User Profiles - Create and Move During Windows 7 Installation

How to Create User Accounts on another Partition or Disk During Windows 7 Installation ​

   Information

There are several methods to move user profiles to another disk or partition after you have installed Windows 7. The easiest way is to use Audit Mode and System Preparation Tool, both built-in Windows 7 features, to permanently move the location of the folder Users.

This tutorial shows how to relocate both Users and ProgramData to another disk or partition when doing a new, fresh and clean install of Windows 7. If you have already installed Seven, and you'd like to move those folders away from their default location in C: drive, please read first post number 22 in this thread. Follow the steps told in that post, and continue then from beginning of the page 4 in this tutorial.

When Windows 7 is installed, 5 or 6 system folders are created depending on chosen bit-version:

• PerfLogs (Performance Logs), where Windows stores performance and reliability logs
• Program Files, where applications and software are installed. Windows x86 (32-bit) stores all applications here, Windows x64 (64-bit) only native 64-bit applications
• Program Files (x86), only in Windows x64. All non-x64 applications are stored here
• Windows, which contains core operating system files and drivers
• ProgramData, where some applications store application and user specific settings and configuration files
• Users. This is the "home" of all user folders. When a new user account is created and this new user logs in first time, Windows creates a set of user specific folders Users\New_User

Moving Windows and Program Files folders is not recommend by Microsoft. However, moving both Users and ProgramData folders is safe and can save a lot of space on system disk. Pictures, mp3’s videos, documents and so on, a user folder with its subfolders can be tens, sometimes hundreds of gigabytes.

For instance, using this laptop of mine as an example, the total size of Users folder and subfolders is at the moment about 240 GB. The size of ProgramData folder is at the moment almost 18 GB. I simply could not have these folders stored in my system C: drive, there’s not enough space.

When installing Windows 7, I recommend using Windows System Preparation Tool (Sysprep) in so called Audit Mode to relocate Users and ProgramData, leaving C: drive only for Windows and applications.

   Warning

An upgraded Windows cannot be sysprepped. As this method is based in sysprepping, this tutorial is valid only for Windows setups which have not been upgraded.

This means that if you have for instance in-place upgraded Vista to Seven, you cannot sysprep. The same applies if you have upgraded from a lesser edition to a better edition, for instance from Windows 7 Home Premium to Professional.

Notice that a repair install is also an upgrade install, so if you have ever done a repair install (= in-place upgrade to same edition), you cannot sysprep.

In other words, when sysprepping an existing Windows setup it only works if the Windows was installed clean and has never been upgraded or repaired using repair install, or if it is the original pre-installed Windows.

Using this method causes Windows 7 to lose activation information, and it needs to be reactivated afterwards. If your Windows 7 is an OEM version, you might not be able to reactivate it, at least not without phone activation option.

   Warning

IE10 Users: Please read this article first: Sysprep Fatal Error With IE 10 (FIX) | System Administration

Complete tutorial as PDF: View attachment Relocate User folders during Windows 7 installation.pdf (1.22 MB)

Kari

Related Tutorials

---

• How to Change the Default Location of a User Profile in Windows 7 and Vista
• How to Change the Default Location of Windows 7 User Folders
• How to Restore the Default Location of Windows 7 User Folders
• How to Free Up and Recover Hard Drive Space in Windows 7
• How to Change the User Folder Name of a User Profile in Windows 7

 

[Kari]

So, what would be the correct backup and restore method ?

I don't know what the correct method would be, I can only speak about how I see this topic, how I would do.

Set up system restore giving the shadow copies exactly the same percentage on both drives. When restored, the application data will also be restored but the fine thing with system restore is it does not touch your personal user data (docs, pics, etc.). They remain intact when using a restore point.

I have totally moved to Windows 10 and one of the most positive things in it (for me) is the seamless OneDrive integration. All my personal data is stored on OneDrive (I have 8 TB OneDrive available), all my libraries and default Save As locations are set to OneDrive, so I do not have to worry about losing any information when doing a system image restore.

If you do not use OneDrive or any other cloud service to store your data, you of course need to backup your locally stored data before restoring a system image because the restore wipes the drives empty before restoring.

Suppose something wrong happens system-wise, and one tries to correct it by using Windows' Restore points. What would happen ? Would Windows be clever enough to roll back back whatever in ProgramData and AppData pertains to the system itself, and not to roll back whatever in there is "user data" in a common-sense way ? For instance, would one be able to repair one's system without losing one's last mails, or the last adjustments made to software menus ?

