I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about in this paragraph, but it isn’t Windows 10. Seriously, that entire paragraph is bullshit.
To change the default app for a file type, you just go to control panel, and then, under programs, pick “default programs”. You can then pick a program and set it to default to open all the different file extensions it can, or search by file extension and pick a default program for each file extension.
Like I said, I only used it for a few hours the day it was released (a year ago!), but I remember it would not let me change certain file associations. It wouldn’t let me link Winamp (or Adobe Audition CC 2014) to MP3s, it wouldn’t link Word 2003 to .doc files, and it would only let me use the new Win10 app for pictures (.bmp, .jpg etc.). The old apps ran fine on Win10 but the file associations would always get reset after rebooting. I then spent an hour or so on Google and sites said this was by design, and the only way to permanently ‘break’ the associations was to modify the registry.
So you kids git out of my damn yard*!!* 
As usual, Microsoft is making it needlessly cumbersome to download the update. I want an ISO file so I can do clean installs. For a wonder, they’re allowing that, but unless you’re in an expensive subscription program, you can’t just download a file, you have to download their executable tool and use that.
It doesn’t tell you either the name of the file or where it’s being downloaded to, it just sits there and gives you a percentage completion. Then when the download is finished, you’re only half done, because now it has to “create the media,” which AFAIK is just copying the stupid thing from wherever it downloaded it to, to the destination you specified in the first place. And of course, they don’t give a checksum anywhere that’s easy to find.
Why can’t it just download the file to the destination, and give you a Checksum so you can verify it worked?
Anyway, I downloaded the 64-bit English version. They didn’t let me choose between Home and Pro, so I assume it has both. My MD5 is 434a792b36b3a2e097fe183dc2308747
Can anyone verify this? I can do various SHAs if you don’t have an MD5 tool.
I would stick to windows 7 or windows 8 the reviews are not good on windows 10.
I would buy computer running windows 7 or windows 8. The reviews are not good on windows 10 from what people say.
Windows 8 really stable OS.
What people are saying this? Where are you hearing this?
That’s horrible advice, IMO. Windows 8 was the absolute nadir for people who like Windows 7. Every release since then has been making it better, to the point where this week’s release of Win10 is almost as good as Windows 7.
My advice is, if you’re using an old computer with Win7, and it does everything you want to do, then don’t upgrade; since you missed the deadline, it’s not worth the money.
If you have a new computer, or plan to get new peripherals, then you should try to find some way to get Win10. The longer you wait, the more new stuff won’t work with Win7.
If you need to use the new assistive technologies available in Win 10, then you can still get it for free.
ahem
Yeah, that’s better than some of the other ways. 
I saw no reason to go down Microsoft’s latest rabbit hole in the hopes the installation works.
Upgrading an existing computer has all the appeal of ripping out every electrical item in my car and randomly rearranging them. There’s nothing in it for me except frustration.
No idea. I would imagine it’s pretty difficult to buy even a new-old-stock Windows 8 machine now.
It’s true that Win8 was a pretty stable OS - people hated it because of its UI, not because it was unstable. A lot of those people have switched to hating windows 10 now - I guess it’s their way of upgrading.
Cortana is Microsoft’s answer to Siri. It is a service that integrates all the different types of search you could do. You can search your files, your apps, your contacts, your calendar, etc. It also searches online, being able to find stores or websites or just information in general. Cortana is now built into Windows 10. Any time you do a search of any kind (except in your web browser), you are using Cortana.
Cortana uses Bing for the Internet parts of its search. Bing is generally not that good at search. When Windows 10 first came out, users could tell it to use Google instead, which improved the search, making Cortana work better. The first update to Windows 10 removed this feature.
People who wanted Google’s search had to start using something else. And so Cortana became much less convenient. So a lot of them would shut it off, and go back to the way search worked on Windows 7 and Windows 8. Other people didn’t like the idea of having it all integrated and preferred to keep it separate, and so didn’t turn on Cortana. Still others didn’t like the idea of sending every single one of their searches to Microsoft so they could run it through their Cortana program. They didn’t like Microsoft being told about all their Calendar stuff and notes and everything.
This latest update to Windows 10 removes the ability to turn off Cortana. So, if you want to use file search or app search, you have to use Cortana. You have to let her send everything to Microsoft, and to Bing. If you want to avoid Cortana, you can’t still use features that you could use on Windows 7. You lose functionality.
