out what ordinary users are thinking, rather than rely on media reports. For this study, Brandwatch gathered together data from 7,000 people who had posted about Windows 10 on Twitter, Facebook, Internet forums and other online outlets. It then analyzed ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Gail C. writes: " Dear Dennis, I have Windows 7 and am trying to use Windows Update to update my system, but I keep receiving the Windows Update error 80070490. I have not been able to download updates for over 3 months now. I ... would really like to upgrade to Windows 10, but I can't because my Windows Update isn't up to date, thus preventing Windows 10 from downloading. Every time I run the Windows Update, it starts to download something, then fails at the same spot with error code 80070490. It is driving me crazy. Can you help? " My Response: Windows Update error 80070490 ... (view more)

Reports that Windows 10 stops Google's Chrome browser from running appear to be only partially correct. While the problem does exist, it only affects people running test editions of Windows 10 which are not available to everyone. The problem affects ... the version of Chrome designed for 64-bit PCs. If the problem strikes, the browser simply fails to show any page and instead displays the familiar "Aw Snap!" error message. It appears to affect all editions of 64-bit Chrome, from the standard edition through the various test editions, such as developer and Canary. (Source: ... (view more)

Some of the terms and conditions applying to Windows 10 users appear to give Microsoft permission to block software it suspects is illegal. However, it seems the clause may be a case of a careless cut-and-paste, rather than a firm policy. The text ... appears in the Microsoft Services Agreement. That's not strictly the terms and conditions of Windows 10 itself, but rather Microsoft's various online services. It's come to wider attention because so many of these services are used by apps built into Windows 10. Microsoft Can Block Games and Peripherals Among the agreement's clauses ... (view more)

Microsoft's patch process for Windows 10 is going far from smoothly, with some PCs locked in a constant reboot. It's reawakened the debate about how the new Window 10 update system will work. With Windows 10 intended to be the final "brand new" ... edition of the operating system, Microsoft has ditched its traditional policy of a monthly 'Patch Tuesday' security update, including emergency patches in between when needed. Service Packs were also previously released once every year or so after gathering enough patches, along with offering a few new features. Instead the plan ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader 'Tom' writes: " Dear Dennis, I recently upgraded my computer from Windows 8.1 32-bit to Windows 10 32-bit. This past weekend I purchased Windows 10 64-bit because I want to upgrade from Windows 10 32-bit. For the upgrade, I ... understand I will have to do a complete reinstall. That said, each time I put the Windows 10 DVD in my system and I run the setup.exe (via my desktop), it says 'This app can't run on your PC'. How do I perform the upgrade to Windows 10 64-bit? " My response: Before I answer the question, there are a few things I need to get ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Gilles S. writes: " Dear Dennis, I just installed Windows 10 and got it configured and working 100% the way I like it. I took your advice and purchased Acronis True Image and made a backup of my Windows 7 system before upgrading ... to Windows 10. While browsing my C drive I noticed I have a Windows.old and a $WINDOWS.~BT folder. I read online that when I install Windows 10, it also keeps my previous operating system (Windows 7) on my hard drive in case I need to roll back. Since I already have the Windows 7 backup made, I don't need two copies and would like to remove the ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Paula H. writes: " Dear Dennis, I recently installed Windows 10 and looked in my tray bar and found that my antivirus has gone missing. Previous to the Windows 10 upgrade, I was using Windows 7 with Avast! antivirus (free). When I ... go to the Start Menu and type in 'avast', it doesn't come up with anything. I also don't see it in my Start menu when I click through my programs, either. Is my system unprotected? How can I get my antivirus working with Windows 10? " My response: You are not the only person to ask this question, and the problem is not limited to Avast! antivirus ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Tim G. writes: " Dear Dennis, Thanks for your article yesterday on ' How to Fix: Windows 10 Display Shifted; Screen Fuzzy '. I have somewhat of a related problem; after I upgraded to Windows 10, my screen has shrunk with a black ... border all around the edges of the display. I use 1280x720 resolution, though my monitor can handle 1920x1080 (I prefer 1280x720 because it's bigger and easier on my eyes). It's the 1280x720 resolution that shrank, and there aren't any video card updates. I am using the ATI Radeon 4250 which is integrated with my motherboard ... (view more)