See above, System Restore only restores the Windows system and applications (plus application data) but does not touch / change user's own data. All your personal files and folders remain intact. All your Word docs will still be there, all your Outlook's PST files as well, and so on.

And another situation : suppose the problem is not corrected by Windows' Restore points, and one decides to restore from a Macrium image. When you image C and D with Macrium, it makes a single image file, but when restoring from it, you can chose C, D or both.

What would be the correct choice ? If you restore only C, do you run the risk of not repairing something system-related which might be in ProgramData or AppData, or of creating inconsistencies because the system itself on one hand, and ProgramData + AppData on the other hand, wouldn't be restored to an identical point in time ?

And if you restore C + D, obviously you would lose any recent changes to your documents, so that must be out of the question, right ?

Correct choice would be to restore everything (both). See above about the importance to backup your personal data before restoring a system image.

By the way, I've now done my second sysprepping installation on the lines of your other, mammoth tutorial, and I'm happy to report that it works. I even added some extra touches to the Answer file like setting up two user accounts for myself instead of one, putting the product key in two different places so that the product key input screen wouldn't show at all, instructing Sysprep to retain drivers despite the Generalize switch, and setting the time zone. Although I spent a lot of time chasing errors that prevented Sysprep to execute the Answer file. And I'm still not out of the woods for this install , but that's not related to Sysprep -- at least, I don't think so ! )

Nice

The tutorial you mentioned is meant to be a walkthrough showing the basic steps. Of course, the combination Audit Mode & Windows SIM (answer file) & Sysprep is quite amazingly powerful and you can do some pretty awesome stuff; it's up to you to test the limits.

One tip: When in Audit Mode and you have installed Windows SIM, create a system image. In case your tests take you beyond the possible limits, just restore the image and try again. This is why I use a Hyper-V virtual machine to do my customized Windows install images: I set everything ready and create a checkpoint. If sysprep returns an error, it takes a minute to restore the checkpoint and try again.

Kari

 

[tjg79]

Kari,

You mentioned that the sysprep method to move folders is not compatible with upgrade versions of the Win 7 OS. Does that also apply to the free upgrade version of Win 10? From what I've read about the free Win 10 upgrade, you have several options and one of those options is to create the install media on a DVD where you will need your new Win 10 software key. I was wondering if I accepted the free Win 10 Pro upgrade, downloaded the software and created an install iso, burned to a DVD and then attempted an install with AIK, SIM, sysprep, and answer file, would it work?

 

[Clairvaux]

One tip: When in Audit Mode and you have installed Windows SIM, create a system image. In case your tests take you beyond the possible limits, just restore the image and try again.

Quite. That's what I did, at several steps during the Sysprep phase. And I did frequently have to restore the install to a previous state, because things had gone wrong. I'm sure the real way of doing it is using a VM, but I'm not there yet. I'd probably have thrown the blasted thing out of the window by now if I hadn't kept images along the way.

Regarding the backup of an install with ProgramData and AppData on D, I'm still not sure I understand.

Correct choice would be to restore everything (both).

If we're at time t, and I restore an image of C + D taken at t - x, then all my documents and user data are back to t - x. Which means that at that stage, I've lost the last state of my Outlook messages (.pst file in AppData -- mine has gone up to 2 Gb in the past), of my browser favorites (also in AppData, I have 10 000 of them)...

Are you saying that one should first restore wholesale from the old D taken at t - x, in order to repair what might be system-related in AppData and ProgramData, then restore manually from another image of D taken at time t (or from files kept in the cloud in your case), injecting back the Documents folder, for instance, then injecting individually all real "user data", such as the Outlook .pst file, into the previously restored ProgramData or AppData ?

This is certainly possible, but it sure defeats the whole concept of imaging as a simple and reliable method for data backup, as opposed to folder-by-folder backup ! You're now back to tracking individually all "user data" and making sure you forget nothing (a near-impossible task in my experience), instead of just taking a picture of the whole partition/disk, and being confident that you can flash it back into existence in one go ! But maybe the structure of Windows itself makes that impossible ? Whether you shift the User profiles on D or not ?

The fine thing with system restore is it does not touch your personal user data (docs, pics, etc.).

