Windows 10 Upgrade glitch

[Hawkmoon]

Just wondering if anyone else might have experienced this. The computer: a Dell Inspiron desktop. It was running fine on Windows 7, and I held out for as long as possible because I was satisfied with Windows 7, and Windows 10 doesn't offer a "Windows Classic" theme or skin. But, all good things must come to an end, and Windows 7 reached its end-of-life. So a few days ago I bit the bullet and upgraded to Windows 10, release 1909.

Everything seemed to go okay. All my files are intact (at least, those I've looked at), my programs run (including a couple of legacy programs that I didn't expect would run), my printer prints and my scanner scans. BUT ... the sound quality went down the toilet. I can get plenty of volume, but irrespective of how loud it is, everything sounds muffled. I've pulled up movies on Youtube that I've seen before, watched scenes that I remember, and I can't understand what's being said even though I know what's being said.

What happened? Do I need to somehow search for a new audio driver, or do I need to buy a separate audio card? (Ithink the Inspiron has the audio integrated on the motherboard.)

[dogmush]

Have you tried to upgrade the driver from the Windows 10 utility?

Device Manager-> Audio Inputs and Outputs->Speakers (or whatever the onboard audio is called)->Right Click, then Properties->Driver tab->Update Driver.

It should check to see if there's a new driver available.  In that same tab you can uninstall the driver, then search for and install the newest. 

Easy place to start anyway.

[Hawkmoon]

Well, I stumbled onto the culprit when I went looking for a Dell driver update utility. (There was one here in Win 7, but it's gone now.) But I found something in the Start menu I had never seen before: MaxxAudio 4. So I clicked it -- it's an audio "enhancer." Apparently, much of the world thinks it's not ready for prime time.

https://www.dell.com/community/XPS/Doing-away-with-Waves-MaxxAudio-FOR-GOOD/td-p/6013794

When I disable it, I can actually understand dialogue again. However, as was commented in that article, the volume is weak, and I had to crank the volume knob on the speakers all the way up.

Anyway -- I can live with it.

[K Frame]

Is that a free Windows 10 upgrade, or did you pay for it?

I'm going to bite the bullet in the next couple of days and upgrade my laptop and desk top, even thought I sure as hell don't want to.

[Ben]

Is that a free Windows 10 upgrade, or did you pay for it?

I'm going to bite the bullet in the next couple of days and upgrade my laptop and desk top, even thought I sure as hell don't want to.

Or maybe wait a while. :)

https://www.techradar.com/news/windows-10s-latest-update-fail-could-be-its-most-serious-yet

I was looking at also biting the bullet very soon too, however I noticed I still got a security update last Tuesday, so might wait a while.

[K Frame]

The only thing I'm getting on Windows 7 right now is notifications that it's out of date.

[Ben]

The only thing I'm getting on Windows 7 right now is notifications that it's out of date.

Kinda funny tangent - when I followed the notification link when it first appeared, it took me to an MS site where they really, really, really, want you to buy a new computer with Win10 installed on it versus updating your current computer. :)

[K Frame]

Kinda funny tangent - when I followed the notification link when it first appeared, it took me to an MS site where they really, really, really, want you to buy a new computer with Win10 installed on it versus updating your current computer. :)

Yeah, I got that too when I visited the site.

How about... hard no?

[Brad Johnson]

Unrelated, but something to check while you're digging around in your new OS's innards.

Security Update KB4524244 causing problems
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4524244/security-update-for-windows-10-february-11-2020

Brad

[Hawkmoon]

Is that a free Windows 10 upgrade, or did you pay for it?

I'm going to bite the bullet in the next couple of days and upgrade my laptop and desk top, even thought I sure as hell don't want to.

Free.

I didn't want to, either, but the hack to continue receiving security updates (as happened with XP) didn't happen so I made the leap for security.

[lee n. field]

Free.

I didn't want to, either, but the hack to continue receiving security updates (as happened with XP) didn't happen so I made the leap for security.

Faking out Windows 7 Embedded wouldn't give you that much more time.

[zxcvbob]

Is that a free Windows 10 upgrade, or did you pay for it?

I'm going to bite the bullet in the next couple of days and upgrade my laptop and desk top, even thought I sure as hell don't want to.

You can still upgrade for free.  I just did it a week ago on my last holdout Windows 7 machine.  https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10  Download and run the Media Creation Tool.

[Hawkmoon]

Faking out Windows 7 Embedded wouldn't give you that much more time.

Three more years, I believe.

I still have a Toshiba notebook on XP. I don't use it, but I keep it because I have an older multi-function printer/scanner that's old enough to not have any drivers available for Vista and newer. I fire it up occasionally, and even last year I think it received a security update. If I could have patched Windows 7 to be secure for three more years, I would have done it in a heartbeat. I hate the "flat" look of Windows 10, even when run with Classic Shell.

[WLJ]

You can still upgrade for free.  I just did it a week ago on my last holdout Windows 7 machine.  https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10  Download and run the Media Creation Tool.

Yep
Someone gave me two Dells without HDDs which had W7 Pro key stickers. Installed HDDs and W10 on both and both activated just fine to W10 Pro using the W7 Pro keys.

[Hawkmoon]

And now that I have upgraded three machines to Windows 10 ...

https://lifehacker.com/how-to-extend-your-windows-7-security-updates-past-janu-1840313094

https://appuals.com/windows-7-free-extended-security-updates/