W10 - new features due soon.......
 

New features due soon in W10 - you have been warned......

https://www.techrepublic.com/article...a-cheat-sheet/

I read that they're going to 'retire' the HomeGroup feature....:mad:

So typical - I use it quite frequently between 3 private computers to update folders etc. Not all of which I want to save to some 'cloud'.

So I guess I'll have to go back to faffing about with copying to USB sticks and uploading from those. Which will take about twice as long as just letting the computers connect to each other.

Why oh why can they not STOP FIDDLING!

:(

You read right!

I've never been hot on networking, but I have 3 W7 computers networked here, not using the Homegroup feature. Don't ask me how though!

When I 'upgraded' to W7, I discovered this HomeGroup "feature". I was able to ignore it somehow, and network back into my remaining and still protected XP devices at that time.

It would be nothing short of stupid and irresponsible for M$ to drop a networking capability now or at any time in the future. I'm expecting that they have just dropped the HomeGroup thing and left the facility to network in there as before.

As for the rest of the 'upgrade'? I can't see anything worth getting excited about. It seems now that the Windows operating system is destined to be like the home created Basic programs of old - never quite finished. always something which can be touched up or fiddled.

Thanks for the warning .... :ok:

FOR

Oh God, here we go again; I am still restoring my W10 laptop after the soft reset that the last big update made necessary.

What a PITA!
The interface for Outlook 2013 is rubbish cf 2007.
Oh, yes and Win7 worked OK.

Windows 10
 

Microsoft seem to have lost direction with windows 10.

There have been changes of senior personnel at management level recently.

Windows 10 as a project seems to be now unrepresented at board level within the organisation - please feel free to correct me if I'm incorrect here.

The evolution of the consumer product seems to be fixated on peripheral features such as Cortana. This is a response to their revivals voice recognition products, but who really cares. Virtual Reality ! - OK gamers are a special group and I'm not forgetting the importance of the contribution "Game Programming" to the development of computer science.

I want an operating system that's reliable, secure,easily (and seamlessly ) updated: that does not require an eight core CPU and 64 GB of RAM to run.
Cut and pate to work and have proper integral system back up/ restore capability. The "Cloud" yes too where appropriate.

CAT III on his elderly ACER Aspire 1; not running its original XP O/S.

Reply to Old not Bold
 

I'm not a Windows 10 user because of the threat posed by the 6 Monthly, major update releases. The down time associated with these activities can run to several hours in some instances; but may be dependent on internet download speeds and PC Spec. Win 8.1 is not great either.

There are something like 1.5 Billion Windows PC's in use worldwide so its an achievement that the updates work as they do.

The problem lies in the scope of the operating system updates - A lot changes with each iteration and the sheer complexity of the code base means that bugs will occur.

Microsoft keep introducing changes for cosmetic reasons. Of course security updates/improvements are essential by the way. The "Start button" fiasco ! - remember that.

But getting rid of the "Home Group" facility (if true) is an example of poor judgement as was near complete removal of the facility to make a System Backup/Restore from within Windows in Win 8.1 - Win 7 Pro still has the option by the way.

Personal Computing devices have come a long way from the idea of the original PC and its dependence on Windows. - Business use is more complex in this respect but still there's a big change happening.

CAT III

( One Win 8.1/ One 7 Pro and an Acer Aspire one running Mint XFCE )

Thank you CATIII-NDB; interesting if I got it right; you don't recommend W10 because the updates will always be troublesome. Are we sure that MS is unable to remove bugs from its software because it's so complex? I'm not so ready to forgive; who created the monster in the first place?

I was stuck with W10 when I bought an ASUS laptop with that installed. I have and will have for the foreseeable future W7 on my main work machine, in which I have just had every component except the HDDs replaced with newer and better hardware (M'board, PSU, cards, processor etc.) But I, a simpleton, was advised that if the Asus was developed for W10 going back to W7 was not an option. So I didn't.

All I can do now is not use the laptop between 2200 and 0400 UTC, I think it is. That's the only time the system will do an automatic update on booting up, as set by me. You can't set a shorter period. In my simple way I believe that this defeats the update, but I expect someone will tell me that's nonsense.

- you ever considered Ubuntu Linux? https://www.ubuntu.com/desktop

Linux has came a long way in the last few years, gone are the days where you needed to be a nerdy hacker to install and use linux, its pretty easy to setup (dual boot if you need Windoze as well), and easy to run. Updates are pretty easy to.

I've previous worked (as a nerd) for the one major [but !!!!e] British airlines and it was all Linux and Unix machines. The [mis]-managers, of course had high specification laptops, and used MiroSwipe windows for their dump spreadsheets and also to send out moronic emails.

Note the words "pretty easy" from a self confessed nerd... Doesn't fill me with confidence TBH

Reply to Beavis & Heathrow Harry
 

Hummmm. I've used Ubuntu since Ver 8.4 - I possess a Dell Running Mint X86 in a VM (with some problems - Sound is unreliable ) and an ancient Acer Aspire One that ran XP originally; then Ubuntu 12 .??, briefly Ubuntu 16.04 & then Lubuntu.

I've installed Mint 18.3 - 32 Bit (not Xfce) on the Acer: it runs well. My main Ubuntu Box is awaiting a new HD - The Seagate Barracuda failed at 3 & a half years old. Grrrrr !

I like Win 7 Pro (X64) - its fully functional on an old updated Vostro, after a very difficult start with Win 7 Updates.

Edit:Ubuntu usually works well - The only problem for me was acertain wireless adaptor.

CAT III

Harry, provided you're happy to accept the default installation it's easy to install - the hardest bit is getting the computer to boot from DVD or USB.

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/In...mUSBStickQuick

Updates are a doddle.

So, apart from hogging my computer for an hour or so, destroying my 3 computer network and adding a few pointless gimmicks for nerds and kids, what benefits has the latest Win10 update actually provided?

Answers on a postcard to wanqueurresofseattle@micro$hite.com

Windows Spring Update, version 1803
 

I spent two hours last evening downloading an installing the aforementioned. It has all kinds of features that we'll never use and, horror of horrors, our game folder has disappeared, never to be heard from again! Our ten-year-old Toshiba laptop, which has served us well and which we call our "five hundred dollar deck of cards" no longer has solitaire, free cell, and chess. Is Microsoft telling me to get a life? I'll need Haldol and beer to survive game withdrawal...

- Ed

I've just become a Windows 10 user at work and this statement is very true. I had these issues in the first two hours.
MS-Teams decided to update itself and crashed (with a Java error of all things) and incapacitated itself.
MS-Edge refused to allow me to close the browser when it was on a Sharepoint page.
When trying to set the colours I had to revert to high contrast mode to be able to chose colours. Then the text box field decided to stop letting me paste in my colour values.

A reboot and it all came good.

A recent issue I found with MS-Outlook is that the monthly calendar in mail mode doesn't highlight the days that have scheduled activity but if you switch to calendar mode the very same calendar does have them.

Thinking about why we now have even poorer quality software from Microsoft the answer is simple. Microsoft's best engineers are working on cloud components (their "future") which leaves the development of the legacy Microsoft components to the dregs including outsourcing the code development to those that cannot even afford a decent monitor like yours or mine.

Try winaero.com for a fix for the games :)

Thanks for Your Suggestion, Tocsin!
 

Re: loss of games in Windows v. 1803 - I am familiar with Winaero and had been using their add-on for games since earlier versions of Windows 10. Though those subroutines are still resident on our hard drive, I am unable to perfect their installation on this new (un)improved version of Windows.

If you or others come across another solution, you have my sincere thanks in advance. Perhaps Sergey will release a compatible version soon. In the interim, I may be forced to carry on intelligible conversation with my wife (shudder!)

- Ed

My three w10 machines have gone through the 'update' over the past few days. As far as I can see, they've all survived, and seem to be usable in much the same way as before. Of course I'm not necessarily aware of or using many of the 'features' of W10. I use Classic Shell as the main operating interface, and I persisted with setting up these installations as networked machines in my existing W7 (and up until recently XP) devices, so the disappearance of the Homegroup facility goes un-noticed.

I brought a new Dell i7 Win 10 desktop machine into the system about a week ago and setting up permissions for disk and folder access for this one seem much more complicated than previously. However I fumbled and blundered through the process with frequent calls upon Google, and it seems to be OK. It's nice and fast, which is what I was hoping for.

I'm almost sorry that I denied my W7 machines the offer to 'upgrade' to W10 when it was free, but having heard the tales of woe from friends who did so - only to find that printers and other peripherals were no longer usable - well, perhaps I made the right decision.

Regards

FOR

My laptop updated yesterday. Initially it was a real slug but after a reboot is ok. I haven't gone searching for fresh junk to delete yet. I'm sure there's stuff there though, was last time...

Updated my desktop without much fuss, very relieved that Classic Shell still works. MS obviously did not approve of me loading the W7 games suite and decided that I could live without it. Reloaded again without any trouble. Needed to go through setup again to turn off lots of information harvesting features which, for some mysterious reason, had been re-enabled during installation of the update.

Further Frustration With Windows v. 1803
 

My Bride and I miss our Freecell, Solitaire, and Chess Champions so much, we decided to roll back to Windows Fall Creators Update v. 1709. This fairly simple operation requires one to go to Settings, select Update and Security, then Go Back to Previous Version of Windows. The problem is that step three doesn't exist on our machine, nor can I locate the windows.old folder which contains the Spring Creators Update. :ugh:

Any ideas or proposed alternative methodologies? You have our copious thanks in advance for any solution! (I suppose I could go the clean install route but I am too old and worn out!) In the interim I shall be facing West toward Seattle and screaming "Fie upon thee, accursed Gates, and may your minions have no luck!" :mad:

- Ed :\

I had 1803 inflicted on my laptop earlier this week :( - re-ran my winaero install more in hope than expectation - it worked! :)

(The file version is Win7Games4Win10_8_81_v2_[winaero.com]_1567 , if that helps).

Hope Springs Eternal!
 

Great minds think alike, Tocsin! I attempted a reinstall of Winaero's games module yesterday. Though all of my selected games were "successfully installed" and showed on the Start Menu, when I attempted to boot a game I got lots of nothing. I appreciate your continued efforts and will download Winaero's latest version, which, I believe, is the one you cited. Cross your fingers and wish me luck - I'll open a beer, try again, and let you know what happens...

- Ed :)

STOP THE PRESSES!
 

... and REMOVE THE SUPPORTS! Tocsin deserves a Medal of the purest, finest GOLD! It is he who is so wise in the ways of Science!

Football matches have determined winners and losers, Harry and Meghan have tied the (untieable?) Gordian Knot, Excalibur has been extricated from its rocky safe, and Kilauea continues her wanton eruptions; but what of that? Thanks to faithful and persistent Tocsin, we got game (as we say in the Colonies)! :p

I downloaded Winaero's most recent add-on for Windows Classic Games, performed the simple installation, and Vi-ola! We're back in business! Think of the countless hours we can squander playing Solitaire, FreeCell, Mahjong, and Purble Place. Consider the abject depression I shall feel after suffering repeated losses to Chess Titans on it's lowest degree of difficulty setting! We'd better hire the services of an expert Psychiatrist and dial 9-1-1, but first we must offer our newest Anglo-Saxon friend, TOCSIN, our most sincere thanks. He realizes that genius is nothing because persistence is all... :D

- Ed and Christine (both of whom are grinning like 'possums!) :E

Win10 on my Lenovo laptop updated last night - now it doesn't work. Get into a loop trying to restore, if it does get into Windows there is nothing there not even WIndows explorer and it's not reading any drivers except mouse and keyboard. Brilliant. Using the old banger at the moment and backing up all my stuff from the HD to USB HD, then will try and reinstall a previous version of Win10 that I've got. :mad::mad::mad:

The bloated size of these unnecessary Win10 'features updates' required me to use an additional external memory temporarily, before the last update would install to my Lenovo 100S with its small internal memory. Nothing was left on the external memory afterwards, fortunately. Then disk clean up got rid of several GB of the previous Win10 installation.

Lenovo and others must have sold thousands of such small-screen 2GB RAM, 32GB storage laptops - so there must be quite a few owners baffled by Win10 updates...

Glad to hear it cavuman1 - clear skies and good games :)

After the latest up date I thought I would do a defrag. "C" on the hard drive says it's 1% fragmented but System Reserved
said it was 13%. I defraged both but the System Reserved now says it's still 6% fragmented.
Should I be concerned and is there anything simple ( like wot I am :O) I can do to get it back to its usual 0%?

Windows looks after defragmenting in the background and unless you're still using FAT32 rather than NTFS it's not a problem.

Hi,

I read :
People with intel or Hitachi SSD's have problems. Both manufacturers have a fix (new firmware) but that makes the disks slower. :uhoh:
They're now working with MS to come up with something better...

Regards

This is getting soooo tedious!!!! Another update and now my sound doesn't work correctly. I wanted to make a 'phone call today using Skype. The audio output doesn't work. Why oh why oh why can't they just leave bl--dy things ALONE !!!!!

The problem is Microsoft have taken away from us the control to choose what updates we wish to receive. We should be able to select "security updates" only for example. I'm sure there are some update features we need to install for security reasons etc but also I'm sure a lot of us here have no need for a lot of the crap that comes with a full unconditional no choice allowed, mandatory update. It's infuriating, intrusive, unjustifiable and often causes problems with our machines. (the 2nd last "update" broke my laptop, I had to reset it...). It's outrageous but MS have got us by the balls and there is nothing we can do about it short of abandoning Windows altogether...

I am now getting hourly prompts from MS to update my system. If I leave my computer unattended it will automatically happen after 1 hour. I don't have control over my own machine, I am powerless. This is just wrong...

I'm also getting prompts from MS that 'my W10 system upgrade failed', apparently because my Avira antivirus is incompatible with the upgrade.

Suits me; I'll keep the Avira and forget about the upgrade.

Because they'd be out of a job if they didn't keep fiddling with stuff?

Like the thousands of QA staff they sacked a few years ago, before their upgrades started screwing up masses of computer.

The fundamental problem with Windows is that it was pretty much done ten years ago, and we could have just had security and feature updates on XP. Everything else since then has just been fiddling for fiddling's sake.

Yes - that pretty well sums it up. It's rumoured that in the early days Gates speculated about making Windows available on an annual subscription basis to ensure continuity of income. Even that would probably not have avoided the dilemma they face now in justifying their existence by bringing out 'updates' which fill us all with apprehension at the consequences.

to a large extent that applies across the board - airliners, cars, TV's etc - marginal gains for vast outlays and occasional disruption

But people (or some of them) like a shiny NEW version of something that has given decent service for years....

Not when it's worse than the old one. Cars, airliners and TVs are much better than they were a few development generations ago. Windows is worse than it was a few generations ago.

I have something like 5 updates that have all failed to install and require a restart to finish the instillation. The usual warning that if I stop typing for 5 seconds it will restart was getting a little tiring. Going into settings and using the restart options and setting the restart to about 7 days away at least stops the warning.
Anyone know why these updates will not install?