How I downloaded and installed Windows 10 in Nigeria

One of the greatest challenges I had with downloading Windows 10 in Nigeria is the slow internet service. Well, my faster internet service had expired and so I used my 3G mobile data plan through WiFi tethering.

There are 2 ways I know one can use to download and install Windows 10 on your computer and these are:

- By immediate installation while downloading
- By downloading and installing later through a storage device

I tried out the 2 options since I wanted to upgrade 2 laptops from Windows 7 TO Windows 10 and since I had a valid Windows installation, it was a free install except for the cost of data it used when accessing the internet.

A. Using immediate installation:
1. The first thing I did was to visit Microsoft's official Windows 10 download page and downloaded the pre-installer a.k.a. Media creation tool

2. I opened and ran the Media creation tool on my computer and chose to do an upgrade

3. Windows 10 was gradually downloaded to my computer along with some updates

4. Answered questions where necessary such as language, files and settings e.t.c.

5. Allowed the install to take place during the night while I slept. I had to since I was using a 3G mobile data connection

When I woke up, I found out that I had a new Windows OS and my desktop looked like a Nokia Lumia home page. I also found out that up to 8GB of my data plan had been used up. Thank God I subscribed to a 10GB mobile data plan. I guess it's because of some updates that were included along with the Windows system that was downloaded.

The next step I took was to simply download the Windows 10 file on my flash drive for installation on a second computer.

B. Using a storage device to download Windows 10

1. I first had to download the Media Creation tool from MS Windows 10 download site

2. Opened and allowed the tool to run

3. Chose to Do installation for a second PC and clicked on Next

4. Inserted my flash drive which was 8GB in size. I normally use a Sandisk Cruzer flash drive.

5. Chose a language i.e. English UK

6. I chose my Flash drive as where to store the files to be downloaded

7. I allowed the files to be downloaded straight to the flash drive and without any updates. It took about 2.5GB of my data plan.

After the files have been downloaded, the next step was to use the flash drive on the computer I wanted to install it and opened the Windows 10 program by simply clicking on the setup file.

Well, the second option saved me a lot of data since I only downloaded the installation files. I guess it may still use more by the time I start using the computer and allowed updates to run.

Some people may not want to upgrade to Windows 10 and I don't really think it's compulsory but given that it's free and it's promoted as a better platform than 7 and 8, I guess one should at least take advantage of it.

While I'm a bit cautious of it, I didn't install it on my main computer since it may hamper my work and slow me down as a result of the leaning curve involved in using it. It's a different platform unlike Windows 7 or 8. It's hard to know where files, programs and buttons are located. I didn't easily find things like my control panel or hibernate button since Windows 10 changed the platform.

While I've installed Windows 10 on other computers, I've not yet installed it on my main computer because I'm already used to Windows 7 and can work better with it. The best thing I however love about Windows 10 is the new browser but I'm still wondering how to import my bookmarks from Chrome to edge since I'm already like a Chrome addict.