Migrating from Windows 7 to Windows 10 – What you need to know
Come January 2020, Microsoft will officially end support for Windows 7 which means that the time to upgrade to Windows 10 is quickly becoming a decision that needs to be made and no longer debated.
Windows 10’s installation and upgrade process is very simple and rather self-explanatory for home users and the steps there relate to enterprises users as well.
Backing up important documents and data is of course recommended as is checking your system requirements.
Windows 10 requires a 1GHz or faster CPU or system-on-chip, 1GB of memory for 32-bit systems and 2GB of memory for 64-bit systems. The operating system requires 32GB of storage for a clean installation as well as an internet connection for updates.
Ahead of installation make sure you have all your product keys from software you may need in the future as well as your product key are on hand. It’s also recommended that you install Windows 10 using the Media Creation Tool.
Mass deployments of Windows 10 for business owners are a bit more involved but also made easier by the folks at Microsoft.
Part of this comes in the form of the Upgrade Readiness tool built into Windows Analytics. With Upgrade Readiness an IT team can take a bird’s eye view of the computers, applications, and drivers your firm makes use of.
This allows you to plan ahead and account for applications that may not be compatible with Windows 10.
There are of course considerations to be made before diving into an upgrade procedure with backups being at the top of that list of considerations.
The machines due for an upgrade should also be eligible for an upgrade meaning they will need to be running Windows 7 or Windows 8.1. A full upgrade compatibility list can be found here. While many Windows 8.1 machines are compatible with Windows 10, it is worth double checking before proceeding.
Once this is done a Windows 10 operating system image can be added to the Configuration Manager. From here the deployment settings can be configured and a Device Collection can be created. This allows your team to set specific upgrade conditions for specific machines, even if these happen to be a group of machines.
Once deployment is ready installation can begin. Once started, upgrades to Windows 10 will also be deployed.
For organisations that require a higher degree of customisability, Windows Autopilot can help customise the out of the box experience with all the apps and settings configured according to your organisations processes. Windows 10 must already be on machines for Autopilot to deploy settings and the like.
Autopilot can also be used to configure a user’s smartphone or tablet rather easily so as to insure an employee can access their mail and the like.
Deploying Windows 10 in your organisation can be rather easy if the correct planning has been done and a clear plan of action is in place.
If you are in need of any assistance in this regard, contact Pinnacle today.
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