Beginning with Windows 3.1, it seems that every other version was a good one. Since Win 7 was a winner and I never took a liking to version 8, I naturally assumed that the latest would be the greatest. I was wrong.

Initially, I heard so many good things about Windows 10 that I didn’t even wait for my invitation from system update. I forced the installation by downloading it from Microsoft’s website. All went well. It was a flawless, albeit time-consuming effort that created no errors at first and left me without only my printer; not bad, or so I thought.

One morning about a month into my new operating system, I was greeted by the now omnipresent sign-in page, and found time after time that my password was rejected. I was banished from my own computer.

Occasionally I may forget my anniversary, my wife’s Social Security number or where I left my keys, but I absolutely know my Windows password.

Microsoft’s security locked me out of Windows, so I fought back. After trying to break in with my arsenal of utilities, I eventually reformatted the hard drive and reinstalled Windows 7, which I still think is the best operating system to date. I just don’t think Win 10 is done yet.

The more I used it, the less I liked it. It appeared buggy, kind of like a beta or trial edition of some software, not the refined, finished product.

It’s not just my opinion, either. According to Laptop Magazine online, it has been suggested to them by manufacturer support reps that it is indeed too early to migrate to the new Windows, that maybe it’s not quite ready yet. They suggest consumers either not jump on the upgrade wagon yet or roll back to previous settings if they already did.

I wholeheartedly agree.

I’ve also heard that by the first of the year, the upgrade to Win 10 will not be so much a request as a requirement. To avoid going through that upgrade fiasco again, I simply turned off Windows Update.

In Win 7, you have the option to set it on “Auto Update,” or have them advise you when updates are available, but not to download or install them. That is the option I would recommend. You can also turn off the update option altogether, but this is not advised as you may then miss some important security updates.

With Windows 10 Home Edition, you no longer have the option to alter the update settings. You get them, like it or not.

The only thing I really liked about Windows 10 (aside from the fact that it does boot up more quickly) is that the functions Refresh and Reset that we first saw in Win 8 are still around. They allow us to clean the system without reinstalling it, with the option of returning it to its original pristine factory condition.

With Win 7 and before, we were advised to create a set of backup discs, which I still think is a good idea.

If you have Windows 7, go the Start Menu and click on All Programs, then find Maintenance. Go to Backup and Restore and look in the left margin. You will want to both “Create a System Image” as well as “Create a System Repair Disc.”

This will not take too long and is an insurance policy. The latter will get you into Windows should you get locked out and the former will, as in my case, allow you to reinstall the operating system with not just Microsoft’s stuff, but yours as well.

You can also use third-party apps (meaning not from Microsoft nor HP or Dell, etc.). You also have the option to put the backup on an external USB drive as opposed to burning to a set of DVDs, but I would suggest you use a CD for the startup disc.

Should you use the external USB drive option, be aware that most, if not all programs will wipe the drive of all its data prior to creating the backup. So make sure that if you have photos, videos, music or whatever on that drive, that you relocate it.

To initiate a recovery in Windows 8, go to “Settings.” Under the “General” heading, click on either the “Refresh your PC” or “Remove and reinstall” options, depending on what you want to do.

In Windows 10, go to “Update and Security,” and then to “Recovery” for similar options.

You have until next fall to upgrade to the new Windows for free and perhaps by then it will be a better product.

If you already made the switch and are having second thoughts, you have 30 days to go back to whichever version you upgraded from, Win 7 or 8.

Should the system fail to revert back to its original configuration, and it may, you’ll be glad that you created that backup.

Arthur Glazer is a freelance writer and computer technician in Gainesville whose columns on technology appear occasionally.