When would you personally feel the difference? Most people use the app search when they start an app that they don’t use often. That way they don’t have to hunt through the Start Menu to find it. If you forget the name of a file or where you put it, you may want to search for it, rather than look everywhere manually. And you might want to search inside files, and find something your read and saved long ago.
Now you cannot do this without using Cortana, and thus searching Bing. While Microsoft will let you turn off some of the more privacy invasive features, Cortana is now mandatory if you want to search your computer.
And whether this seems like a big thing to you or not, it shows a pattern. Microsoft launches Windows 10 with certain features. You use those features. Then Microsoft makes a mandatory update that removes those features. The computer you paid for is becoming less able to do what you want it to do.
Before, Microsoft had to weigh the pros and cons if removing something. But, now that everyone is forced to update, they don’t. They can just do whatever they want, regardless of whether the user was using the feature they removed.
One thing people predict is that, in the future, all apps will have to come from the Microsoft Store. That way, Microsoft will make money on any app. And that’s not so far off–that’s exactly how it works on iPhones and iPads. Even if you want to make a free app, you have to pay Apple for the privilege.
Or considering all the ads they throw into apps that come with the computer, maybe they’ll go the Amazon route, and force a screensaver on you that displays ads. unless you pay a fee to get rid of them. And, like both of those and Google, maybe they’ll take away Administrator access, and limit so many things, requiring you to “root” your computer.
It’s worrying that Microsoft is pushing the same model as these others, when Microsoft was the refuge from them.
Thanks for the info BigT. But what update to 10 removes the option to turn off Cortana? I have had all the updates as far as I know and I don’t have any Cortana and can search any way I choose. ??? What am I missing? I never turned off Cortana and have never seen “her” nor would I know how to turn her on. (heh)
Windows Anniversary Update. Just rolled out Tuesday, and it’s a big 'un. Several gigabytes downloaded, and a lot of time after the first reboot installing it, with multiple reboots in the process. If you have it, there’s no way you’ll not notice it.
In my case (Intel i5, 16G RAM, moderately fast hard drive) it took an hour of “Updating” and rebooting before Win 10 was ready to use again.
And by “ready to use”, I mean would let me log in. It took more time to repair Classic Shell, which the update process disabled as “not compatible” (bullshit, it’s very specifically the Windows 10 Anniversary Update compatibility version) and desktop gadgets (which were never officially supported, so I suppose Microsoft is justified in killing it? 
)
ETA: It’s analogous, I think, to Windows 7 or 8 Service Pack releases, although Microsoft will never call it that. It’s Windows 10, it’s always been Windows 10, and we’ve always been at war with EastAsia don’tcha know?
It was the recent Anniversary Update that turned off your ability to turn off Cortana.
I never had new peripherals not working on older computers. I some some computers running windows XP, windows 7 and Linux and not had problems with peripherals.
It seem some kind of conspiracy going on with Microsoft and the hardware makers of new peripherals if it will not work on windows 7 or windows 8 and you need windows 10.
What kind of new peripherals is it that it will not work on windows 7 or windows 8? A keyboard, mouse and external hard drive should be more plug and play and work on older OS.
It seems to be some kind of conspiracy going on with Microsoft and the hardware makers of new peripherals if it not work on older OS to kill it.
I was thinking of things like printers and scanners. Microsoft support for Win7 ended in January, 2015, unless you pay for extended support. It’s up to Epson (or whoever else makes your printer/scanner) whether they will provide drivers for an obsolete OS, but I don’t see why a company would voluntarily add to its support burden.
If they still do, great, but they won’t do it forever.
I have a flatbed scanner that worked with Win95/98/XP but refused to work with Win 7 regardless of how much I looked for either specific drivers or generic scanner drivers. Finally had to retire it.
Edit: Whoops, that’s the exact opposite of what you mentioned
That is the worst advice ever. Do not disable windows update!
I didn’t advise people to disable Windows Update; I told them the best way to do it if they have already decided they want to do it. There are many legitimate reasons to do so, some of which have been given in this thread.
But if you want to let Microsoft decide for you when your PC is updated, nobody’s stopping you. And whatever you do, don’t rip that tag off of your mattress!