Windows 10, Yay or Nay?

[Bg260]

⬆⬆AROMA for Windows? Now that's an idea!

 

[AZgl1500]

I prefer to always run GWX Control Panel first, because it allows you to make decisions on what/if you want to do.

then once you have verified that all of the junk of Win10 is gone, apply Never10 to guarantee it won't come back.

 

[svim]

I prefer to always run GWX Control Panel first, because it allows you to make decisions on what/if you want to do. then once you have verified that all of the junk of Win10 is gone, apply Never10 to guarantee it won't come back.

Actually, neither GWX Control Panel nor Never10 can or does claim to guarantee anything. If Microsoft wants to slip in some new twist to complicate things for either utility it's not like MS doesn't have a lot of really skilled developers available to do so. But seeing as both are now doing basically the same functions, running both seems to be overkill. GWX has been around longer and allows you to interact more with its different features, Never10, recently updated to include all the features of GWX has is more of a 'push a button and you're done' utility. One or the other is suitable to how most people like to approach things. In any case, the free Win10 grace period is coming up the end of this July so this will all be irrelevant anyway.

 

[Father Guido]

RIGHT?!.. They should pay ME for forcing me to use the garbage!! Can't find a CD ROM installation anymore, it's all USB 3.0! Only using the Windows for rare occasions. Would have done Win7 but apparently the drivers disappeared from the Mfgr site after MS went all forceful on everyone. At least supply a reinstallation DVD/USB with the new keyless PC's..

Here's the method I use to find Win7 (8.1) drivers if your manufacturer doesn't provide them. My bet is your hardware is supported, just the mfg isn't making it easy. Actually, if your rig came with 8.1 you should be able to roll back to it. Put Classic Shell on it and it's actually faster than 7 (though you should disable the telemetry). NOW, if you paid for a retail Win10 license it should be transferable (i.e. able to sell).

 

[jefboyardee]

All's I know is that the 10 stuff crept into my Win7 updates with GWX installed, but I haven't haven't heard a peep since installing Never10. Whether that's because of Never10"s work or Windows simultaneously giving up I'll never know, but it's staying.

 

[bcrichster]

Here's the method I use to find Win7 (8.1) drivers if your manufacturer doesn't provide them. My bet is your hardware is supported, just the mfg isn't making it easy. Actually, if your rig came with 8.1 you should be able to roll back to it. Put Classic Shell on it and it's actually faster than 7 (though you should disable the telemetry). NOW, if you paid for a retail Win10 license it should be transferable (i.e. able to sell).

I actually have the 8.1 drivers for the ASUS.. Think they'll work or no?

 

[AZgl1500]

they just might, after all, it is more hardware related than not.

 

[Father Guido]

I actually have the 8.1 drivers for the ASUS.. Think they'll work or no?

Unless the hardware is EXTREMELY NEW, they may very well work. If zip files, extract them to take a look inside and view the .inf with notepad (I prefer Notepad++ as it displays Linux txt and other files correctly). Lots of info in those .inf files.

If in "driver.exe" format you can extract them with 7-zip, WinRAR, or Google an unpacker like uniextract, etc. Should be an .inf file or related info in there. I do know that extraction is possible with my Lenovo driver.exe's and also HP, most Dell's, etc. I always extract to a thumb drive if at all possible, and manually point to those files when confronted with "unknown hardware" in device manager after a fresh Windows install. This helps keep the system uncluttered with leftovers from the setup.exe. I only run a driver.exe file if it cannot be extracted by anything (very few).

The main thing you need is a working ethernet driver and then you can get online to find the others as described in my previous link. The Win7 installation media usually has one that will work unless it's a real oddball adapter (unlikely for an Asus board). Actually, they include quite a range of WiFi drivers as well. You can always check/update every device once you're up & running online.

 

[Bg260]

Not sure if this has come up yet but i'll leave it here.

http://adbdriver.com/documentation/how-to-install-adb-driver-on-windows-8-10-x64.html

 

[bcrichster]

Not sure if this has come up yet but i'll leave it here.

http://adbdriver.com/documentation/how-to-install-adb-driver-on-windows-8-10-x64.html

Actually.. Yes. Ty- [emoji41] Was wondering WTF, Lmfao.

 

[Bg260]

Actually.. Yes. Ty- [emoji41] Was wondering WTF, Lmfao.

With Windows coming on strong, and expected to rise, in the mobile market, Microsoft seems to be simultaneously integrating and de-integrating* Android. IE the new material designesque* Windows UI, and the lack of support for ADB drivers.

*probably words I made up.

