Technology Tips – Published January 2022 in the Guide and Digest
By Don Trauger – Kennett
First, you need to check your version of Windows 10 to see if it is up to date or is several versions behind. This can be important for feature security updates as well as new offerings. Windows Update will update your computer 3 times per month to keep your current installed version up to date. However, it doesn’t always offer the latest version update that may be available for your computer. In a way, that is a good thing. Installing the latest version update can come with bugs and there is no reason you must be a guinea pig. For example, if a new version is offered to you, I would wait 4-6 months before installing it. To check exactly what version is installed in your computer read the following.
| Open settings by left clicking once the Start icon (lower left corner) of the Desktop screen. Move up to Settings and click it once. The Settings screen will open, then click the System icon. Scroll down to About then click it. Scroll down Windows specifications and note the version number. It will indicate what version you have installed. If you have an old version installed it will show the year and month it was released by Microsoft. An old version would be 2004 or older. It means the year would be 2020 and the month of release would have been April. Microsoft has been unable to keep the release date accurate to the month, so they changed it to 6-month periods. An example of the new coding system would be 21H1, indicating the year as 2021 and indicating it is the first half of the year.
Version 21H2 has been released but I would recommend that you avoid it and update to version 21H1 if you can. Staying a version behind is the safest way to go for reliability with little to give up for security reasons.
Next, click Home at the top left of the System category window then click the Update & Security icon. First, look for Feature update to Windows 10 version 21H2. It will indicate the version that will be offered. If you don’t see it click Check for updates. If it is version 21H2 hold off installing it until February or March of 2022. The 2022 version should be available in the Spring of 2022 with a version number of 22H1. Don’t install it until August or September of 2022.
Keeping your computer one version behind is the safest and most reliable way to ensure that you don’t have to endure Microsoft’s mistakes.
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