Windows 10 free upgrade loophole closing in December

[mouser]

There is still a way to upgrade to Windows 10 for free, but there won't be for long..

If you haven’t yet switched to Windows 10, either by upgrading your current PC or by buying a new one, it’s not too late to do so for free. That is if you’re reading this before the end of 2017, when Microsoft has decided to end free Windows 10 upgrades for good. So, you’d best act quickly…  Unfortunately for anyone yet to take advantage of the assistive technologies workaround, Microsoft has announced it’s ending the free upgrade offer on December 31, 2017...

http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/upgrade-windows-10-free-quick/

[exjoburger]

On New Years Eve I decided to make use of this upgrade on one of the two laptops I have in my household which can run Windows 10.

I still dislike Windows 10, that especially since Classic Shell is no longer being actively updated, and I can't justify the cost of the Pro Edition at home.

Well, I have 7 or so days to decide whether to return to Windows 7, and I'll probably do that. Maybe I'll revisit Windows 10 when it is finally rolled out at work. Oh well...

[4wd]

Extended until January 16, 2018 ... you got a few more days to get it for free.

Microsoft link

[exjoburger]

After 6 or 7 days I went back to Windows 7.
The aggravation level of Windows 10 was too high. Of course there were a whole lot of prompts:
“Why?” - I told them
“maybe an update will help?” - No Thanks.

Eventually my laptop rebooted into Windows 7. Aaah

[4wd]

Even though I'm using Win 10 Pro, Windows 8.1 Pro was better.

More efficient than 7 but with less aggravating "we want to know everything you do, it's really our machine" than 10.

[wraith808]

Even though I'm using Win 10 Pro, Windows 8.1 Pro was better.

More efficient than 7 but with less aggravating "we want to know everything you do, it's really our machine" than 10.

I hated Windows 8, more for the interface features, and the little peculiarities.  And example... I connect via RDP to my work laptop from home.  I've stopped using  it and use my Windows 7 box instead, mostly because after RDPing for a bit (random amount of time) it flakes out.  And it's a known problem, and the only fix is to RDP from some other platform.

[4wd]

Must be a YMMV thing, I never had any problem using RDP to my headless XP/8.1 machine either from the same LAN or from the UK, using laptops/computers running 8.1.

[wraith808]

Must be a YMMV thing, I never had any problem using RDP to my headless XP/8.1 machine either from the same LAN or from the UK, using laptops/computers running 8.1.

The problem is going from Windows 10 to Windows 8.1, and the Support guy showed me the MS advisement.

[4wd]

But that's it, the headless computer at home was running 8.1 for a couple of years after all other machines were upgraded to 10, (it only changed from 8.1 to 10 in the last couple of months}.

So for the last 2 years or so I've been RDP from 10 to 8.1.

Yeah, sorry, I should have said I've been RDP from 8.1 and 10 for the last couple of years.

[wraith808]

But that's it, the headless computer at home was running 8.1 for a couple of years after all other machines were upgraded to 10, (it only changed from 8.1 to 10 in the last couple of months}.

So for the last 2 years or so I've been RDP from 10 to 8.1.

Yeah, sorry, I should have said I've been RDP from 8.1 and 10 for the last couple of years.

Not sure.  But I deal with it every day, and have since I was given a Windows 8.1 machine  I think it also has to do with RDPing non-direct, i.e. from network to network over VPN.

[Shades]

Weird. Now I'm not denying you experience the problems you experience, but it is the first time I heard of it and I have been using Windows 7, XP, 8.1 and Server 2012 machines to connect through VPN to RDP to Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Server 2008 and Server 2012 machines for hours and hours on end, without any issues of any kind. And yes, that includes even sessions where I VPN/RDP to one system to another system in another network on a different location and then need to use Citrix to access yet another computer in another location. A mish-mash of connections that I sometimes have to go through, because of a legal minefield that do not allow me access directly.

But no crapping out of RDP through VPN in any combination.

[Stoic Joker]

Weird. Now I'm not denying you experience the problems you experience, but it is the first time I heard of it and I have been using Windows 7, XP, 8.1 and Server 2012 machines to connect through VPN to RDP to Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Server 2008 and Server 2012 machines for hours and hours on end, without any issues of any kind. And yes, that includes even sessions where I VPN/RDP to one system to another system in another network on a different location and then need to use Citrix to access yet another computer in another location. A mish-mash of connections that I sometimes have to go through, because of a legal minefield that do not allow me access directly.

But no crapping out of RDP through VPN in any combination.

Same here ... However I did run across an issue with one client that kept having repeated issues with the target machine locking up due to an issue with the print spooler. It's a rare but known issue with certain printers and RDP that seems to manifest most often if one is coming from a slow/overloaded network (e.g. like from a hotel). Disabling the connect to local printer option for the RDP connection mitigates it for the most part.

There is no existing list of known problem child printers...however I do suspect that anything that is host based on either end of the connection would be a prime suspect (just a hunch..).