Posts by Jakester

Six months on, and let's check in on those 'stuttering' Windows 10 PCs. Yep, still stuttering

Re: There's you problem right there...

re: What card are you running? Nvidia actually have impressive legacy support for their GPUs

Except for the nVidia's I have...

What the @#$%&!? Microsoft bans nudity, swearing in Skype, emails, Office 365 docs

The U.S. has some towns with names Redmon minions might not like...

Boar Tush, Bald Knob, Bush, Clam Gulch, Blue Ball, Clam Beach, Woody, Butts, Cumming, Dickshooter, Lick Creek, Intercourse, Ding Dong - just some of the unusual name found on:

https://www.estately.com/blog/2016/09/the-complete-list-of-lewd-sounding-town-names-in-america/

I don't know how accurate the list is.

Microsoft loves Linux so much it wants someone else to build distros for its Windows Store

I learned a long time ago that a Microsoft solution is not a solution - it is the problem. Look at the long list of products Microsoft introduced then dropped or just plain broke a few years later. I know people who wasted thousands of man-hours developing using Microsoft tools then had to abandon the approach because Microsoft dropped support or vendors were unable to support and had to drop their support of their customers (Front Page server extensions, for example).

Re: What's in it for distros?

I have no desire to do anything with Linux in Windows. My main OS is Linux and for the few things that I currently prefer to do in Windows (the list is quite short now and getting shorter), I will either use Windows in a VM or reboot and load Windows in another partition.

Windows 10 to force you to use Edge, even if it isn't default browser

Re: Fucking idiots

I have a couple friends who switched to Linux a couple years ago. They had older computers and I recommended they try Linux, Ubuntu, rather than waste money on a new Windows computer. They have very responsive computers that have been problem free and should be good for a few more years, as long as there is no hardware failure. The best part is I get no more requests for help for incessant Windows issues.

Airbus ditches Microsoft, flies off to Google

Re: Exporting to any spreadsheet is trivial

ODF may not help - I've found Excel often can't handle opening an ODF from another spreadsheet program.

Windows Mixed Reality: Windows Mobile deja vu?

Re: Mixed reality ?

The 'new lingo' reference reminds me of when I was looking through an IBM service manual and found a reference to 'change the AMD'. I had to look in the glossary to find that an 'AMD' is an 'air movement device'. The term 'fan' would have been more appropriate. Not on topic, just wanted to share.

Bloke sues Microsoft: Give me $600m – or my copy of Windows 7 back

Re: Re:Figure out your next step...

re: If formatting is important, a PDF should be required rather than a word document.

As far as I know, a PDF document will print the same on any computer, unless you print using Microsoft Edge, then numbers can be substituded (unless Microsoft fixed that bug already).

Amen - too often a document created in one version of Office will not format the same with a different version of Office. I don't know if Microsoft ever fixed this, but in earlier versions of Office, formatting was different (even on the same computer) if a different printer was selected. I never felt like wasting the time during the last 20 years to see if that is still an issue.

Re: Re:Figure out your next step...

I have a few computers (both laptop and desktop) running Linux and using Virtualbox to host a Windows 10 virtual machine for my wife. If she suspects a virus, pup, or other malware, I click back to my latest snapshot - problem fixed in seconds, not days. I do a snapshot usually about every 1-3 months and just before a new software install. There is a speed penalty, but it is not noticeable for web surfing, e-mail, word processing, spreadsheets. I also have a couple applications that require Windows and generally use in a Virtualbox virtual machine.

Linux isn't perfect, by any means, as the Virtualbox supplied by the Ubuntu repository broke when a recent kernel update came down the pike. I had to remove the old, install the latest from Virtualbox's website, and do a little Googling to get it to work.

Mozilla extends, and ends, Firefox support for Windows XP and Vista

Re: Let's be fair

Unfortunately, I have to keep an XP computer on the ready to download audio tracks from a 24-track digital recorder. XP is the only supported operating system for the software.

It gets worse: Microsoft’s Spectre-fixer wrecks some AMD PCs

Re: Exactly which AMD processors are getting hosed?

