WIN10 on new Laptop.

Bandersnatch - Hear, Hear - I agree completely with your sentiment. Many years ago I used to add my 2-pennorth to this forum with advice on Linux, as a (relatively) long-time user. As you so eloquently put it, I was p***ed on so many times that I initially simply stopped posting, then later re-registered under an assumed name. (but was even p***ed on for doing that!). It is very difficult to post advice, only to have it rubbished.

In an appropriate situation? Not at all if that is your wont. And if you want to start your very own thread along those lines, break a leg. I simply object to people being so sure theirs is the one true path, that they force it on everyone else as soon as an "opposing" OS is mentioned. So that it isn't possible (in this forum) to have a discussion or get a straight question answered about Windows (or Linux or Mac) without the fanatics of alternative OS's burying the thread in their well-worn diatribe.

Hmm. I thought I'd done better than that by actually trying (and failing). Admittedly I tried VMware and Crossover but not Virtualbox. Neither seemed able to run SW or Fusion. Perhaps I should have persevered longer but I have a life to live.

Crossover has a list of compatible programs that seems to suggest not wasting your time trying the get SW working. I forget my trials with VMware but the bottom line is it didn't get anywhere.

TBH, the place for CAD and CAM in my house would be on a Windows (10) machine. As a professional engineer, I wouldn't be able to use Linux exclusively, even if I wanted to, as most of the apps I need aren't available in a suitable format. I would then transfer the g code to a Linux machine in the workshop.

There's no right or wrong, just various options.

Murray

Bandersnatch,

Might I offer an alternative viewpoint?

I do agree that there is nothing worse than an evangelical convert preaching that they have "seen the light and ye all must follow", however, the majority of the inputs to this thread to the OP were along the lines of "I sympathise with you, found myself in a similar position and now use this", rather than, as you appeared to read, "you are an idiot for using Windows, so it serves you right".

Were it not for threads such as these show that alternative operating systems are useable, one might be forgiven for thinking that Microsoft was the only option. It was as a result of a similar thread a couple of years ago that I actively looked into Linux and realised that it was a viable alternative operating system (though not perfect) and that you didn't have to be a programmer to make it work. As a result of that thread I now do most of my computing in Ubuntu and use Windows for very little.

I thought Peter Shaw gave a good explanation as to why he moved from Windows, based on his personal experience, and he was sympathetic to Clive (the OP) . Whilst I admit Peter's input didn't resolve Clive's primary problem, I would hope it gave him food for thought and encouraged him to seek alternatives to Windows. If threads had to restrict themselves to answering the OPs initial question, most on this forum would be very short.

Regards Tom

I have just bought a brand new windows 10 computer and am scared to switch it on for the first time, having read this thread. When I switch it on for the first time, do I do so with the broadband connected or is it better to connect to the broadband after the initial setup?

As far as I can see I don't need a Microsoft account and did not get one when my current computer was updated to windows 10 and it does all I want just fine.

​ Life with computers just seems to get more and more complicated. The only printed help that came in the computer box was a tiny two page leaflet that gave no advice on setting the thing up.

Is there any real advantage in having this Microsoft account ?

Doug

Doug, my honest advice is DO NOT have the Microsoft acct. I am finding that the lap top I bought is unusable as it asks for a password every time I open something. I cannot do any work on it. Today I visited a Computer shop and asked questions and the first thing he said after my question was, ' load Win 7'.

I dont know what to do now, I have built my own PC's and loaded software but I cannot make head nor tail of this Microsoft Monster. Some people may be happy with WIN 10 but personally it's a bucket of s##te. The lap top is tied up with passwords ad infinitum. Dont use any of the apps. and software provide, you will regret it.

Clive, the original poster.

There's a lot of wind and guff in this thread. It's worth knowing that you can get a legal upgrade license for Windows 7 on ebay for under £20. For many people that may be the way to go. The rest of us are happy to get on with whatever tool is at hand and suitable for the job in hand, be it Android, Linux, Windows or iOS. I thought that's what marked out a good engineer.

Just bear in mind that my mother (87) has been able to get up and running with Windows 7 and then Windows 10 (and iOS) without having to keep checking under the bed. Admittedly she is still quite compost mental for her age although she might lose a handbag swinging contest in this forum.

Doug;

​I upgraded to Win 10 on the last day of the 'Free' year mainly as I was waiting for reviews from other users & magazines like 'Computer Active & 'Web User' plus other posters comments on here. the main comment from the mags' were not to install the 'standard upgrade' as it would feedback to Microsoft your personal details & usage, shopping habits etc. just install a 'custom' installation in which you can switch off certain buttons that stop feedback to MS. Their comment on this was that it would 'improve / enhance' the users experience, which, to me, means spying on you... maybe I'm too cynical?.

​I loaded the customised version onto my desktop & set it up to my preferences & it's ok... so far. What I have noticed is it has hijacked the IE browser... I used Virgin Media IE browser but cannot log into my mail from their web page ( I have queried this with VM & there were some 'technical issues' according to them ? ), I can get everything, inc.' mail from their webpage but have to use MS win 10 'edge' browser. As I recall MS have said they are not supporting IE from the near future & will be using 'edge' as their main window & 'Bing' as their main search engine, so I am assuming my probs with IE is part & parcel of the 'discontinuing support' scenario from MS.