 

[bcrichster]

Not sure if this has come up yet but i'll leave it here.

http://adbdriver.com/documentation/how-to-install-adb-driver-on-windows-8-10-x64.html

Actually.. Yes. Ty- [emoji41] Was wondering WTF, Lmfao.

Sweet, finally got the drivers installed that wouldn't before.. Good Lookout! Thanks again for the post. [emoji41]

 

[jefboyardee]

Microsoft’s latest trick: Clicking ‘X’ to dismiss Windows 10 upgrade doesn’t stop install

For months, Microsoft has been stepping up the pressure on users to upgrade to Windows 10. The company has multiple reasons for doing this — it wants to prevent a long tail of Windows 7 or 8.1 users from dragging out its support cycles (similar to what happened to Windows XP), it’s prominently pledged to hit one billion users on Windows 10, and it undoubtedly wants to push the market as a whole towards its new revenue model, which is much less focused on Windows 10 license sales, and more about advertising and in-OS content sales.

In keeping with this goal, Microsoft has steadily made it more difficult to opt out of Windows 10 upgrades. The company has reworked its installation messages to imply that consumers couldn’t opt out of upgrading, but clicking on the red “X” at the top right of those messages still canceled the process. According to reports streaming in from multiple sources online, Microsoft has changed this behavior. Clicking the X does nothing to stop the upgrade process now.​

 

[Dngrsone]

Well, looks like we may be getting a new wave of Linux converts...

 

[Deleted User]

Well, looks like we may be getting a new wave of Linux converts...

I'd like to think so, but I suspect that due to a) resistance to change and b) availability of applications, people will just take whatever MS shove at them.

 

[jefboyardee]

Well, looks like we may be getting a new wave of Linux converts...

Tried that, still have Mint on flash, still occasionally use Win7 with Win10 on another partition. I'm sure I'll have to give up on Win7 someday, but hanging onto it has become a hobby.

 

[AZgl1500]

With my Desktop, Win7 is not a hobby, it is locked in stone, and it does not receive "security updates" anymore.

I have a friend with 5 desktops on XP, and we have been keeping them running just fine with the same precautions. All of them have image clones, IF something does go awry, 20 minutes later, and they are right back where they were.

so far, he has not needed to reimage any of them.

 

[Father Guido]

I just received a new MB an hour ago to (finally) use my NIB i7 "Devil's Canyon" chip w/32GB of ram. Planning to breadboard this on a table for a burn-in and give Win10 LTSB "N" version a look. No Cortana, Edge, Store, Metro Apps, Media crap, etc. Supposedly this version is for "mission critical" deployment and ONLY security updates get installed (when YOU schedule them). Should be all set after disabling telemetry and installing adb/fastboot/drivers. If all goes well, I'll dual boot Mint as my primary OS, and have Win10 for those few instances I need it. Barring any HW issues, I should have this rig running before bedtime.

Wish me luck

 

[mikedt]

With my Desktop, Win7 is not a hobby, it is locked in stone, and it does not receive "security updates" anymore.

I have a friend with 5 desktops on XP, and we have been keeping them running just fine with the same precautions. All of them have image clones, IF something does go awry, 20 minutes later, and they are right back where they were.

so far, he has not needed to reimage any of them.

That sounds just like our classroom whiteboard Win 7 PCs. Not a hobby of course, they are locked in stone(start from a ghost image), do not receive "security updates", and they're NOT online.

 

[Bg260]

Sweet, finally got the drivers installed that wouldn't before.. Good Lookout! Thanks again for the post. [emoji41]

Your welcome. I just got the last one also. HTC was giving me problems. That's three days I'll never get back.

 

[Father Guido]

Wow, I think Win10 will work OK with the LTSB edition. No crap as you can see from the pic. Those circled took manual elimination, but it's all good now. Still took longer to install than the latest Mint, but twas a learning curve. I literally clicked "install" from the LM live USB, grabbed a beer and took a leak, then was greeted with a login screen

 

[AZgl1500]

@Father Guido

that sure looks a hell of a lot cleaner than the mess I found on my new ASUS laptop after it upgraded from 8.1 to 10

 

[Father Guido]

@Father Guido

that sure looks a hell of a lot cleaner than the mess I found on my new ASUS laptop after it upgraded from 8.1 to 10

Yup. I did an upgrade on my laptop with similar results. Got so tired of the crap I looked/searched deeply for other "options." Lots of great info here if you register for an account. Doesn't need to be *REAL,* as long as you provide an email address. Any throwaway account will do, just need a login name & PW. One of the best forums ever...

 

[Dngrsone]

Hrm... another forum to join.

 

[Father Guido]

Hrm... another forum to join.

I joined a number of years ago and really don't participate much, mostly lurking and learning. Lots of computing information from some very talented people there.