discussion Computer Reset

[Dave Ward]

My computer has been giving me trouble recently - freezing & crashing Firefox regularly. I decided I was going to have to reset the Wimdows 10 operating system. This is in the Windows settings - update & security - recovery. The instructions are pretty straightforward, I chose to download a fresh copy of Windows 10, rather than depend on my backup copy. It takes quite a time - it reckons 2-3 hours, but it depends on your internet speed - it took me anout 6 hours!
There are consequences of the reset - while it leaves your personal files intact, it removes ALL apps/programmes that you ave carefully loaded over the years. Before starting I backed up my important data on an external drive. I use a Google account, and this regularly backs up your Google settings ( also synchronises with my laptop ). All your passwords & saved logins may disappear - but using the Google account settings brings your details back - It's better to have the really vital passwords etc stored in a couple of places ( electronic & paper )
You now have a clean install of Windows - with no security, so the first thing to download is anti-virus software! I deleted as much of the Windows bloatware as I could ( Edge, Office, Cortana ) or disabled them. I loaded new versions of browsers & all the other major programmes I use ( ie Libre Office, VLC, Caibre etc ). Then allow Windows to look for & install updates
The result is a computer that is much happeier & quicker ( I also took the opportunity to clean the fans & vent holes ), and the fan doesn't make as much noise. It is also when you find missing those little programs that you downfoaded to help you , like unzipping .rar files. or reading.pdf files.
It's a bit daunting when you start, but my computer was getting to be a real pain - I did have my laptop as a fallback, but it wasn't needed.
I've never been a believer in the hype that you need the latest version of Windows 11 to run things. The reset has prolonged the life of my PC for a few more years yet!
You do need to read through the instruction sequence first to work out what's happening, but there wasn't any real computer knowledge needed, just common sense, the ability to follow instructions............and patience ( is it really dong anything, it's taking a long time, I'm sure it's stopped. ). Just leave it alone and let it do it's own thing!
relieved Dave

 

[Waspie]

Nice to read the standard Windows problems still exist. Makes me deciding to convert all those years ago worth it. (Last Windows OS I used was W98!!!). Then to Linux before transitioning to Mac.

 

[Gary MacKenzie]

As soon as you are happy that a windows installation is working as you want , do a system restore point.
That way if you have problems you can revert back to that point.
You can make them as often as you want , and then choose later which restore point to go back to.
Windows comes with anti-virus software built in, and has kept my pc's as safe as any other anti-virus software out there.
If you download all the programs you download to a specific folder, they should always be there if you need to re-install.

 

[Dave Ward]

As soon as you are happy that a windows installation is working as you want , do a system restore point.
That way if you have problems you can revert back to that point.
You can make them as often as you want , and then choose later which restore point to go back to.
Windows comes with anti-virus software built in, and has kept my pc's as safe as any other anti-virus software out there.
If you download all the programs you download to a specific folder, they should always be there if you need to re-install.

Yes, and, I created a new backup file - not on a DVD like my original, but a USB stick - which is going to be carefully stored away.
Before I started, I downloaded the installation files ( .exe ) for all my major programs & put them on a usb drive to save time and fuss..
The anti-virus thing? I've always used a free programme, like Avast, or AVG, and never had a problem - I reckon most people that have virus problems are due to their own actions - opening e-mail attachments, or downloading files from dodgy sources, clicking on onknown links etc - I don't know if you really NEED an anti-virus program if you are careful, but I've always used one!
All my programmes are open source, or free for personal use. Some may not be as slick as paid-for apps, but who cares? Some like LibreOffice can be better!
Dave

 

[Guest]

Nice to read the standard Windows problems still exist. Makes me deciding to convert all those years ago worth it. (Last Windows OS I used was W98!!!). Then to Linux before transitioning to Mac.

Heh, that is pretty much the same path I took, except I also used XP for a while (as dual-boot with SuSE 6.x and 7.x, largely because some types of software I use a lot were impossible to get for Linux, and even today, all you can get is second-rate crap made by Linux enthousiasts and all that entails). I then bought myself an iMac G5* and never looked back :smiling3:

* Largely because I wanted good-quality hardware instead of the el cheapo parts I used to buy for building my own computers, that caused all kinds of minor problems, and because I felt I could still use a lot of my Linux knowledge on a Mac without having to suffer the drawbacks of Linux, like having to compile all your own stuff.

All my programmes are open source, or free for personal use. Some may not be as slick as paid-for apps, but who cares? Some like LibreOffice can be better!

Another advantage of a Mac: you get things like Pages and Numbers completely for free (as well as things like Garage Band if you’re into making your own music, which I’m not). Sure, they don’t have all the features of MS Office, but they are a lot more user-friendly, IMHO. I can’t say I miss Word, that I used to use very extensively before I switched to Linux.

 

[John]

I use Dropbox and Google drive as my general working folders, I never save any thing to my computer, if it ever crashed I wouldn’t loose any of my documents, pictures etc, it also means I can access my files from anywhere.

