Windows 10 Technical Preview on a Tablet

davidod1

I bought a MyBush 8" Tablet from Argos with W8.1 installed. I was replacing an ageing Netbook running W7 Starter that was taking an age to get from switch-on to usable. It wasn't a mission critical device but served as a location to backup photos from the camera while on holidays and it ran a couple of programs that wouldn't run on Android.

This 8" tablet seems to be quite nippy but as a usable OS for a tablet I have to say I much prefer Android. However; after taking in a load of the inevitable updates the tablet started to flash between the W8.1 start-up page and a blue screen; switching at about half second intervals. Luckily I found that by pressing the Power Button and the Home button together it brought up access to Task Manager and I was able to stop a couple of processes there that stopped this from happening and I did a complete re-install. This time all the updates came in without issues.

Now I'm beginning to think that if W8.1 is not as stable on a tablet as it might be then maybe W10 might be a better bet. It is after all being coded with phones and tablets in mind.

Has anyone here put W10 Technical Preview on a tablet yet, and if so has anyone bricked anything? I don't want to take any crazy risks but as I said this isn't a mission critical device.

Dave

MJohnston

davidod1 wrote: »

I bought a MyBush 8" Tablet from Argos with W8.1 installed. I was replacing an ageing Netbook running W7 Starter that was taking an age to get from switch-on to usable. It wasn't a mission critical device but served as a location to backup photos from the camera while on holidays and it ran a couple of programs that wouldn't run on Android.

This 8" tablet seems to be quite nippy but as a usable OS for a tablet I have to say I much prefer Android. However; after taking in a load of the inevitable updates the tablet started to flash between the W8.1 start-up page and a blue screen; switching at about half second intervals. Luckily I found that by pressing the Power Button and the Home button together it brought up access to Task Manager and I was able to stop a couple of processes there that stopped this from happening and I did a complete re-install. This time all the updates came in without issues.

Now I'm beginning to think that if W8.1 is not as stable on a tablet as it might be then maybe W10 might be a better bet. It is after all being coded with phones and tablets in mind.

Has anyone here put W10 Technical Preview on a tablet yet, and if so has anyone bricked anything? I don't want to take any crazy risks but as I said this isn't a mission critical device.

Dave

I have it on my Surface Pro 3. It's very raw, and there are a fair amount of glitches. However it won't brick anything, I'd say it's impossible to brick a Windows device short of literally hitting it with a brick.

MJohnston

It is worth noting however that what you see in this preview version may change radically until launch. I believe 8" devices will get the larger tablet UI, but smaller tablets will get a phone like UI.

davidod1

MJohnston wrote: »

I have it on my Surface Pro 3. It's very raw, and there are a fair amount of glitches. However it won't brick anything, I'd say it's impossible to brick a Windows device short of literally hitting it with a brick.

I suppose what concerns me most is the fact that if I did need to go back to W8.1 I'm not sure that there is a return path built in to this release yet. Is not like with PC where you can put in a CD and just boot to it.

I presume it's the PC version that I take down too not the phone version?

MJohnston

davidod1 wrote: »

I suppose what concerns me most is the fact that if I did need to go back to W8.1 I'm not sure that there is a return path built in to this release yet. Is not like with PC where you can put in a CD and just boot to it.

I presume it's the PC version that I take down too not the phone version?

It's difficult but possible, here's a guide that pertains to the Surface Pro 3 http://m.windowscentral.com/how-remove-windows-10-technical-preview-your-surface-pro-3

And yeah, you'll only be able to download the desktop version!

davidod1

Thanks for the info and the link. I lost my courage and have decided to wait and allow for a little more progress to be made before proceeding.

unkel

I did it on a €40 Linx 7 tablet. Works great

unkel

MJohnston wrote: »

However it won't brick anything, I'd say it's impossible to brick a Windows device short of literally hitting it with a brick.

Agreed. It is a full Windows operating system. Same as on a PC or a laptop. If something goes wrong, you can just wipe and reinstall

I've had Windows 10 pro on my main PC since the day the first technical preview was launched 6 months ago and it has been fine. All the programs I use work fine under Windows 10. There was one, Speccy (from Piriform) that didn't work, but they released a compatible version before the end of last year

davidod1

Thanks guys. Maybe I will just go ahead and do it then. I'll create a bootable dedicated USB flash drive before doing it though.

ablelocks

unkel wrote: »

I did it on a €40 Linx 7 tablet. Works great

i'm tempted to do the same - any online guidance needed or did you just jump straight in?

unkel

I did it the hard way (trial and error with very little online help) but there are fairly detailed tutorials out there now. Google for linx owners forum. Warning though: if you delete the compressed partition*, there is no way to restore the Windows 8.1 image the tablet came with! You can of course do a normal Windows 8.1 fresh install yourself, just like on any laptop / PC


* the only way to install Windows 10 leaving the compressed partition alone (well just wiping it, not deleting all partitions altogether) is doing a wimboot install, which is not really what I was interested in (researching or creating)

ablelocks

unkel wrote: »

I did it the hard way (trial and error with very little online help) but there are fairly detailed tutorials out there now. Google for linx owners forum. Warning though: if you delete the compressed partition*[/SIZE]

and that's warning enough for me not to even attempt it...thanks tho'

Fingleberries

Don't forget to have the touchscreen, network and other drivers on your USB key as well.
On the HP Stream 7 these don't work after installing Win 10 until you reinstall the drivers for the hardware - so you'll need a keyboard to attach for input.

unkel

Aye, but you can get the drivers after installing the OS. You do need a powered USB hub though as you need keyboard + mouse (at least one usb slot for those two) + installation media + media with drivers (at least another one usb slot for those two)

I tried installing from and / or to the micro sd card, but no dice unfortunately. Not bootable and not selectable as drive to install to. If someone has overcome this, I'd love to know as then you could do a full install without USB hub!