Those files are not a problem. Word proccessing documents or pictures are clearly separate in the folder structure. The problem is the grey and murky zone of ProgramData and AppData.

System Restore only restores the Windows system and applications (plus application data) but does not touch / change user's own data. All your personal files and folders remain intact. All your Word docs will still be there, all your Outlook's PST files as well, and so on.

The problem there is that Microsoft's view of things is not the way human beings consider them. Microsoft thinks that my mails are application data. Normal human beings consider that their mail is their own data. Microsoft puts Word documents into Documents, and Outlook mails into AppData, but to a regular person, his mails should go into the same drawer as his letters.

So, do I understand correctly that ProgramData and AppData keep both system-related files (i.e. a black box which might go "boom" at any moment, and need to be "restored"), and "user data" in the normal human sense (i.e. my mails, my favorites) ?

I think I read somewhere that the beauty of shifting User profiles to D was that if you needed to restore your system because it had become unstable, you only had to restore C. D would be left untouched, and both would reconnect seamlessly (maybe it was even in Microsoft's Sysprep documentation). But what we're saying here seems to contradict that.

If the latter is true, what's the point of all that shifting ? Except in the case of SSDs which are short on space ? Isn't the fundamental flaw of Windows the fact that it mixes system data and user data in ProgramData and AppData folders (again, if I understand correctly), and not where it puts those folders ?

Maybe we should just accept that Microsoft is the Master of All Things, and that User profiles belong where He thought it wiser to lay them in the first place ?

 

[Kari]

Kari,

You mentioned that the sysprep method to move folders is not compatible with upgrade versions of the Win 7 OS. Does that also apply to the free upgrade version of Win 10? From what I've read about the free Win 10 upgrade, you have several options and one of those options is to create the install media on a DVD where you will need your new Win 10 software key. I was wondering if I accepted the free Win 10 Pro upgrade, downloaded the software and created an install iso, burned to a DVD and then attempted an install with AIK, SIM, sysprep, and answer file, would it work?

Windows 10 removed this obstacle; upgrading a system with relocated system folders was a pain in you know where, still is for those upgrading 7 to a superior edition of 7 or 8. Take your case, if you wanted now to upgrade to Windows 8.1 you would need to reverse the process first, sysprep the folders back to C:, then upgrade, and finally sysprep the folders once again back to D:. See the part Upgrade in this tutorial at our sister site the Ten Forums (link takes you directly to that part): Users Folder - Move Location in Windows 10 - Windows 10 Forums

Windows 10 removed this hassle a few builds ago (I think it was Build 10162, released RTM being 10240), allowing you to upgrade regardless where the system folders are located.

One tip: When in Audit Mode and you have installed Windows SIM, create a system image. In case your tests take you beyond the possible limits, just restore the image and try again.

Quite. That's what I did, at several steps during the Sysprep phase. And I did frequently have to restore the install to a previous state, because things had gone wrong. I'm sure the real way of doing it is using a VM, but I'm not there yet. I'd probably have thrown the blasted thing out of the window by now if I hadn't kept images along the way.

Regarding the backup of an install with ProgramData and AppData on D, I'm still not sure I understand.

...

Are you saying that one should ...

I am saying that a system restore to an earlier point is the first to try, and if it fails, next is System Image Restore. If using the image restore, yes you lose the personal data saved or modified since the image was made, which is why before restoring an image you should backup your personal files and folders.

Anyway, I recommend System Restore before Image Restore because of its ability to keep my personal data intact.

About Outlook and its PST / OST files, my previous answer was based on the fact that not even in my wildest dreams could I think someone being stupid enough to accept Outlook's default Data File settings. Nothing personal, just plain and simple my honest opinion. In my case the Outlook 2016 data is stored in Kari.ost file in E:\Users\Kari\OneDrive\Outlook, my Users folder being relocated to E:.

Kari

 

[Kari]

Checking my previous post for possible typos, a task we non-native English speakers are used to do, I noticed that I was too short in my answer which might cause issues for some users if they just do what I told I am doing without thinking it through.

If you save Outlook PST and / or OST files on OneDrive folders, be sure to create a subfolder for each computer in which you have Outlook installed. It is not a good idea to use the same PST / OST file in different Outlook installations on different computers where you sign in with the same MS account.

