Windows 10 HP Pavilion

[nw-woman]

I'm debating Windows 10 upgrade.  I run a small business and simply do not have time for any headaches or time wasters.  That said, I'm wondering if: 

1) I must update my bios which is currently smbios 2.5 version/date: american megatrends 5.43, 9/10/2009?  (ugh, if so)

2) I do not have a graphic card.  I'm using a USB to DVI video adaptor to power my second screen.  Star Tech seems to think it'll be fine.  Curious if anyone else has had any problems with second screens using an adaptor.

3) Overall, can anyone share their experiences with an upgrade similar to mine?

Thank you in advance.

[Jay_101]

Hi,

I would not take the upgrade plunge if this PC is used within your business.

There is a BIOS update. The fixes included don't directly impact Win 10 compatibility.

Older Win 7 PC's such as yours have a mixed record when upgrading to Win 10.

The risks may be greater than the rewards. Some systems have graphics issues after the upgrade. Really bad stuff such as no video.

It is really hard to troubleshoot a failed upgrade without video.

Jay

[nw-woman]

Hi Jay --  Gently and kindly asking -- are these your opinions or are you doing tech maintenance upgrades and have seen this happen to many of the Pavilions?  Hoping the latter.  🙂    

I don't mind doing a BIOS update myself but I don't do them unless it's necessary, given that, well, it's BIOS.   I'm confused by the should versus must aspect of the update.  I've read "it's a must" and elsewhere "it's a should."  When I read your statement, I'm reading "optional."   Yes?

The graphics run issue is a new one to me.   Not good at all! 

[Jay_101]

Hi,

I have experienced these facts correcting failed Win 10 upgrades on  HP, Dell, Lenovo, and Toshiba systems.

The problem is not with the OEM but with the drivers Microsoft attempts to use on all of the configurations out in the wild.

Everybody has their position on doing BIOS updates. My take is to update the BIOS if the update fixes a problem I am experiencing. Others say you should apply BIOS updates when they are released by the manufacturer.

You can update your PC's BIOS if you want but the update will not make your potential Win 10 upgrade experience any better.

Please don't use HP Support Assistant to apply the BIOS update. Do it manually. Download the update and install by running the executable.

Microsoft will tell you your system is ready to upgrade to Win 10 because it's goal is to get as many systems as possible using Win 10. Microsoft will deflect by blaming the OEM if the upgrade borks your PC.

The only way I would try the upgrade on your PC would be to migrate your current operating system to a new HDD/SSD.

Pull the original disk. Do the upgrade on the second disk and see what happens. Or verify the second disk is good to go. Then do the upgrade on the older disk.

If the upgrade fails you reinstall the primary or new disk and you are back in business. You have an OS backup on either the original disk or on a new disk. 

Call it risk avoidance and redundancy.

Jay

[nw-woman]

Thanks!  I'm totally in agreement with you re bios.  Unfortunately, my life is in front of a screen -- front-end dev and town's tech maintenance girl but not one experience so far with the update other than what I've read at tech crunch etc and from chatting about it with my son, a developer for Cormant Inc.    I was going to create an image simply for fail-safe but yeah, I like your idea.  🙂   Like it emotionally but think you've helped me decide.   What I have is a tool and the tool does everything I need for my local site dev work.  I have yet to see a feature on 10 that will improve my work or work flow. 

So thanks.  You helped me decide -- like so many others in business ...no go.  Non-biz market doesn't have the same issues with down time being an expense.

Hats off to you, sir!  

[Jay_101 · Accepted solution]

Hi,

You're welcome.

Jay