Its me and windows 10

[devonwoody]

Well I have had W10 twenty-eight days and I am still just about sane, I can see what problems it causes.
Example I signed up to a music forum around 3 weeks ago and membership accepted but everytime I logged in I never got the choice to reply or post a topic only read.
Their administrator assured me it was ok to post and it got to the state he signed in as me with my details and password and he could not post a topic as me or reply. He said its never happened before and in the end my computer was at fault because it would not accept my internet explorer but if I used Chrome I had normal membership. Other members get in with I/E and windows 10.
That was one example, this morning I got an email from Windows 10 welcome explaining how to use W10 so I got stuck in, its now changed my set up even from the little square at that bottom left corner, example icons have changed and all sorts of changes have taken place, but they will not win sending me to that other place !!! I will survive.

 

[AES]

You have my sympathies devonwoody. Your description sounds just like the problems my wife has had with Win 10 (and more!!), to the point that although I don't know what I'll do about it yet, when MS stop supporting my Win 7 (sometime2019??) I'm going to do something else - what something else I haven't decided yet, but one thing is for sure, it will definitely NOT be Win 10.

Good luck with your struggle mate, I do NOT envy you.

 

[devonwoody]

Thanks for your sympathy. some members and all. come and help me fortunately

 

[sunnybob]

Andy, theres hope.
I'm still running vista (wish it was still 95, or 98, or even xp (each one slightly worse than the previous)) despite having to put up with a daily banner across the top of the screen for the last two years telling me it is no longer supported.
Bizarrely, I often get notifications that "updates are available".

Win 10? My brother has had that since the beginning, he is less happy by the month, another year may see him suicidal. That may be the time I give up the internet.

 

[AES]

Yeah, it's funny sunnybob, I had no experience with 95 & Vista, but got used to XP and found it, well not "great" exactly, but at least it was workable (by me) and it did NOT change everything after each auto "must update" ("Security you know". Yeah, right!)

But it seems more and more people (not only here) are getting more and more fed up with Win 10. I guess the number of fed up users is minute when compared with the world user base, but I wonder does MS know? And do they even care? I doubt it.

As said above, I've no idea what'll happen when they stop supporting 7, but I am quite sure it will NOT be 10.

Incidentally, your point about banners & updates interested me. Are you saying that today you're using a Win OS that is no longer supported?

Doesn't that mean that you get "instantly" swamped with all sorts of internet nasties, indentity thefts, stolen bank account details, passwords, etc, etc, ad-nausea?

E.G. I know my local hospital still uses XP, but's only because that's their internal "non on-online" use ("intranet" I think it's called), and never goes "on line outside" (I asked one of their IT blokes once). E.G. you get an X-ray done "upstairs", go back "downstairs" in the consulting room and the Dr doesn't have to have the actual X-ray in his hands, he just calls it up on his screen using the keyboard on the desk.

Personally I'd love to go back to XP if I felt it was still OK to go on line (here for example) without getting automatically infected with nasties.

 

[sunnybob]

I finally dumped my XP tower a couple years ago, 2 reasons. It had sat there unused so long that the mother board battery had died. I could have replaced it, but reason 2 was i have now used this vista laptop for 10 years and had no further use for the tower.

I bought this laptop (HP pavilion) in july 08, and it has run for literally thousands of hours (possibly 10's of thousands) and apart from a hard drive failure (it got eaten by ants! :shock: ) has worked faultlessly.

It must be 2 years now, but the exact date escapes me that windows and chrome decided to de-list vista. I now get the "this machine is no longer supported" banner every time I log on. I stopped using IE quite a while ago (it really is too old and unsafe).

I have an ad blocker (adaware) and a mal ware (malaware) running. No issues at all on any site. Oh, on interent options security is set to medium high, and the software is required to ask me whenever an operating program wants to start up. If I havent initiated that, its an immediate NO.

Its not as friendly as 95 was, that was a true wysiwyg system and I still mourn for its passing, but its better than the missus's win 8.1 by a long way.

My brother used to do a lot of photoshop stuff way back when (we started with atari, moved to commodore amiga (amazingly good), and the first windows we got was 3.5). With each "upgrade" it became harder, and now with win 10 he can no longer use it because of its inscrutable menu systems.

 

[LancsRick]

You do realise that by running versions that are no longer supported you are no longer getting security updates?

There's a lot of criticism on here for stuff that is nothing to do with Windows 10! I will always look to help with techy questions on here as my PC skills far surpass my woodworking ones, and a lot of the time a simple piece of knowledge or show and tell will fix things for people.

 

[Robbo3]

For anybody having problems with a browser, you can have more than one installed on your PC or laptop.
I'd recommend Pale Moon, a light weight branch from Firefox
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkmeoYKYctw

 

[sunnybob]

You do realise that by running versions that are no longer supported you are no longer getting security updates?

There's a lot of criticism on here for stuff that is nothing to do with Windows 10! I will always look to help with techy questions on here as my PC skills far surpass my woodworking ones, and a lot of the time a simple piece of knowledge or show and tell will fix things for people.

I've just checked my laptop. Windows defender reports no security issues checked at 2 am this morning. Its possible this has not been updated, but like most things computer related, I have no idea how to find out.

Between defender, adaware, malware, and google chrome, I have no issues. The ONLY virus I ever suffered in over 20 years on the internet was put onto my machine by a sloppy computer tech from the last company I worked for! Despite that company taking my tower in and "cleaning" it that machine never fully recovered from the bugbear virus.

I shall stick with this laptop untill it completely dies, then have to make a decision on what to replace it with.
I have never used 10, so cant comment first hand, but my brother's experience is very off putting indeed.

 

[devonwoody]

Sunnybob
Don't worry Amazon have secondhand reconditioned PCs. usually at prices under £100 with 12 months guarantees.
Its I just went mad and purchased the newest and biggest for a change of lifestyle :x

 

[sunnybob]

Sunnybob
Don't worry Amazon have secondhand reconditioned PCs. usually at prices under £100 with 12 months guarantees.
Its I just went mad and purchased the newest and biggest for a change of lifestyle :x

Ah, you just fancied a walk on the wild side then. :shock:

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Don't forget also that if buying, desk tops are often cheaper than laptops and many of us don't actually need a laptop.

 

[Tasky]

I've had absolutely no problems with my WIn10.
I accepted the free upgrade at the time, then did a fresh reinstall thereafter and it's worked great. I went through and removed all the cack and apps I didn't want, like Microsoft Store and the Xbox gaming thing, but the basic install and all the other bits are stock standard and it works perfectly.

The only difficulties I've found are finding where settings and stuff have moved to, but that's on me, not the OS. Even then, for the most part it's been plain sailing. I do use Firefox instead of IE/Edge, though.

 

[AES]

Well I'm pleased for you Tasky. That has definitely NOT been my wife's experience, nor that of several others on here. "Different strokes for different folks" perhaps?

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Swmbo and I both have Win 10, she uses I.E. and I use Chrome. She took Chrome off hers because she thought it slowed I.E. down, but running I.E. on hers is about four times slower than Chrome on mine.
Both computers are only used to probably about 1% of their capacity, probably less.

 

[selectortone]

For anyone who wants a simple laptop-style device for internet-centric tasks like mail, browsing, internet banking, a bit of word-processing and spreadsheeting, etc, I would recommend a chromebook.

Chromebooks run Chrome OS and for around £250 you get something with the form factor of a laptop that is as user-friendly as a mobile phone. They run android apps, have built in virus protection, and unlike the Windows 10 laptop I use for processor intensive tasks like video editing, mine updates entirely unobtrusively in the background. The battery lasts all day and it fires up in seconds.

I like the idea of something with the elegance to run programs in kilobytes, not a huge bloated OS like windows or Apple's OS. I've had mine for a few months now and I absolutely love it.I'm writing this on it. I think I've rebooted it twice - and only because I thought I ought to do it occasionally!

 

[AES]

Interesting selectortone, thanks. Something to keep in mind for when MS stop supporting Win7.

I'll need something to go on line with after that date, but as you say, just for "light" stuff like E-mails and posting here, etc.

I'm still much favouring the idea of resurrecting my old WinXP laptop (when I bought that I did need a laptop for work, even though I don't now) and using that for all my off line only stuff. All the programs I have work well with that and if I don't ever go on line with that set up, I think that'll do me fine. AND I don't have to learn to drive any new software, which for me, is always a long & drawn out process.

But as I replied to tasky just now, personally I think it's all very much a question of what suits the individual, and in my case I liked (more or less!) XP, same as I like IE but don't like Chrome.

Whatever

 

[Tasky]

Well I'm pleased for you Tasky. That has definitely NOT been my wife's experience, nor that of several others on here. "Different strokes for different folks" perhaps?

Well the main point was that everyone who seems to know more than me strongly suggested doing a fresh install immediately after the upgrade. I know there were reasons, but I didn't really care enough to read too much into the why at the time, just the what.

 

[AES]

You may well be right mate. As said, I don't have Win 10, but my wife does (and several others here too).

In my wife's case, it was NOT an update (I presume you mean you updated from 8?) but a new load into a brand new PC. And it's also been loaded new, by the local "PC Dr" several times since. Nevertheless, she STILL has enormous problems, mainly because every time there's an update, she can't find stuff - too much has been changed automatically by the MS auto update.

The latest example, she was having a lot of problems with Skype not working after the last auto update and in the end (after a day's work - which costs money mind) the local "Dr" found out that MS had automatically turned off either her speakers or microphone (I can't now remember which) without any advice whatsoever (and from nothing at all that she did). The reason, the "Dr." found out, was "data protection"!!!! Perhaps MS thinks she's got that Amazon thingy that talks to you? (She hasn't)!

I'm myself old-fashioned enough that I do not like loads of silly little (and often to me at least meaningless) pictures (icons) telling me what to do when & how - I like a "label" in an alphabetical list (in English)! Simple.

I also like to use programs that I've bought and paid for and that I've learnt to use properly (often painfully and laboriously) even if they are 15 years old. Why not if they work and I know how to use them? May not be "the latest and greatest" but they do what I need them to do, whereas as soon as you get to Win 10 " it's all been changed" and you have to (often) even BUY a new version.

I've got tools that are well over 15 years old that work fine. Why can't I treat my software the same way?

No Sir, from all I've "seen" from my wife's experiences, (supported by several members here who seem far from keen) I have decided that come what may, I will have NOTHING whatever to do with Win 10.

But again, I stress, that's just my own take on the whole "software rip-off" thing. If you're happy, great. I'm not trying to convert anyone to my own view, just trying to point out that just updating to today's "latest & greatest" (often without any thought it seems to me, just acceptance that it is "today's" version so MUST be better) may not suit everyone.

 

[Tasky]

In my wife's case, it was NOT an update (I presume you mean you updated from 8?) but a new load into a brand new PC.

Actually mine was the free update they offered, and from Win-7. That might be part of the issue, as 8 and 8.1 were buggy messes to begin with... I never got 8 for that exact reason, but on the whole 10 has been pretty good.

Often people make small mistakes when doing fresh installs, even professionals. Several friends are high end PC builders and I help them out as a hobby, but even they make silly little errors, forget to set X value in Y config, or just don't notice a particular nuance of certain hardware.
Most of the issues people have with Win10 turn out to be silly little mistakes, so it's just a case of finding them, really. One usually kicks one's self when one find the bloody thing!

The reason, the "Dr." found out, was "data protection"!!!! Perhaps MS thinks she's got that Amazon thingy that talks to you? (She hasn't)!

Yeah, that's a big issue these days. A lot of the time it's a conflict between what Windows understands and what various antivirus software thinks is a security issue. We do have a lot of problems at work, and the vast majority originate with the antivirus software we have.

May not be "the latest and greatest" but they do what I need them to do, whereas as soon as you get to Win 10 " it's all been changed" and you have to (often) even BUY a new version.

That shouldn't necessarily be the case, as you can usually run older programs in 'Compatability Mode'. Just pick the right one, usually whatever OS version is last ran fine on, and it should be good. Anything that worked on older Windows should run on new, as MS is big on backwards compatability - A great many businesses would be stuffed, otherwise.

Buying new is either just a marketing drive from the third party software company, and/or a genuine security update requirement. It may not be immediately apparent, but older innocent software can sometimes be a gateway to accessing other more critical secure areas of the PC.
I'm actually not a big fan of upgrading and changing things, especially when I have to reapply all my changes and customisations, but sometimes it is needed.

I've got tools that are well over 15 years old that work fine. Why can't I treat my software the same way?

Rather than a tool, think of it more like a locked room - One day someone devises a lock-picking device or a door-shim, so you have to replace that with a better one in order to keep your room secure.

just trying to point out that just updating to today's "latest & greatest" (often without any thought it seems to me, just acceptance that it is "today's" version so MUST be better) may not suit everyone.

Oh, definitely - Sometimes it is just a rip-off marketing drive to sell new stuff.
But sometimes it is for very good reasons, especially with things like software drivers or system bugs. Then it's more like when someone discovered that asbestos or thalidomide was harmful, and changes needed to be made rather sharpish.