Upgrading to Windows 10 from XP or Vista? Prepare for a clean install

[Exterminator]

http://www.neowin.net/news/upgrading-to-windows-10-from-xp-or-vista-prepare-for-a-clean-install

Later this year, Microsoft will be releasing Windows 10 and if you are running an older version of Windows, you need to be aware that to make the jump to the new OS, a clean install will be required. While not a total surprise for Windows XP users, this holds true for Windows Vista users as well.

That's the word from Gabe Aul, the man in charge of the Windows Insider program, as he stated on Twitter that the only upgrade paths supported are from Windows 7 and newer. This should not come as a huge surprise when you look at the desktop OS market share.

For starters, Windows XP is no longer a supported platform and Microsoft has left those bits far behind. Even though the OS still holds an 18% share of the desktop market, according to Net Applications for the month of December, Microsoft is not willing to make the transition easier since the OS is over a decade old which could require a significant amount of work to make this upgrade possible.

And then you have Vista, with only 2.9% of the market, the user base is quite small when compared to Windows 7 (56%) and Windows 8/8.1 (12.5%) which is likely why Microsoft is passing over the OS when it comes to a smooth upgrade path.

While Microsoft has not officially said when Windows 10 will be released, their next major milestone occurs later this month and Neowin will be there. At that event, we will get our first, official, look at the consumer features coming with the new OS.

Source: Gabe Aul

 

[Ink]

Clean installations are nothing new when it comes to upgrading older OSes. For example, this screenshot is taken from 2009 upon the release of Windows 7.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_7_editions#Upgrade_compatibility

Seeing it's now 2015, a clean install shouldn't be a big deal, nor should program compatibility.. unless you still use IE6 on Windows XP. Transferring personal data files is far more easier with cloud services and cheap external hard disk drives or hi-capacity USB memory sticks.

 

[nissimezra]

thx for the info
lets hope it won't be like 8. from what I can see old pc's with XP won't have enough power to upgrade to 10 or 8 anyway

 

[Exterminator]

I would think that if you are still an XP/Vista user now would be the time to consider upgrading to at least Windows 7.Whether or not 10 will be a free upgrade for 7 and or 8 it still should be considered especially for those still on XP

 

[nissimezra]

I would think that if you are still an XP/Vista user now would be the time to consider upgrading to at least Windows 7.Whether or not 10 will be a free upgrade for 7 and or 8 it still should be considered especially for those still on XP

many people using old machines that have even less than 1 gig of ram. if you still using a pc with Pentium 4 windows 8 is not an option. so the only option is to upgrade all the system which mean buy a new pc. not everyone can afford that.

 

[jamescv7]

Very usual common way approach, as long the user has fully loaded of bucket money then shouldn't be a problem for upgrading or clean install.

2 GB and above will be a better start for a minimum requirements but also it depends on processor type so it should be the latest as much as possible.