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tobeadvised's avatar
tobeadvised
Copper Contributor
Oct 15, 2020

Windows 10 Upgrade approaches

Just wanted to share my experience and get any feedback on the upgrade approach between using an Upgrade Task sequence or a Feature update. We tested both ways for a 1803 to 1909 upgrade and settled for the Task Sequence approach:

 

Upgrade Task Sequence:

Pros-

  • Control over the upgrade steps, able to include steps to check for free disk space, power connected etc..
  • Able to include driver updates
  • The upgrade broke some of our customisation, such as icons on the Start Menu, branding, wallpaper, etc,, so we were able to add tasks to fix these up

Cons-

  • Upgrade process took a lot longer than the feature update
  • As all users working remotely, all updates come from our CMG, which incurs a data cost. Not huge in the scheme of things
  • Task sequence could get complex
  • User requested not to use laptop once Task sequence started, visually they can see the TS running

Feature Update:

Pros-

  • Easy to deploy
  • Less impact to user, alot of the upgrade happens in the background so they can still use the machine. Downtime is limited to the reboot
  • Feature updates downloaded straight from MS so no data costs

Cons-

  • Customisation limited
  • Not able to update drivers or apps if required

Be good to hear thoughts and feedback. Thanks

1 Reply

  • Karen_Simpson's avatar
    Karen_Simpson
    Icon for Microsoft rankMicrosoft
    Oct 15, 2020
    Hi Tony - Thank so much for taking the time to post your experience! This is actually what we would expect in terms of pros and cons - and the reason why we talk so much about on-going innovation in our servicing processes. You are showing all the work the teams across MEM and Windows are doing to create better experiences. Please post again once you move from 1909 to 20-O4 or 20H2. I believe the experience will be even better.

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