Replies

Do be aware that a Win 10 ‘upgrade’ may be inflicted on you even if you don’t choose to reserve it. To prevent a Win 10 ‘upgrade’, see, for example: http://windowssecrets.com/forums/showthread//171747-Need-Help-With-These-Few-Windows-Updates?p=1023707&viewfull=1#post1023707

If the KB3035583 update has already been installed, you will need to uninstall it (see http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/remove-update#1TC=windows-7). Even after uninstalling the KB3035583 update, Windows may keep running a GWX process in the background. Getting rid of that is rather more involved. See, for example: http://googleexperts.altervista.org/uninstall-kb3035583-windows-10-downloader-windows-7-8-1

You’ll also want to disable the option to automatically install recommended updates until you see all of KB3035583, KB3021917, KB2990214 and KB2952664 updates, so you can hide them before they get installed. Do note that Microsoft has changed things so that some of these unwanted updates will keep coming back even after you’ve hidden them. To prevent that too, see: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3080351

Thanks macropod.
Yes, indeed. I took those steps to stop any downloading and installing of 10.
Good to know/save if I need to reinstall 7.
Have saved your post for future reference.

I realize the intent of the article is to aid in helping to choose what and why a 10 update could benefit a user, but I currently have Win7 home running so sweet that I cringe even when doing security updates in case there is a conflict or broken code involved. :rolleyes: lol!

……………………………………. every hard drive ever made is good for only a certain number of spins or revolutions. They all eventually wear out! Duh! Why nobody has spoken to this I don’t know.

Conceptually true……but……not all hard drives last as long even within a model range.

I use Acronis Drive Monitor ( a free download ) to keep tabs on mine.

I’m posting from a computer with ~16000 hours on it’s drive and reports on it are excellent, same as when new.
I also have a standalone computer seldom used that has <300 hours and it's already red flagged for failure, even though there are no outward signs showing the distress.

Hard drives are consumables and fuse length is likely associated with manufacturing quality and type of usage.

I tend to let my Win7 computers ( 2 ) in my home office run all day and turn off at night.
However, I have a Linux powered computer in my living room that stays on 24/7 for convenience. It boots from a DVD and has no hard drive so current draw ought to be low. All low priced components that I assembled about 8 years ago. Still dependable.

………………….

……………..
PS, yes it was an ad, don’t see the point of “it”.
However, if the technology helps keeps us safe from….stuff, national security etc, OK.
That’s a different story, none of my business though.
So I’m happy where I am, MINT and whatever happens next.
CORTANA the Guardian angel ?
Ha!

I don’t see the point of ‘it” either, but I’m not configured to see ads in Win 7 or Puppy Linux.

With Win 7, I’m supposed to be updated with critical updates till 2020, so I don’t see the need to immediately
experiment with a new version of Windows that’s probably got more unfound bugs than what I’m already using.
I was privileged to update several Win 7 computers ( purchased late ) to Win 8 and was glad I passed on the offers.
I have things I need to do with my computers and free time spent debugging/configuring them is not on my to do list.
I suspect that what I’m using now is actually more secure as Win 10 is new and it’s bugs and weaknesses are yet to be discovered.

Thank goodness there are options other than being forced to upgrade to Win 10.
I also have Mint installed in VirtualBox and it’s pretty easy to adapt to, imo.
This post is from a computer booting from a live CD, Puppy Linux. Every boot is malware clean. Sweet.

Just a while ago, I was doing one of my regular searches and what do I see ?

An ad, or a video thing with a freaky looking monster from hell with the words

CORTANA IS LISTENING

Hmm, yeah ok, so she has infiltrated my XP and all the other stuff.
………………………………..

Just to be clear, are you posting that Cortana was installed on your XP computer with out your approval, perhaps from a critical update?

Hmm, yeah ok, so she has infiltrated my XP and all the other stuff.

What scan tools did you use to determine that and how did you remove it?

Or if one could just get rid of the attitude. OR Dr Who Finds a Cohort.

As far as the blindness to using XP on the Net, now…

It is far better to be preventative than reactive or than playing Russian Roulette.

Agreed.
Leaving an unsupported OS should be common sense from a security POV.
And with entry machines as low cost as they are, a purchase there where an old machine won’t upgrade makes sense even if it’s bought on time.
I’ve done several clean instals on older equipment that had been wiped, but prefer to start with a new machine with the most current OS. But that doesn’t mean I’ll buy every time a new version of Windows comes out. If I like what I’m using I’ll use it till the support runs out.
XP was good for me, I skipped Vista because of user complaints, but find Win7 reliable, suits my needs and supported till the next decade.
Since I’m not a computer technician or writing article on the subject, change is not my friend for change sake’s alone. If it works for me, if it isn’t broken, I really don’t want to spend any more time learning how to adjust to new changes

As far as security goes, when/if MS drops the ball on security updates the way it has with it’s MSE, maybe it’s time to move on to a different platform?
If…..IF!…..MS slacks off on Win7 security updates it promised, it doesn’t make Win10 look better, it merely detracts from the image of Microsoft. IMHO, of course

Hello. I am typing at you on an old Thinkpad, 9 yo, and it runs W-7, SP-1. CPU is a 2.86 but only 2 megs of RAM. It has installed KB 3035583 yesterday. It still does not show the small Windows on the Notification area after three re-boots. When installing this KB WU, it took a long time to so do and I presume that it was “looking” at the machine to see if it was capable of W-10. Does it really mean that it would not run W-10 ?

