Smart Upgrades, Part 2

Once your Windows 10 Anniversary Upgrade completes, you’ll notice some changes. And there are some things you probably won’t notice that you should check.

Our story so far

You did all the preparation we discussed in Part 1 of this series. (Or you ignored the advice and got lucky.) Your system upgraded to the new version of Windows. Or did it? How can you check?

Go to Settings | System | About. You should see Version 1607. That’s Windows 10 Anniversary Upgrade (Win 10 AU).

Now let’s make is so you like it.

First things first

Reinstall, activate, and configure your antivirus and antimalware programs if you uninstalled them. If you simply turned them off, turn them back on, then check that nothing changed in the settings.

Make sure the firewall is up and running, whether it’s the built-in Windows firewall or one managed by your antivirus program.

• Right-click on Start
• Click on Control Panel | Large Icons | Windows Firewall

If another program is managing your firewall, you’ll see that here. Check the settings in that program. If you’re using Windows Firewall, make sure it’s turned on.

Check your connection

There are reports of the AU upgrade breaking network adapters, especially if the drivers haven’t been updated.

Open your browser and make sure you can connect to the Internet. If you can’t, sometimes rebooting the computer solves the problem.

If you still can’t connect, run the Network troubleshooter, and use the Network reset tool if necessary.

• Click on Start | Settings | Network & Internet | Status

On one of the two machines I upgraded here, the upgrade turned on my Wi-Fi even though the computer was connected via Ethernet and I had it turned off prior to the upgrade. It’s worth checking.

• Click on Start | Settings | Network & Internet |Wi-Fi
• Move the slider to Off if you want Wi-Fi turned off.

Check your backup

If your backup was working before the upgrade, it should be working after the upgrade, right?

In a belt-and-suspenders kind of approach, I checked to make sure my backups were still working. One was fine, but I had to reinstall the backup program on the other machine. Good grief.

What else can break?

People are reporting post-upgrade problems with audio, printers and scanners, and webcams. Also, if you installed the Windows 7 games for Windows 10, you’ll need to install the updated version.

Decline the Tweaker tool during installation, unless you want it.

What changed?

The Start Menu is different. Yes, again.

Now, all the apps are just listed when you click on Start, and you don’t have to click on All apps to see … all your apps.

Also, there are more ads for Microsoft products in the Start menu. You can turn them off in Settings. See the third item here.

The Settings app was completely overhauled. Things are grouped more sensibly, but it takes some getting used to. Remember you can always open Settings and use the Search bar at the top of the setting you want.

Cortana is more robust and deeply integrated into the operating system. That’s either good or bad, depending on whether or not you like Cortana.

When you click on the Clock in the lower right corner, you’ll find your Calendar there, too. Clicking there opens the Calendar app. If you use Microsoft Outlook, it will link to your Outlook Calendar.

How was your upgrade experience? What tips would you offer others? Send an email and I’ll share.

Links

Fix Windows 10 Annoyances 

Windows 10 Anniversary Update is breaking webcams 

Windows 7 games for Windows 10 http://winaero.com/download.php?view.1836

 

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.