Other office-software suites are available, too. If you absolutely want to install the programs on your computer and not have to rely on browser-based versions, LibreOffice is available for many Linux variations (like Ubuntu and Linux Mint), as is Apache OpenOffice. Both suites can open, edit and save files in Microsoft Office formats, although you may see some quirks with document conversions.

If you do not mind browser-based programs, Google Docs and Zoho Docs are two options that also offer free online storage for your files. Both can open and edit Office files and let you get to your stored files from mobile devices.

Standard file formats like JPG photos, MP3 audio files and PDF documents work on just about any desktop or mobile operating system these days. However, if you use other programs and less-common file types on your current Windows machine (aside from Microsoft Office), be sure to check for equivalents on the new system of your choice.