Not sure if the Phenom's are on the hit list, but casualties in my organization with AMD:

Ath 64x2 4450 - BSOD stop screen, could not repair - reinstalled Windows 7 and updates - still running

After learning of this brick through Windows:

Ath 64 x2 5200B BSOD stop screen - automatic repair fixed today

Ath 64 x2 4450e BSOD stop screen - automatic repair fixed today

Ath 64 x2 4450b - Unknown at this point - instructed user to not shut down at end of day so I could move data to another computer. Can't access remotely and it is not responded to WOL. I suspect the room it is located in has a blue nite light at the moment. I'll find the status of that machine when I go in tomorrow.

Bricked

Had 3 computers running Win 7 Pro on Athlon processors with BSOD Monday morning (stop screen). They were planned for replacement in the next year, but this is still very inconvenient.

What will drive our cars when the combustion engine dies?

Re: fossil fuel - we're addicted. - @DainB

And assuming that 130KWh delivered to the road requires about 370KWh of energy at the generating station to generate that 130KWh of energy for your electric car (assuming 35% efficiency at the power station) - and that doesn't include the energy to mine the energy source or deliver it to the electric generating station. That also is not a good ratio. So, don't ignore the inefficiencies on your side of the IC/electric debate.

Re: fossil fuel - we're addicted.

No, all that energy can't be used to charge batteries. In 2016 in the U.S., sources for electricity were about:

1% - Petroleum

15% - Renewable (geothermal, hydro, biomass, solar, wind)

20% - Nuclear

30% - Coal

34% - Natural Gas

source: https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=107&t=3

So, that electric car is belching fossil fuel by-products from at least 65% of its energy sources. Mining of coal, nuclear feedstock, natural gas all take energy. Electricity production from various heat sources appears to be about 35% from what I could glean from the U.S. EIA data.

I didn't look long and didn't find reliable data on efficiency of internal combustion (IC) engines, but they are probably in the range of 20 to 36%. So, in the best case of comparing the electric to IC, they are about equal in converting heat into energy. Electric cars will have the advantage in slow stop and go traffic as energy is only used as needed. The IC engines typically will be constantly running in all types of traffic. Modern IC engines are quite clean, although here in the U.S., not as clean as other countries because of stupid laws that require emissions measurement in percentage rather than gm/mile.

So, yes, you could use all the energy to charge batteries, if you didn't have to use it to generate electricity and mine energy sources to generate the extra electricity to charge those batteries.

Your electric car burns coal, natural gas, biomass, etc. My IC car burns just gasoline. I know of several individuals who have converted their cars/trucks to run gasoline, natural gas, or LP, depending on what is available. Natural gas and LP are much cleaner than gasoline and decreases engine wear.

Pick your favorite, but don't force me to use your choice.

It's 2017 – and your Windows PC can be forced to run malware-stuffed Excel macros

The obsolete Microsoft Works provided a degree of safety because the native word processor and spreadsheet applications did not have macro capability. Microsoft fixed that problem by starting to ship Word with later releases. The word processor was light on features, but certainly more than adequate for most home users.

Munich council: To hell with Linux, we're going full Windows in 2020

Re: Not sure about Office?

Okay - Linux and Libre Office is free the first year. The price doubles every year after that. So, if you have busines with 500 computers, after 3 years that comes to $0 + 500x2x$0 + 500x2x2x$0 .... which comes to, let me see now ... carry the 1 ... hmmm ... that's $0 ...

I've been using Libre Office exclusively since shortly after the split from Open Office Org (just didn't trust Oracle when they acquired it). The only time I use Microsoft Office is when I have to provide tech support. The usual solution is to open the problematic document with Libre Office, reformat as necessary, and save it back into the Microsoft format to fix the errors Microsoft puts into document.

Sure, there is some difference in operation between Libre Office and Microsoft Office, but usually less confusing with Libre Office with the massive moving of menu items, hiding functions, removing features, etc. It's one thing to have to deal with the headache of the new Microsoft 'features' with each release, but another to pay for those headaches.