​I would suggest that you go to 'settings' in your Win 10 OS & change some of the settings buttons to 'off' i.e. 'Privacy' 'personalise' sections for one, I did post a couple of scans from the afore mentioned mags' in this or another similar post dealing with privacy issues, worth a look at if you wish to.

​George.

What you say about your own experience Clive is just what I was afraid of. I bought the new machine because my current machine was going haywire last week with a number of problems and hangups, and I could barely get online. I now find my current machine seems to be working perfectly and I understand that an update from Microsoft which was issued recently had caused problems with some computers.

​ That Microsoft problem has apparently been corrected which could well be why my machine is now running fine. If my current machine has been cured I am tempted to try to return the new one to PC World as no longer required. Although I have opened the box and inspected the machine, I have not switched it on so I may still be able to go down that route.

Doug

While Windows 8 required you to have a Microsoft Account, with Windows 10 you can decide to log in with a local account rather than a Microsoft Account. I can't remember exactly where it is but it's somewhere in Settings.

You do need a Microsoft Account if you want to use Skype, Outlook, Office 365 etc., however there are alternatives.

Russell.

Re-reading this thread reminded me that I bought a Windows 10 net-book with detachable tablet (Acer Aspire Switch 10 review: http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/review/windows-tablets/acer-aspire-switch-10-review-3514212/) a few months ago, hoping to install a version of Linux and use it as a media player to stream off my Rapberry Pi. Sadly it's pretty much impossible to get Linux to run on one of these devices due to the heinous 'Bay Trail' processor used to keep power consumption (and price) down.

As a result I have no use for it - if anyone wants to swap it for £10 quids worth of metal or something else useful and is able to collect it (South Staffs) I'd be happy to wave bye-bye to it - PM me. Failing that I'll just give it some 'office space': https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjsSr3z5nVk

Just resetting it to pristine Win 10 condition, everything works on it as far as I know. Hope this post doesn't contravene any forum rules?

Windows 8 also allows a local account, I've had most windows OS since 98, missed out ME and Vista, and never had a microsoft account yet.

Windows 10 is ok, it's just a bit different to previous versions but the OS is fine. Yes you need to go into the security settings and turn off most of the junk and there is also a keylogger and voice recorder running that is meant to make your use of the Microsoft services more personal (we would call it spying) Just take a bit of time to get used to it and you'll soon be up to speed.

I have my Win 10 laptop running my CNC router via a CNCdrive UC100 usb controller and it runs very well, the old windows XP box before it was very tired.

Steve

Hi, Clive - I don't want to start another round of mud-slinging with this suggestion, because it is just a suggestion.

Why don't you just take a look at Linux, just to get a feel of it?. You can do this on your new laptop if you can get it to boot from a USB stick. This can usually be done when the machine starts up - before the operating system loads, you usually get an option to enter a boot menu (maybe F2 or F12).

You can download a Mint or Ubuntu iso from their sites (I suggest Mint - more 'tradional' menus than Ubuntu) and burn it to a USB stick. You can then boot the machine into Mint from the stick and just see what is available. It makes NO changes to your installed WIndows.

The only problem I can see is that you seem to be having a hell of a problem with WIndows, so I don't know if you can burn a USB stick.

I think this will bypass all the password and account guff from Windows, and you can then see what the machine can do.

This is just a suggestion, not a request for abuse from anybody.

Edited By An Other on 16/12/2016 18:46:47

@An Other: I suggested that way up in the thread. That's the great thing about Linux, you can try it without changing your system in any way.

One thing neither of us mentioned though... Clive would probably need to enable 'boot from USB stick' in the BIOS to get the device to show up in the boot menu (and possibly disable UEFI if an install is planned).

Paul.

I've been running Mint from a memory stick on a laptop for a couple of months, It works fine for a bit then crashes, but the memory stick is then quite warm. I'm waiting for #2 so to install it properly as I don't understand all this partitions stuff. However he is too busy with motorcycles and courting. However when I was 21 (and that's a long time ago), I was quite busy on the same issues, so can't complain

Hello, Duncan,

Saw your comment about 'partitions and stuff' - most popular Linux distros will do all the 'nerd' work for you. I would suggest that really the only decision you need to make is do you want to install Linux alongside something like WIndows - this is the 'dual boot' you sometimes read about - it just means you can leave Windows on a machine, and install Linux alongside it, and when you boot the machine, a menu will allow you to choose which system you want. Most Linux installs will do all this for you.

Alternatively, you can overwrite the existing system (destroy it) and once again, Linux will do this for you. Linux uses several differnt partitions for various purposes, and most installations will do this automatically. If you are an expert user, you may want to change the partitions, but for the general user, this is not necessary - just use the default installation process.

PaulR - I thought my second paragraph in my first post mentions booting from a USB stick. I am trying to avoid being too specific about installations unless someone asks, because there are so many installation variations.

I would recommend people to do an internet search on their preferred distro installation, because there are almost always installation instructions available from the source of the distro, and it avoids propagating confusing info.

We're getting a bit off topic but I think one of the problems with Linux is the great number of distributions available. A quick look at Distrowatch shows over 280 different distributions available, many of them coming in various versions.

Although I am a Linux Mint fan I would recommend potential new users to have a look at Linux Lite as it is specifically intended for people transferring from Windows and, unusually, comes with a comprehensive online user manuaL

However, for the OP it is certainly possible to get rid of the requirement for a Microsoft account for Windows 10 but you will need one if you want to use Skype.

Russell.