Use PC names for folder names. Example: store PST / OST file from PC-1 to OneDrive\Outlook\PC-1 folder, PST / OST file from PC-2 to OneDrive\Outlook\PC-2 folder, and so on.

When selecting which folders to sync, select only the OneDrive\Outlook\PC-1 folder on PC 1, OneDrive\Outlook\PC-2 folder on PC-2 etc.

 

[Clairvaux]

I am saying that a system restore to an earlier point is the first to try, and if it fails, next is System Image Restore. If using the image restore, yes you lose the personal data saved or modified since the image was made, which is why before restoring an image you should backup your personal files and folders.

Anyway, I recommend System Restore before Image Restore because of its ability to keep my personal data intact.

This is obvious. But that's not the point. My question is : does moving ProgramData and AppData folders from drive C to D allows one to restore Windows on C from an image of C only, while keeping intact user data on D ?

Does it create independance beween system and data, whereas in a regular installation, if you restore C, you crush ProgramData and AppData (contained in Users folder), which makes you lose some user data ?

Does it permit the following scenario :

1. System gets corrupted or clunky.
2. Restore from a known working image of drive C.
3. Do absolutely nothing on drive D.
4. You're back in business ?

That's what Microsoft says it does (to the best of my understanding, anyway) :

Relocation of the Users directory and the ProgramData directory to a drive other than the drive that contains the Windows directory

%systemdrive% is defined as the drive that contains the Windows directory. There are various reasons why you may want to relocate the Users directory or the ProgramData directory to other drives.

For Windows, the most common reasons are as follows:

• It is easier to back up data from a single drive and from a drive that contains only user files.
• It is easier to rebuild the operating system drive on a user’s computer if user data is located on a separate volume. In this case, the drive that contains the Windows directory can be formatted, and Windows can be reinstalled without having to worry about how to remove user data.

From what I've read on forums, that's one of the most common reasons people want to move those folders on D. It's certainly my reason for doing so.

Now you seem to imply that moving ProgramData and AppData on D does not achieve independance between system and data, and that one has to restore both C and D in case of a system dysfunction. Which one is true ?

About Outlook and its PST / OST files, my previous answer was based on the fact that not even in my wildest dreams could I think someone being stupid enough to accept Outlook's default Data File settings. Nothing personal, just plain and simple my honest opinion. In my case the Outlook 2016 data is stored in Kari.ost file in E:\Users\Kari\OneDrive\Outlook, my Users folder being relocated to E:.

I think this is delusional -- and irrelevant. I'm sure most people accept default settings, not only for Outlook, but for all software. I think that's a reasonable decision : after all, if you trust a software developer enough to use his software, it's also natural to trust his default settings. Besides, most people have other things to do than second-guess their computers. The law of probability tells us that there are many intelligent people using Outlook in the world, who do not even know what "default data file settings" are. Thinking people are stupid just because they do things differently from oneself is foolish. Nothing personal, just my honest opinion.

Besides, Outlook .pst files are but an example here. Many software don't let you chose where to put some (or all) of their user data (Outlook being one of them). That's the reason one has to come up with a general solution.

 

[Kari]

This is obvious. But that's not the point. My question is : does moving ProgramData and AppData folders from drive C to D allows one to restore Windows on C from an image of C only, while keeping intact user data on D ?
...
...
...
Besides, Outlook .pst files are but an example here. Many software don't let you chose where to put some (or all) of their user data (Outlook being one of them). That's the reason one has to come up with a general solution.

One of us is trying to make this more difficult than it in reality is. I take the blame, accepting that I am the one making this now so difficult. Let's try again:

Yes, as Microsoft says one of the advantages in this method is the total separation of Windows system and user data. Yes, it is totally possible to reinstall Windows on C: or restore only the C: drive from an image backup, keeping data drive D: or X: or whatever intact. Yes, the system would work perfectly even after that.

And: Yes, in that case the ProgramData and AppData folders would possibly contain some unused configuration and other files which might or might not cause issues in the future. These folders would have the data as of now, this moment, whereas the Windows system would be restored to the state it was when the image was created. That is, partially restored: ProgramData and AppData are Windows system folders, they would not be restored.

I have nothing more to say or add to this but the following:

If you use this method to relocate some of the system folders, I wholeheartedly recommend to include both system and data drives in System Image Backup and use System Restore on both. When restoring an image, restore both drives.

