Windows 10 - all the information you need to know and tips

Windows 10 is the latest operating system released by Microsoft for personal computers. In fact, it was the system that gave home computers the name of PC. After 5 long years of use, we wanted to make this super article where we explain the most important keys of the desktop operating system par excellence.

And it is not all, because we will make a selection of the most interesting tutorials that cover the majority of problems, characteristics and peculiarities of the window operating system, so that you do not miss anything from now on. Let's start now, because there is a lot of fabric to cut.

Index of contents

Windows: the PC operating system

Windows is the name given by the company Microsoft, based in Redmond (USA), to its software package for personal computers, smartphones and servers. Indeed we speak of a software package, although we normally call it an operating system, technically it is not.

Windows desktop systems are mounted on the core called Windows NT, it would be the same as the Unix / Linux Kernel. On it, a large ecosystem of programs is executed, providing all the functionalities to the user.

Brief overview of history

Microsoft's journey does not start directly from Windows, but rather it was the predecessor of the emblematic MS-DOS system first launched in 1982, operating directly on a command console with the first Intel processors.

MS-DOS became Windows in 1985, thanks to the addition of a window-based graphical user interface (GUI). This first graphic extension was called Windows 1.0 and the truth is that its functions were a mere graphic version of MS-DOS. In 1987 Windows 2.0 was released, and in version 2.03 the system allowed windows to overlap each other. Imagine how basic everything was then, that Apple denounced Microsoft for plagiarizing this system of overlapping windows. The first stage ends with Windows 3.0 and its update to 3.1 in 1992, where it already became a multitasking system and was also distributed to the general public.

The new era of the general consumer system began in 1995 with the arrival of Windows 95. In it not only was the graphical interface improved, but the current highly modified kernel and operating system were implemented on Windows NT. This system became 32-bit with preemptive multitasking instead of 16-bit and cooperative multitasking from MS-DOS. This system implemented a taskbar, start button and Plug and Play, something new for the time.

Windows 98 was next, of course released in 1998. It was a worse conceived system than 95, which is why many users harshly criticized it. Two years later, Windows ME, the consumer version of Windows 2000, server-oriented, was released, a system that improved in all respects to 98.

And so we reached the era of Windows XP in 2001, a system built on Windows NT with two versions, Home and Professional, which was much more secure. The usability was similar to that of previous systems, although it was greatly improved in the multimedia section. Windows Vista was the successor 2007, a very different system in appearance, and with versions in 32 and 64 bits, the new era said present. It implemented many improvements in its usability, although it was also widely criticized for its number of errors, instability and poor compatibility with XP programs. So many did not take the step towards it, leaving Windows XP in its 64-bit version.

Windows 7 came to the rescue, a system that I liked much more. Once again we had wide application compatibility, with many new functions such as multi-touch support or new network user account management with the Home Group that has been maintained until recently. It was much faster and consumed less resources than Vista, being a worthy successor to Windows XP.

And what about Windows 8 and 8.1? It is still widely used, although many of us did not like that great orientation to tablets and touch devices. We lost that good classic start menu to one that took up the full screen, although with it the 64-bit architecture was pretty much the predominant one. In 8.1, the most purist users were again pleased by returning the start button.

This is how we get to Windows 10, released on July 29, 2015. The start menu returned, and a new update policy to become the most stable and secure system ever built by Microsoft (seriously). New multimedia applications and the Microsoft Edge browser were created. Along with them, the Cortana voice assistant, the one we have never used in life and the possibility for users to upgrade for free from Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 to Windows 10.

Windows 10 technical requirements

Like any other system or program, Windows has some hardware requirements to be installed. In fact, this system is less demanding than the predecessor systems, due to its lower resource consumption and being lighter. This comes in handy for older, limited equipment.

The minimum requirements are:

• Processor: 1 GHz frequency. Support SSE2, PAE and NX. RAM memory: 1 GB for 32 Bit versions and 2 GB for 64 Bit versions. Hard disk space: at least 16 GB for the 32 Bit version and 20 GB for the 64 Bit version. Graphics card: support Microsoft DirectX 9 or higher with WDDM 1.0 driver Screen resolution: 800 x 600 pixels.

The recommended requirements are:

• Processor: Dual Core 2 GHz, supporting SSE3 or higher. RAM memory: 4 GB or higher for 32 Bit and 64 Bit versions. Hard disk space: 50 GB or more, for application installation and updates. Graphics card: Microsoft DirectX 10 or higher. For games it is recommended to have a dedicated graphics card such as Nvidia GTX / RTX or AMD RX Screen resolution: 1024 x 768 pixels.

