Operating System Win 10 vs. 8.1 (1 Viewer)

[rsbrux]

My HTPC has run pretty well for years with Win 7 Pro x64, but since MS is dropping support and a few problems have cropped up, I plan to install a newer OS (not upgrade).
I am comfortable with Win 8.1, having used it for years on my laptop. Furthermore, I have seen more posts here about problems with Win 10, and I have some pretty old HW.
OTOH, I will no doubt be forced to migrate to Win 10 eventually, and some have written here that there is no significant difference between Win 8.1 and Win 10.
What do other MP users recommend?

 

[joecrow]

For upgrade my advice would be to go straight to win 10, Win 8 users are already seeing reduced or no support for the OS with new products (both hardware and software). Notably AMD no longer offer updates or new GPU drivers for Win 8! I also believe it is still possible to upgrade from 7 to 10 for free, Google it, once upgraded you can choose to do a full clean Win 10 install if you want. Note that some OEM software for example MS Office may not activate with Win 10 (retail versions will be fine) so take an image backup so you can go back to Win 7 if need be.
On the other hand If you have no plans to make any significant upgrades to your old hardware it might be best to stick with Win 7 and if you are only using Windows Defender maybe look for an alternative AV program to keep things safe.

 

[ajs]

What do other MP users recommend?

IMHO Make backup image of Win 7, Free upgrade Win 7 to Win 10, check actiovation, anf if Ok, reinstall Win 10 from scratch