As I'm sure many know the technical pre-release of Windows 10 is available for free download. As I type this I am downloading the ISO image.

A few notes!

1) This is an early release and likely has issues which could cause system crashes, odd behavior and there is the chance of system infection.

2) This should not be installed on a work or critical machine.

3) If you set up as a dual boot you should immediately go to drive management and remove the drive letters for any other OS or data drives/partitions. This will isolate Windows 10 so that it cannot access these drives.

4) You should go to drive management in any other OS involved in a multiple boot and remove the drive letter for the drive/partition that holds Windows 10.

5) You MUST understand that you do this at your own risk. Neither Microsoft nor this site can be held responsible for any loss of data or system issues caused by this install.

6) You should not do this install unless you are well versed in system operations and troubleshooting. This is not a venture for the novice user.

7) If you decide to try this do not do so without making a system image backup and recovery disk. Let's face it... this is an early release and there ARE risks involved.

Other notes...

There ARE conditions.

1) You must have a Microsoft account.

2) You cannot turn off auto updates as this is how new builds are sent.

3) You ARE expected to give feedback as to experience and issues. Some of the feedback will be automatically done while others will be manual via an included app.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/preview

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I have it running in a VM on this Asus Notebook running Windows 8.1

I couldn't make a spare partition on it or I would have tried a dual boot.

Haven't had time to play with it yet as much as I want to but will give it more time in a bit.

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Joan Archer
http://crossstitcher.webs.com

BTW, if you happen to have a product code for Media Center do NOT apply the key as doing so will cause Win 10 to show as Win 8 Pro and you will get no updates. Also it will show as not being activated.

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You gotta be kidding? No, I DID NOT know that Win 10 is available as a beta since I am still waiting for Windows 9, not daring to jump onto the malformed Win 8 (save it people, I do not want any fights here). What happened, did Microsoft hop on the Firefox and Chrome bandwagon and decide to release a new OS every several months ????????

Still wishing that these multibillion dollar companies would keep things simple, especially for this aging brain (GG keep quiet!)
Acadia

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The blazing evidence of immortality is our dissatisfaction with any other solution. -- Emerson

There never was a Windows 9. They went from 8.1 to 10.

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Just a simple clarification -- not a beta, but a "technical preview." A consumer beta is expected to be available early in 2015. While the current build is available to anyone that signs up for it, it is not fully baked yet.

-steve

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stephen boots
Microsoft MVP 2004 - 2020
"Life's always an adventure with computers!"

Very true Steve. That is why I said in the first post that this was not a project for the novice.

I WILL say that I have had pretty much zero issue so far. The only issues I've seen involve older software. Two are old games and another should be easily fixed but isn't...

1) An old game called Zuma Deluxe. It works if I change the color bits from 32 to 16 but this is no different than Win 8.1.

2) Another old game called Hyperspace invader. I cannot set the gama bright enough to be able to play. Again this is the same in Win 8.1.

3) This is the biggest issue and isn't the fault of Win 10. I cannot run PaintShop Pro X3. I also had this issue in Win 8.1 but it was easily solved by applying a patch supplied by Corel. Somehow I seem to have messed up and didn't save (or haven't yet found) that patch. Since the patch is no longer available on the Corel site I contacted them via their chat window and was told that they no longer had that patch to offer... ya, right... I'm sure that they don't archive anything... They DID offer me a 5% discount on X7, ya right. I can do my photo editing on my Win 8.1 side of the dual boot which has PSP with the patch.

One last note... The issues with the two games is likely to prove to be an issue with the video card drivers and not a compliance with Windows 8.1 or 10 as both work just fine on my laptop with an Intel video chip running 8.1. The card in my medial system is AMD/ATI. It is absolutely an excellent media card but not designed for games. I figure that it has to be a driver issue as one of the games says that the card does not meet the minimum requirements to use hardware acceleration. The game is better than 10 years old and I built the system a year or so ago.

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I trust that the above was meant as a joke... There is nothing wrong with Windows 8 other than the fact that some don't like the interface. That is personal choice and each to their own.

I'm sorry but your above statement cannot be taken as an attempt to to avoid a fight but rather to start one. You know that I consider you a friend but I just cannot let that statement go without answer. I just ask one question. Please tell me what, from experience, you find "malformed" about Windows 8.1? I'm just curious. You know that I value your opinion as to your knowledge and that of a friend. I would just like to know what you personally found 'malformed' about Win 8/8.1 in relation with your personal experience with the OS.

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I agree with Jay and can't see what you'd have against 8, especially since the upgrade to 8.1. If you don't like the Start screen you can set it to boot to the desktop, but the start screen is very useful for quickly getting to anywhere you want.

It is quicker and yes there is a learning curve but to someone like you with your experience I don't see why you'd have any problems.