This is how I do, your methods and way to work with Windows system images might be different.

Kari


P.S. A user who does not now what Outlook Data File means and how to move it from AppData should in my opinion not even consider using this method. As so often in computing in general and Windows in particular, you can of course do whatever you want to without understanding the procedure, its background and reasons to do it simply by following the instructions you do not understand to the letter, but my recommendation is that these advanced methods should only be used by users who understand the idea, understand what's happening, understand what's possible.

These users know what Outlook Data File is.

 

[Camera]

Some time ago I followed the advice here and successfully moved ProgramData and Users files to a separate drive. I am now about to upgrade from Windows 7 64-bit Pro to Windows 10.
You suggest above that the upgrade process can now cope with these folders on a separate drive. However on the Windows 10 forum your advice on splitting the folders seems to suggest moving the Users data only and leaving the ProgramData on C:
Do I need to move ProgramData back before upgrading?

Thanks
Dave

 

[Kari]

Some time ago I followed the advice here and successfully moved ProgramData and Users files to a separate drive. I am now about to upgrade from Windows 7 64-bit Pro to Windows 10.
You suggest above that the upgrade process can now cope with these folders on a separate drive. However on the Windows 10 forum your advice on splitting the folders seems to suggest moving the Users data only and leaving the ProgramData on C:
Do I need to move ProgramData back before upgrading?

Thanks
Dave

Relocating ProgramData is only possible in Windows Vista and 7. In 8 and later it totally screws your system and should not be done.

When upgrading a system where both of the folders (Users and ProgramData) have been relocated, I recommend moving both back to C: drive before the upgrade. See the upgrade section of this tutorial at our sister site the Ten Forums: Users Folder - Move Location in Windows 10 - Windows 10 Forums

Kari

 

[Camera]

"When upgrading a system where both of the folders (Users and ProgramData) have been relocated, I recommend moving both back to C: drive before the upgrade. See the upgrade section of this tutorial at our sister site the Ten Forums: Users Folder - Move Location in Windows 10 - Windows 10 Forums"


Thanks Kari

Dave

 

[Camera]

A couple more questions, if I may, before I do this.
I have an OEM windows 7 disk for which I have the license key. When I built the PC, for convenience I installed from a USB stick. My intention is to copy that stick onto my D: partition along with the relocate XML as you describe on the win10 forums.

1. Backup my User directory and delete contents of the original
2. Run Sysprep - do I still need to go into "audit mode" first, as I did when I first moved the user/program data?
Sysprep will reboot windows when finished
3. I will need to give a new user name?
4. Once up and running I can switch users - will my old user name still be the admin account?
5. I should now have Programme and user files back at C: and I can copy across the user data from backup

My programs should still be installed - will all the windows updates since the original installation in 2013 still be installed? (I only ask as I may leave a period before upgrading to windows10 to ensure all is still stable.

Finally I can accept the Windows 10 upgrade

Thanks
Dave

 

[tjg79]

Some time ago I followed the advice here and successfully moved ProgramData and Users files to a separate drive. I am now about to upgrade from Windows 7 64-bit Pro to Windows 10.
You suggest above that the upgrade process can now cope with these folders on a separate drive. However on the Windows 10 forum your advice on splitting the folders seems to suggest moving the Users data only and leaving the ProgramData on C:
Do I need to move ProgramData back before upgrading?

Thanks
Dave

Relocating ProgramData is only possible in Windows Vista and 7. In 8 and later it totally screws your system and should not be done.

When upgrading a system where both of the folders (Users and ProgramData) have been relocated, I recommend moving both back to C: drive before the upgrade. See the upgrade section of this tutorial at our sister site the Ten Forums: Users Folder - Move Location in Windows 10 - Windows 10 Forums

Kari

I screwed up then, because I didn't read your instructions carefully. I moved both the Users and Program Data folders on a clean install of Win 7, then upgraded to Win 10. It upgraded, but I've noticed that the new upgrade install is buggy. I generally don't like upgrade installs, so I will do a clean install of Win 10 to give it another chance. Then, I'll just move the Users folder. Can this be accomplished with an answer file created with AIK for Win 7 on the Win 10 install?

