14 DAY TRIAL // Windows 10 was released with much fanfare 12 days ago, and Microsoft is offering it as a free upgrade for those running genuine Windows 7 or 8.1. The free upgrade can be performed all automatically, with the current Windows version downloading the necessary files and then firing up the install.
With the offer available to so many users, Microsoft decided to roll out Windows 10 in waves, thus trying to prevent its servers from crashing due to the high number of requests, but also in order to release the operating system only to those without any compatibility issues on their systems.
Internet slowdown likely to continue
In New Zealand, for example, the high number of downloads performed by users indeed affected the ultra-fast broadband (UFB), with local ISPs estimating that the same slowdown would be experienced in the coming weeks, as Windows 10 becomes available to more local users.
“Although it's not known how many computers in New Zealand are eligible for the free operating system update, we can estimate that for every million computers, 4000 terabytes of data will be transferred,” Blair Stewart, Digital Island CEO, is quoted as saying by IT Brief.
“We believe this issue is only going to get worse as the uptake of UFB accelerates. Currently just 14% of the country is connected, but the congestion is set to increase and affect performance more as this number grows.”
The Windows 10 upgrade requires a download of at least 2.5 GB for the 32-bit version or 3 GB for the 64-bit build, so it's easy to see how Internet speed can be impacted when millions of users are downloading at the same time.
The rollout should be completed very soon, as Microsoft promised it would only take weeks before Windows 10 arrives on everyone's computers, no matter if there are any compatibility issues or not.