If you're determined to skip 8 give 10 a try, you can run it in a VM if you just want to have a quick look, that's the way I have it installed.

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Joan Archer
http://crossstitcher.webs.com

Folks, let's just drop it, please. Acadia has his opinions, and they are perfectly valid. We have different tastes. If he finds Windows 8 malformed, then it is - for him. Believe me, he could have used many worse adjectives. I've heard some.

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Patty MacDuffie
Computer Haven Administrator

Live Long and Prosper
Mr. Spock

I think we all know what is malformed about Win 8, don't we? It's the fact that they tried to force the desktop to behave like a mobile device. Sure it works and you can learn how to use it but why after years of progress does one have to abandon the familiar for basically no gain to the user.

Maybe us old dinosaurs don't want to admit that the death of the desktop is here but that's actually a lot of folks. Win 10 admits that maybe the desktop isn't as dead as thought. When history is written, Win 8 will be placed in the same category as Vista and Win ME - flops that had to be fixed. So much so that the entrenched Win 7 folks will be harder to move then the XP crowd. It's going to take decades, maybe Win 15 and the death of their machines for Win 7 to go away.

It's that problem in the way it was developed or grown; badly or improperly formed, that makes malformed a darn good way of describing the issue. But it's a worn out topic really and what's done is done. We all need to just get on with it.

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Best regards,
Manny Carvalho
MS-MVP since 2002

Manny, the point is that you may find it malformed, and Acadia may find it malformed, but there are those of us who do not. And our opinion is equally valid.

The desktop pc is definitely dying - in the consumer space, not the enterprise space. I myself am pushing my less computer savvy clients to tablets, primarily for security reasons.

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Patty MacDuffie
Computer Haven Administrator

Live Long and Prosper
Mr. Spock

Sorry, I should not have responded... I was really just picking on Acadia.

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Absolutely. While I may complain about it I still have been using Win 8 for almost two years largely because I just haven't yet got up enough steam to revert backwards. Now that Win 10 is here I hope it takes me forward.

I like tablets and have one but I use it mostly for reading books.

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Best regards,
Manny Carvalho
MS-MVP since 2002

That's me with my tablet, Manny, Nook and Kindel.

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Me three.

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Patty MacDuffie
Computer Haven Administrator

Live Long and Prosper
Mr. Spock

And me, I have the Nook and Kindle apps on my Nokia Lumia and Asus Notebook and I also have a Kindle Fire but really only use that for reading books. I occasionally do other things on it but mainly just read books.

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Joan Archer
http://crossstitcher.webs.com

You have a Nook app on your Lumia? I'd sure like to know where you found it!

I've had to cheat and go through all sorts of hoops to read my Nook books on my Lumia Icon. Had to remove DRM, decrypt and use a generic ePub e-reader. Kindle yes, Nook, no.

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Patty MacDuffie
Computer Haven Administrator

Live Long and Prosper
Mr. Spock

Patty, you might want to look at Calibre eBook management at
http://calibre-ebook.com/about

I don't know if there is a mobile version that you could use but I have this installed on my media system. It is a reader but also a book management system. If you have a lot of books you might consider this even if there is not a mobile version. As a note it will only handle non DRM eBooks. To be honest I'm somewhat surprised at how high the percentage of NOOK books I've bought are NOT DRM protected, most of them are not. Possibly that has something to do with what I read. I do mostly Sci-fi and Fantasy.

I tend to buy eBooks via my tablet but also, at times, through my desktop. When I DO buy through my desktop I also download anything that I have bought on my tablet since the last time I used the desktop. If nothing else my method serves as a backup for my eBooks. While I don't read through Calibre it DOES serve as a decent manager.

I just can't seem to be able to get into reading a book on a PC monitor even if it is a 42 inch HDTV. I want to hold a 'book' while I read. That is why I really like the NOOK app on my Android tablet; it even looks sort of like a book with the center crease to imitate the book binding. Also being an 8 inch tablet it is about the right size for a paperback book.

Going to have to try installing Calibre in Win 10 to see how it goes...

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I've been using Calibre for years, Jay. That's how I de-DRM and convert books. Signs are that B & N are changing things to make this impossible now. We'll have to see if the author of the Calibre plugin can parry.

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Patty MacDuffie
Computer Haven Administrator

Live Long and Prosper
Mr. Spock

Sorry Patty you're right I don't have the Nook on my Lumia just my Asus, because I have the Kindle app on everything else I included the phone by mistake.
I don't use it that often though, I have a few books on it but I find the books I want to read are cheaper for my Kindle via Amazon.

I get emails from Nook with their book selections they have on offer and also a few other places.

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Joan Archer
http://crossstitcher.webs.com

OK, Joan. No problem.

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Patty MacDuffie
Computer Haven Administrator

Live Long and Prosper
Mr. Spock