Uncovered

OK so I know our "Glorious Leader" ct is using W10 without any apparent problems but what about the rest of you?

From experience I have never jumped on a new MS System until at least the release of Service Pack 1 but MS arent going to do it that way now it seems.

I was qute happy with XP and due to some contacts I have was persueded to become what they now call an "Insider" whilst they developed "Windows Longhorn".

Many of you will say WTF is that!?

Well it became Windows Vista as a release and it was crap!

Then eventually SP1 came along and all of a sudden it became a good usable OS, why?

Because all the things the "insiders" had told them about what was wrong with it were corrected and moreso.

Windows 7 came along and due to circumstances I wasn't an "Insider" on that although I'd had the offer.

I lke to call Windows 7 as "Windows Vista with XP under the hood" it isn't technically but it sounds good with other users. ( Similar Kernal)

I was an "Insider" for the first W10 release just at the time my internet connection went "Tits up", I had the test release but couldn't get updates or comment.

Hey-Ho.

I know what MS are trying to do and I applaud it. Present day is all about Aps and touchscreen.

Do it but do it right. This is where the discossion starts.

Are they?

BTW latest w10 update seems to make Lumia's drain battery and overheat.

w10.jpg

I loved XP, I had Pro with a corporate license. Never installed Vista or even wanted to.
I upgraded my laptop from Win 7 Pro to Win 10 Pro and also my backup desktop. The desktop is my old main PC, still with all my programing on it. All is working fine.
I do have one issue the Win updater on the desktop is stuck at 7% downloading, (yes I have rebooted it many times)it's been that way for almost a month now. Other than that all programs are working. I will update my main desktop after I replace the hard drive so not to loose anything if something goes wrong. I did that on the other 2 computers.

I'm just lazy and have not taken the time to go through the upgrade process.

That's OK Vince you have a year to do it.

I think Win10 is the best one yet. All my programs work, all the functions work and a problem I had with Win 7 and an add-on USB 3 card went away. I'm beginning to like the new interface and features.

bluesnow wrote:I think Win10 is the best one yet. All my programs work, all the functions work and a problem I had with Win 7 and an add-on USB 3 card went away. I'm beginning to like the new interface and features.

Could not agree more, I had one little hiccup, I'm sure most would never see it.

Since I had several e-mail accounts tied to my live.com account -- it got confused in the mail app setup and select the wrong one as the default, mail worked fine incoming but out going it wanted to use the wrong one, this was and I assume still is not set-able.

Turns out it was a fairly common issue, I reported it anyway, then a few updates later it magically fixed itself so I'm very impressed with the keep it all updated system and as Blue said I'm liking the new features and interface as well.

My sister has two desktops and three laptops all upgraded and doing fine.

My brother has a main desktop and his children (my god he has six) five of them have laptops plus him and his wife one each as well, the baby does not yet she's only 2 months, so there is seven laptops plus a desktop all different models/brands and again all upgraded with no issues.

OK a quick update on this. We are coming close to the end of the free upgrade so I installed W10 on my laptop last Thursday with a spare HDD I had purely to register it with Microsoft's servers. The first thing I did was use "Destroy Windows 10 Spying" to put a stop to that and also installed "Classic Shell" (I don't like the new start menu and overall layout) and I've been using it since then.

Everything works but as I can't really see any benefit, boot times about the same (then again my w7 was fully optimised) so my ancient laptop will go back to w7.

Next week I'll give my desktop a go, again with a spare hard drive and see how that performs. If I see a performance boost then I most likely stick with it or stick with W7 until support ends. At that time I would have a choice of a clean install of W10 as my PC will already be registered with Microsoft's servers or migrate to a flavour of Linux which is becoming more user friendly. I'll have to enquire about Photoshop on a Linux distro though, then again I could run it on a W7 VM in Linux.

I'll report back in 2 weeks when I've given W10 a go on my desktop.

fsurfer wrote:Well what's that saying 'If it ain't broke I'm quite happy with Windows Server 2003 (Data Centre), XP x64, Win 7 and Win 8, (64-bit) know exactly what each .dll does
After Win 8 (8.1) there's just tooooooo many background progs running.

There's ways of stopping them in their tracks!

You still using the corperate updates for XP?

Know where you're coming fron fs, nothing gets through my firewall unless I permit it.

@ PIP I still have a 25 copy corporate license for XP, haven't used it since the day Win 7 was released.
Put Win 8 on my laptop when it came out, on a different HDD not to loose Win 7. After about 20 minutes put the Win 7 HDD back in and formatted the Win 8 HDD, and sold that copy of Win 8. Tried Win 8.1 the same way and did the same thing the copy of Win 8.1
Am running Win 10 Pro on my backup PC and my laptop. My main PC changed HDD put Win 7 Pro on and then upgraded to Win 10 Pro to activate that license, then back to the Win 7 HDD. I put the Win 10 HDD in once a month to keep it updated then back to Win 7
I use the backup PC for video editing (home movies, wedding I video for hire, etc) also use it to burn the videos. I do some still work on it in PS, which works as good as Win 7. I will be using Win 7 on the main PC until they stop the updates.
You don't want programs to start try Startup, It's a free program not available any more but I have a copy [see attachment] RAR file size 30.8k actual 76.3k


Pip get of the couch and get Win 10 and have a on me.

All my laptops and PC's have been with Windows 10 since pretty much the beginning and I never had any issues, but in all fairness, I don't use that many complicated softwares. But which ever ones I use, they all work fine or got updates after installation.

mywrench wrote:@ PIP I still have a 25 copy corporate license for XP, haven't used it since the day Win 7 was released.
Put Win 8 on my laptop when it came out, on a different HDD not to loose Win 7. After about 20 minutes put the Win 7 HDD back in and formatted the Win 8 HDD, and sold that copy of Win 8. Tried Win 8.1 the same way and did the same thing the copy of Win 8.1
Am running Win 10 Pro on my backup PC and my laptop. My main PC changed HDD put Win 7 Pro on and then upgraded to Win 10 Pro to activate that license, then back to the Win 7 HDD. I put the Win 10 HDD in once a month to keep it updated then back to Win 7
I use the backup PC for video editing (home movies, wedding I video for hire, etc) also use it to burn the videos. I do some still work on it in PS, which works as good as Win 7. I will be using Win 7 on the main PC until they stop the updates.
You don't want programs to start try Startup, It's a free program not available any more but I have a copy [see attachment] RAR file size 30.8k actual 76.3k

StartupCPL_EXE.rar

Pip get of the couch and get Win 10 and have a on me.

Basically wrench you do what I'll be doing except I ditched XP for Win7 service pack 1 and never looked back. XP was good but 7+service pack 1 was better, no doubt about it.

Vista was, well Vista but did improve after service pack one but I gave it a miss due to XP being so good for my needs. Windows 8 got sacked as it was aimed primarily at tablets and mobiles with touch screens (have you ever tried to use a microsoft mobile phone?). 8.1 was an attempt to get desktop users back on board but too little too late IMHO.

Windows 10 appears to be the first true multiplatform OS Microsoft have produced and I can see where they are coming from and can't really fault it except for the spyware that comes bundled with it by default and the and the layout orientated to touchscreens. I understand that's the future but it's not for me ATM - I don't yet have a touch screen.

What's under the hood is good and an improvement, disableing the spyware and classic shell looks like it will work on the desktop will work for me and I am willing to give it a go.

P.S. Just been informed via my laptop I'm still in the Insider program - free updates for LIFE!

fsurfer wrote:Luckily a friend in Brasil created a dvd with every variant of 7 with which I created a bootable thumbdrive

I've had one of those for a few years!

x86 cost no more than x64
Microsoft used to package an x86 disc and an x64 disc in one package for the same price.
I have a retail copy of Win 7 Home Premium pre SP1 that way. I got it thru wifes bosses son-in-law worked for MS then.
Cost was less than 1/2 price. got it for his price.

No real issues with 10. The only issue is old programs running on 8 failed to work after the upgrade. Kinda sucks!

I hate the whole concept of Windows 10. It's intrusive beyond all comprehension, almost impossible to tweak in any meaningful, useful way & with the mandatory automatic updates (Yes, pro users can delay them, but only delay them.) if Micro$oft screws up an update, you're SOL until they ship out a fix.

I was an IT pro for 40 years. I started out before PCs ever existed. Anyone ever heard of a Heathkit? I've been implementing & using Windows on an enterpise scale, as well as personally, since it came out. The first release of ANY version is always crap. IMNSHO, the best version of Windows ever was Win2K. It was easily the simplest to lock down & secure. It was lightweight, fast & almost bombproof, if you bothered to configure it properly.

XP was a disaster from day one, though once they got their licensing scheme more or less worked out, it was almost tolerable. Vista was a joke. Win7 was just Vista with a few bug fixes & a poorer interface. Win8 was a total screw-up, with Win8.1 fixing most of the worst problems, but still forcing most of us to use a replacement shell.

I avoided Win10 until a couple of months ago. I was forced into it when my 87 year old father decided to upgrade to it without telling me first.

Amazingly, he got through the upgrade & his system still functioned. I must admit, they have improved their upgrade process, though accepting the defaults during installation is almost disastrous if you value your privacy at all. Fortunately, there are 3rd party tools that will help you lock down the most egregious transgressions into your privacy, but even the best are only partial.

The new Edge browser is their attempt to return to the old days of so fully integrating the browser into the OS, it won't function without it. None of us seem to remember 30 years ago when Bill Gates openly stated that his long term vision was to have every machine (even appliances) running Windows & living in the 'cloud' at M$. His idea was to give away not only the OS, but the hardware, because he planned to charge you for every access, every transfer, every message... Pennies at a time, but charge for EVERYTHING. No local storage, no privacy at all.

The reality is, this is where M$ has been pushing us all a long & WIn10 is the last major step in that direction. The path will be traveled in incremental steps from now on. More & more of what you've been accustomed to having on your local machine will be 'hosted' on the 'cloud' & eventually, you'll be charged to access it.

Unfortunately, though I had considered moving to Linux, most of the programs I use simply don't run on it & are likely to never be able to. They won't even run on WINE. There is no real alternative to the Windows behemoth. Apple has been doing a similar thing, though less aggressive, so even a Mac isn't a realistic alternative, though you'll never convince a Mac devotee of that.They still think they're naturally immune to viruses, for cryin' out loud.

So, bottom line, Win10 is the current reality. Get aboard or quit using a computer. Just do everything you can to protect your privacy.

Fogdude wrote:So, bottom line, Win10 is the current reality. Get aboard or quit using a computer.

In a nutshell

bankska22 wrote:No real issues with 10. The only issue is old programs running on 8 failed to work after the upgrade. Kinda sucks!

I ran into the same problem. The Win10 upgrade usually completely uninstalls SpyBot S&D & Classic Shell. Both of which re-install & run without problems. Those are the only things it interfered with. Everything else is running fine.

I just realized I never mentioned some of the handier utilities & programs you can use to help tame Win10, so here goes:

1. Classic Shell. Hands down the simplest, most stable, most familiar looking shell replacement I've seen. If you preferred Win7 or XP, you can choose which style & even mix them up to whatever you like. I don't believe you can go wrong with this one, though, for some reason, if you opt for the Classic Explorer, to replace the Windows File Explorer, you may need to tweak the display options. Two of my systems were unusable until I changed the text height on the tree view to 0, instead of the -5 that somehow got in there when it installed.

2. SpyBot Anti-Beacon. The same folks who brought us the excellent SpyBot S&D have provided this handy little stand-alone that lets you turn off the most egregious telemetry intrusions Win10 insists on forcing on us. It's simple, straightforward & runs on demand. Due to the way Win10 likes to reset many of these settings, especially after an automatic update, just kicking this little beastie off every week or two will show what's been turned back on & you just turn it back off. There are many programs like this offered out there, but I like this one the best. For those of you using Win7 or Win8, it does the same thing for them, though there was less that M$ put in those versions.

3. Network Activity Monitor. Remember the good old days when you had a network icon in your system tray that actually told you hoe much you were sending & receiving? Well, that had to go with Win8 because M$ couldn't keep letting us see how much of our bandwidth they were burning up with all their data capture & transfers. This little gem will show you every adapter you set it for with the familiar to/from icon. It doesn't replace the static one Win10 provides.

That's enough for now. I'll be back with others, later.

Windows 10 is ok. I have had problems with 2 programs that stopped working. My VPN stopped responding. Bummer! Found a new One and as of now, all is good.

Yeah, WIn10 doesn't like VPNs & proxies, though I don't know why. Since the OS on your machine is now doing all the spying, it doesn't matter what you use to try to maintain anonymity on the web. Everything you do on your machine is subject to monitoring & logging at MicroSoft. You can turn off much of it, but the Cortana service runs no matter what, even if you've disabled it. You can even go to the source folder & delete the executables, but as soon as Win10 does an automatic update, it's back.

Good to know Fog...

Yeah, but knowing what Win10 is doing is kinda like a fatal cancer diagnosis. Now you know about it, but what good does it do?

Sweet nothing!!

Wow! Thanks Fog. Working fine at the moment.