No matter what they do, the users would complain. By leaving the settings on recommended, the user said she wants free IT support from Microsoft. Microsoft, like any other IT dept. would, made the decision to upgrade to an OS which will work better for everyone.
Sadly, a small amount of users don't understand why they can't keep using the same $200 Dell from 1999 forever - just like many users can't understand why Microsoft can't and shouldn't support obsolete operating systems forever.
Not fair! She was using it fine. It suddenly failed, due to events completely independent of it being a $200 Dell or whatever. She wasn't installing new apps, and her old ones served her well. No, this debacle was entirely of Microsofts' creation.
I made the rounds to my relatives last year and upgraded everyone's 15+ year old PCs from "Windows" to "Lubuntu." It's like breathing fresh life into an old machine.
A huge chunk of users have no need for a new computer, or a new operating system for that matter. They want to have a web browser, e-mail and open documents. For some, that's meant switching over to using a tablet. But for others, they just want to keep using the machine they've got.
And it's not even really a Windows vs Linux thing. If Microsoft would continue to provide security updates for their old OSes or make a paired down version of their new OSes to work on a minimalist or older machine then I would have upgraded them to that instead.
With all the complaints about Windows 10, I haven't seen a demand for ongoing Microsoft support. I've seen a lot of people say that Microsoft can't and won't support previous versions of their OSes forever, and I don't think many people would have a problem with that.
Sadly, a small amount of users don't understand why they can't keep using the same $200 Dell from 1999 forever - just like many users can't understand why Microsoft can't and shouldn't support obsolete operating systems forever.