Regards

 

[Kari]

1. Backup my User directory and delete contents of the original

Yes. Only backup your own data (docs, pics, videos and so on), not system folders (AppData, Temp)

2. Run Sysprep - do I still need to go into "audit mode" first, as I did when I first moved the user/program data? Sysprep will reboot windows when finished

You can do it from normal mode, no need to boot to Audit Mode. Sysprep will reboot automatically when done if the command includes the /reboot switch.

3. I will need to give a new user name?

Yes, every time you sysprep.

4. Once up and running I can switch users - will my old user name still be the admin account?

Yes, it will be the same as before, and you can remove the new account you had to create because of the sysprep.

5. I should now have Programme and user files back at C: and I can copy across the user data from backup

Yes.

My programs should still be installed - will all the windows updates since the original installation in 2013 still be installed? (I only ask as I may leave a period before upgrading to windows10 to ensure all is still stable.

Yes.

Finally I can accept the Windows 10 upgrade

Yes.

 

[Camera]

Kari - thank you. You have been very helpful.

Dave

 

[Camera]

Unfortunately after following the instructions to move the User and ProgramData files back I ended up with a bit of a mess. The Sysprep ran OK and Windows did restart but I still had a few files on the D drive under ProgramData and Users - Application Data. Also on the C: drive the new Users folder contained several folders at the top level, belonging to applications, that were previously in the AppData folder.
Opening applications resulted in "files not found" messages from several applications (including Cubase 8; Adobe Bridge).

Fortunately I had taken a system image before trying this and have restored to that image so I have not gone backwards.

I do not want to go into a Windows 10 upgrade with a file structure in a jumble, so it looks like I will have to wait and do a clean install to Windows 10 at some point in the future. My understanding is that precludes me from the free upgrade.

Dave

 

[Kari]

I do not want to go into a Windows 10 upgrade with a file structure in a jumble, so it looks like I will have to wait and do a clean install to Windows 10 at some point in the future. My understanding is that precludes me from the free upgrade.

Sorry to hear about that.

The ProgramData is here the culprit; you can upgrade to 10 even when it's relocated, but the result would be a non-functioning Windows so there's no point.

In your case it seems to be the best option to, when you decide to upgrade, to start from scratch. Backup your user data, clean install Windows 10, relocate the Users folder in Audit mode, and finally restore your user data.

Windows 10 relocating tutorial at our sister site the Ten Forums: Users Folder - Move Location in Windows 10 - Windows 10 Forums

 

[Camera]

Just a thought. Would an upgrade be likely to function just enough to be activated (thereby getting the free upgrade) prior to a clean install?

Dave

 

[Kari]

Just a thought. Would an upgrade be likely to function just enough to be activated (thereby getting the free upgrade) prior to a clean install?

Dave

You have a system image, nothing serious can happen. I would at least try.

Anyway, an alternative: I have no idea if you have an OEM or Retail Windows 7 license. Whatever license and product key you have, did you know that starting from Windows 10 Build 10565 you can clean install and activate Windows 10 with a qualifying (valid) Windows 7 or 8.1 product key?

Just create the install media, boot from it and when asked enter your valid Windows 7 procuct key. You can download Windows 10 Build 10565 ISO image here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windowsinsiderpreviewiso

   Warning

Please notice that activation with Windows 7 or 8.1 product key does not work with the official RTM release Build 10240 or any other later build before the Build 10565. Using the Windows 10 Media Creation Tool for instance creates a RTM Build 10240 ISO image which cannot be activated with your Windows 7 key.

Read about my tests with this new activation system on our sister site the Ten Forums: Announcing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 10565 - Page 18 - Windows 10 Forums

Kari

 

[Camera]

Thanks Kari.
Those are useful options. My current product key is Win 7 Pro 64Bit OEM system builder which I bought when I built the PC.

I am a little concerned at putting a Beta on my main PC so may wait a bit longer and see if this appears on the next public release.

Dave

 

[Kari]

Thanks Kari.
Those are useful options. My current product key is Win 7 Pro 64Bit OEM system builder which I bought when I built the PC.

I am a little concerned at putting a Beta on my main PC so may wait a bit longer and see if this appears on the next public release.

Dave

It's not beta. As Microsoft has told, Ten is the last Windows. This is how it will be the foreseen future. Windows will be developed all the time and released as new builds, new features added, new apps and so on.

It's of course up to you, your decision; I can just tell that I have upgraded to each successive build since 10240 now running 10576 on all of my computers without a single issue, each new build resolving small minor issues in previous build.