 

[Waspie]

Linux sure did require users to have a tad more than a basic knowledge of computers. After years of building my own and suffering incompatibility issues with so called ‘compatible’ hard and software. Windows got the heave ho!!
It took a lot of soul searching when I moved to Mac!! Will people think it’s fashionable or showing off. In the end it was who cares what folk think. Macs work. They come with a full suite of good useful software. Even pages can open and read word docs. Can’t say the same for windows office!! Never looked back. No 2 son, IT professional who works in Fintech wouldn’t use anything but a Mac.
End of the day, we make our choice. If it works and your happy - crack on.

 

[Jack L]

I was introduced to Macs at work 15 years ago having never touched one before, and I’ve not touched anything else since. They cost more, but definitely last twice as long.

 

[Dave Ward]

If you're using your computer for business reasons, I totally understand the Cloud storage & maybe Mac. But as a home user. Windows gas served me well over the years. I did dabble with RedHat Linux, on a laptop but when that packed up I didn't go any further. As for free programmes, well, If I can't get a version for Windows I don't bother ( I can only remember this happening once! ) . Add to this, the price difference, and it's a no brainer - my Windows 10 laptop cost me <£175 the cheapest Macbook at that tme was £700! I've never priced desktops, but I magine the price differntial is similar
Dave

 

[stillp]

I was badly let down by Apple many years ago when I was developing an electronic catalogue for work, when they gave me false information about running certain programs on PC after developing them on a Mac. As a result I had to spend about 3 months redrawing hundreds of diagrams to avoid missing a deadline. That gave me a repetitive strain injury which still gives me problems 2 decades later.
My only experience of Linux was on a second-hand Dell laptop, the seller having installed Linux (Mint?) to get round Dell's proprietary mod for the Windows install. It worked fairly well but kept telling me I needed to update the OS, then when I tried to update telling me no updates were possible. I found a workaround for the Dell/Windows problem and ran Windows 7 on it for a few years, then pinched the wife's newer laptop, which runs Windows 10 now with no problems.
Pete

 

[Waspie]

Do Windows still restrict access to their kernels. That, ‘it’s our secret mentality’, messes it up for so many programmers or ‘coders’ as my son likes to be called. Hence his move to Mac. Also trying to get an app past Apple if not written on a Mac is nigh on impossible. However, writing code for Android on a Mac is no problem.

 

[Dave Ward]

Do Windows still restrict access to their kernels. That, ‘it’s our secret mentality’, messes it up for so many programmers or ‘coders’ as my son likes to be called. Hence his move to Mac. Also trying to get an app past Apple if not written on a Mac is nigh on impossible. However, writing code for Android on a Mac is no problem.

What percentage of people write code? Compared to the millions of us, who just sit at our computers, whether Windows, or Mac and use them as productive tools, either for entertainment or work. Microsoft & Apple have both murky records for sharing their 'intellectual property' with the world
Dave

 

[Guest]

my Windows 10 laptop cost me <£175 the cheapest Macbook at that tme was £700! I've never priced desktops, but I magine the price differntial is similar

But are you comparing apples to oranges there, or are you comparing equivalent hard- and software? I suspect the prices will be rather closer together then, even if the MacBook will be more expensive — but you’ll probably have to replace the Windows laptop within 3–4 years while the MacBook will last you close to twice that before it won’t run modern software well enough anymore. So which of the two is the cheaper then, if you spread it out over the years of use?

However, what I buy computers for is not the hardware that’s in them, but for the software that runs on them. I just find macOS to be more intuitive and easier to use than Windows, and not in the big ways that people with experience with only one of the two always point out (“The X button is on the wrong side of the window!” etc.) but in all kinds of small ways that get in the way — or not — of doing whatever you do daily on your computer. Things like being able to drag-and-drop a file onto a program icon so the program opens the file, that changes to a program’s settings take effect right away (and don’t reset themselves should the program crash), that the menu bar is always in the same place (and cannot be overshot by the mouse pointer), that the computer doesn’t nag me for Yes/No/Cancel for everything I do, and so on.

In any case, what I always say is that the right computer for you, is the one that lets you do the things you want to do on it. If that’s Windows for you, use Windows, while if it’s macOS or Linux, use that — use TempleOS if you want to (though I doubt you will want to for very long ).

 

[Tim Marlow]

Never get this Anti windows stuff…….never had a problem with it.
Had apple devices die within two years and fail to charge properly in same timespan though. The biggest pain in the butt on apple devices is the inability to swap out parts yourself. Not being able to change out batteries when they age, for example, is frankly a disgrace.

Don’t get on with laptops anyway. Who does any serious work with them, the keyboards are awful, and don’t start me on nipple mice and mouse pads. I think they were invented by someone that never actually had to use them. I had to use a laptop for years at work, and they had to be fitted with docking stations and cable free keyboards so they were fit for extended work sessions……docking stations kill the battery in months, by the way, so portability was reduced by the need to carry a bag full of bits around with you….

My Windows desktop, configured for music and photography work, something that is very difficult with a laptop, is still as good as new after about ten years. Never had much of a problem with the interface, and it still runs everything I want it to. Don’t quote “GarageBand” at me, by the way, it’s rubbish compared to a decent DAW.

