Computer Failure

[cushman eagle]

A week ago my 4 1/2 year old computer died ,sending me to Best Buy to have Geek Squad work on it,as I have for the last 2 computers.They found out the hard drive failed , so they called me to call HP for a recovery disk to get the new hard drive to connect with the computer.HP no longer makes a recovery disk for that computer I got a new computer,which lets me know every time I use it,how much faster and more user friendly Windows 7 was than Windows 10 Does anybody here like Windows 10? Anyway I am headed out of state for about 5 days to start forage harvest for the year, Gives me time to get unfrustrated

[trikebldr]

Loren, I recently had to replace my four year old laptop, too, and everything has 10 on it now. I blissfully bought my new one at Costco and took it home. Once it fired up I knew I was in trouble, too!
The first major issue was that Microsoft no longer supports their own mail system, so all of my archived emails are no longer accessible. I had to dump my old PC-based email address and go strictly to my web-based gmail accounts. I also HAD an extensive flight simulator collection on an external drive, and 10 doesn't recognize any of that anymore, either.
like everybody else I had invested hours and hours tweaking all of my programs just the way I liked them, and now, BAAMMMM, it's all different! My quickie photo editing program is no more. I guess we should just be thankful that 10 even recognizes a jpg anymore.
My local PC shop owner and guru is a close friend of mine and tells me everything because I let him borrow my tiller each year. (it's good to have a guru in your back pocket!) He says about half of new PC buyers are coming in and paying him $169 to dump 10 and put 7 back into their new PC's. I ran Vista in my last one so I have no idea what 7 or 8 was like.
10 really sucks, but you can bet that Microsoft isn't going to back down and recall it, and it is so radically different and has already obsoleted so many programs that it has generated a fast new market for updated software for all the stuff we used to use.
Face it, folks! 10 is here, so you better get busy learning to work with it, or get busy dying! I'm just holding out hopes that somebody really smart comes up with an interface program to interpret all of the old stuff into 10-eze so we can use it. Hey, they came up with a conversion program to allow Apple systems to run PC programs. How hard could it be to come up with a program to make a PC run PC programs?
For now I am just thankful I still have my 19 year old Gateway desktop monster to view my old emails. It's hard drive isn't even large enough to load any one of my flight sims on, let alone fly any of them, though. But, it still plays my music really nicely on it's surround sound outputs.
BTW, my guru says he has sold ALL of his older, used laptops and desktops in this last month and can't get anymore to build his stock! What does that tell ya?

[Neal]

Ask your Guru if it's time to stuff-can Micro$oft and get a real (free) operating system...Any of the Linux distributions... ...I can run any of those programs on this 10 year old desktop using Ubuntu.

[trikebldr]

Ask your Guru if it's time to stuff-can Micro$oft and get a real (free) operating system...Any of the Linux distributions... ...I can run any of those programs on this 10 year old desktop using Ubuntu.

I was wondering that same thing! If we're going to HAVE to go through this huge learning curve for such radical change from microsoft, why not shift to someone else that doesn't need to push another new OS on the public every six months to continue raking in the money from planned obsolescence.

[krasmu]

Tally up another frustrated Win10 user. My pc crashed hard 6 months ago and am now try to learn to navigate my new laptop with Win 10. Thank goodness my 28 year old son-in-law lives with me.

[SgtSlag]

Gentlemen:

I've been a PC Technician for 26 years. The life expectancy of a PC (hardware) is 4-5 years. Operating systems were in the 10-year range, but with hackers, and viruses, O/S makers (Apple, Microsoft, Ubuntu, etc.), are shortening the lifespan of O/S's because they are too hard to maintain against security threats which are changing every day. They can only patch an O/S so many times, so many ways, before it is time to scrap it in favor of a new system. Painful? Yes! Necessary? You had better believe it is...

Ransomware is the latest: you inadvertently download a malware program by opening an e-mail message, or, God forbid, an attachment... Your PC suddenly locks up, with a pop-up message, informing you that your PC has been locked, and you must pay so much in BitCoins, to a Russian, in order to unlock your PC, and its files. This is the reality of our Internet. Pay up, or re-format your PC, losing everything. In order to stay ahead of these hackers/malware writers, the O/S companies have to continuously improve their code... All 20 million lines of it.


In the business world, Microsoft is moving towards a 2-year lifespan on O/S's, to stay ahead of hackers, and to milk money from their business clientele. Welcome to the New World, my friends. Cheers!

[krasmu]

you sure know how to brighten a mans day. I hate computers. don't understand them. Give me a piece of wood and a saw and I can do amazing things but a keyboard attached to a box that thinks for itself is the source of all evil and frustration to me.

[trikebldr]

Krasmu, I'm afraid he's dead on right! Back in the '90's I was hit by the "happy 99" virus that wiped me out. I had to spends many days learning to "write zeroes" to my computer, then start over. Did that a dozen times before really getting good at it and learned a lot. Today's systems don't work that way, I know less today than I did back then!!!
Somebody told us that computers would free up a lot more time for leisure activities, like riding! WHAT HAPPENED???? Now we have to spend MORE time working to earn the money for these POS's, then more time staying on top of how to run them. Maybe it's time to go back to smoke signals, drums, carrier pigeons, two-cans-and-a-string, sliderules and an abacas!

