Windows 10 Anyone?

[MikeL]

AVG has four recommended privacy fixes for Windows 10:

 

http://now.avg.com/four-quick-windows-10-privacy-fixes/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_name=August2015art2dektop&REID=936508.97900.926840&ECID=em-na-bl-Newsletter-pPC0815-&SMID=

[Headstall]

AVG has four recommended privacy fixes for Windows 10:

 

http://now.avg.com/four-quick-windows-10-privacy-fixes/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_name=August2015art2dektop&REID=936508.97900.926840&ECID=em-na-bl-Newsletter-pPC0815-&SMID=

Thanks Mike... I made these changes... I don't know what it means though when it says it resets your ID?

[jfalkon]

I saw an interesting article on the subject…thought it was interesting.

 

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/windows-10-microsofts-big-data-grabbing-spying-os-bernard-marr?trk=eml-b2_content_ecosystem_digest-recommended_articles-218-null&midToken=AQHVo9k1Yvefdg&fromEmail=fromEmail&ut=2FJnZwaDH8c6U1

[Headstall]

I saw an interesting article on the subject…thought it was interesting.

 

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/windows-10-microsofts-big-data-grabbing-spying-os-bernard-marr?trk=eml-b2_content_ecosystem_digest-recommended_articles-218-null&midToken=AQHVo9k1Yvefdg&fromEmail=fromEmail&ut=2FJnZwaDH8c6U1

Thank you... this was great, and very clearly explained... much appreciated... Gary

[Phantom]

AVG has four recommended privacy fixes for Windows 10:

 

http://now.avg.com/four-quick-windows-10-privacy-fixes/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_name=August2015art2dektop&REID=936508.97900.926840&ECID=em-na-bl-Newsletter-pPC0815-&SMID=

 

I saw an interesting article on the subject…thought it was interesting.

 

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/windows-10-microsofts-big-data-grabbing-spying-os-bernard-marr?trk=eml-b2_content_ecosystem_digest-recommended_articles-218-null&midToken=AQHVo9k1Yvefdg&fromEmail=fromEmail&ut=2FJnZwaDH8c6U1

 

I applaud you both! This is what I love seeing, people taking time to understand what is going on, how it affects them and how to fix the issues and solutions. I love how it can also help others and spark more conversations. 

 

I took a read through the articles and found some interesting tidbits myself that didn't occur to me (I tend to over analyze the technobable and allow the simpler stuff to pass by...) and am glad that I got a back-to-school present from my parents in the form of a Macbook Pro yesterday (laptop with Windows 10 was donated after wiping the hard drive to DoD 5220.22-M specs (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_erasure for more info) for non-classified information, so good luck trying to get any information from it haha!). I can see the security and privacy concerns coming out of the woodwork and am glad I was able to jump off Windows 10 and still be able to use Windows 7 as my primary gaming PC (I can still get the upgrade for it but I'm choosing not to until I see what goes down along the line)

 

This thread is quickly turning into one of my favorites

[wildone]

Ahem...*gets up on his soapbox*

 

So, decided to try and download Windows 10 on my desktop. All seemed to go until the reboot and I had all these lovely Microsoft apps that didn't work if they needed to connect to the internet. So, even though Chrome and Firefox worked, I couldn't check out Edge, log into the Game store, Microsoft store, Search the web or even my computer.

 

After reading 101 articles and trying multiple things, gave up and clicked on the support link in the Windows Update page. All these different options to get help, I chose to do live chat. Now before you all scream at me, Microsoft does offer live chat if YOU GO TO THEM. It was not a scam or fake web page. After chatting with a tech and reading through Microsoft lingo, I gave her remote access to my computer. She played around for about an hour and a half and came up with the resolution that it need to be escalated to a senior tech.

 

Shuffle ahead to Thursday, and the preset appointment was for 8 PM. I get a call and going through all the tasks, give him access. He tries to do an internet rebuild, use a couple of other programs, nothing seems to work. So, he then goes to my manufacturers webpage, and searches my model. Turns out they haven't and will not be updating drivers for my model to operate Windows 10. This is after I did the Windows 10 upgrade check on my system to see if I'm compatible.