Most important functions and analysis

This version has been Microsoft's final bet for its general consumer desktop system. A system that returned to the classic desktop from previous versions, while maintaining all the functionality of the block system and a full menu version for "Tablet mode". The interface is much more minimalist and simpler than previous systems, so the consumption of resources will be considerably less.

The system's Activity Center has been improved with successive updates, as well as the integration of Cortana, the voice assistant. Now they are much more complete and better implemented elements, with a search function separate from the wizard. Similarly, applications such as the video player, calculator, Paint has undergone a profound renovation, including the Windows Edge browser, while keeping Explorer as a second option. Microsoft Store has remained almost unchanged, although increasingly complete. It has also made a full-blown integration with Xbox Live, the ecosystem of your console that we will now have also in our Windows.

The system configuration also underwent changes, installing a new Smartphone-type application where most of the mythical Control Panel options are included, which of course is still available. A positive thing is that the commands have remained unchanged in this version, adding the new Power Shell. It is a more advanced command line version than CMD, with many more functions and similar to the Linux terminal.

Regarding security, we have a much more efficient and powerful Windows Defender that has been updated in a very correct way and that today, there is no need to install independent antivirus. The system has also been adapted to new biometric authentication systems with Windows Hello, with facial recognition or fingerprint sensor.

With regard to virtualization, we are also in luck, because the Hypervisor Hyper-V is not only present in Windows Servers, but also in Windows 10 Pro and Enterprise to be able to create and run virtual machines. In fact, in the last update a Windows has already been virtualized on the main system, it is called SandBox and we can activate it in the Pro and Enterprise version.

There is still much more to see, although we will develop it in the following sections.

Windows 10 editions that exist

In total we have a whopping 12 editions of Windows 10 available to the user, all of them with independent licenses, although many with similar functionalities. They are as follows:

• Home Pro Pro for Workstation Enterprise Mobile Enterprise Enterprise LTSC Mobile Windows 10 S Team Pro Education IoT Versions N and KN

It is the basic version of Windows, with the most relevant functions for a normal user.

In this version, more functionalities such as virtualization, Bitlocket, group policy management or Remote Desktop are implemented. It is aimed at companies, programmers and more advanced users.

It is a Pro version geared towards servers with the ReFS file system, and higher CPU and RAM capacity for huge workloads.

The Enterprise version is aimed at IT technology companies. It also has ReFS file system and extra protection for applications and for connections with Direct Access, a VPN network access application.

Let's say it is a lighter version and optimized for tablets and business smartphones.

This version is the safest and most stable for companies, even wanted by the gamer community. It is characterized by not offering feature updates, with many of them removed to optimize performance.

What is Windows Enterprise LTSC

It is an Enterprise version but vitaminized with extra protection and tools such as AppLocker, DirectAccess or Device Guard. Eye is not for students, but for educational platforms.

A pro version of the previous one, with the SetUp School PCs application to replicate the system via USB within educational environments.

It is a light version of Windows for mobile devices. Continuum implements a touch version of Office, although the truth is that it has not been very successful.

It is considered the successor of Windows RT, so it only allows you to install applications from the Microsoft Store. This edition is not too appetizing due to its limitation, although it was released with devices such as Microsoft Surface Laptop. Let's say it is a kind of Chrome OS saving the distances.

Version oriented to business Surface Hub computers that are used in meeting rooms for example. Deploy a whiteboard app and Skype for Business. It also belongs to the Enterprise branch.

It is a system similar to Windows Embedded for programmable devices such as Raspberry and in general devices compatible with the Internet of Things.

The N and KN versions are basically distributions for the European Union and South Korea that come without multimedia applications. Nonsense come on.

What is Windows 10 N and KN

Updates and versions policy

There are two methods of updates for the system. The Preview Branch is for Windows Insider members , where new versions of Windows reach beta subscribers for the first tests. Here we can choose the fast ring or the slow ring, to have this beta before or after.

The second way is normal or Current Branch for normal users through Windows Update or with the Upgrade Tool application. This method has several types of updates:

• Feature updates: they appear every six months and it is a package that profoundly modifies the operation of the system. Add or remove features and review system security. Quality Updates - These are the normal updates and patches that are released at any time. Product and driver updates: Store, Office, and device driver programs can also be updated by Windows Update.

After these 5 years of using Windows 10 the system has gone through different versions, not to be confused with editions. They correspond to all the feature updates released. They are 1507, 1511, 1607, 1703, 1703, 1709, 1803, 1809 and 1903.

