As the most recent Microsoft-developed operating system in existence, Windows 10 should be the most stable available. Compared to its legacy counterparts, Windows 10 eradicates many of the issues of Windows 8 and those before it. But with such a huge overhaul, it's equally not surprising that there were and still are some flaws, especially when migrating to Windows 10. Windows 10 combines the design tweaks of Windows 8 - the first Windows version to star a completely redesigned user interface - albeit with some of the features from older Windows operating systems that were removed from the more recent Windows 8. And although it's probably the best-looking Windows platform to date and the most feature-rich, there are still a number of flaws, including bugs and incompatibility issues while using third-party apps and services that have left users with their head in their hands. Microsoft is pretty good at fixing any of these flaws, with regular updates, but often, these can only be installed after the upgrade has occurred and that means putting up with the hitches before they can be rectified. Additionally, if the problems are experienced within third-party services, you'll have to wait until the developer releases an update before it's fixed. These include seeing messages that the Get Windows 10 or GWX app saying that machines deemed by Microsoft as perfectly viable to receive the update aren't compatible, through to the app never appearing in the first place, and to stalled and failed downloads. Don't rely on GWX: visit , click Download tool now, save the tool and run it on the PC you want to upgrade. If this didn't work for you back when Windows 10 launched, try it again now - the tool has been improved. If you still have problems, use the Start Menu to search for 'performance', run Adjust the appearance and performance of Windows, click the Data Execution Prevention tab and turn DEP on for all programs and services, then reboot and try again. Still, a large proportion of Windows 10 devices have missed out because it's not being rolled out automatically - you have to choose to upgrade. It's easy to find out which version you're running and then upgrading to the most up to date version, which should read 16299. If you're running 10240 though, you've missed out. To install the most up to date version of Windows 10, you can try troubleshooting using the Windows Update tool see below , but we would recommend using the Media Creation Tool instead. It's important and rather confusing to note that the Ready to Install screen pictured below doesn't actually mention upgrading to the latest version of Windows 10, or indeed, which version it will upgrade your system to at all. Instead it refers to whether it's the Home or Business version you're trying to install and as long as this is the version you're running, you can hopefully be rest assured the newest build will be installed. Also, make sure you've opted to keep the personal files and apps and click Install to keep your data, apps and the majority of your settings untouched. Now, when you hit install, it should start installing the most up-to-date version of the operating system. When you upgraded, your old version of Windows doesn't disappear. You may be asking as to why this happened and the answer is that Microsoft isn't quite as controlling as some other big tech companies. This is in case you don't like the new Windows 10 and decide to change back to the previous operating system that you might be more used to. Click on it to open the application. A drive selection box should appear. Simply select the drive your OS is installed on. If you're confident that this is the main drive where your OS is installed, hit OK. Windows should scan your system for a while and then a box will pop up. Now, two things could happen at this point. You might have to scroll down to find it, but it should be taking up a sizeable bit of drive space, in our case, almost 5GB. Tick this option and click OK. Check first that you've upgraded to the Windows 10 Fall update see above, number 2. If you're still getting problems, , then reboot and try to update again. If the problems remain, you might need to get a bit more stuck in. First, check that System Restore is configured see below, number 7 and create a restore point. With this done, use Win+x and select Command Prompt Admin , then type 'net stop wuauserv' without the quotes and hit Enter, followed by 'net stop bits' and Enter. You should see confirmations that each service was either stopped or wasn't running. Now reboot, open Windows Update and click Check for updates. To be fair to Microsoft, Windows 10 handles post-update reboots much more elegantly, but we'd still rather be in control from the outset. There is a workaround for users running Windows 10 Pro: from the Start Menu, search for 'gpedit' and run the Group Policy Editor. Double-click Configure Automatic Updates in the list, select the Enabled radio button, and in the left-hand box select 2 - Notify for download and notify for install. Now click OK, and you'll be notified whenever there are updates - unfortunately, they'll be a daily irritation if you're using Windows Defender. The Group Policy Editor isn't available on Windows 10 Home, but we'd recommend you at least open Windows Update, click Advanced options and select Notify to schedule restart from the Choose how updates are installed list. While you're here, all Windows 10 users might want to click Choose how updates are delivered, and ensure that Updates from more than one place is either off, or set to PCs on my local network. Unfortunately, it can quickly become cluttered with notifications that you're not really interested in, and having to dismiss repeated messages from over-eager apps can be an annoying hassle. Thankfully, there's an easy way to ensure that the Action Center only shows you relevant information. You'll find a series of toggles governing how notifications are displayed, including the ability to turn off Windows tips, disable notifications from showing up on the lock screen or while presenting, and even the option to turn off notifications altogether. You can also disable notifications on a per-app basis, so if Java keeps bugging you to install an update, or Candy Crush Saga won't stop nagging you to play another few levels, you can turn off notifications for those apps while leaving the software you actually care about to keep on giving you notifications.
