To answer last things first
Originally Posted by
gemma10
I`m seriously considering a Linux based system and did a quick search here on Zorin but not a lot to be read. Their website looks quite appealing; anybody got any useful thoughts on Zorin? I gather it can be run as well as windows until the user is more familiar with same.
If going down the Linux route, there are a couple of useful things to know:
1) Without getting bogged down in too much detail, I think the key thing to understand is that, basically, the different flavours of Linux (well, relating to the GUI desktop versions, at any rate) are typically different graphic interfaces on top of the same operating system.
Hence "Ubuntu" has its own style of interface, as do "Mint" and "Zorin"; however, the underlying operating system of "Zorin" is itself "Ubuntu", as is that of "Mint".
2) The best way to figure out which style of interface you like is to create boot disks or sticks of the various distributions, and use the "boot but don't install" option.
This will at least give you some hands-on feel of what a given user interface is like, without having to trash your current W7 installation.
3) If you're not already "Linux-literate", then moving to Linux will take time and effort in various areas, and if you're prepared to put that time and effort in, you might want to redirect your energies to preserving your W7 installation instead.
Originally Posted by
gemma10
Slowly getting to the end of my tether with microhard and its sly ways of succeeding to disable my W7 and installing W10. Having goggled just about every way to prevent this happening, I find nothing works at all. I`m content with W7 for chrisakes and I fear any day now my background page will change. I refuse to power down.
If you want to nail down your W7 before it's too late, there are some hoops to jump through, but once done successfully, your W7 should (
no warranties impled or expressed 
) stay stable and free from unwanted Win10 nonsense.
There are some keys steps to perform, with an optional one if you happen to think that your machine boots and or runs slower than it did before all the Win10 stuff surfaced (most people suspect this but can't quite put their finger on why) :
1) As mentioned previously, go to
Ultimate Outsider: Using GWX Control Panel to Permanently Remove the 'Get Windows 10' Icon then download the
"GWX Control Panel" software, and follow the guide on that same page on how to use it to get things under control.
Once you've done this, things are at least stabilised, and you can breathe again
2) Read and follow
"Weejeem's GWX Sneakware Removal - Notes" that I've attached.
By the end of performing all that, you should now be safe from Win10, and anything that's explicitly Win10-related and has been downloaded should now have been removed from your installation.
3) (Optional) Also uninstall all the patches that are listed in
"Weejeem's GWX Sneakware Removal - Extended Lists".
Whilst not seemingly Win10-related, a lot of these are described rather dodgily as things like "enhanced telemetry" and "for upgrade readiness".
Rather a long-winded post, I know, but at least now you can preserve your W7 if you want to