This is the basic thing you should know how to do

For the basic notions of the system, we are going to delve a little deeper into the essential aspects of the operating system, such as the management of its installation, security, or user management.

Windows defend and security

One of the most important improvements that this version of Windows brought and that has been evolving is Windows Defender. It is the native system software for virus, spyware and now ramsonware and OneDrive cloud security detection.

Here we leave very interesting tutorials to disable it, update it, how it works and much more.

Where to buy Windows 10

We have seen that Windows is available in a lot of distributions, although for most users it will be reduced to two: the Home and the Pro, the first cheapest and the second most expensive. As soon as we are curious and want to get an extra, we recommend the Pro version.

On the net there are many places to buy cheap Windows 10 licenses. Keep in mind that a Windows without a license will only be limited in the customization of its visual theme. Absolutely everything else will be available.

We are going to install Windows 10… or better two

We do not need a computer scientist to be able to install Windows 10 on our PC, since the system gives us all the necessary tools to do so. We only need a flash drive over 8 GB, the Internet and our tutorials.

Currently we always recommend installing Windows with GPT drives , although SATA and M.2 SSDs are already preconfigured with this partition system. A frequent mistake is the one we deal with in the following tutorial:

What's more, we can add a second or third Windows to our PC on a new hard drive or partition. We just have to make sure it appears during startup to use it.

User Management

The management of system users is also part of our basic tasks. It is not only about creating an account and nothing else, we suggest you know how to manage user credentials and how to manage parental control of the system with your email account.

Of course, we are never exempt from errors, so here is the solution to some of the most common ones related to users.

Networks and internet in Windows

Although it is a swampy terrain for many, controlling all the network related issues in Windows will help us a lot when it comes to browsing safely and quickly. And do not worry, because changing the IP address, activating Bluetooth or using SSH and Telnet is not complicated if you know how to do it right.

We can also share resources over the network, for example, files, prints or even the computer screen with Miracast.

Customization guide

Customizing our work environment is important to feel comfortable with the system and to better spend all those hours that we are going to be in front of it. Here we give you a personalization guide with the options of the system itself and other interesting applications, which, beware, are not harmful to the system.

Do you really know how to move around Windows? Let's see it

If you think that you can only move around Windows with a mouse by clicking, you are far from knowing what the real power of the system is. Tricks or not, commands and key combinations are an important part of the system so check out these tutorials.

Maintenance tasks, safe mode and configuration

Like anything else, an operating system also needs some maintenance, and we must carry it out so that everything works perfectly. In this way you will 100% avoid formatting and possible problems.

And here we leave the configuration tutorials most wanted by users:

Delving into the system

In addition to the basic tasks seen above, we can still go further, something that all curious people can do with the tutorials that we have been preparing during this time. We talk about issues of feature installation, bug fixes, performance improvements, storage management, etc.

Most common errors in Windows 10

Like all operating systems, Windows is not without its errors and problems that can arise at any time. Have you ever come across any of these?

Create partitions, format and recover files

All this we can do from the operating system itself, either with the graphical interface or with the command console, thanks to a program as powerful as Diskpart. Let's go one step beyond simple management with these tutorials.

All this we can do with both hard drives and storage flash drives. Sometimes the drive tends to give errors when formatted, but we also have the solution for this.

Install or uninstall system features

Are you a purist and need Movie Maker in your life? In this section we will see how to recover those programs left forgotten by Windows and others that will be very useful to work on it.

Useful tricks for Windows 10

Here we will see actions that, by not focusing on any specific topic, we can say that they are little tricks about the system. At least they will help us to know a little more about how our Windows works.

Advanced internal programs or processes that we should know

You already know that Windows is a huge ecosystem of programs that work on the core of Windows NT. In it, there are many internal applications that work in the background on the computer to manage our hardware.

Many of these will be accessible through commands with the execute tool (Windows + R) or directly from Command Prompt. Let's see the most important ones.

The list of commands in Windows 10

We have taken the trouble to collect all the most useful commands of this operating system, along with an explanation of what they do on our system.

What do you think of Windows 10?

For us it is the definitive Microsoft system, we must recognize that its stability, functions and applications have greatly improved since previous versions. The new update policy is working well except for the actual update itself, which is not usually without errors.

For now, the support that Microsoft offers for Windows has a limit in 2025, at least that is the information that it currently provides. It also says it will be the last system. In any case we do not know if all this will be fulfilled or not, we already know how these are from Microsoft.

What operating system is your favorite? And what do you think is the best Windows ever?