Is it now safe to upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 10?

You can ask this question and get answers both ways. I have it and have had zero problems. My take on Win 10, compared to Win 8/8.1 is that it is a "better Win 8", just as Win 7 was "Vista improved".

There are several different model Dell Inspiron 17R's so I can't check your specific model. However, Dell does validate the one 17R I looked at as being Win 10 compatible

I will say, if you want to use a 64 bit OS you really should have more than 4GB of RAM. The big plus with a 64 bit OS is that it will address more than 4GB of RAM. A 64 bit OS uses more of the basic RAM than a 32 bit OS thus less is available for programs.

Hi,
Well if you do decide to try 10 and everyone should

At the very least make a system image to a separate hard drive so you can get back to where you were reliably :)
Here is a great free program to accomplish the reversal
Imaging with free Macrium

Have you even tried 10 yet ?

There`s not much of a difference between 8.1 and 10.

Test it out in a VM before you install it.

Just to represent the alternative view, not everyone likes the concept of W10, being a cloud service and also collecting user data as a matter of course. Toss any remaining notion of even a minimal amount of privacy or the ability to opt-out of data gathering out the window. It will also evolve to show ads (if it doesn't already) and is more of a data-gathering OS than a personal OS. (Of course all that data gathering is "to improve your experience" ... and some people like that, and others don't see it that way at all.)

I will never upgrade to W10, and I have been using Windows since 1988 and Windows 2, so not too long after you started. W7 does everything I need, all my work and personal softw works great on it, and AFAIC it's the last good Windows OS for those concerned with even minimal privacy. I won't be moving into the new paradigm of OS as window into the user. When the time comes... years from now... if I need to utilize new softw that requires a newer OS I am sure there will be another option at that time... a backlash to the exploitation of the user's data will result in an OS with more emphasis on privacy and less on data gathering. If not, there will be some version of Linux or a newer open source alternative.

Just saying. Unless you have a need to move to W10, or a particular affinity for it, for your own reasons (some people just have to have the newest of everything whether it's better or not), there is no reason to upgrade. If you pay your bills online, use word processing, etc. W7 will continue to serve your needs. That's my opinion. Others will disagree.

Good luck.

EDIT Right after I posted this, I saw this... but I've read many articles just like it over the last several months. Yup. Windows is dead to me. Beyond W7.

AddRAM said:

Have you even tried 10 yet ?

There`s not much of a difference between 8.1 and 10.

Test it out in a VM before you install it.

Confirm this! A smart move prior the doing the nasty.. And I do mean Nasty! Not a fan of 10....

Invasion of Privacy Definition

Offensive or unjustifiable access obtained to someone's personality or personal affairs without his or her permission and/or knowledge.

O! MS Is Good... Or Not.... You have no choice with 10! It's the cloud. I don't care what anyone says.. There's no real security there. If you do.. Well you're naive.

A Good Read! Microsoft is Pushing Windows 10 Just a Little Too Hard

I have 1 Windows 10 in virtual - just to study it. But that is as far as it will go. None of my real systems are going to see it.

maxseven said:

whs is there an easy "download latest W10 as .iso" or some such anywhere, to use in a VM? I was going to install to one of my old PCs, but like your idea better since all I want to do is to familiarize myself with W10.

To the OP, if you're happy with your PC, don't mess with it!

Windows 10 Media Creation Tool