This old Faithfull is destined to my wheelchair stuck brother. It runs W-7 quite acceptably. What would happen if I were to now install W-10 with a DVD of 10166 ? A slow performance is immaterial as all my Bro does is email, nothing more.

Opinions please. All best wishes. Jean.

Earlier, I merely posted to my position, but not yours.
I suspect your laptop will run just fine with Win 10.

But, at what cost was my comment.
Further:
But what about security?
This will be unknown till the RTM is tested and with MS cutting back on the efficiency of it’s AV I do have to wonder how much additional security is built in, or have the bean counters influenced the final product to save.
This we really won’t know until malware writers attack it and professional and independent testing is done.
MS is changing their business model and I wonder how it affects users.
Time will tell, but I don’t intend to be their guinea pig.

That’s a really bad article & the meaning you & others, have taken out of that or attached to it is incorrect. It has taken something & extrapolated something out of it that was never there in the 1st place, @ all. Completely distorting something into something it never was. There is no subscription & not going to be!!!! Not for Win10 nor its Updates Grrrrr.!!!

When I read quotes like this:

http://www.computerworld.com/article/2918154/microsoft-windows/why-you-should-pay-attention-to-microsofts-windows-10-revenue-deferral.html

The revelation will also affect customers because the deferral will be tied to the “supported lifetime of the device,” a phrase Microsoft has used for several months to describe how long it will provide free updates and upgrades to Windows 10.

I become skeptical of the way MS uses the term ‘free’.

The concept is really nothing new.
In many bars, the peanuts are free as long as you keep buying the beer
Customers easy to please wind up eating a lot of nuts.
But I’m old and grumpy!!

I already have updates with my Win7 until January 2020, so there’s plenty of time to figure out MS’s intentions and the true cost of Win 10.

…………………

Opinions please. All best wishes. Jean.

Another oldie, here

I’ve decided to skip Win 10 and move to a different brand OS if necessary.
Win 7 does all I need and is still safe enough with the security apps I’ve installed.

But this made my decision final, this morning when I read this from Forbes:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonkelly/2015/07/10/free-windows-10-charges/?utm_campaign=yahootix&partner=yahootix

opening quote:

Windows 10 is famously ‘free’, but Microsoft has been worryingly silent about just how free it really is. Now, only 17 days before release, leaks suggest ‘free’ Windows 10 might not be a good deal at all…

The article makes me want to ‘run away’ from MS and not look back.

I’ve used Syncback Free
http://www.2brightsparks.com/freeware/freeware-hub.html
for at least 6 years and found it convenient and easy to back up to multiple locations and different types of media.
I used in the past, Karen’s replicator and it worked well, also.

While I appreciate, follow and address accordingly, the advice given and the methods of implementing security…..for personal and financial data, I use a stand alone computer that is non networked and never faces the internet. As I use a Truecrypt container to hold my documents, even intrusion to capture data by physical possession is somewhat thwarted.

Worst case scenario with the computer I’m writing from, a disk image resides in a USB drive to revert to a clean OS if needed.

As a note, I’ve been using Sandboxie for many years and feel it’s an important addition.

Thanks all for the ideas the members have been presenting and especially to Susan Bradley. :up:

I subscribe to Windows Secrets to get information on Microsoft Windows, not how to install and use other operating systems. I am not partisan and use other operating systems apart from Windows, but I find it objectionable that Windows Secrets is being used to proselytize other operating systems.

If I wanted to get info on Ubuntu or Linux, then I’d subscribe to the appropriate newsletter and forums. There are plenty of them out there.

If you continue in this vein I’ll simply cancel my subscription and walk away.

Just pointing out that the article did mention installing a Linux distro as a virtual OS that can be used along side a running MS Windows installation.
As such, Linux becomes essentially likened to an application that could be useful to some members.

I love Ubuntu and used it exclusively for everyday stuff, it is way more secure, and since several of the programs I use are Windows only I had my computer set up for dual boot into both OS’s. But Ubuntu changed their installation, if I remember correctly they quit using grub during installation, making dual boot installation confusing, for me, on my new laptop. So now, I would love to put Ubuntu on my laptop but want to keep Windows 7, but I’m not sure how to do it. I’ve tried before and ended up installing over Windows 7 and had to reinstall 7.

I would instal Ubuntu as a virtual OS and keep Win 7 as the boot OS.
I’ve done this in the past with Ubuntu and Mint. I preferred Mint and deleted Ubuntu.
Advantages to virtual……Both OSs can work concurrently. no conflict with boot loaders, backing up the virtual install is as simple as copying the folder the virtual OS resides in.

IMO….well written article that avoids the typical fanboy bias.

However, having installed Ubuntu in the past and not liked it, it’s not a viable option for me at this time.
I do like the idea of Linux Live CDs to a great degree as alternatives to installed Linux distros.
This post was written on an old home built computer situated in my living room ,with Puppy Linux as it’s OS and Firefox 37.0.1 as it’s browser.
I didn’t feel like spending hard earned money on a new device in order to maintain reasonable security and the age and specs of this computer just aren’t up to functioning well with a current MS Windows operating system.

I’m a member here to learn how to use my computer advantageously. When a distro of Linux can run concurrently on a MS Windows machine, as a virtual OS……I have an advantage of running the ‘best of both worlds’ together at the same time on my office computer.

Hopefully, there will be an article on Linux Live CDs in the near future for those that want to revive old hardware.