[Mr Jensee]

Add me to the list of Windows 10 haters. Have you noticed how terribly dull this operating system is? Every dang thing is gray and it can't be changed. All the ways I used to access system operations is gone and replaced with dull icons that never take me where I need to go. Cant fix internet crashes. Have to reboot the server because the computer cant see my network. I have a 64 ghz computer that for some dumb reason has as 32 ghz Windows 10 operating system in it. So I get half the use I should out of the processor. This computer loves to lock up at the perfect moment I am addressing something on the net. What a mess. I understood Windows 7 and loved XP when I had it but this is just crap. I would go to something like Linux but I never understood how make existing programs work on it. I have a copy of Microsoft Office 2000 that actually works on W-10 but could not be transferred to Linux. Same goes with my Photoshop 7, my Paperport 11 and so forth. So I too am a victim of this oppressively bad operating system. At least I don't have to suffer alone now...

[Tonyvdb]

Im running Win 7 on most of my PCs at home and Win 8.1 on two laptops. (I have 3 desktops two of witch are for the kids to do homework and such) I definitely like Win 7 the best and make due with 8.1

I will not be upgrading to the "free" Win10 any time soon given all the complaints I have heard over the last few months.

[krasmu]

I work for a multi billion dollar aerospace company. They live and breath by computer, but have yet to changer over to win10. That tells me a lot.

[trikebldr]

Microsoft sure took TOTAL control this time with 10. We used to have control over when/if we allowed updates to our PCs. Not anymore! To shut down, it will do all current updates without your permission before shutting down. Think you can do a hard shut down to skirt that? Nope! On startup again it will go through those updates. And, we never get to see just what updates are being installed nor do we get a choice. It also rearranges your desktop for you, too, during those updates, and changes your "view" preferences in different windows.
There may be a need to continually change the OS to thwart hackers and viruses, but to cause such changes and take away all control from us and not give us the choice of window styles anymore is beyond that!
This is just one more user who's going to have 10 stripped out and a new copy of 7 put in! Might even go back to XP! I loved XP!
If I hadn't already just bought my new laptop I would tell a store person I will buy only if they include 7 on the machine rather than 10.

[Neal]

You're asking for exactly what I have now. Updates when/how I WANT. And none of the 'changes' they decide I might need. And NO operating system TRACKING........

[SgtSlag]

Bear in mind that Windows XP is no longer updated for viruses, and O/S hacks, or security holes. Running XP is fine if you do not connect to the Internet with it. Windows 7 has a sunset date, as well, but I don't remember what it is. It is a few years away yet, but after that date, it, too, will no longer be supported with updates, such that it will become a liability to connect such a PC to the Internet as well.

Try Linux (Ubuntu, or whatever flavor you prefer), but they are not user friendly, to put it mildly. I've tried them for years, but all I can say is that it is useful for surfing the Internet, and little else. Try it for yourself, though. It is free to download, and install. Try it on an older PC which you don't care about losing the data on its hard drive. Be aware, though, that hackers have begun writing viruses, worms, etc., for Linux boxes as well.

Apple systems are more stable than Windows systems, but they are also receiving the attention of hackers. Viruses, worms, etc., are now being written for Apple iO/S devices as they gain market share. The software applications they can run are limited, as well. The good news, however, is that you can run a Windows emulator on your Mac, which will run your Windows programs. The Windows emulator is not perfect, but it works -- and you must purchase it, separately. Hope this helps. Cheers!

[Neal]

That means you probably haven't tried Linux in the last 3 or 4 years. It's TOTALLY different now. EVERYTHING is 'point and click' and there haven't been any reported 'Hacks' that I've heard of on the forums. And yes you can install Wine, a free windows delivery system that will help you run any windows program. However, I haven't found any need as the OS comes with all the office programs already installed.

[hank43]

Gave up on win10 for my laptop, and reinstalled win 7. Worked fine for several days (even though I had to go to Microsoft to get it authorized ) and then I got 156'd. That means that one day when I had it on for several hours, win 7 decided that it needed to be rebooted, and the dreadful message "Don't even turn this off, installing update 1 of 156....."

Seems to work ok now, but is dead dog sloooooooowwwwwwwwwww! and this laptop has a solid state drive!

hank43

[cushman eagle]

I got back from southern KY last night,hoping to hear good news about Windows 10 ,And all I find is everyone agrees with me. Soooo I guess I grin and bear it Such is the price of improvement.

[Mr Jensee]

10 sucks. There is no sugar coating this rotten fruit. I wish I still had my Windows 7 but alas tis not to be. I just wish this 32 bit operating system was 64 bit for the processor. I could fix it I guess IF I bought another Windows 10. Why on earth would I actually pay to be this miserable?

[SgtSlag]

Make sure you un-install Quicktime from your Windows-based PC (it is safe on Mac's)... It has two security holes, per the US Government.

News article: Quicktime Security Threat.

How to Remove Quicktime from your Windows-based PC.

Cheers!

[ghostler]

For me, I've decided against any further entanglements with Microsoft. Latest is M$ invalidating my 5 year old Windows 7 reinstallation on my laptop. Don't know if related, but I rejected the plug-in request for Windows 10 for several months. Am a little miffed as I bought this Gateway laptop from a reputable dealer, made the backup reinstall disks first on.

I gave up on upgrading systems, my desktop is now 9 years old, dual boot Linux Xubuntu / WinXP, use only XP when I have to.

Regarding oldest hardware, I installed Lubuntu on my 10 YO ASUS 701 EEE PC with 4GB SSDD, 512MB RAM, use it as my MP3 player and backing band for sax playing. It is compact enough to pack in a saddlebag for overnight stays on trips. I also get my E-mail with it.

Next system will probably be an Android (Google Chrome) or Apple.