 

Great! Now I know, so I want to go back to Windows 8.1, so ask the tech to go to reinstall that (I had already tried ) So in the recovery option, it says you have 30 days after installation to go back to your previous version. So, like me he clicks on it as it has only been 2 weeks since I downloaded and installed 10. Guess what pops up? Sorry, we cannot recover your previous version as files have been overwritten.

 

His recommendation, just use 10 without any connection for the Windows apps or contact the manufacturer to complain. My comment is at this point, your company said I was compatible, your company provided the download, your company couldn't fix the problem, your company overwrote my previous version of Windows, so what is your company is going to do?

 

He asked me to wait a couple of weeks and he would talk to his colleagues about possibly giving me a new copy of Windows 8.1 but I would lose my copy of Office 10 which I paid for in full through a work program. When I asked if they would replace that as well, I got a definite no.

 

Tell him I will think about it and then think that I'm more of a puter genius that what I am (don't we all think we can do things like that, how many expert plumbers, electricians, realtors do we have out there? ) Well long story short, after a reboot, I get a message saying No operating system can be found, press ESC to try again.

 

Oh well, guess the decision is now, do I replace the tower (I am partial to my desktop opposed to my laptop). If I do, do I get another Windows based machine? I don't really have a problem with my manufacturer as the desktop was 3 years old and I can understand them not wanting to release drivers for every machine they have ever made.

 

So, that is my experience with Window 10

 

*Steps off soapbox*

[MikeL]

Sorry to hear of your catastrophic experience with Windows 10, Steve.  I hate getting into those hours-long tech support phone calls...people who can't speak English very well, won't pull their headset microphone around in front of their mouth, mumble, etc.  The second and third time I ask them to repeat an instruction, I would think they could clean up their act; some just won't do it.

 

I hope most people's experience converting to Windows 10 is like mine.  It was pretty smooth.  Of course, I'm not using any W10 features I don't fully understand, stayed with Firefox, Thunderbird, Open Office, AVG.  It's funny how well those free things work.

 

Best wishes on getting it straightened out.  I think you should sue but, of course, that would cost a lot more than a new desktop.

[Headstall]

Ahem...*gets up on his soapbox*

 

So, decided to try and download Windows 10 on my desktop. All seemed to go until the reboot and I had all these lovely Microsoft apps that didn't work if they needed to connect to the internet. So, even though Chrome and Firefox worked, I couldn't check out Edge, log into the Game store, Microsoft store, Search the web or even my computer.

 

After reading 101 articles and trying multiple things, gave up and clicked on the support link in the Windows Update page. All these different options to get help, I chose to do live chat. Now before you all scream at me, Microsoft does offer live chat if YOU GO TO THEM. It was not a scam or fake web page. After chatting with a tech and reading through Microsoft lingo, I gave her remote access to my computer. She played around for about an hour and a half and came up with the resolution that it need to be escalated to a senior tech.

 

Shuffle ahead to Thursday, and the preset appointment was for 8 PM. I get a call and going through all the tasks, give him access. He tries to do an internet rebuild, use a couple of other programs, nothing seems to work. So, he then goes to my manufacturers webpage, and searches my model. Turns out they haven't and will not be updating drivers for my model to operate Windows 10. This is after I did the Windows 10 upgrade check on my system to see if I'm compatible.

 

Great! Now I know, so I want to go back to Windows 8.1, so ask the tech to go to reinstall that (I had already tried ) So in the recovery option, it says you have 30 days after installation to go back to your previous version. So, like me he clicks on it as it has only been 2 weeks since I downloaded and installed 10. Guess what pops up? Sorry, we cannot recover your previous version as files have been overwritten.

 

His recommendation, just use 10 without any connection for the Windows apps or contact the manufacturer to complain. My comment is at this point, your company said I was compatible, your company provided the download, your company couldn't fix the problem, your company overwrote my previous version of Windows, so what is your company is going to do?

 

He asked me to wait a couple of weeks and he would talk to his colleagues about possibly giving me a new copy of Windows 8.1 but I would lose my copy of Office 10 which I paid for in full through a work program. When I asked if they would replace that as well, I got a definite no.

 

Tell him I will think about it and then think that I'm more of a puter genius that what I am (don't we all think we can do things like that, how many expert plumbers, electricians, realtors do we have out there? ) Well long story short, after a reboot, I get a message saying No operating system can be found, press ESC to try again.

 

Oh well, guess the decision is now, do I replace the tower (I am partial to my desktop opposed to my laptop). If I do, do I get another Windows based machine? I don't really have a problem with my manufacturer as the desktop was 3 years old and I can understand them not wanting to release drivers for every machine they have ever made.

 

So, that is my experience with Window 10

 

*Steps off soapbox*

That really, really sucks. i don't understand if you already had Windows 8.1 how you wouldn't be compatible with Windows 10... but I am not very computer savvy... I upgraded from windows 7... I don't use a lot of the features either, like Mike... but for what I do use... It all seems good. Sorry about your awful experience... Gary

[Myr]

There is awful lot of FUD in here about Microsoft.  (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt).  The privacy crap is way overblown by people that don't understand it and frankly make things up and it get's worse with each telling.  If you use ANYTHING from Google, you're already much worse off than the 'express settings' from Microsoft and Windows 10.  In fact, the number of privacy options in windows 10 is mind boggling.  But they are there and you can choose to control your privacy however you'd like.  Try that with Google sometime, eh?

 

I was running the preview on my 7 year old laptop... no problems there.  I've upgraded my other laptop, my daily use desktop, my mother's laptops.  and I've only had one issue.  And that issue wasn't MS, it was Dell. 

 

Now, for those of you that have switched to Windows 10 and are concerned about the Privacy settings, here is a pretty good guide from an honest broker:
https://www.thurrott.com/windows/windows-10/5337/windows-10-tip-understand-and-configure-privacy-settings

 

That guide covers if you are in the upgrade process or after you've upgraded.  So, if you're worried, take a deep breath and go through that guide

 

Overall, I'm very happy with Windows 10.  I love the notification center, Cortana (whom I'm always asking about the weather) and Edge is a damn good start of a browser. it's more than usable though.

[Phantom]

I'm sorry to hear what happened Steve, it seems really horrible

 

Ahem...*gets up on his soapbox*

 

...

 

Oh well, guess the decision is now, do I replace the tower (I am partial to my desktop opposed to my laptop). If I do, do I get another Windows based machine? I don't really have a problem with my manufacturer as the desktop was 3 years old and I can understand them not wanting to release drivers for every machine they have ever made.

 

So, that is my experience with Window 10

 

*Steps off soapbox*

 

GACK! That's just horrible and sounds like something went wacko when your upgrade happened. I think the techs were trying to restore using a windows program however I do believe that you can restore from the recovery partition that should be built into your computer (provided windows 10 didn't overwrite it during install). PM me if you want some help with that and I can see what I can do to help I like to think I'll be a bit more reliable than the Windows Tech People (I've learned from experience that the way to fix something is to do it yourself, because nine time out of ten they're reading a scripted fix that probably works for most people, not all)

 

As for switching to another desktop, should you so choose, now is the perfect time since it's back to school time and there's deals and sales all over the place, from Amazon to Best Buy and beyond. Most computers you buy should still be loaded with Windows 8.1 and there's a way of disabling the nagware that gets installed to tell you to switch to windows 10 (I did that on my gaming computer and there was no ill effect and I'm more than happy to help people who don't want to do the upgrade).

 

There is awful lot of FUD in here about Microsoft.  (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt).  The privacy crap is way overblown by people that don't understand it and frankly make things up and it get's worse with each telling.  If you use ANYTHING from Google, you're already much worse off than the 'express settings' from Microsoft and Windows 10.  In fact, the number of privacy options in windows 10 is mind boggling.  But they are there and you can choose to control your privacy however you'd like.  Try that with Google sometime, eh?

 

I was running the preview on my 7 year old laptop... no problems there.  I've upgraded my other laptop, my daily use desktop, my mother's laptops.  and I've only had one issue.  And that issue wasn't MS, it was Dell. 

 

Now, for those of you that have switched to Windows 10 and are concerned about the Privacy settings, here is a pretty good guide from an honest broker:
https://www.thurrott.com/windows/windows-10/5337/windows-10-tip-understand-and-configure-privacy-settings

 

That guide covers if you are in the upgrade process or after you've upgraded.  So, if you're worried, take a deep breath and go through that guide

 

Overall, I'm very happy with Windows 10.  I love the notification center, Cortana (whom I'm always asking about the weather) and Edge is a damn good start of a browser. it's more than usable though.

 

When I was testing out Windows 10, me and Cortana had a love-hate relationship, but then again it was still in developer preview and she might not have been all put together yet heh heh.

But I agree with the privacy issue out of all the companies out there that you can use and sign up for (Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, etc). Google is the worst when it comes to privacy issues (they even say so themselves in articles you can find on the web). When my contract is up on my phone, I'm defiantly switching from the Note 4 to either a iPhone or a Windows phone (most likely an iPhone) since Android is becoming more and more bloated and screwing up with things, and heck don't get me started on TouchWiz that Samsung forces you to use. Ugh. I will miss the stylus input though when I switch

 

 

Computers and technology are such a PITA at times... makes me wonder why I'm going into the tech field as a teacher :S

[Daddydavek]

I installed Windows 10 yesterday on my desktop PC.   I was running Windows 7 Ultimate and I must admit, that while it took some time, it went well.  I was running a Windows 7 Aero Theme and in 10 it defaulted to high contrast which I immediately went in and changed.  My desktop window looks exactly the same.  I've started to personalize the start screen but I've kept it small.  I tried out Edge and found it ok, but use my usual browsers for my usual internet sites.  

 

I think Myr is probably right in that there is an awful lot of unnecessary angst over privacy settings.  Anyone using a smart phone whether it's an iPhone or Android phone probably is already letting the world know more about them than they realize....

[jfalkon]

I'm glad it's not all bad news.  As long as you can turn something off, I can deal with it.  

[drpaladin]

I can't upgrade my desktop because the GPU won't support it.  I'm still using Windows 7 on it. My  laptop has Windows 8 so I was debating installing Windows 10 on it until I was going through some of my essential software. I discovered that two programs only support up to Windows 8, so that nixs that idea.

[rec]

I can't upgrade my desktop because the GPU won't support it.  I'm still using Windows 7 on it. My  laptop has Windows 8 so I was debating installing Windows 10 on it until I was going through some of my essential software. I discovered that two programs only support up to Windows 8, so that nixs that idea.

For those of you whose hardware doesn't support Windows 10, you might look to see if a firmware upgrade is possible.  To see what firmware you have, there is a program at cpuz.com that provides mucho information about your hardware. Once you find the manufacturer, you can check their website for a firmware upgrade.

Edited August 25, 2015 by rec

[drpaladin]

For those of you whose hardware doesn't support Windows 10, you might look to see if a firmware upgrade is possible.  To see what firmware you have, there is a program at cpuz.com that provides mucho information about your hardware. Once you find the manufacturer, you can check their website for a firmware upgrade.

I'm no novice with computers. LOL  That was the first thing I did. The company that took over the company that made the GPU no longer supports it. 

[MikeL]

The Appeal of Free: 75 Million Users Download Windows 10 in First Month

 

New York Times article.

 

Free Windows is proving to be a very attractive price indeed. Seventy-five million users have downloaded Windows 10 to their personal computers and tablets in the first month of its release, Microsoft announced on Wednesday.

 

Edited August 28, 2015 by MikeL

[Gene Splicer PHD]

Yep. Business is booming with all the failed upgrades, reverts to windows 7, features that don't work properly, graphics and sound driver problems, privacy concerns, and general ignorance about the upgrade process.

 

Hey lady! When it told you it was going to uninstall that genealogy program because it was incompatible, did you even read that? And now your data is unusable because you didn't back it up to a compatible format? Thanks for the $400! Glad it's working again after the total wipe and reload.

 

Hey graphic designer who "knows about computers"! You didn't notice that it told you you had an incompatible driver for your graphics card? So you uninstalled the driver and installed the upgrade only to find Photoshop won't run anymore? Thanks for the buck fifty! Always happy to install a new graphics card.

 

Hey kid! Your dad told you not to upgrade, and you did anyway, and you stopped it in the middle because you were gonna get caught? Talk to dad about your phone upgrade, because it's not happening, he paid me instead.

 

I'll say it over and over and over again: unless you are absolutely sure it's absolutely necessary, WAIT SIX MONTHS TO A YEAR BEFORE UPGRADING TO NEW OPERATING SYSTEM VERSIONS.

 

You'll note that Microsoft is not reporting that a lot of those 75 million users are HAPPY that they were forced to upgrade.

Edited August 28, 2015 by Gene Splicer PHD

[Gene Splicer PHD]

Also, Microsoft forced this upgrade, they didn't just make it "free". They did that because several features need a critical mass of data to work well (Cortana, specifically). They weren't going to get widespread acceptance of the OS - meaning it woulda looked a lot like the windows 8 debacle - without it. So they pushed it. In my experience so far - about a month after RTM - it wasn't done yet, it isn't done yet, it won't be really solid for a few more months.

 

So, unless you have the technical chops to deal with failure - because there's a good chance it will fail - the need to upgrade to access software or features that are missing from your current version, or are mandated by a corporate policy, just wait. It'll still upgrade in six months. There's time.

[Phantom]

Also, Microsoft forced this upgrade, they didn't just make it "free". They did that because several features need a critical mass of data to work well (Cortana, specifically). They weren't going to get widespread acceptance of the OS - meaning it woulda looked a lot like the windows 8 debacle - without it. So they pushed it. In my experience so far - about a month after RTM - it wasn't done yet, it isn't done yet, it won't be really solid for a few more months.

 

Technically speaking it wasn't a forced upgrade, Microsoft installed a nagware update (KB3035583) via Windows Update for both Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 there are many sources online that discussed this and provided steps to get rid of this. Also on another note you can let it sit there and stew without upgrading, you'll just have that annoying icon to see.

 

As for the RTM, Microsoft has had this in development for quite awhile and released a Technical Preview back in February (If I remember) and I had it installed as a secondary operating system. They added features to each update cycle after getting a general idea of what was broken, what worked and what kinda worked. AFIK they did work out most of the major issues before releasing it to the general public but speaking as an IT professional, no matter how much refining you put into a piece of software (Office, Operating Systems, Games, etc.) you'll always have a segment of computers that will just go bonkers with any new software installation. For example awhile back I installed Spotify onto my Windows 7 machine and the next thing I knew my computer blew up and I had to restore it from a backup I made. So a tiny music program basically wrecked my Big OS.

 

Finally as for the upgrade in 6 months, it won't be anything like the upgrade from Windows 8 to Windows 8.1, Windows will continue to offer updates like normal and allow users to upgrade various components of their Operating System with additional add-ons in the future. Even now with it being out for a month (or so) many people do like the upgrade, especially the return of the start menu, and the general consensus is that it's going to be adopted more and more as time passes on.

 

Eric

[Tomas]

More Windows 10 from MTV News....

 

"Imagine if your parents, without even asking for it, automatically received an email detailing every website you’d visited, what you searched for, and what apps you used on a weekly basis — even if you cleared your history or browsed anonymously

 

It seems this is a real-life feature that’s automatically enabled for Windows 10 users who register with “family” accounts, which prompted one dad to call out the “creepy-ass email” he wasn’t expecting to receive from Microsoft, saying, “I don’t want this. I have no desire to spy on my boy,” and warning teens, “If you have Windows 10 now, your parents might be getting the same kind of report I did. Don’t assume your own computer has your back.”"

Edited August 28, 2015 by Tomas

[Gene Splicer PHD]

Hey Eric,

 

Yeah, I'm an MS partner, I've been running Win10 in a sandbox (and now live on my cranky old laptop) for what, over a year now? Since the first preview, anyway. I do like the OS. I just don't think it's fully baked, specifically when non-technical people attempt to upgrade and it fails. Because non-technical users don't deal well with when Windows, or an upgrade attempt, is in a failed state.

 

My issue with Microsoft and Win10 runs a little deep, mainly because my customer base is not by and large technically literate and many run old programs and old hardware. You are technically literate, with google-fu at your fingertips and the ability to read a knowledgebase article and apply its instructions with little to no fear. That's not at all true with a very large subset of Windows users.

 

- Yes, there are ways to dismiss the nag screens, but if you don't know you can, then it bugs you multiple times a day until you push the button.  Show a non-technical user the word "regedit" (which you need to use to disable the gwx string to kill the nag screen) - with its attendant WARNING YOU'RE ABOUT TO DESTROY YOUR COMPUTER BY EDITING THE REGISTRY warning, and it scares the crap out of them. 

My point is that there should be an option right on the nag screen that says "I don't want to upgrade right now. Check with me in 30 days" (and one option should be "never". By not including that, Microsoft is in my opinion forcing this upgrade. 

 

- Speaking of the "never" option: I have a laptop here that will never ever ever run Windows 10. I'm surprised it survived an upgrade to 8.1. But there's the nag screen, with no obvious way to actually kill it. Because it'll check again in a month, and let me know in a month, that I (still) can't upgrade. That's annoying and it should be dead simple to remove.

 

- When your Spotify software killed your machine, you knew what to do. Including having a backup to restore from in the first place, which isn't all that common unless it's absolutely dead simple to use and understand (see Time Machine on a Mac). 

I've got a client that per a standard process document, swaps out their external hard drive backups every three days (I didn't write the procedure). Problem is that the power strip that the backup drives were plugged into is dead. It hasn't had power for about a week, and they never checked to see if the backups actually ran (status is sent to them in an email. They stopped reading the emails). And they're panic-scared about using cloud backups.

 

- Yes, MS is moving to incremental updates. It's a really good idea. The old saw about "wait for the first service pack" isn't there anymore. But by waiting a while before upgrading, it matures on its own. In other words, it's the same effect: Install a clean Win10 via the upgrade, then download 1,320 pending updates to correct deficiencies and get the security up to date. I'd really rather have non-literate users do that then install it today, and have issues, some which may well be pain points, incrementally fixed.

 

- Sure Windows 10 is going to get a lot of adoption, and get it pretty early. It has some seriously good features in it, and I know that a lot of users are able to get up and running very seamlessly with it right out of the gate. That's awesome. 

 

I just think that the upgrade experience will be vastly improved in six months to a year by removing fail points. And that's what I'm recommending to my clients: wait a while, let the early bugs get worked out, and then do it.

[Drew Espinosa]

Okay, I just made the change to Windows 10 and I love it

 

I do have a quick question, I use the Nook App to read some of my ebooks. When I had Windows 8.1, I could see all the text, but now, the text doesn't fit properly on the screen. Can someone help me? Thanks

[MikeL]

I still like Windows 10.  Don't know about your problem with Nook, Drew.  I use Nook only on a tablet and have no problems there.

 

Good luck.

[LitLover]

Has anyone used Microsft Edge yet?  If so, do you have problems with it?  i just got a new laptop pre-loaded with Windows 10 and I happily used Edge, and liked it for the most part.  I did find that on GA there were times my touchpad didn't seem to want to work in the dialogue box, or if I hit "quote" nothing would happen.  At other times I would hit "post" and my post would just disappear.   At first I thought this might be a glitch with my new computer and I'd be returning it, even though the touch pad worked fine in other applications.  

 

Today I tried to post a chapter of my story and it disappeared.  All of the information I entered was gone.  I tried several times with the same result.  I finally got fed up and downloaded Chrome and the chapter uploaded just fine.  

 

Has anyone else had similar issues?  

[Drew Espinosa]

Lit, I had those same problems when I tried to post in the forums, or add a review to a story. However, I mostly use chrome for everything, so it's not a big deal for me