Seldom used 'i' mangled by baffling autocorrect bug in Apple's iOS 11

A more plausible explanation of how the 'i' error happened is if Apple lured former Microsoft programmers into their midst.

Malware hidden in vid app is so nasty, victims should wipe their Macs

Re: A complete wipe?

What's wrong with a complete wipe? Sometimes that is the most efficient and effective way to eliminate most malware (except for those that installed into the firmware on the hard drive). Windows 10 is much easier to start from scratch compared to Windows 7. Once I was having issue with my one of my Ubuntu installations - that was even easier to reinstall. I have notes on each Linux installation I maintain (basically descriptions of partitions, software installed from the store, special configurations, mount points, etc) that are usually less than a page in length. My Windows reinstallation notes take a little more space, about 3 pages, but make starting from scratch much easier and less frustrating.

Another reason to hate Excel: its Macros can help pivot attacks

Re: Waddyamean 'Another reason to hate'?

Nice comparison ... comparing Excel and Word with Visio. Take a look at the Microsoft Store reviews of Visio:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/store/d/visio-professional-2016/cfq7ttc0k5cw

7 of the 14 reviews give it a 1-star rating for an average of 2.5 (as of today). Basically, a bucket of bovine excrement appears to have more value than Visio. Years ago, I did use a pre-Microsoft version of Visio, and it was an excellent product. Microsoft appears to have fixed that problem.

I don't use Word or Excel, except when providing tech support for those unwilling to use a better, less costly product, or who have to use it because a government agency, insurance company, etc, requires them to run macros and a very specific version of Office. To be fair, I haven't bothered to experiment with recent versions of Word to see if formatting changes when another printer is selected or if when placing more than 4 or so pictures in a document caused all the images to change position (even if they were anchored). My time is too valuable to me than to do this type of meaningless exercise just for the fun of it.

Migrating to Microsoft's cloud: What they won't tell you, what you need to know

Re: Hmmm

The long file names are precisely why I don't use Windows for servers - I have had to struggle file copies with Windows aborting because of a path\filename that was too long. With Linux as the server, I have never had that problem copying on the Linux side (even to NTFS formatted drives). Of course, most businesses are locked into Microsoft on the client side. Fortunately, few users ever do a copy that encounters this path\filename length issue. If they do, then we can deal with it then.

Pack up, go home to your family: Google Drive is flipping out

Re: Do your own - it's safer

Multi site resilence, global access and real-time sync are worthless if Google has a problem with your data or your local internet access is down. It is hard to beat multiple on-site backups paired with an off-site backup. One company I provide guidance insisted on putting a critical application "in the cloud" (no option for local backups or local cloud service). In the last year, that application was down two times for an entire day each time because of an issue with the cloud service servers.

In the last 20 years with all local servers, they were down for one day to deal with a ransomware attack that came in through an e-mail attachment. Most of that time was to ensure that none of the other computers and servers on the local network were infected with the ransomware.

If at first you don't succeed, you're Microsoft trying to fix broken Excel 2016

Re: Good luck with that

I don't know about recent versions of Microsoft Office products, but many years ago, stores the working temporary file in the same location as the file you opened for security reasons. I guess the rationale is if the temporary file is stored on the local hard drive, another user who shouldn't have access might be able to access the file. So, yes, if there is a network issue, changes can be lost, unless the recovery process in Office works. Based on 'oldtaku's' comment, Microsoft has not changed their philosophy. It would be nice if a journal of file changes were kept in memory until a spreadsheet or other document is saved to the destination. A good software company with good programmers would be able to give the user an option to save the journal of changes and apply it to the original file when communication is restored.

Windows 10 marks the end of 'pay once, use forever' software

Re: Linux

I have been using Ubuntu as my primary OS for a little over 5 years on desktops and laptops. Is also use it on servers. I recently started using Lubuntu on servers because of better support of video cards found on older servers (yes, I use the gui interface, rather than the default text screens in the server editions).