The only people that need state of the art machines are heavy graphic users and gamers, general users just fall for the hype and buy new when they don’t need to.

 

[Waspie]

The worst thing Mac did was to move from their own processor to the Intel piece of rubbish that slowed Macs down massively. Now they have reinstated Apples own Mi/2 chipset - Macs are back up and running again. Sadly, I was forced into replacing my MBP with an Intel version a year before the move to the M1.
Apple chips utilise RAM in a sensible fashion. Every application/programme running uses some RAM, however, Apple chips recognise that you are only using one application even though several applications may be open. Apple therefore diverts all available RAM t the current application in use.
Not the case with the Intel chip, I find that some occasions the amount of RAM available to me is small. If it was a Apple processor I would have almost my full 32Gb of RAM available for the application I am using, If that was a graphics program - very beneficial.

Tim, it's not anti Windows, for me, it's simply having used Windows since it came out, I mean Windows 3.1 with its GUI interface was so advanced for its day. But sadly they never improved. Instead of building their OS from the floor up, they tended to modify the current OS, which in turn meant as soon as a new OS was intruded a 'service pack' was announced to fill the holes they had built in.
You can only put up with their constant crashes for so long. When I did my network administrators training, the trainers admitted Windows 3.1 was probably their most stable system. ( I was trying to keep a Windows NT system going then).

 

[Tim Marlow]

I haven’t had a windows system crash on me for at least fifteen years Doug, NT has been out of use for decades. I was a Microsoft accredited system administrator on our old NT 4 fermenter control system in the nineties, by the way, and it wasn’t a problem even then. I seriously think most system issues of this type are down to user error. Use the machine sensibly, occasionally carry out basic maintenance, and it just doesn’t happen. I think It’s a bit of an urban myth that seems to have grown up around Windows, mostly promulgated by apple users to be absolutely honest.
As to service packs, my IPad updates its OS about once a fortnight, or so it seems……

 

[Waspie]

I haven’t had a windows system crash on me for at least fifteen years Doug, NT has been out of use for decades. I was a Microsoft accredited system administrator on our old NT 4 fermenter control system in the nineties, by the way, and it wasn’t a problem even then. I seriously think most system issues of this type are down to user error. Use the machine sensibly, occasionally carry out basic maintenance, and it just doesn’t happen. I think It’s a bit of an urban myth that seems to have grown up around Windows, mostly promulgated by apple users to be absolutely honest.
As to service packs, my IPad updates its OS about once a fortnight, or so it seems……

Shows you how long I have had a Mac!!!
My NSA Qual was gained through the military albeit I was a civvie. And yes, most problems I had to deal with were operator error down to lack of training!!
As to iPad updates - yup, I reckon that's because Mac users think virus' are a Windows problem!! Not the case!!! But I can only relate my Windows experience to when I used or owned one, which has to be close to 20 years ago now.
Anyway, Mac lost their way since Jobs died. Still prefer them.

 

[Guest]

Don’t quote “GarageBand” at me, by the way, it’s rubbish compared to a decent DAW.

It’s a cheap airbrush compared to an Iwata or H&S. Don’t expect it to be a great tool, but it will be good enough for a lot of people.

The only people that need state of the art machines are heavy graphic users and gamers, general users just fall for the hype and buy new when they don’t need to.

And people who want/need to keep their computers running (fairly) recent software for the foreseeable future. Buy a low-end computer and you will probably be wishing for a faster one a few years down the line if you keep everything updated, buy a high-end one and that will be closer to half a dozen years.

Of course, this is a matter of choice for some, while others can’t afford a higher-end computer and so end up paying about as much, if not more, over a given amount of time. But like I said earlier, if it does what you want it to and you get along with it, then it’s the right computer for you.

 

[Waspie]

It’s a cheap airbrush compared to an Iwata or H&S. Don’t expect it to be a great tool, but it will be good enough for a lot of people.


And people who want/need to keep their computers running (fairly) recent software for the foreseeable future. Buy a low-end computer and you will probably be wishing for a faster one a few years down the line if you keep everything updated, buy a high-end one and that will be closer to half a dozen years.

Of course, this is a matter of choice for some, while others can’t afford a higher-end computer and so end up paying about as much, if not more, over a given amount of time. But like I said earlier, if it does what you want it to and you get along with it, then it’s the right computer for you.

Mind you Jakko, Some of the high end Windows systems, hardware not software can top many many thousands of ££££'s. Probably bought by the gaming fraternity. Personally, games machines for games, PC's for normal usage!!

 

[Tim Marlow]

Horses for courses, yep. I once found a Silicon graphics station, (cryocooled et Al, as used for making the dinosaurs in Jurassic park), in a lab being used as a word processor. Apparently the grad student it had been sourced for was working on 3D protein structure, which would certainly need that sort of processing power. However, when his research contract ran out and he returned to uni nobody else knew how to use it, so they just checked emails and typed up the occasional document on it :tongue-out3: