Windows 10 In-Place Feature Update

Windows 10 “The Creators Update”

Windows 10 “The Creators Update” will be coming to your PC soon. In the coming weeks, University laptops running Windows 10 will be able to receive this upgraded version of Windows 10. This is a significant upgrade that can take up to an hour or longer to perform, but is necessary in order to keep your computers secure. Because Microsoft has made some significant changes in how it supports its operating systems, we must also adapt. We in Information Technology are working hard to ensure that this upgrade will not impact your work or classes during the semester. Please read below for some answers to some frequently asked questions.

Users have never been forced to upgrade in the past, why are you doing this now?

Microsoft has changed the way it supports its operating systems to try and increase security. Recent cyber-attacks such as the WannaCry ransomware attack targeted only computers with older versions of Windows. This means that new versions of Windows 10 come out two times a year and each version is supported for 18 months. In the past, older versions of were supported for five years or more. This allowed us to upgrade Windows on PCs slowly over time as equipment was exchanged or replaced, without performing an in-place upgrade. The 18-month life-cycle of Windows as a service is shorter than the life-cycle of our PCs, so we will now support in-place upgrades.