There are plenty of flavors of Linux out there are geared to various groups of people (students, engineers, musicians, etc). There are only 2 flavors of Win 10, both seem to be geared to people who like to bang their heads against a brick wall.

Sure, Windows 10 is an improvement over Windows 8.x, but so is Windows 95, 98, NT, XP, 7. Ok, that is a stretch, but the one thing Microsoft did improve over Windows 7 is the speed of detecting, downloading, and installing updates. On the flip side - there is little control over timing of updates -- I'm tired of attempting to install new software and have to deal with updates installing while performing a mandatory reboot as part of a new software package install.

Today's bonkers bug report: Microsoft Edge can't print numbers

I haven't yet tried to install Office 2003 in Win 10, mainly because the last time I tried to install Office 2003 on a computer, Microsoft wouldn't allow activation. I did run across a copy of Office Professional for Windows 95 - that jewel of software drove me batty a couple decades ago because of a "feature" that would reindex all documents edited once a day. The only problem is some users had edited files on a strange thing called "floppy disks". If a floppy was not left in the drive at the time the reindexing occurred, the computer would freeze and would only respond to a hard boot - which was easy then because most computers then had a real power switch and not a power request button. I still don't trust any Microsoft product that requires indexing or maintaining a database. I've had too many problems with products from Microsoft that attempt to manipulate databases. Now it appears their operating systems require some type of indexing to even function, but I could be wrong on that.

Microsoft boasted it had rebuilt Skype 'from the ground up'. Instead, it should have buried it

Re: Surprisingly Unlike Microsoft

Hmmmmm.... Maybe Redmond is bringing Bob back, the new Skype seems to fit in with that mentality and design. That is, if you are old enough to remember Bob and its short life.

Everything you need to know about the Petya, er, NotPetya nasty trashing PCs worldwide

Re: Cyber sex in action

Well, I was in IT in a bank several years ago (in the U.S.). One of the major companies for bank software needed to have users logged in as administrators for their software to work properly. Coworkers and I spent many hours after each new version of software was released to find out what permissions needed to be changed in program files and registry entries so users could be logged in as a standard user instead of an admin. Very frustrating, but too often the tech support answer from software providers was to "just have users login as administrators". I'm retired now, so I don't know if things are better. It was very frustrating at the time.

Microsoft officially hangs up on old Skype phones, users fuming

Re: The usual story

... and Bob, but that was a cruel joke from the start

First-day-on-the-job dev: I accidentally nuked production database, was instantly fired

Re: So....restore from backup

I maintain a small file server for a small company (about 45 computers). I use Ubuntu with Samba as the server. I have another desktop running Ubuntu with Samba on the ready and use rsync to provide a nightly copy of files from the server to this system which is a live copy of all the files served by the primary server. If the main server were to go down or hit with a virus (or ransomware), all I have to do is take the primary file server off-line, run a script on the system with the live data from the previous day, and change the IP address to make the backup system a temporary server.

Another Ubuntu system is running which provides nightly backups using back-in-time to make nightly backups for off-site storage using portable USB hard drives.

My philosophy is you can never have too many backups, so the primary server also makes hourly backups during business hours that are retained for 2 days. The backkups are then pared down to keeping one copy per day for 14 days, then one a week for a couple months, then one copy a month till drive space runs low. The drive is then removed from service to retain historical data and a new drive put in service. This set is for on-site.

The system makes it easy to restore anywhere from one to all files in a short period of time. There is currently about 90GB of user data on the server. To restore one file takes only a couple minutes to find the file from the desired backup and restore it. A full restore of user data takes about an hour.

:The system is regularly tested and a full restore had to be performed once when the Cryptolocker ransomware encrypted files the victim had access to on her computer and the server. More time was spent ensuring the ransomware had be isolated and eliminated on all computers on the network than to get the server ready.

While some may consider triple redundancy overkill, I like to be prepared in case one of the backup systems may have happened to fail the night before a restore might be needed on the server. There is always at least one backup drive stored off-site. In the case of catastrophic loss of the server (flood, fire, explosion, etc), server configuration files in the nightly backups make it easy to setup and configure a new server in about 2 hours, ready to have files then restored.

Test and test often...

Why Microsoft's Windows game plan makes us WannaCry

Re: It is the apps tied to ActiveX that cause the problems

It depends -- there may be hardware in the physical computer that won't talk with the virtual machine. Assuming that the hardware talks properly with the virtual machine and software, then possibly it may work.

However, the unsupported version of Windows will still be unsupported and just as susceptible to infection. A big advantage of Virtualbox, and other virtual machine engines, is it is very easy to return to a previous snapshot of the operating system before an infection hits.

On my main computer at home, I have Ubuntu running a Windows 10 virtual machine. My wife prefers Windows and I have a couple applications where I have to run Windows. If my wife or I suspect the Windows machine may have gotten hit by a virus or other malware attack, whether an infection occurs or not, I just restore to my last snapshop. I generally do a new snapshot about once a month as well as before and after new software installation, major upgrades, or major configuration changes. Periodically, I will delete snapshots that I am sure are no longer needed.

Re: Update fail

I too have experienced the security patch updates to take days or fail completely. I don't remember the originator of the solution, but I have found that if Windows 7 has SP1 installed as well as KB3020369 and KB3172605 applied, the updates after that go smoothly. The trick is to first turn-off automatic updates, reboot the computer, download and install the two KB updates directly from Microsoft. I usually reboot after applying the KB's. After the reboot, the automatic updates can be turned back on, if desired. After applying the two KB updates (they will let you know if they were already installed), you should find that future updates will take minutes instead of days or weeks.

Farewell Unity, you challenged desktop Linux. Oh well, here's Ubuntu 17.04

Re: My thoughts on this ...

One good reason to not make XFCE the default is on the computers - I have used with rel 16.04 with XFCE and if the monitor is disconnected (or switched using KVM switches), video is lost and apparently can only be restored after the computer is rebooted. I tried this on 3 computer and had the same result on each. That one reason is why XFCE should not be a standard desktop. Now if that problem has been addressed and solved, XFCE would be a viable desktop.

Personally, I freferred the Unity desktop ever since it was introduced. It is easily configured and the easiest to navigate. I will miss it, but adjust. On some older equipment, I have gone to LXDE to solve compatibility issues with Ubuntu 14.04 and above.

'Windows 10 destroyed our data!' Microsoft hauled into US court

Not always true - I had one computer where Microsoft checks were hunky-dory, yet after the upgrade the only screen resolution available was 800x600, which looks kind of funky on a 1920x1080 monitor. I put in a different video card rather than try to search for a driver that might work with the old card.

Re: Nonsense

No - despite users declining the upgrade, Microsoft has initiated the upgrade on one of my computers and on a friends. It was not a problem on mine as I have most of my data on a home Linux based server. I did not lose any data on the computer, but there was an issue with the video driver Microsoft chose and one application was uninstalled by Microsoft. My friend had issues with the upgrade which required a successful revert back to Windows 7.

It is not user fault when the user declined the upgrade, yet Microsoft forced the upgrade anyway.

Some choice...

I have a friend who is a school teacher and was working on her Windows 7 laptop on a Word document. She left the document open while she went to bed to get a couple hours sleep with the intent to finish the document when she was a little more alert. When she returned, she was greeted with the screen indicating that the Windows 10 upgrade was in progress and the computer would reboot several times. That was true - Windows 10 did complete the upgrade and her data was right where she left it, but Word would not open. She was able to transfer her document to a thumb drive (with much of the edits lost).

Granted, she should have saved the document and closed Word before taking the nap, but she had religiously declined the Windows 10 upgrade nags. We were able to successfully revert back to Windows 7. On the first login, the document she was working on when Microsoft thought she needed to upgrade popped open in Word without us telling Word or the document to open.

Microsoft disbands Band band – and there'll be no version 3

A Typical Microsoft Trend

The short life of many Microsoft products is why I avoid them whenever possible. The exception is Windows and Office, which is only because businesses I support have programs they are locked into that are Windows based and the administrators feel that Microsoft Office is the only acceptable word processing and spreadsheet solution because of "compatibility". I, too, have a couple programs that are Windows specific (one must be run on XP).

A couple Microsoft flops I got myself into:

Windows ME - I bought a computer with Windows ME a couple weeks after a television tech program felt it was a good upgrade of the Windows 98 tree. The week after I bought it, the same tech program rescinded its recommendation amidst many reports of stability issues. I struggled with ME for about a year before putting 98SE on the system.

Zune - Got a good price (I thought), but Microsoft programmers gave little control of how audio files could be played. If an audio file was more than a few minutes, it was treated as a podcast and you had to start the following selection manually. I struggled with tech support for 2 days, about 4 hours per day. The final resolution by Microsoft was to wait for a soon to follow update. When I deleted the files off the Zune, it deleted the source audio files from my computer. I took it back to the store for a refund.

Bob - no explanation needed here. If you haven't heard of it - Google it. Among the worst products Microsoft produced.

Kin - sold for 2 months, then dropped.

Front Page - I didn't know much about Front Page, but a consultant highly recommended to a fairly new web designer to design a new web page for the company she worked for in Front Page. She spent a few months developing a fairly complex web page, but could never get it to work quite right - there were compatibility issues with various browsers in various parts of the website. The ISP dropped support for Front Page extensions because of server-side issues. I'm not sure how long Microsoft continued to "support" Front Page. Since I don't do web design, I don't know what Microsoft now provides nor how well they may or may not work. I also don't care.

Various compilers - I bought one of the early macro assembly compilers which was supposed to make programming "automatic". The Microsoft idea of "automatic" was to create a comment for about 4 sections of the program - things like declarations, subroutines, the code itself, and something else (this was more than 25 years since I last compiled anything on it. The big problem with the Microsoft compilers at that time is there was no reliable Microsoft product to edit the source code without error - their editors (including Word, saving as text), would randomly put in a double <CR> then a <LF> instead of the <CR><LF> at the end of the line. The assembler would ignore the line after the double <CR>.

Windows 8.0 - I needed to get familiar with it to potentially help a couple businesses I support. Fortunately, those businesses had software that was not compatible with Windows 8.0 or 8.1. Those large corporations that rolled out 8.0 had to really struggle to then try to roll-out 8.1 when Microsoft initially gave a short period to upgrade to 8.1 since they were dropping support for 8.0.

My Microsoft Office 365 woes: Constant crashes, malware macros – and settings from Hell

Re: What does putting my Windows installation in a VM do for me?

I generally run Windows in a VM for most of my Windows tasks. My standard configuration is Ubuntu (currently version 16.04) desktop and Windows running in a Virtualbox VM. The big advantage is if you get hit by a virus or suspect of getting hit with a virus, all you have to do is restore the VM to a previous snapshot. I generally make a new shapshot every 3-12 weeks, keeping 2 or 3 of the most recent and a couple really old ones in case things have really gone south.

With such a VM, you can sandbox the VM from the internet, if desired, but still access networked or local files with shared folders.

Other reasons you may have to go back to a previous snapshot is a program installation or de-installation gone bad. Recovery takes seconds, not hours.

Maintenance of most Linux installations is usually very straight-forward and not time consuming. I have found that Windows 10, despite of its shortcomings, is also fairly easy to maintain, usually taking minutes instead of the hours (and sometimes days) Windows 7 would sometimes take to perform updates -- I once had Windows 7 take 2 days to finally discover that it had to download and install one update before it could find and install another 20 or so.

Bottom line -while some may not find maintaining 2 (or more) operating systems worth the trouble, I find it very comforting with the security of being able to restore to a previous state very rapidly. The Microsoft method of going back to a 'Restore Point' is iffy at the very best, often not able to get close to the configuration of what should be at the Restore Point. With a VM, even the nastiest of virus/malware infections can be permanently deleted by going back to a clean snapshot.

Food, water, batteries, medical supplies, ammo … and Windows 7 PCs

Re: Linux, still not the way

To add to Jim-234 comment - I was planning a Windows 7 install on a laptop that came with Windows 8.1. The manufacturer's website had downloadable drivers for Windows 7. I opted to not go through with that project because there was a total of 35 driver packages that I would had to download and install. Solution: Linux with a Windows 7 VM.

While I am a great proponent of VMs, they may not talk to some types of hardware. Because of that I have to have a physical XP computer with a IEEE1394 port to talk with some audio hardware that will not work on any other OS.

Re: Linux, still not the way

As others have pointed out Windows doesn't just work right out of the box. Typically 15-40 minute install (possibly more, depending on hardware) then the updates and drivers. With Windows 7, updates can take a couple days (200+ updates on round 1, 50 or so for the next couple rounds, then 60 or so optional updates, then another 50 or so important updates to update the updates, etc). I will concede that Microsoft did massively streamline the update process and does a decent job of finding drivers, including chipset drivers.

However, I find that a linux reinstall and software reconfiguration is much simpler and takes much less time than any Windows install. My typical Ubuntu installation, update installation, and software installation and configuration takes about 90 minutes total from start to finish.

Re: Windows 7

If I had my way, I would have abandoned Windows years ago. However, many people don't think they can write letters or make spreadsheets if it isn't done in Microsoft Office. Also, many businesses have locked themselves into Windows-only solutions for things like databases and accounting software.

The problem with some of these Windows solutions is they are very complex and take years to gear-up and certify a new operating system. This past weekend I was attempting to move a workgroup accounting system (where one of the workstations acts as the server) to a dedicated Windows 10 Pro computer to avoid issues such as having to shut-down accounting activities to install software on that users computer or fix hardware or software problems.

While the software was declared 'fully compliant with Windows 10', the software disagreed. When attempting to run the program, a message box came up with a very specific error message. I found the message in a knowledge base article on the manufacturer's website. They did not know the cause or solution, but suggested a reinstallation of the software. That didn't work. I wasted a few hours on that mess, then just blew out Win 10, and put Windows 7 Pro back on the computer (dual licensed). The software installed correctly into Windows 7, activated as expected, downloaded updates, restored a backup set of data and ran as it should.

So, the reason to cling to an old dying operating system is that you just are forced into it. One company I assist has 45 computers that run a rather expensive piece of software that will not run on Windows 10. As soon as all the software they use will work with Windows 10, then and only then will the transition begin.

Re: If you have the Win7 install disks

XP not necessarily useless. XP worked before any service packs were released. I have one computer that I keep on the ready for an XP only application. I keep it from the internet by setting the gateway to my home server IP address so I can save/edit files on the server. It is true that there may be some issues by not having any service packs on a new xp install. My XP install was up-to-date with all security patches and service packs when Microsoft pulled the plug on updates.

The big advantage of an unpatched XP computer - it uses VERY LITTLE memory. When XP came out, I purchased a retail version. As I recall, with a fresh install and now security patches, it used somewhere around 50MB of memory. After all service packs, security patches, and Microsoft Security Essentials, the memory used blossomed to somewhere around 600MB.

So, no, XP is not useless without service packs. Just keep it off the internet, then compute fast and happy. If your applications allow, I recommend running in a virtual machine (I use Virtualbox in Ubuntu Linux). If you mess-up the machine, it takes just seconds to go back to a previously saved snapshot. It is also easy to move to another computer if you upgrade systems.

How Microsoft copied malware techniques to make Get Windows 10 the world's PC pest

Re: Another way?

I have done several Windows 7 to 10 test upgrades (first backing the computer or cloning 7 to another hard drive, perform the upgrade, restore Windows 7 from the backup image or put the original drive back in the computer). I had one upgrade go horribly wrong where all data, the original Win 7 install, and the Win 10 upgrade basically vaporized. There was only a few hundred megabytes of files left on the drive and it would perform a boot in any way shape or form.

I have a friend who upgraded his Windows 7 system to 10 and it did the same thing. Fortunately, I had worked on his system a couple months previous and I still had a full backup image of his hard drive. I was able to restore him back to 7 and he was able to restore his critical data that he backed on an external drive.

Yes, I was also mystified at how the KB3035583 keeps reinstalling. To keep the patches out, I changed my Windows Update settings by unchecking the 'Give me recommended updates the same way I receive important updates'. I also don't install (or uninstall if they happen to slip by):

KB2952664-Compatibility update for upgrading Windows 7

KB2970228-Update to support the new currency symbol for the Russian ruble in Windows

KB3006137-Update changes the currency symbol of Lithuania from the Lithuanian litas (Lt) to the euro (€) in Windows

KB3021917- Update to Windows 7 SP1 for performance improvements (sends telemetry)

KB3035583-Update installs Get Windows 10 app in Windows 8.1 and Windows 7 SP1

KB3068708-Update for customer experience and diagnostic telemetry

KB3075249-Update that adds telemetry points to consent.exe in Windows 8.1 and Windows 7

KB3080149-Update for customer experience and diagnostic telemetry

KB3102429-Update that supports Azerbaijani Manat and Georgian Lari currency symbols in Windows

KB3123862-Updated capabilities to upgrade Windows 8.1 and Windows 7

The descriptions are the titles of the KB articles. I have no use for the foreign currency symbol updates, but you may wish to leave in on your installs. I don't know if those updates can be removed once installed.

Microsoft's done a terrible job with its Windows 10 nagware

Re: Indeed

I was trying to remove the KB3035583 update from a friend's computer (the update downloads the installer for Windows 10 and keeps nagging to install Windows 10). I uninstalled it 3 times and after each required reboot it reinstalled. I eventually got it uninstalled and hidden, but it keeps unhiding itself, although it is in the optional updates). I've noticed there are 2 or 3 more updates that are there to help in determining Win10 compatibility. I try to keep those away too for those computers I absolutely need to keep on Windows 7 for the foreseeable future.

Hey Windows 10, weren't you supposed to help PC sales?

Windows 7 Is Keeping Sales Up

I do some work for a small business that has 45 desktop computers. Typically, they keep a computer for about 5 years before it gets replaced. Replacement computers right now are still Windows 7 Pro because the critical software they run is not compatible with Windows 10. Windows 8 is not an option.

For those computers that I project will still be in operation when Windows 7 is no longer supported, I plan to perform a temporary upgrade to Windows 10 before July 29 so that I can upgrade them to Windows 10 when the software they require is finally certified for the new OS.

If we have to purchase any new computers after Windows 7 is no longer provided, I will have to purchase either refurbished systems that I can still get Windows 7 drivers for (unless Windows 7 is provided). Unfortunately, after July 29, those systems could not be upgraded to WIndows 10 unless a retail license is purchased.

Apple has been very good about keeping their operating system upgrades compatible with software (at least after the release of OSX) and keeping a consistent look and feel of each release. I find frustrating Microsoft's moving file locations, constant changing of the look and feel of each release, the undocumented removal of features, and changes in output of commands which requires changes in scripts (and adding complexity) to handle parsing of the outputs.

Mozilla burns Firefox on old Androids

How About Firefox Supporting Android 5.x

I had to quit using Firefox on my Android devices (both 5 and 4) because I have run across too many web sites where Firefox won't work. I run into problems where you can't correctly select a link in a web site. You click with a mouse, touchpad, or screen tap and a different link gets activated. Had to rely on the non-firefox Browser that was preinstalled on the tablets.

Linux on the desktop is so hot there's now a fight over it

Re: Linux Desktops? MS Office compatibility

One business I consult for had a standard Microsoft Word document for a FAX cover sheet. It was originally created in Word 2000 (or before) and been updated/modified over the years. Eventually, the logo image in the document would print upside-down, even though it looked correct when editing the template. I was not able to fix using Microsoft Word, but had to open in Libre Office Writer to fix so that Word could once again be used to fill-in the template and print correctly. Over the years I have had to use Open Office Org and now Libre Office to fix documents that Microsoft Office had bolloxed.