Upgrade your system or start from scratch?
Upgrade your system or start from scratch?
I have a stable Windows 8.1 setup with four SSDs and two spinning disks. Everything is working fine, and the drivers are functioning properly. I’ve got a lot of games installed, some outside Steam, and overall I’m quite satisfied. However, newer titles now demand Windows 10, which makes sense given the new Xbox One wireless controller that doesn’t play well on this version. It feels like it’s time to switch. I already have a Windows 10 installation disc with a valid key, which I didn’t need when I reinstalled on my laptop. I waited until after the warranty period ended before upgrading, so I’m keeping the Windows 10 installer and key. The machines I build next will likely need Windows 10 Pro, so this older version isn’t ideal. Upgrading seems necessary. But should I perform a full reinstall—taking hours—or just an upgrade? If networking drivers keep failing, I’ll have my laptop and external drives ready to install the right ones. Sometimes updating networking drivers is the trickiest part, especially when the WiFi card won’t cooperate. This is one reason I’ve avoided Windows 10 so far, but back in the past it worked surprisingly well. After a frustrating experience, I replaced my old 500GB Seagate drive with an SSD and reinstalled Windows 8.1.
I’m always in favor of a new setup. But give it a shot with the upgrade first. You might still encounter some issues before things settle, or it could work right away. Since each machine and setup is unique, results can differ. Still, the worst case is a full reset anyway. It’s always wise to test first.
I've got around 3 TB of games on my SSDs, plus another TB and a half on the 2TB platter drive. It'll take a few hours to redownload from Steam, and setting up the drives is usually a hassle. Luckily, I have a USB 3.0 to Ethernet adapter for my laptop, which should help with getting drivers if the LAN driver isn't found.
I've made the upgrade. It's almost identical to a fresh install, but it retains certain registry settings for your software. The entire system gets replaced, including all configurations. Many people have told me that upgrading to a major version is worse than starting from scratch unless I've tried it multiple times and verified the outcome. It seems the clean install suggestion is just another piece of advice, like "I never tried, but..."
I tried the tool on Microsoft's site, the Install Media creator, and was surprised by how simple it was to access Windows 10. I thought my networking drivers would fail, but they didn't, and I haven't needed to update or fix them much. A few games stopped working, but I can reinstall them and get them running again easily (hopefully).
Win10 comes with solid built-in driver support. It provides enough basic drivers to connect you online in 1080p, allowing you to install the necessary ones (unless Windows Update takes over). Good to know it’s all sorted.