haha just use whatever that serves you better
this might be related to how your home network was set up. maybe you should check that out first.
no issue here. all patches were installed properly.
sorry bro i have no idea. i don't use cortana.
there is a potential issue with nvidia drivers which were report to brick certain samsung and lg display panels in laptops. the identified display panels are used in alienware.
https://forum.lowyat.net/index.php?showtopi...post&p=75958864

(i think this was why owners with nvidia gpus cannot pass w10 upgrade validation)

it's common. however, maybe your computer already have them downloaded almost completely (except for one or few files). check to see if c:\$windows.~bt or c:\$windows.~ws is present. usually there will be contents inside the folder too.

haha yeah that's probably the sign.

it is really up to you. it's just a personal preference. if you do not face any issue with in-place upgrade, there is no such needs. i personally like a clean install because i wanna get rid of old system partitions that are still intact, and i wanna have a fresh start. before you do a clean install, make sure you have all the compatible drivers ready, and make necessary steps to prepare for the worst. (like making a full system and data backup so that you can roll back if something is wrong)

no you cannot use w8.1 key for w10. if you went through the w10 upgrade offer successfully (ms refers this as digital entitlement), you don't need to use key when you do a fresh install. (just skip when asked for key) it will be automatically activated after you have connected to the internet with the freshly installed w10.

still eligible ka? can't find the validity period for this upgrade..