Windows 10 Technical Preview - First Impression

So I thought I'd write up a brief review of my first impression of the Windows 10 Technical Preview Build 9879 which I just installed on my laptop for testing purposes.

So far there's been a lot of hype surrounding it and I figured why not test it on a system that I primarily only use to watch movies on and/or take with me when I'm traveling. I'm not going anywhere any time soon, so now is a good time to toy around with it, and have the time to install 7 if something comes up.

Background aside, let's get into the nitty gritty.

The install:
I had some issues getting my laptop to actually read the DVD. Not an issue with the disk or the OS, just my laptop being stupid. Cleaned the eye of the DVD/RW drive, and rebooted, and it booted with no issues.

Splash screen near identical to the windows 7/8/8.1 installer. No surprise there as Microsoft doesn't change their splash too much at a time.

The install itself took about 20 minutes from start to finish from a DVD/R to a SSD. During the install, I noticed something that really impressed me.

My laptop is an ASUS G75VW. During the windows install, the ASUS ROG splash screen was visible for most of it. This immediately let me know that the windows install detected the manufacturer of the laptop and was configuring itself for said system. I was blown away by this to be quite frank.

Post Install:
After a couple reboots, I was greeted by a screen asking me to connect to a WiFi network. Windows also took the liberty of installing the correct wifi drivers for my device. Another +1 for Windows 10. They've put some work into this version.

I connected to my WiFi, ran through a couple configuration settings, and the system booted. I was greeted by a message stating, "Hi. Please wait while we configure your system"


Navigating Desktop and Minor Testing:
A couple minutes went by and my desktop appeared. Windows 10 did away with the metro desktop for the most part, but not completely. The start bar contains a more streamlined version of windows 8/8.1's metro UI. Cleaner and easier to manage than 8/8.1. Another +1 from me as I absolutely despised the metro BS, especially for a Laptop/Desktop which does not utilize touch screen capabilities.

I ran windows updates and rebooted. After the reboot I discovered that my Nvidia drivers were installed (one version behind current, but god damn if Microsoft hasn't got their shit together for this OS build!)

I downloaded all of my runtimes and a bunch of everyday utilities/programs via ninite (www.ninite.com) and checked out a couple things (Runescape to test java, CS:GO to test steam, etc) - Everything ran without a hitch. The compatibility of windows 10 is pretty much perfect from the MINOR testing I did.

Final Thoughts:
Overall, I'm really eager to check out the final release of Windows 10. I'll likely even go to the extent of upgrading my PC a few months after the official release (give them time to iron out any release day bugs which are to be expected)

If anyone's interested in checking out Win 10 and has any questions, or has been thinking about it, I say test it out!

 

Thanks for this sneak peak review n4n0, I'm definitely hyped for Windows 10 now

 

Thanks for mentioning ninite, sounds useful for new builds.

 

I learned about ninite through sythe, it's only fair to pass on the knowledge

 

I'm going to wait on Windows 10 until I save enough for a new build. Right now using a gaming laptop that's 4-5 years old now. For some reason I always have data loss when I format. Doesn't matter how I back up, something always goes wrong.

Luckily I have an xbox one and kindle fire to sell. That's a good $500 there.

 

I'm going to wait on Windows 10 until I save enough for a new build. Right now using a gaming laptop that's 4-5 years old now. For some reason I always have data loss when I format. Doesn't matter how I back up, something always goes wrong.

Luckily I have an xbox one and kindle fire to sell. That's a good $500 there.

 

I'm extremely excited for Windows 10. I've actually come to enjoy Windows 8 a bit but definitely miss certain aspects of Windows 7. Hoping the release is soon!

 

From what I've read, the official release date is slated to be announced in April. My guess is early summer. Probably June.

 

Yeah, that is what I heard. I was thinking more along the lines of Fall. I'm hoping to summer, but I expect Fall.

 

Knowing Microsoft there will likely be some delays, so fall is possible... I'm really hoping for early-mid summer though.

 

Would you say that its worth upgrading from Windows 7 to Windows 10?

Does it boot faster than windows 8?

I like hearing about ninite, its gaining popularity around the internet.. I myself use it too.

 

been running windows technical preview since only a few days after its initial public release. It's fantastic, and has been since day one. I've been running it on two of my personal computers around the house, and have built a few computers for others around using technical preview as well. Only one computer gave me issues with it at any point, and it was caused by a bad motherboard component driver somehow causing the whole system to crash and nuked the bootloader somehow....so the computer couldn't boot into windows no matter what. simply creating a new flash drive with the latest w10 on it was able to repair the system and had the PC back up and running without any data loss at all. This is all part of the fun in Betas, and not common though. His computer is running fine now, no more issues.

Windows technical preview is fast, it's been very stable for me, and very compatible with everything since day one.

 

I personally would advise against an "upgrade" - if you plan on migrating to 10, do a clean install after it officially releases.

As for it booting faster than 8, I don't know. I refused to use 8 on any of my personal systems.

 

very exciting

 

that sounds great if it's not quite like w8/.1 i'll upgrade. i hate the metro style a lot

 

Bahwhaha. As did I. Any compelling reason to upgrade over 7?

 

Primarily the new direct x, games perform a lot better on 10 than 7. (so I've heard from multiple sources at least.) I haven't tested it on my gaming pc to know for sure although I have a lot of friends claiming their systems are performing far better on 10 than they ever did on 7.

 

I heard that you could upgrade from previous windows version (7 and up?) for free even if you have a pirate version. Something to do with China having most of its operating systems being pirated and microsoft wants to get into chinese market. Not sure if legit information but I read about it on my local newspapers few weeks ago, thoughts about this?

 

Yes, it's legit information, and I think it's a pretty good idea from a business perspective.

 

Ah. I'm hoping that more games transition to Linux so I can run that as my primary system.