Hi Eric,

A couple years ago I applied the (then free) update to my Win 7 Pro observatory computer - a small uncomplicated Dell machine. By uncommplicated I mean there's nothing but astronomy applications on it. I don't recall having any problems with the upgrade including not having to reinstall drivers. (Nowadays I use "Driver Easy" to automate that process, running it in the daytime on the first day of each month.) The updates for Windows 10 along the way over the years have also gone in smoothly. My only complaint was (and maybe still is) that the upgrades come along at the most inconvenient times. Until you figure out how to get them to be applied during the daytime, you run the risk of busting your observing plan in the middle of the night, which is of course Microsoft's usual time to apply an upgrade. But there is a setting where you can change the update time window.

I do miss Windows 7 - it was rock steady, and I knew every in and out of it. During those years ago there were eleven computers on my home network - I was a pretty good network administrator, too. Today there are only five computers (kids not home much anymore), two Windows 10, two Windows 7 and one Windows XP, and a dozen other devices - phones, TVs, Raspberry Pi, weather stations. Good thing I'm retired so I can devote full time to keeping this stuff alive.

Thinking back, I do remember when I upgraded my desktop computer from 7 to 10. It wouldn't "take" until I disconnected the network card. Until then it was many hours of watching the spinning wheel, rebooting, reinstalling, watching, threatening the computer with a sledgehammer. It took me a week to find the hint online, and I have no idea why that should have been a problem. So stuff happens, as they say.