like many people, i have been offered a free upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 10 from Microsoft. this sounds very tempting but i can't see Microsoft giving anything for free. what are the caveats? robert.

Be prepared to lose backward compatibility with older adventure games,
some of which currently work with Windows 7 and XP.

We do not have a "Windows 10 and Adventure Games" thread (yet).
But if you want to be one of the testers, please report your results.

If you have a computer that is only used for Office applications and email, those will probably be supported.

Not everyone likes the "look" of Windows 10, which is closer to Windows 8.1 than to 7 with those flat, colored, space-consuming blocks hanging off the side of the Start Search
http://betanews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/win-10-9926.jpg
instead of Windows 7's menu.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/bd/Windows_7.png

The offer to upgrade for free expires 1 year after GA (July 29th). If you decide to upgrade after that, you'll have to purchase it. If you take the upgrade offering, there is a period of time allowed to restore the original OS if you don't like it.

While it's not a horrible OS, I still prefer Windows 7, and as Jenny stated, there is no guarantee of backwards compatibility.

I'm getting it and will start testing games ASAP.

That will be much appreciated!

Yes, it will. Thanks Draclvr! Looking forward to the results.

thanks to all! after reading your replies, i have now decided i had better hold off for now but unfortunately, i have already accepted their offer. how do i now tell them i have changed my mind? robert.

Just open the Window 10 upgrade thingy-click the hamburger menu (3 little lines on top left) click view confirmation-cancel reservation. Me I'm going for it.

thanks very much, Upsydaisy. robert.

is it necessary to cancel the upgrade if you don't want it?

This one is being treated as an automatic update. So you will need to cancel it or make sure you have selected the "download, but allow me to install" option in Updates.

What about those who have 8.1windows?like me,
upgrade or not?

Actually I would not trust "download, but allow me to install."
I've heard of people who had that option enabled, but still had updates pushed to them without their permission.
I've also seen it happen in classroom environments -- students in the middle of taking an online test and their computer throws up a message asking to reboot because it surreptitiously installed an update in the background, despite having "download but allow me to install" selected.

I always turn off automatic updates and run Windows Update manually.
However if you turn off updates, you do have to remember to check using Windows Update.
Usually Microsoft updates are released on "Patch Tuesday," the 2nd Tuesday of the month.
But occasionally Microsoft has "out of cycle" patches if they think they're especially important.
So if you turn off automatic update, you have to run Windows Update regularly.
Which certainly beats an unwanted "surprise" IMO, but YMMV.

Your approach, Jenny, is the same as mine.

Haroula, I would be interested in hearing whether or not there are any advantages to be gained by upgrading to Windows 10 from Windows 8.1.

Probably not a bad idea - especially in this case.

How do you cancel it other than turning off automatic updates?

Upsydaisy posted how to do it above - click on the hamburger menu and select Cancel.

I thought that was just to cancel if you originally accepted as Robert Gray did. I never accepted so do I still have to cancel? You said above this will come as an automatic update so even if you don't reserve the "free" upgrade, you will still get it? I guess (as usual) I am confused.

Ah sorry. When you said cancel, I assumed your meant you had already reserved it. As I understand it, you will need to do what Jenny suggests above and turn off your automatic updates. But I'm not sure - I'm getting a lot of conflicting information.

Well, I think it's pretty rotten if they actually push it on you. Why give you the option for the "free upgrade" then? Maybe it will be one of those ones you have to accept before it installs.

Thanks Draclvr!

Unless this has changed recently then it certainly isnt an automatic upgrade. It is an offer of a free upgrade and only you decides whether you want it or not. If they forced a new OS on to people they would be torn apart so that wont happen.

The automatic update (KB3035583) that schedules the download of Windows 10 has been known to sneak in through automatic updates. On some computers it appears as a "Recommended" update and will install through automatic updates without asking you if you want to update or not. It snuck in on my Windows 7 computer as a "Recommended" update, like a Security update. But on my Windows 8.1 computer it was listed as "Optional." But the reverse can also happen, with it being "Optional on Windows 7 and "Recommended" on Windows 8.1.

We had more discussion on update KB3035583 and how to remove it in the other Windows 10 thread
http://www.gameboomers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/1016941/2

The steps for removal are
1. Check to see if KB3035583 was installed on your computer, and uninstall it if it's there
2. Run Windows Update manually and hide KB3035583

1. To see if Microsoft snuck in KB3035583 through your Windows updates, go to the "Programs" in Control Panel (where you go to uninstall programs) and choose "View update history."
If you need more specific instructions, the Sevenforums website has instructions ***here***.
If you see KB3035583 in your list of uninstalled updates, you can uninstall it from there.

2. However it will reappear in your Windows updates. So to prevent it installing again, you have to (temporarily) disable Windows update, then manually run Windows Update (use the Start search to find Windows update). Then check Recommended and Optional updates to find KB3035583.
You right-click it and choose "Hide update." Step 3 in the Sevenforums webpate ***here*** shows how to hide updates.

It can be hard to find KB3035583 in the long list of updates, but you can put them in numerical order by clicking where it says "Name" near the top of the list of updates. However they will still be in separate sections, so you must search all the sections.

Thank you Jenny100 for that very detailed information!

That's what I was waiting for too, oldbroad!

Is this the update I need to hide?

Update for Windows 7 for x64-based Systems (KB3035583)

Installation date: ‎4/‎6/‎2015 3:01 AM

Installation status: Successful

Update type: Recommended

Install this update to resolve issues in Windows. For a complete listing of the issues that are included in this update, see the associated Microsoft Knowledge Base article for more information. After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer.

More information:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/3035583

Help and Support:
http://support.microsoft.com